I speculate that there might be some sort of spectrum of the honorifics to use
for manga-ka/anime directors.

For example, I think one might be able to get away with addressing younger,
and more, for lack of a better word, lively, producers like Yamada-kun and the
Seven Witches' Miki Yoshikawa and Hiro Mashima with -san. However, I feel that
-san doesn't do justice for people like Hayao Miyazaki or Akira Toriyama, who
created works that many of us regard as classics or masterpieces that have
influenced other manga-ka/anime producers very heavily. And then there are
people I feel lie in between the two bounds like Eiichiro Oda and Masashi
Kishimoto, who are in their own right, very successful, but can't be cited for
nearly as much influence as the aforementioned two.

That being said, under what Japanese honorific should manga/anime fans address
manga-ka/anime directors?
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politeness culture honorifics
Under what Japanese honorific should manga/anime fans address manga-ka/anime directors?
They are directors, and therefore can be referred to with -kantoku (監督,
director) as a suffix in place of other honorifics.

Example: Intro to [this
interview](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwLJDPmfusg)

> 1999年9月、もののけ姫の全米公開先立ち **宮崎監督** は北米大陸を旅することになりました。

[Another example from an interview with someone directly addressing him as
宮崎監督](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7KL8Jo1d6DE).

This also works for people who are presidents of companies among other job-
specific titles. See [articles like
this](http://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/business_tokushu/2016_0720.html):

> 巨額買収のねらいは「パラダイムシフト」という **孫正義社長** に聞きました
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It's common to use the word 「先生」 for honorifically referring artists (incl.
manga and anime), as well as teachers and doctors.

Example: [wikipedia
article](https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E9%AB%98%E6%A9%8B%E7%95%99%E7%BE%8E%E5%AD%90)
あだちは、自身が少年誌にこだわる理由として「高橋 **先生** の存在が大きい」と述べている

I have also heard this in 月刊少女野崎くん, and similar.

You can also use the word 監督 for anime directors, but I believe that 先生 is
more polite.
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