Danica Davidson
July 17, 2024 
Piracy is an issue the manga industry is dealing with, and the Authorized Books of Japan (ABJ) organization wants to not only fight this issue, but use international papers to thank fans who read manga through proper channels like buying copies or lending from libraries. As part of this thank-you campaign, ABJ is publishing a newspaper advertisement of gratitude in America’s New York Times, France’s La Monde, Spain’s EL PAÍS and Italy’s la Repubblica. The ads were also shared on social media.
In each case, the ad has manga panels of characters saying thank-you in the language used in that country via international papers. The panels get switched around a bit depending on the ad, but they’re all basically the same idea. Luffy from One Piece, Captain Levi from Attack on Titan, Komi from Komi Can’t Communicate, and others express their gratitude.
ABJ noted on its website:
The number of piracy sites, mainly manga in various languages, has reached 1,332 sites, and the amount of free readings per month on the 10 major English translation piracy sites alone is $0.8 billon, a figure that is increasing every year and requires immediate action. May 2024
This unique, positive approach of saying “Thank you for reading official versions” instead of “Stop reading pirated versions” has already proven successful in Japan. It sparked discussions about piracy on social media, making the issue visible and fostering an atmosphere that encourages reading official versions. As a result of this initiative, the amount of free reading, which was previously 500 billion yen, was reduced by 25%, bringing it down to 380 billion yen.
The campaign will showcase popular manga titles specific to each country. A QR code in the ad will lead to a “thank you” song from the manga characters. This song, “Manga x Vaundy Thank You,” was originally released in Japan as part of the 2023 “Thank You for Your Manga Love” campaign.
Source: ABJ
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Danica Davidson is the author of the bestselling Manga Art for Beginners with artist Melanie Westin, plus its sequel, Manga Art for Everyone, and the first-of-its-kind manga chalk book Chalk Art Manga, both illustrated by professional Japanese mangaka Rena Saiya. Check out her other comics and books at www.danicadavidson.com.
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