Manga Mavericks EP. 151: "Shonen Jump's Sex Pest Problem"

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.

For a complete list of links and shout-outs included with this episode, please visit this podcast's webpage at: http://all-comic.com/2021/manga-mavericks-ep-151-shonen-jumps-sex-pest-problem/

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 mang