How do I become a Manga Artist in Japan

Dear John,

After reading your question I can only come up with this; are you sure you are speaking of a manga? Showing me that you have a story in mind have potential artistic talents, nothing stops you from publishing in your own country, the reason you don't see many foreigners in the Japanese manga industry is the difference between culture.

All i can say to you is to stick to your own country because that is what you would understand at best. If you where to write a manga. Depending on your state of mind and understanding cultural, difference or logic. Only Genius would see and be capaple of writing stories or drawing the feelings of a different country.

I am one of the few who manage to cross the line of being a foreigner and capable of living in japan with a working visa under ''artist''. I have seen a lot of peers failing, it is hard to get into this demand. Japanese and Foreigners that currently work in japan do not want to help out ''competition''. Japanese are strong very strong went if comes on pretty much every thing they good at.

If you do not have these, best getting it or forget about being a manga artist outside your country.
1.Fluent in Japaneses
2.Cultural understanding
3.connection
4.charisma
5.Mentally strong
5.The main one would be a very well developed sense of ''logic/understanding''.

Final note: I hope to see you or others in these years. There are not many, and I always welcome foreigners manga artist when I see them in my office. But, so far I only saw 2 that where not Japanese so, I hope you do your best. Sorry for my English, I don't write in English these days anymore and I tend to come on these forums to keep it.

Cya

John has made some pretty good points. You need to be highly fluent in Japanese. That means, you must be able to read, write and speak the japanese language (though the type of japanese dailect varies). Publishers won't go out of their way for you, if you aren't a highly known artist of some sort. Matter fact, it has been highly commented (but never proven) that Western comic artist that wish to work in the Japanese comic industry are usually put in the bottom of the list. Not sure if this is true or not, since you only hear biast opinions on forums and such. Well then, after you have learned your Japanese, naturally, make sure you comic is superb. I don't just mean, "hmm, pretty good its not bad to look at." I mean seriously astounding, making editors want to do a double take on your works of art. Basically that's the luckiest way to do it. That means getting chatty with Shueshi editors and such, either by frequents or the more eco friendly, and pocket friendly, internet. Plus, you have to enter various manga contests in Shueisu making your name known. Also, I know everyone loves Shonen Jump, but have you heard of Tokyo Pop? The American company version offers Westerners like us, to actually get your manga publish (with talent), giving you three volumes for a short story. That means publish and popularity. I would assume that if your three volumes of work sells like hotcakes, then they would offer you a contract of sorts. You can do this by going to conventions that Tokyo Pop will be at or other comic book companies (like Marvel). Basically, get your name out there by whatever artistic needs. You can even start off with Marvel or even Disney (they are naturally known world wide). If you want more information in a easy to read way, check out the manga Bakuman. That gives you the best of the best information about becoming a manga artist (minus all the compelling yet not so needed drama)

hello everyone I just signed up here but I have one question.

it's an obvious question,how can I become a manga artist in japan?,the thing is I am from the middle east and apparently there aren't any places where I can submit my manga and plus, manga is considered for children here,I always wanted to become a manga artist but I can't become one here cause there aren't any manga artists living in the middle east,I have been practicing drawing manga and learning how speak and read japanese for 2 years now, but I can't become a manga artist because it means I have leave to my famliy and live in japan(which I don't mind),so I am always stuck with the decision to either leave my dream and make it a hobby and find a job or live in japan learn japanese and try my best to become a manga artist.are there any one who is in the same position as me?

Being a manga artist is quite of a dream for any anime / japanese fan. It surely seem like a fun start off to a courier filled with drawing and exposing your thoughts, however if you cannot cope, that is it.

Knowing the typical Japanese "workstyle", there is no such thing as late. If you are a procrastinator like myself, it'll be a hell for you. And drawing will soon turn into something you probably wish you never had.

I honestly respect you dream, because I had the same thoughts about the future. However, I figured I'd toss it aside, because I thought I'd rather have a more luxurious future. Manga artists are just normal humans, maybe splashed with more abstract and conceptual thinking, and an outstanding talent.

Personally, I am a hobby artist, and I love the way you can always draw out your thoughts, and how alot of people praise and take notice of you. However, everything has its limit, and if it ever gets to you as an artist on a deadline, its a horrid thing to experience.

Also, it is crucial that you have to be extremely flexible with drawing body proportions, facial features, different types of people and every typle of people, backgrounds, mechanics, animals or to put it simply, have the ability to completely transfer your thoughts into these black inked panels and story it from there. If you cant, or lack a skill in some variety, its either you get back to the drawing board, or you'll have to change the story.

I've had bad experiences with that...

I do not discourage anyone with their dream, not even to a stranger like you. I sincerely respect the thought of wanting to be with another's culture.

Tokyo pop and Seven seas, tokyo pop for american and seven seas for europe, both had non japanese manga publishers. I suggest you go look them up.

Stop whining you cowards! It's not "really hard" "Impossible" to get your manga published if your not japanese! It's just that americans do not think the same way that japanese do so they can't make a story as good as they make, but if you make a good story and draw well, theres nothing stopping you! Belive it, the internet transfers news massively, and if you post a preview of your manga somewhere if it's really good, very fast it will become very popular and soon you'l land a deal. It doesn't matter if you don't speak japanese. They wanna earn money on you, and if your manga is popular, they ain't gonna waste a good oportunity because your not from japan,
so buckle up cause your going for a glorious ride my friend!

Well, what I think is that it's never too late......I mean, you could spend some of your life learning japanese, and then you can turn to manga. The thing is, you're not the only one. I'm a 15 - year old indian, i used to live in Canada but for some reason, we moved back and despite having a canadian citizenship, I wanna go to Japan instead. And you should feel lucky, because there is almost no scope for manga in India here. My suggestion for you is to try and enter Japan on the technology or corporate front. After they teach you japanese, try making an original japanese manga.

You can also try submitting your work to the 4th International Manga contest. It's open to all countries and can be written in either English or Japanese. The Gold and Silver winners (1 - 1st place; 3 - 2nd place) will be intived to Japan for 10 days for the awards ceremony.

http://www.mofa.go.jp/announce/event/2010/4/0405_01.html

Honestly, there are plenty of Americans that dream of being manga artist. They practice, and practice their art until they are satisfied with the way they are then.

Like lots of people that have probably read this thread before, it would be absolutely wonderful if I were given a chance in this industry. I love everything about the Japanese culture, their art, their imagination, everything. So I'd love it if they were to accept me and my artwork as well.

Do you're best and just keep moving forward. I'll try to do the same.
-Kajiwara

Hummmm... I think it is a japanese thing, but ther is always a first, I want to see some american mangas(I don't like our comics), you see all these videos on people who could become great but they eventually become down because of others telling them they can't or shouldn't do it. I like to draw and I can't imagine how hard it would be to have the pressure of a manga artist, but if you If you do start an american manga business, you could become legend.

gotta tell ya, I have the same thing goin' on here. :I
don't get discouraged by the lack of positive comments, I'm 12, and I don't care about what other ppl think. that's just their opinion.

1) take japanise lessons! my sis is studying it, so i don't need to worry about that. it's actually more fun than it sounds.

2) find a site where you can publish your manga.
I would brush up on your art, though, it can be pretty ugly. (lol, i typed an oximoron.)

you need to have fans in THIS country first, otherwise, people won't know who the hell you are and you'll get turned down.

3) move to japan. go online, find a mangazine, (manga magazine) and send your art! ooor, you could become an assistant for an artist if you're not feeling up to it. :/

good luck!!!!

Somehow it�Ls amusing and little bit sad to see all these underage kids from all around the world speaking how they are going to be manga artists. Let me tell you that dreaming in comfy home versus the reality are quite far away. Of course it�Ls great to have ambitions but don�Lt know how to react when 12-15 year old kids are so sure what they are going to be... Maybe astronaut and sports celebrity aren�Lt the dreamjobs any more ;)
Best of luck to all of you but let�Ls see what are your opinions 5 years from now on.

Fly to Japan. Find job. Draw Manga in spare-time. Sell to people. Good job, you did it! High five!

Dream: Break into the Japanese manga industry using your "unique" story-telling and Manga-influenced drawing techniques, use your status as a foreigner to become an overnight hit and focus of intrigue from Japanese readers - i.e. the novelty card, make a manga as big a hit as Naruto and One Piece, etc.
Reality: Too much competition in Japan even among Japanese let alone an unrecognized foreigner of any creed (even Stan Lee is not that well known in Japan), Manga-style or Manga-influenced comics despite being recognized as Japanese products are just a style -- culture is the key, etc.

Take the above and shove it under your shoe. I think many of the dissuasive posts above are focused towards mangaka hopefuls who want to be in the mainstream right away. Not impossible, but highly unlikely. The "unlikely" part is what stops would-be foreign mangaka dead in their tracks and keeps them locked in the "wish in one hand-" phase. If you want to make a manga for Japan or anywhere, then all you need is a pencil, paper and ACTION. Like many previous posts, you'll come under a lot of fire from people saying how impossible it is. No Japanese language, culture, industry contacts = No manga, blah blah. Yes, there are (very) many factors and standards that set up barriers to the Japanese manga industry from abroad as well as within that you need to be aware of. Having said that, if you have the will and talent to do so, CHANGE the standards: start small, use the Internet, blog your work, appeal to new markets (audiences & genres), ask for someone to translate for free, make connections, etc. Keep telling your stories! Honestly, the industry could use some new blood from afar...

I also share the dream of creating a manga, or should I say a a comic book with a manga influence? Oh well, that's a whole new subject altogether. I think that you have to ask yourself the question, "what do I have to offer them (the publisher/the fans)?" I see a lot of comments on here about westerners having to learn about Japanese customs in order to write a good enough manga. I don't think that this is necessarily true. I don't know about manga, but a lot of anime (the popular and interesting kind) are based in worlds that are NOT Japanese. For example, FullMetal Alchemist, Record of Lodoss War, Princess TuTu, Cowboy Bebop, Trigun, and Wolf's Rain (the last three are made by Studio Bones, I think). My point is, you can create a manga that has nothing to do with living in Japan or being a Japanese student moving from the country to the city or being a samurai on a mission. One of the best pieces of advice I have ever heard about writing a story is this: WRITE WHAT YOU KNOW. If you are writing a story about samurai but don't know if samurai were active in the edo period or the meji period or whatever period (cause I sure don't, but I loved Ruroni Kenshin regardless of not knowing when it took place) then you should either find out for the sake of accuracy or base your story on something you DO know. I think this could be one of the reasons why many aspiring western manga-ka fail: because they are writing about something they don't know. The Japanese (I can only guess) were raised knowing their own history just like westerners were, so they are going to write more accurate and believable stories about shrine priestesses and fox spirits (I also watch a lot of Inuyasha, as you've probably guessed) than a westerner because they know their own customs more deeply than an outsider who has only read about them on Wikipedia. :-)
But back to what you have to offer. The reason why a lot of westerners love manga is because it is so different from what we grew up with (American comics). I love batman and superman and the whole crew but I just don't see the depth in comics as I do in manga. And that is why I prefer manga to comics, for the most part. So wouldn't it be safe to say that the Japanese could also start getting tired of their own stories and start reading something else? Say, like OUR comics? Once you write your excitingly fresh and new story with a western twang to it, you might find that there is an audience just begging for something like that. And BOOM! You've got yourself a fan-base. A niche market that only YOU have tapped into. Why? Because you took the risk of writing a manga based on your own experiences (not that of a Japanese native, but the experiences of a gaijin). My advice is that you incorporate your manga- based art style (detailed artwork and interesting panel layouts and angles) and storytelling techniques( deep dialogue and lovable, relatable characters; a story with a definite beginning and ending; and the occasional whacky, offbeat manga humor that we all love) into your own unique piece of work that is something that fans can relate to because they recognize it as manga, but also unique in that it is something that they've never seen before and will inevitably flock to.
I know that what I've just written sounds vague and very much like a too-good-to-be-true pipe dream but I really believe that this is the best way to go when it comes to creating your story. As for becoming a manga artist in Japan, I would say that you should hone your craft in the country you are in (go to conventions, put your work on deviant art, enter contests) and once you become a little well-known, even if by a small fan-base, you will have created for yourself a portfolio, contacts, and experience. Then it would be that much easier to get your foot in the door with the manga publishers.At least, that what I believe.

Damn, my post is long! I didn't realize that I was talking everyone's ear off, or that a made a few grammatical errors
(I'm very nit-picky about spelling).
I forgot to wish you (all of you) luck in trying to become manga artists. It IS possible. I know of two foreign artists who are in Japan now live the dream (or nightmare as some might see it) of working for a manga studio. Ones, Jamie Lano is working as an assistant and the other, Felipe Smith is working on his own manga, I think. His art style is, in my opinion, very different from the manga style, and has an American feel to it. I like him because of this, and also, he;s a Jamarican like me! :-D
So yeah, keep your head up and try your best. You don't know what can happen for you in life if you don't try to live out your dreams. I hope to see you aspiring manga-kas in the future and when we're poor (or maybe rich?) and eating top ramen everyday for two years and sleeping under our desks and living in a small tokyo apartment, we can all hang out and talk about when we were asking for and leaving advice on online forums like this one. Then we can make a toast with our cup noodles and say, "we're living the dream."

Ok, i'm a girl with the age of 14, i want to become a manga artist [which is obivious].


QUESTIONS:

1) So people from America can become manga artists [I think] so what about people from London [?] because i live there...

2) I'm an asian [not from Japan] who lives in London, so can i become a Japanese manga artist if i get married with a Japanese man ?

3) What is the age rate of becoming a manga artist and quitting manga artist [like you're too old to get a job becoming a manga artist]
- For Example: From age: 18 to 60.


And even if people who can't become manga artists you can try becoming a comic artist or a novelist or something, i don't know... But the best is to not give up.

Only Japanese people can become manga artist shows how "judgement" still walks the earth. Well even if only Japanese people have high potential to become a manga artist then people from other places like America will keep struggling "I never give up... I never go back on my word... thats the way of the ninja!" I've also seen lots of people wanting to become a manga artist who are not from Japan... but "We shouldn't worry about being able to achieve our dreams, as long as we have the desire to do it" right ?

But to tell you the truth i don't care if i fail to become a manga artist... but i will, i'm sure. And all i want to do by being a manga artist is show my feelings by a manga book and make people sad when i am, smile when i'm happy ...

I actually want to work in Shonen Jump and make mangas but if i cant then it's fine, like i said i don't care..., I also want to thanks Masashi Kishimoto and Eiichiro Oda to make me want to become a manga artist. Naruto and One Piece gave me hope and they both have many things common with my life. Like loneliness, sad past, impossible dreams, freedom and lots.

But i also read that no one from America or other countries, except for Japan, has never become manga artists ? Is it true ? If it is than it's quite exciting that no one did, so it basically means that there is still space for someone to become the first. Now that's where the challenge BEGINS ! For the people who are trying to become manga artists and are not Japanese, Let's Try Our Best !

I have already planned my dream and the main half of it is going to be in Japan where i try to become a manga artist. I'm 14, i still have time i guess so i'll try speaking, listening, learning and writing Japanese, i'm good at anime sketch, i have already made some of my manga stories/plots. But this dream is quite impossible for me since my parents want me to become a doctor [yet i refuse] and i'm a lazy, careless, boring, stupid sort of person... like i can't even do the multiplication table of 3 [true story]. So it is quite impossible, but i'll try pumping up.

End.

John! Don't let people put you down! I mean I�fm all for freedom of opinion �ebut when someone�fs say to you �gI don�ft want you�fre dream to come true�h that�fs just horrible! I share you�fre dream! Even if you can't get work in Japan try companies like Tokyopop! There is an author, Svetlana Chmakova. She was born in Russia and moved to Canada at sixteen! She is now a publish artist and writer with Tokyo pop!! Work hard, believe in you�fre self and you�fll get there!! And maybe when you do you can give others who share the dream some advice, i know i'd apreshate it! ^ ^ GOOD LUCK!!!!!!

I too wish to become a manga artist, but beleive the best way would be not to publish an individual manga but either join the team of an already established manga or company.

Or optionally, if your story is really good, an alternative to learning Japanese would be to get in contact with TokyoPop or Shonen Jump as they do heavy publishing in England and the US, and so your manga (if it became popular) could be translated by someone else

I am drawing every day and I think that if I show my drawings to Masashi Kishimoto, he would like them. I have a story rote and I like it. I just rote a letter to TOTOKYO that I think will help. So if you want to become a Mangaka like me then just try what im doing. =)

go for it! all that talk about it bein impossible, bs.anything is possible! follow your dreams. theres a poster in my math class that says ''shoot for the moon, even if you miss you`ll land among the stars''. i keep trying to write a ''good enough to show people'' manga. most end up in the trash but i dont give up. even if im not totally serious. but if i make just one good drawing im really proude of myself. so if you make something you yourself think is good you should be proud to :D if you make something you think is bad, its probably bad though. as for being a ''japanese'' manga artist......i have no idea. i like to use Stan Lee for some inspiration. he wrote spider man and ultimo (well im pretty sure he did) thats Marvel and Shonen Jump. well anyway that would be so cool if we could all be mangaka friends in the future '3 to all thoes who want to be manga artists, follow your hearts and best of luck!