While working on Arata: The Legend, Yuu Watase was often forced to change her plots and panels for her editor, who retaliated when she voiced concerns.
Mangaka Yuu Watase, known best in the west for Fushigi Yugi and Ceres: Celestial Legend, wrote in a blog post about her struggles with her previous editor for her ongoing manga, Arata: The Legend. She noted her chapters were often delayed because of how often her editor asked her to redraw pages or change the story to become something different entirely.
When Watase confronted her editor, who she refers to as Mr. I, about her concerns, he responded harshly in retaliation, Watase said on her blog. After speaking with others who worked with Mr. I, Watase came to the conclusion that he treated everyone in the same manner.
Watase had the story for Arata: The Legend planned out and had discussed story development with the editor. She believes either there was a miscommunication or he never understood her vision. When she insisted on pivotal scenes staying the same, he told her, “Draw it exactly the way I tell you.” According to Watase, his corrections were inconsistent and he would frequently cut things she insisted were important.
“It was very difficult to deal with and caused a lot of stress, especially with a weekly publication,” Watase wrote. “It was pretty much hell… Just thinking about how nothing I drew would get approved made it more and more difficult to draw successive pages, and nonsensical cuts and edits made it hard for me to draw anything at all… It seems to me that Mr. I thought the readers were imbeciles, and it makes me sad when I think of all the reasons why I draw manga.”
Around the time of Arata: The The Legend‘s Yakata Arc, starting in the tenth volume, Mr. I was replaced by another editor. Watase said she has had a better experience with this editor, but she still feels traumatized.
Arata: The Legend received an anime adaptation last year, and Viz Media publishes the manga in English for North America. The 22nd volume shipped in Japan in December, while in North America the 16th volume was recently published.
Source: Anime News Network
