Author Reveals His Editor Demanded Ecchi for Lady Justice to Be Published
Ken Ogino surprised fans after stating that a former Jump editor demanded ecchi content from the heroine of his work as a condition for publishing his old manga Lady Justice in Weekly Shonen Jump. According to the author, the series originally was not supposed to have such a heavy focus on fanservice, but the editorial department insisted that this would be necessary for a female protagonist to work inside the magazine.
Ken Ogino is currently known for the manga adaptation of The Ossan Newbie Adventurer, but he recently talked again about Lady Justice after a viral social media post. The publication claimed that the series failed because the author “only wanted to draw erotic content.” However, Ogino decided to clarify the behind-the-scenes of the production.
The original plan for Lady Justice was different
Published in 2015, Lady Justice followed the student Ameri Kenzaki, an extremely powerful superheroine who fought criminals using the name Iustitia. Despite the protagonist’s absurd strength, her clothes were constantly destroyed during battles, creating several fanservice scenes.
According to Ogino, his initial idea was to create something inspired by American comic books, but with a Japanese touch. He stated that he chose a female protagonist because he believed it would help convey a more “moe” style, though the fanservice would only be a complementary detail of the work.
However, the author revealed that the editors said they would not agree to publish the series if the erotic content was not the main focus of the manga. Because of that, he ended up adapting the direction of the work even though it was not exactly what he originally wanted to do.
Author comments on comparisons with My Hero Academia
Another detail mentioned by Ken Ogino involves the comparisons between Lady Justice and My Hero Academia. Many fans believed the series tried to directly compete with Kohei Horikoshi’s success, something the author completely denied.
According to Ogino, the one-shot version of Lady Justice was published even before the official debut of My Hero Academia. However, while he was preparing the chapters for weekly serialization, the superhero manga ended up launching and quickly became a huge success within the magazine.
The author commented that this ended up being a shock both for him and for his editor at the time.
Fans discuss changes in Weekly Shonen Jump
After the statements, many readers began discussing how Weekly Shonen Jump has changed over the years. Ogino said he feels envious of the current scenario, since nowadays there are more works with female protagonists that do not necessarily depend on heavy fanservice to get approved.
The author’s comments also reignited debates about editorial influence in manga published in major Japanese magazines and how much creative freedom authors truly have in weekly series.
via Automaton