Hiroya Oku has revealed that he plans to retire after his latest work, citing a lack of energy and stamina to continue drawing.
In an interview with Courrier on August 11, Oku spoke frankly about his career and the current state of the industry. Regarding Kanrenkihime, Oku described it as part of his shukatsu or 'end of life preparation' in Japanese. All of the characters that appear within are also inspired by members of his production team, including himself.
Even when confronted with criticism, Oku doesn't shy away one bit. He sees the depiction of racism and xenophobia in such series as GANTZ as "natural" given that such phenomena exist in the real world, arguing that their absence would seem more unusual. In the same vein, uncomfortable themes such as menstruation and pregnancy are included to make female characters feel more human instead of mere objects for sexual gratification.
That being said, Oku feels less than optimistic about the future of the medium. Not only does he feel like the quality of recent works has been declining, he also claims that more and more people have come to view manga as more of a business than an artform. While it is almost certainly true that the industry is bigger than ever, there are several young artists who offer hope for the future.
