How Mangaka Get Paid For Their Series and Royalties For Anime
The mangaka for The Disastrous Life of Saiki K., Shuichi Aso, tweeted that he hasn’t receivead “a single yen” of royalties from Saiki K. becoming an anime series, or a game, or the soon to be live-action film. While he’s updated that statement now, let’s go into what actually goes into a mangaka’s pay.
Firstly, let break down what Aso-sensei actually said, because some people are going misread what it means. Aso-senpai claims that he hasn’t received royalties from the anime, or his characters being featured in video games. The key word here is royalties. Aso-sensei would have received some sort of upfront payment for the use of his characters and stories, but likely nothing based on the profits of the game/anime.
Aso-sensei isn’t the first mangaka from Shonen Jump to complain about this, Hideaki Sorachi of Gintama fame discussed the issue in length in a volume Q&A where he stated:
To tell the naked truth, regardless of how many people watch the film or how much the gross earnings are, not a single yen goes to the author. We are only paid an upfront license fee.
— Hideaki Sorachi (Gintama Volume 51)
Which is sad, because the Gintama live action film was great and I’m looking forward to Saiki K.’s because they share one of the best comedy directors of our time.