Bringing Manga to Life in Advertising!: Kappy (Part 1)

"Going to Meet the People I Want to Meet!" Episode 7: Dentsu Inc. Event & Space Design Bureau's Yu Nishimuta met with Kappy-san of "Natsuyasumi". Kappy-san, who gained massive attention after web comics like "Facebook Police" —written on a whim—became viral hits one after another. He finally left Kayac Inc. and launched his own company, "Natsuyasumi", as a manga artist. Nishimuta, wanting to collaborate on his own spatial development and event planning, arranged this conversation.

Interview and Composition: Aki Kanahara, Dentsu Inc. Event & Space Design Bureau

 

Inserting advertisements into manga

Nishimuta: Why did you start drawing manga like " Facebook Police " in the first place? It became a hit in no time.

Kappy: After graduating, I worked as an art director at the advertising agency Tokyu Agency. Then I switched jobs and joined Kayac Inc. New hires send daily reports via email to all employees. I wanted to add something extra to help people remember my face and name faster, so I drew a manga.

Since Kayac is a company that creates buzz, when employees said "This is funny," it carried real credibility. I thought, "If these people find it funny, maybe people online will enjoy it too." Last September during Silver Week, I suddenly remembered it and uploaded it—and this is what happened (laughs).

Nishimuta: Was it just "Facebook Police" at first?

Kappy: "Facebook Police," " Fashion King Beat! ", and " The Legend of the Super Angry Person "!

Nishimuta: When the Kayac folks thought "Oh, that's cool," was that because of the prevailing vibe that light content was popular? You once described yourself as a light content creator, right? Like, if manga in magazines like "Jump" were ramen shops, you'd be more like a cup noodle maker?

Kappy: I think my manga is incredibly advertising-like. When web content gets published as a book, it doesn't sell well. Everyone simplistically says, "It's because you can read it for free online, right?" But apparently, sales of "Black Jack ni Yoroshiku" actually increased the moment all the chapters became available for free online. So I don't think "free to read = people won't buy it."

I think it's probably about the level of engagement as a medium. The vibe when you're casually scrolling Twitter in the car or on the toilet, thinking "This manga is hilarious!" is different from the vibe when you excitedly bring home the new One Piece volume, get home, grab some chips, and read it. That difference in engagement is probably why they don't sell. Both are valid as content, but there's a difference in whether you want to keep it physically.

On the other hand, I think the strength of my manga is that when people realize, "Oh, it's just an ad manga," they often accept it positively. I think that sense of distance works well with advertising. That's precisely why mine is "light content." I don't think all web-published manga is light content. Conversely, I'm sure there are manga in magazines that feel light too; it's not inherently light just because it's web-based.

Nishimuta: So the perspective depends on the user, right?

Kappy: I consciously decided to proudly declare, "This is light content," and I realized that approach allows for more creative ways to market both the books and the manga itself.

 

Company "Natsuyasumi" is both a content creator and an advertising agency.

Nishimuta: So you're publishing two books simultaneously in July? That's incredible speed.

Kappy: We're currently considering putting real advertisements inside the books and want to pitch that business opportunity. Since this hasn't started yet, we're lucky to be able to announce it first in Dentsu Inc. News (laughs). We're recruiting for ad slots in " SNS Police" and " Oshaya Sommelier! Oshako! ", so please consider it!

Like, "Anyone want to sponsor the smartphone case Oshako's holding?" Or find sponsors for the Police's smartphones or hats. My manga is a bit unusual in that "people don't mind the ads." It's more like, "Oh, it's an ad? But well done!" Rather than "Ads? Don't mess with me," a lot of people actually think "Well done," which made me really happy. So I want to use that vibe as much as possible. Like in movies, if manga props got sponsors, it would be a fresh take for books, right?

Nishimuta: That sales approach is interesting.

Kappy: I'm not outstanding at either manga or advertising, but when I combined the two, they worked surprisingly well together. I think there aren't actually that many people who can draw advertising manga. Hiring a famous manga artist would likely make for good advertising, but I haven't seen many people who can properly plan from the concept stage and translate it into manga specifically for advertising.

Nishimuta: That's true. So, Natsuyasumi isn't just a content creator, it's also an advertising agency. You handle all these different roles yourself.

Kappy: Exactly. That's why our business description is simply "Manga and Advertising." So, I consider everything related to manga and advertising to be within our scope of work.

 

This isn't an era where we seriously discuss things with straight faces just to aim for "going viral."

Nishimuta: You also put a lot of thought into how you distribute content, right? I'd like to hear about the approach to creating content that resonates on social media and the key points of the projects you strategically incorporate. Do you use different media platforms when distributing content?

Kappy: This might be a bit off-topic, but what I'm thinking about now is that we're moving beyond an era where we seriously discuss "going viral" itself—or rather, where we're starting to poke fun at the concept. I started a serialization in SPA! titled " Buzzman." It's a manga about a web production company desperately trying to create viral hits. I feel like the very act of frantically chasing "going viral" is starting to become a joke in itself.

Nishimuta: That's a bit ironic coming from Kappy (laughs).

Kappy: Yeah. Because numbers are pretty much meaningless. I guess that's why nobody says it—there are too many people who'd be upset if you said that. Does going viral mean it sells? Does it really get people to sign up for the service?

Retweets happen when people see something catchy in the article title and think, "Oh, this is funny," so they retweet it. But the content you're genuinely interested in? You get so absorbed reading it that you forget to share it. When you think about it like that, I wonder if people are really even looking at that content that goes viral super fast and spreads like wildfire. Lately, I've been thinking we shouldn't just swallow numbers whole.

I'm currently drawing a manga called "Left-Handed Ellen," which captures the serious side of the advertising industry. The number of Twitter posts with comments is surprisingly high. The numbers on the social counter are lower than "Facebook Police." But I'm happier when the percentage of readers reacting individually is higher.

What matters more than how many people praised it is what they said when they praised it. I believe good content is content that makes even one more person think, "Whoa, this crosses some line, I gotta say something about this."

Nishimuta: I sometimes feel the same way while working. When numerical evaluation takes precedence, it makes me wonder, "Did it really resonate as an experience?" It feels off, doesn't it?

Of course, we aim to maximize numbers, but I'd like to see other metrics too.

Kappy: Also, I think we'll see more unique content that isn't universally accessible—like manga only viewable by 10,000 people, or manga only available late at night. Time-limited editions could be interesting too.
While we're often hired purely as advertising manga, we're starting to get more unconventional projects too. Things like branching manga or ones with personality quizzes built in—I feel there are all sorts of ways to approach it.