If you haven’t been hiding under a rock, you may have heard of the new upcoming movie Scott Pilgrim vs The World. What you may not know is that Scott Pilgrim was created by an average Joe named Bryan Lee O’Malley who grew up being inspired by anime’s like Sailor Moon and Ranma 1/2. What caught me the most is how many people still have problems with Original-English-Language (OEL) manga and O’Malley’s response to it. To quote from ANN,
O’Malley also discussed the difficulties of being a manga-influenced creator in North America. Asked how he was able to “escape the label of being an ‘original English language manga creator’” O’Malley recalled reading a post on a forum in which a user complained about Scott Pilgrim being shelved with manga. He suggested that the shelving was due more to the trim size of the books than the content, which he said was intentional. Having once tried to emulate the style of artists like Range Murata (Last Exile, Blue Submarine No. 6) and Tsukasa Kotobuki (Saber Marionette J), he decided he didn’t have the technical proficiency for it.
Instead, he worked with the skills that he had and managed to get a loyal following all around the world and now has a movie based on his work. How cool is that? Sometimes, you just have to follow your own drum and don’t mind what others say. For the complete interview, drop by About.com’s Manga Section.
