As a controversy over editorial conduct at Kodansha continues to rattle Japan’s manga industry, Naoko Haraguchi, the daughter of legendary manga artist Shigeru Mizuki (水木しげる), shared a pointed memory of her late father’s views on editors. In a post on X on July 6, she wrote that Mizuki used to say “90 percent of editors are incompetent,” adding that when he did come across a capable one, he would happily invite them out to eat, remarking, “Good ones are hard to come by.”
Haraguchi’s post came as a follow-up to a viral report about backlash surrounding Kodansha’s handling of a dispute involving Akane Shimizu, the creator of the hit manga Cells at Work (Hataraku Saibou). According to reports circulating on X, Shimizu’s allegations against her editorial team prompted a wave of other manga artists to come forward with similar complaints about their own editing experiences, reigniting long-running debate about the power dynamics between artists and publishers.
Haraguchi clarified that her father’s criticism was not aimed at Kodansha alone. “It means 90 percent of every publisher, not just Kodansha,” she wrote, underscoring that Mizuki viewed the problem as industry-wide rather than tied to a single company.
The remark drew a range of reactions from fellow creators and fans. Manga artist Joji Morikawa, known for Hajime no Ippo, commented that even Mizuki’s harshest words came across as warm and reassuring. Other users on X shared their own anecdotes, including one about editor-turned-legend Takao Yaguchi being harshly criticized by an editor early in his career, only for Mizuki to praise his talent, and another recalling that manga artist Kazuo Umezu was reportedly driven to stop drawing due to a bad experience with an editor at a different publishing house. Some commenters pushed back on the 90 percent figure, arguing that most editors do their jobs properly, while others argued the real issue is less about competence and more about honesty and accountability.
Who is Shigeru Mizuki?
Shigeru Mizuki (1922-2015) was one of Japan’s most celebrated manga artists, best known for GeGeGe no Kitaro, a series that popularized yokai (traditional Japanese folklore spirits and monsters) for mainstream audiences and remains a multi-generational franchise with numerous anime and film adaptations. Mizuki lost his left arm during World War II and went on to build a decades-long career chronicling yokai lore and his own wartime experiences. Naoko Haraguchi, his eldest daughter, has continued to share memories of her father on social media, describing herself as writing personal reflections rather than official statements on behalf of Mizuki Productions.
