A three volume series in Japan, Stupid Love Comedy will be released by Yen Press tomorrow in omnibus format. But what exactly is Shushushu Sakurai’s manga about? Well, it does involve a shoujo manga artist attempting to sway her editor. But for a bit more insight into the title, Assistant Editor Morgan Hart provided a couple of answers about the title:
TheOASG: In one sentence, how would you describe what Shushushu Sakurai’s Stupid Love Comedy is all about?
Morgan Hart: Stupid Love Comedy follows the struggles of manga-ka Suzu Sakura as she tries to win over her very strict (and very HOT) new editor!
This book is hefty! Can you share what led to the decision to combine all the volumes of Stupid Love Comedy?
Since the series was short & sweet, we figured an omnibus would be the best way to get this story out there. This way readers don’t have to wait for months at a time between releases to read the next chunk of the story, they can have the whole thing all at once! Plus this means you can get the whole series for $25, which is a steal!
This story combines manga industry insight and an artist falling for her editor. Do you think this work shifts more to the rom-com aspects or does it find a balance between both?
I think it finds a nice balance. Sakurai-sensei was clearly pulling a lot from her real-world professional experience—there are many bonus sections in the book where both Sakurai-sensei and her editors talk about the real craziness going on behind the scenes. So, while things are undeniably exaggerated for that extra kick, everything begins with a kernel of truth. I think this’ll satisfy both fans who want a peek behind the curtain of the manga industry as well as fans who enjoy a good comedy-packed romance!
What surprised you the most as you were working on this series?
How much I liked the developing relationship between Suzu and her editor, Hasegawa. I’m typically a bit leery of workplace romances, but I think Sakurai-sensei handled this really well. They start off as fairly antagonistic, with Hasegawa not even wanting to be Suzu’s editor (he got switched over from the seinen magazine to the shoujo magazine—quite a change of pace!), but as always, he’s ruthlessly professional, and they soon find common ground in their work together. After all, at the end of the day, everyone just wants to create good manga! (Don’t we all?)
Hasegawa pushes Suzu to be better, both as a manga-ka and a person. Seeing their relationship progress from enemies to coworkers (to…maybe more??? ;]) was so fun to watch. I’d totally read another three books exploring their dynamic.
Finally, what should readers expect when they check out Stupid Love Comedy?
If you’ve ever wondered what goes on behind the scenes at a Japanese manga publisher, this book is for you! If you’re ready to get swept away in the whirlwind of craziness that is manga-ka Suzu Sakura, this book is for you! If you’re ready to swoon over the stern-but-caring Hasegawa, this book is for you!
Sakurai-sensei has that rare gift of taking things to the extremes without leaving the readers behind—I was riding the edge of my seat every step of the way. She’s put so much of herself into Suzu that Stupid Love Comedy reads almost like a diary comic. You’ll be rooting for Suzu just as much as you’ll be facepalming. I hope the readers enjoy reading it as much as I did working on it!
Bonus Question: What’s one of the craziest things you learned about from reading this manga?
There’s one point in the series where Suzu is running late on her pages (again), so they go in-depth into the process to show her how many people down the line she’s inconveniencing with her tardiness. It was so interesting to see everything broken down like that. You might think “oh, it’s just an artist and her editor, and together they make a book,” but there are so many people involved!
Our end also has a lot of people working behind the scenes, but the process understandably differs when you’re adapting material versus creating it from scratch. I’ve read other manga that focused on creation from the manga-ka’s side of things, but this was the first series I’ve read that delved into it from the publisher end too. Learning how the industry differs (and the ways it’s the same) between Japan and the US was my favorite part of working on this book. There were a lot of times where I thought, “This is just like working at Yen!”