"It's not selling": Himouto! Umaru-chan author begs fans to read his new manga

The manga industry can be extremely cruel, and even having reached the top with international success does not guarantee survival for your next project. This is the bitter pill that Sankaku Head is currently swallowing; the renowned mangaka behind the hit comedy Himouto! Umaru-chan recently took to social media in an act of pure desperation to plead with the public to give his new work a chance following an imminent sales disaster.

A commercial stumble that hurts deeply

Currently, the author is publishing the series Boku no Ma Namusume in Spirit magazine, a tender story centered on the daily life of a father and his daughter. However, the reported numbers are catastrophic. In a recent post, the artist bluntly confessed that his manga "is not selling at all." Industry estimates indicate that out of an ambitious print run of 100,000 copies, he barely managed to sell about 4,000. Faced with this bleak outlook, the creator went as far as begging netizens—stating they don't even have to buy the physical volumes; he simply asked them to find a way to read it and share their opinions online to generate some traction.

The shadow of an impossible success to surpass

This massive slump in his career contrasts brutally with the more than three million copies he sold with the antics of the hamster girl. The community has responded to his call by pointing out that while his art style remains adorable, the new plot lacks depth. Added to this is the emotional weight of his past, as the author revealed on his YouTube channel (which is also currently suffering from very low views) that the hyperactive protagonist of his biggest hit was inspired by his younger sister, who unfortunately passed away in her twenties. A story that reminds us of the immense pressure creatives face when trying to replicate a worldwide phenomenon.

Seeing how ruthless the Japanese publishing market can be in the modern era, do you think authors who achieve great success become trapped in fan expectations and are unfairly punished when they try to create different stories?