Manga artists amused to find de-censored pirate copies of their work which leave nothing to the imagination
Unauthorized sharing and reproduction of manga on websites is an issue that impacts many manga artists. However, BL (Boy’s Love) manga artist Sattsu Kida got a particularly blush-worthy surprise upon finding bootleg reposting of their work which left nothing to the imagination.
Responding to a post on X calling for surefire entertaining stories, Kida recounts, “I was surprised to discover that my manga had been reposted without permission by someone overseas. But as I flicked through the pages, I discovered that they had drawn in the blanked-out parts, even more dramatically than what I had in mind”
Manga censorship
In erotic scenes in BL and yaoi manga, male private parts are often censored out in white. Interestingly, Kida’s story kicked off a discussion in which posters revealed that the reason behind using white instead of black to blank out the naughty bits was so that the reader can easily draw in the censored parts to match their own preferences (a trend which dates back to 80s gay magazines). The illegal reposters of Sattsu Kida’s manga seem to have taken this as a “call to action,” making the characters so well-endowed that even the original artist was surprised.
Other manga artists added their own stories of discovering illegal reposts of their work. Manga artist Hasu had a similar experience of having their work uncensored, “It was so detailed that I thought they had found some way to remove the white-out.” Although Kida’s story was posted as an amusing anecdote, it also highlights the piracy issues that manga artists face.
