🌍 Young artists in Zimbabwe who taught themselves manga by studying Japanese comics are now trying to break into Japan's publishing world, powered by NFT sales and crowdfunding. From a Forbes "30 Under 30" honoree to an 18-year-old student, three African creators are aiming for a debut in Japan. Just how far has manga's influence reached?

From Africa to Japan: A Dream Carried by Manga

In Zimbabwe, a landlocked country in Southern Africa, Japanese manga and anime have become a genuine phenomenon among young people. In the capital, Harare, a subculture event called "OTAKUKON" regularly draws hundreds to over a thousand attendees for cosplay, manga, and anime. Volunteers from Japan's JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency) have joined in too, making it a real grassroots exchange between the two countries.

Among these manga-loving young Zimbabweans are a few who have spent years teaching themselves to draw, inspired by the Japanese works they grew up on. Their shared dream is to debut as manga artists in Japan. A project launched in January 2026, the "NFT Manga Project in Africa," is trying to bring that dream within reach.

An Unlikely Alliance of Publisher and Blockchain

The project pairs Jitsugyo no Nihon Sha, a 128-year-old Japanese publishing house (through its Rights and Business Development Division), and Jitsugyo no Nihon Digital with CAICA Financial Holdings, which runs the curated NFT marketplace "Zaif INO." The Embassy of Zimbabwe in Japan has helped coordinate, giving the effort a public-private dimension.

Combining publishing know-how with blockchain technology produces an approach quite different from the usual publisher-led process. Funding comes from supporters through NFT purchases and crowdfunding, and if the targets are met, publication in Japan is confirmed. It is a participatory model in which readers help decide whether a book gets made.

Three Artists, Three Stories

The three were chosen through an open call at Zimbabwe's OTAKUKON event, where 12 creators applied and three passed the selection.

Bill Masuku: An Artist the World Already Knows

Masuku worked as a storyboard artist on Iwájú, the Emmy-nominated animated series from Disney and Kugali, and was named to Forbes Africa's "30 Under 30." His self-published Tokoloshe Hunters hit 485% of its Kickstarter goal.

His project work, Beanstalkking!! — Faith is a weapon!, takes place in a world where "FAITH" itself serves as energy. Nyami Nyami, the fish-serpent deity of Zimbabwean lore, appears as a towering mech, and a boy who holds no faith is pulled into the fight. It's a sci-fi mecha action story built on myths from across Africa.

wimpy nine: A Storyteller of Feeling

This young Zimbabwean discovered Japanese manga and anime as a child and drew short comics for friends throughout high school. He has no commercial publishing track record, but he has spent years developing a voice rooted in African folklore and myth.

His work Ngano — Dead Shaman unfolds in a world where the living and the dead are firmly separated. A man who dies protecting his wife is forced to choose whether to come back as an immortal shaman. It's a dark fantasy that turns on love and the price of holding onto it.

Tash: An 18-Year-Old Drawing Hope Out of Darkness

An 18-year-old student from Harare who also goes by "Artslayer," Tash works in a cool, detailed style with a dark edge that somehow still pushes you forward. His message is simple: strength comes from within, even at the worst of times.

His work Nightslasher is a battle story set in a neon-soaked metropolis. An orphan raised in harsh circumstances grows stronger as he reckons with the power inside him and a rival bound to him by fate.

Two Ways to Pitch In

Supporters can choose how they want to back the artists.

The CAMPFIRE crowdfunding plan offers approachable rewards such as advance reading access and name credits in the published manga. It uses a "step-up" structure: the first goal is digital publication across roughly 200 online stores, with print as a later stage depending on how things go.

The Zaif INO NFT plan lets supporters own digital illustrations as NFTs and join holder-only communities. If publication happens, NFT holders receive royalties tied to the manga's sales, giving the plan an investment angle as well. Credit card payment is supported, so no crypto wallet is needed to take part.

Africa's Growing Manga Scene

Behind this project is a wider boom in manga and anime culture across Africa. Beyond Zimbabwe, countries including Ghana, Nigeria, Cameroon, and South Africa are developing their own comic cultures shaped by Japanese manga.

In Zimbabwe, a creator collective called "Afro Tokyo" produces a manga anthology, Kalabash, and a volunteer team in Japan called "Afro Tokyo Japan" works to introduce African manga to Japanese readers. The Kyoto International Manga Museum ran an African manga exhibition from 2023 into 2024, and Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs International Manga Award has drawn entries and winners from African nations. Japanese manga helped seed a new generation of artists in Africa, and now their work is heading back toward Japan.

How NFTs Reshape Creator Support

Overseas creators hoping to publish manga in Japan have long faced steep barriers: language, unfamiliar business customs, and the difficulty of raising money. This project treats NFTs and crowdfunding as practical tools for getting past them.

The NFT Manga Project has existed for a while as a way to back domestic Japanese artists, but this is the first time it has reached African creators. By turning readers from buyers into active participants who help determine whether publication goes ahead, it points to a new kind of relationship between artists and their audience.

Will African Stories Land With Japanese Readers?

Opinions on NFTs and crowdfunding run in every direction. Even so, what this project shows clearly is that technology can serve as a tool for supporting creators across borders. How Japanese readers will respond to stories grounded in African myth and culture is the open question, and the answer will start to come into focus once the books are actually published.

In your country, what systems exist to help international creators get published? And what do you make of using NFTs and crowdfunding to support artists across borders? We'd love to hear from you.

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