How do I become a Manga Artist in Japan

I come up with a powerful manga story and I really really want to get my stuff published by a manga company. I look up to Masashi Kishimoto the manga artist to Naruto and have him acknowlegde my art work as a level of his ^ ^. But. thats hard to belive. so I need to find a way to get this dream started. First step...? ah.. I dont know. interviews

I don't read Manga much any more, but I suppose there're two way to be a manga artist.

1. To win Manga rookie awards of Japanese publishers
I don't know how many Manga magazines here in Japan, maybe millions of magazines.
And each company hold their contests.
Following is the award of Shueisha publishing Shukan Shonen Jump

http://jump.shueisha.co.jp/henshu/manga/index.html

Each magazine has different readers, the difference would age, gender or whatever.

2. To become a assistant of Manga artist
When you read Japanese, you can find artists who wish to recruit their assistants.

http://homepage2.nifty.com/tekitou/

In either way, I suppose you need your drawing technique and Japanese skill.

Hope I can read your manga in a magazine in the future.

1) Learn to draw anime
2) become japanese

dude i can relate! i want to become a manga artist too.I think the best way to do it is to win a contest or start as an assistant.

John,

Do you speak fluent Japanese, and is your manga in natural-sounding Japanese? The Japanese see too many "great stories" to go out of their way to translate yours. You'll have to do it yourself.

With all of the manga submitted by the Japanese people, do you think that a manga editor would want to bother with someone as potentially troublesome as a westerner? Especially on Japanese-style deadlines?

You say you have a story. Everybody has a story. What have you done about it? Have you tried to get published in your home country? Have you managed to make publishing deadlines for a number of years? Have you proved your professionalism?

Looking beyond the potential language barrier, Japanese publishers expect a completed (written, drawn, and inked) story every week, and at first you will get no help. You have to do it alone. You have to be able to take direction from your editor. And you can't flake out. The only authors who are allowed to flake are top-selling manga artists. All others are thrown onto the already-crowded manga rubbish heap.

If you really want to try, my suggestion is to try to get into a Japanese college, and while you're there, write dojinshi. Take a new, long-form dojinshi to the Comic Market two times every year like clockwork. At least that way, you'll have something to show to potential editors (and you'll get some crucial language practice).

Good luck.

There is an excellent article you and anyone else with the same idea should
read:

The Hard Realities of Make-Believe

In anime, the hours are long and the pay paltry.
But for many Japanese, it's still a dream job

by Colin Joyce in the Los Angeles Times. Mar 24, 2004.
pg. A.6

You can read it by either going to a large city library and reading it off its microfilm files, or you can pay US$3 for the article, or read an online post of it at
http://forums.yellowworld.org/showthread.php?t=14910

Has a foreigner ever become a published manga artist in Japan?

Be realistic. The chances of you getting yourself published are damn near astronomical. If you spoke fluent Japanese and had contacts within the industry you stand a chance ... but otherwise you're chasing a pie in the sky dream.

why do u want to be a manga artist i like the idea of u having this dream,
but im huge fan of manga, why?
becuase they are done by japanese people if we see more westerns do mangas it will be like erasing the samurai from japan again.
i just think that it is a japanese culture and let them do that.
but if u still want to go ahead i dont encourage u and i would hate to see u achieve it but good luck.

If it is something you really want to do I can respect that. Luan, what you have said is like me telling my friend that she cannot design fashion in America because people like American fashion designed by Americans, if it were so it would be extremely limited.

So i say, if it is want you want to do and you think it needs to be done in Japan, study hard and try many ways to reach that goal, you should speak Japanese but eventually you can get there! Dont give up because some Americans won't appreciate manga for what it is and only care about who writes it. Many Japanese would love to read western written mangas! and all manga sells better to fans in Japan than in America, believe it or not. Don't let immature or jealous people bring you down, if its what you want just go for it and you can make it. If people dont respect your dreams, just walk away from those kind of people.

Get your work out there, at first I reccomend what is... Doujinshi? So you will have fans without a publisher.. then if you're good you will slowly rise to the top. I wish you have the best luck!

I for one would love to see more westerners draw manga. (I'm not an American by the way) It should not be limmited to the japanese people because I think that westerners have a lot to contribute to it. Why don't you just copy the author of Bizenghast? Do what she did. I don't think you have to go to Japan.

Good Luck
Angelvamp

Has a foreigner ever become a published manga artist in Japan?

Acutally yes, several westerners have. Kodansha recruited them. But they were all previously published artists who did western comics; they weren't very successful in Japan, and all of them eventually went back to do comics in their home countries again.

maybe you guys did't known, but live in america and dreaming to be an manga artist is not an bad ideas. (1)international market. (2)load of international writes/artist find their way to united state. for whom want to be an manga artist call me or go to tokyopop check it out urself. good luck.

I support your dream! And this is because, I too want to become a manga artist! I love to draw, I love anime and I have created my own manga. And I want to find out how to "Get it out there"

im sorry to here of your dream ,but it is very hard in this buisness. but i bett that u could make it if u tried yur best.

best of luck,
masashi

i hav the sammmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

thouths and dreams,
!!!!!!!!!!!

judah,

If you want to get it in Japan, you're going to have to be able to speak Japanese.

However, I can tell you one thing; there is such thing as publishing it in America. (you do live in America, right?)

Manga and Anime is becoming very popular in America, actually, it IS popular.

Try visiting TokyoPop's website. You can submit your manga to them, and if they like what they see, they'll publish it.

TokyoPop is pretty popular, too, so chances are it'll sell.

Also, it doesn't just have to be a manga. You can ask if they'll take your skills instead. You can be an artist or a writer for them instead.

Or another good thing to do is publish it yourself, it may be harder, but it's worth a shot.

Create a website with information of your manga. Go to anime conventions and join anime forums, spread word of your manga and your website and people may buy it. Maybe even try getting a couple magazines to spread word of it (maybe like, Animerica or something).

And who knows? If it gets really, really popular in the US, you can translate it in different languages and send it to different countries. But that's a far way off.

I hope nobody said this already...

Good Luck.

Manga artists are just like normal people. with lots of talent. i hope your dream comes true....

I am just like you i wish to becom a manga artist someday,but we need to do certain things first! The onlyb way i think is to learn japanese,eat,japanese,breathe japanese, live japanese. and of coarse move there. masashi kishimoto! we need help!

hi.ihave posted in this site a year ago and i also want to be a manga artist!!dont hear all those people that try to discourage you.you must believe in yourself and try hard and eventually good things will come in your way.i personaly dont think that japanese people dont want foreign artists to work in their country in this job.every single person has a chance in this world and everyone has the right to chase his own dream.i want also to go to japan and become a manga artist and work there.from watcing anime i have been taught many things and one of them is never giving up my dreams.so japan itself has encouraged me to chase my dreams through the animes and the messages that they pass.i wish you succeed in it and be a famous mangaka!and im sure that japanese people will help you to achieve your goal!!someday i hope that i will succeed too and make a manga that will show many things to this world...!one thing is for sure...if you dont do what you like in this life you will be sad for ever.and if you dont try you will never know what would have happened...so whats the deal dieing trying...if you realy have wanted that so much and tried hard i dont think this world will turn its back to you it would be realy unfair...and they are not all the people in this world unfair...!!!!!!!!!!!

best wishes!!just try

That's an awsome dream you have! I'm working on my own manga,also,and I thought I was having the same problem as you.:) you see,I live in Canada,can't speak fluent japanese etc. But if you work hard,and beleive in yourself---your dream will eventually come true ;) the best advice I can give you is: try to get your manga/comic book published in your own country,try to get it out in your local comic book store,try to get a stand at comic book conventions,make lot's of copies and give them to your friends,family,people you know,internet buddies etc.and in the mean time,try to take japanese-speaking lessons,learn as much words as you can and....go to Japan!
You'll have that to fall back on if you can't get it published
in your country.There are also
manga contests online (I think :o)
Well,Good luck,my fellow manga-ka!
~Mordred's Mistress