Surprised? Author reveals his Adult Manga sells more to Women
Much is said online about the relationship women have with ecchi and hentai, and this post adds more fuel to the debate. Two ecchi manga authors revealed that his Adult Manga sells more to Women instead of men. A surprise huh? Considering that historically it is thought that men prefer these stories.
Surprised? Author reveals his Adult Manga sells more to Women
It all started when the author of Hare Kon., NON, revealed that the manga has more women readers than men:
“Hare Kon actually has more female readers,” he said, sparking reactions.
Hare Kon. is a romance/comedy/harem manga about a woman who gives up on love after getting involved with a married man. She returns to her hometown, only to find that polygamy has been legalized, and a certain man wants to make her his third wife.
So we have a manga about a man with several wives — and women are the biggest audience of Hare Kon. But then, another manga that is practically erotic got the same reaction!
Seeing NON’s post, Funatsu Kazuki, author of the ecchi manga Sundome Milky Way, revealed that in his case, too, the female audience is larger.
“In fact, Sundome!! Milky Way also has overwhelmingly more female readers, lol.”
The story follows Yoshitake, a normal office worker who one day encounters a UFO that crashes into his car. When he wakes up, a beautiful alien girl named Lune is with him. She came to Earth to save her species from extinction by obtaining human semen. Yoshitake, being a huge pervert, is more than happy to help.
But there’s a catch: whenever Lune gets too embarrassed, she transforms into a hideous monster, making things complicated. Still, Yoshitake doesn’t give up.
It’s been a while since I read Sundome Milky Way, but the manga is practically adult, full of heavy scenes and a very perverted protagonist — not the kind of thing you’d expect female readers of adult manga to enjoy.
Fans were curious and asked the author for more details. One person said:
“How? Even with so many explicit scenes?”
Funatsu Kazuki replied:
“Yes, actually the digital version sells far more than the print one. With digital sales, you can see customer information like gender and age, and we discovered that most readers are women.”
Another fan said:
“It feels strange. Maybe they’re reading it secretly because of the content?”
The author replied:
“Seems like it. I was surprised at first too.”
Others also reacted with shock, wondering how a manga that is fully erotic and seemingly aimed at men could have more women readers than men:
“Aren’t those all erotic manga?”
“Conan is massively popular too, but I bet 80% of its support is from women. What are men even spending money on?”
“Isn’t Funatsu Kazuki that erotic guy? Surprised it’s women buying.”
“I don’t know about Milky Way, but considering Hare Kon.’s plot, it’s natural that few men read it.”
“Manga, anime, and entertainment in general are supported by women.”
“So even erotic manga authors know the gender of their readers?”
“If women don’t buy it, even highly rated manga get axed quickly. Like women’s sports manga.”
“Sundome!! Milky Way is basically just an ero-manga, right?”
“Even Demon Slayer only exists because women put money into it.”
“Funatsu Kazuki actually draws muscular men better than women.”
“Women send surveys, buy merch, and buy the volumes. That’s why even shonen magazines end up led by women.”
“In the end, pandering to women is the only guaranteed way to make money.”
A past survey revealed that about 30% of hentai manga authors are women — and that number is likely much higher today.