Manno, a well-known creator in the adult doujin manga scene and the artist behind the hit series Doing Whatever I Want with the Gal Who Often Comes Over, recently uploaded an urgent video to his YouTube channel addressing an issue he wanted readers to understand.
In the video, Manno discussed a self-proclaimed “fan” who openly bragged about reading pirated copies of his work without paying. He felt that, as an independent adult manga creator, he needed to explain what goes into producing these works. After sacrificing his health and reaching the point where even his sex drive has become inseparable from his work, he found it deeply discouraging to receive this kind of response. He pleaded with fans not to read his manga through piracy websites.
The situation began when Manno came across an online comment from someone claiming to be a fan. The user showed no hesitation in boasting that they had always read his manga entirely for free. They even claimed that nearly all adult doujin manga—not just Manno’s work—could be read without paying.
Manno’s successful series has surpassed one million copies sold, allowing him to leave his former company job and devote himself to creating manga full-time. However, he explained that piracy can have a devastating impact on independent artists who handle nearly every stage of production by themselves.
He also wanted readers to understand that adult doujin manga artists do not necessarily have an easier workload than manga creators serialized through traditional publishers. In some cases, producing an independent work requires even more time, effort, and personal investment.
Manno admitted that his commitment to creating manga has become so consuming that he can no longer enjoy adult content purely for pleasure in his private life. Even while trying to relax, his mind automatically analyzes every image and looks for compositions, panel layouts, and other elements that could be used as references in his own work. The boundary between work and private life has nearly disappeared because he is constantly searching for new ideas.
Whether he is watching adult videos or adult animation, he finds himself thinking, “That’s a great composition,” “This story could be useful as a reference,” or “I never thought that particular kink could be presented this way.” He now views everything from a professional perspective and can no longer immerse himself in it simply as an outlet for sexual pleasure.
Manno also described the harsh reality of working in the industry. Completing a single chapter can take hundreds of hours. In the period leading up to the release of a new work at Comiket, he may work as long as 14 hours a day, sometimes pushing himself to the point where he feels he could seriously injure his back. Yet readers can finish in just 10 minutes what took the artist hundreds of hours to create.
Under those circumstances, seeing someone proudly announce that they read pirated copies left him with emotions he found difficult to put into words.
Manno described himself as only one small representative of the adult manga industry, but asked readers who enjoy these works to support their creators by purchasing them whenever possible. He is concerned that piracy websites could normalize the ideas that “adult manga should be available for free” or that “paying for adult manga is a waste of money.”
Manno and countless other creators pour enormous amounts of time and effort into their work. If audiences become interested only in consuming that work for free, he warned, fewer and fewer artists will be able to continue creating it.
Online piracy has been a persistent problem for many years and remains extremely difficult to eradicate. Still, readers who want their favorite artists to continue—whether they produce independent doujin works or serialized commercial manga—can help by supporting them through legitimate purchases whenever possible. That support is essential to building a healthier industry in which creators can keep making new work.
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