That’s embarrassing.
Manga editor Shinichi Aizawa has just tweeted about an incident his colleague would probably just as soon forget. Said colleague, reports, Aizawa, once proposed, in all seriousness, a “manga adaptation of Ghost in the Shell.”
The Ghost in the Shell anime franchise is, of course, an adaptation of a famous manga by Masamune Shirow. This manga-editing colleague was apparently unaware of the original manga, and only familiar with Ghost in the Shell through its various anime adaptations.
Sure, the original manga came out back in the late 80s/early 90s, but as a professional in the manga industry, that’s probably something you should know about. Or, y’know, Google? The net is vast and infinite, after all.
Here’s our translation of Aizawa’s tweet:
Once upon a time, a colleague of mine, one year younger than me, seriously proposed at a meeting a Ghost in the Shell manga adaptation. He was not kidding. He had never heard of the original manga. It was like the proverb “even a pro makes mistakes,” or shows how little manga editors read! I even felt some fear.
Oof.
Of course, there are some original anime that have gone on to receive manga adaptations. GITS, though, ain’t one of them.
むかしぼくの一つ年下の同僚が会議の席で「『攻殻機動隊』のマンガ化」という企画書を大まじめに出してきました。かれは原作マンガの存在を、冗談でなく知らなかったのです。「河童の川流れ」というか、マンガ編集者がいかに本を読んでいないか!恐怖すら感じました。
— あいざわ(相澤信一) (@wingletter) June 11, 2022
Source: Otamoku