We’re having a long-overdue conversation about Shonen Jump’s culpability in perpetuating sexism in both its workplace culture and in its series. More specifically, it’s time to have a serious talk about how it has been enabling and rehabilitating not one, not two, but THREE known pedophiles.

When I say this podcast was long overdue, I mean it. We originally recorded this way back last August, back when news of Act-Age writer Tatsuya Matsuki’s arrest for groping two female middle school students broke and the ensuing fallout. Dejected and infuriated about the news, we gathered on friends of ours who previously loved Act-Age and were left as similarly furious at Jump’s terrible history with sex pests to vent about our criticisms of the magazine – Twitter friends Your Anime Guy and RinReadsManga, and Kendra from the My Hero Academia Podcast and View from the Top! Haikyu!! podcast. 

For context, we recorded this podcast on August 22nd 2020, two weeks after Matsuki’s arrest and before… everything that happened afterward. It’s astonishing and bewildering how many stories involving Jump and pedophiles have propagated recently, and even if this podcast was recorded before many of these stories occurred, I think our conversation addresses a lot of ever-relevant points on what Jump’s done wrong in the past when it comes to dealing with offending mangaka in their employ and their culpability in perpetuating a sexist culture that attracts such sex pests to work for them. I hope you’ll listen to our criticisms and calls to action with an open mind, and that this will be part of a continuing conversation calling out Jump and any institution that feels comfortable in perpetuating sexist attitudes that endanger and victimize women and children.

Also please keep in mind this is not our be-all, end-all podcast for calling out sexism in the anime and manga industry as a whole either. This podcast was recorded in response to the Matsuki news so we approached this topic from the perspective of Shonen Jump and Act-Age fans specifically, but there are more angles to the problems of sexism in the industry and community than what we could address from that lens in this podcast. That’s a much bigger, broader conversation that will require us to gather a lot more voices to give their input, and we intend to follow up on this podcast to address those necessary points and perspectives in the future.

So, with all that context and those disclaimers given… well, there’s no clean way to transition into a conversation this heavy, and I’ve kept you all waiting seven months too long already, so let’s just jump in. 


Download Episode Here!!

PODCAST BREAKDOWN:

00:00 – Intro & Context for the Podcast

13:00 – Guest Introductions & Recap of Jump’s History with Sex Pests
17:57 – Our Initial Reactions to the News
24:04 – Shiro Usazaki & The Tragedy of Act-Age’s Cancellation
27:54 – Sexist Comedy in Jump
30:34 – Jump’s Handling of the Situation
32:05 – Reconciling Media Made by Bad People
34:01 – Jump’s Systemic Sexism
38:15 – Jump’s History with Rehabilitating Sex Pests
49:03 – Hopes for Shiro Usazaki
51:57 – Acknowledging the Victims
56:36 – Predators in Plain Sight
58:26 – Shueshia’s Priorities
1:08:25 – Reconciling Personal Feelings on Formative Media with their Problematic Creators
1:21:43 – Insufficient Action
1:23:47 – Why We Can’t Forgive
1:29:33 – Visit Your Local Library
1:31:38 – The Objectification of Women & Girls in Jump
1:47:40 – Jump’s Sexist Bro Culture
2:05:19 – Changing Tides
2:11:50 – Lessons Jump Must Learn
2:17:20 – Ethically Consuming Media as Fans
2:35:04 – Conversation Conclusion & Guest Plugs

2:41:35 – Community Shout-Outs 

2:57:43 – Wrap-Up

Enjoy the show, and follow us on twitter at @manga_mavericks, on tumblr at mangamavericks.tumblr.com, and subscribe to us on Youtube. You can follow the hosts on twitter at @LumRanmaYasha and @VLordGTZ! Don’t forget to also like and subscribe to us on Youtube and iTunes and leave us reviews to help us curate the show and create better content! If there are any topics, series, or mangaka you would like to see us talk about on the show, drop us a line in the comments below, or e-mail us at mangamavericks@gmail.com! If you’d like to help support the show financially you can pledge to our Patreon and receive some awesome rewards like our Patreon-exclusive Bonus pods! If one-time donations are more your speed you can donate to LumRanmaYasha’s Ko-fi here! If you want to support LumRanmaYasha’s art and other projects you can follow them @siddartworks on Instagram and Twitter and donate to their personal Patreon. Don’t forget to also like and subscribe to us on Youtube and iTunes and leave us reviews to help us curate the show and create better content! Thanks for listening! 

LINKS:

About The Author Siddharth Gupta

Siddharth Gupta is an illustrator, animator, and writer based in Minnesota. They graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Animation from the School of Visual Arts, and have worked on projects for the University of Minnesota and the Shreya R. Dixit Foundation. An avid animation and comics fan since childhood, they've turned their passion towards being both a creator and a critic. They credit their love for both mediums to Akira Toriyama’s Dragon Ball, which has also defined their artistic and comedic sensibilities. A frequent visitor to their local comic book shop, they are an avid reader and collector, particularly fond of manga. Their favorite comics include The Adventures of Tintin by Herge, Bloom County by Berkeley Breathed, and pretty much anything and everything by Rumiko Takahashi.

Related Posts

comments (0)

%d bloggers like this: