So you want to be a manga artist? Well, there's more to it than just drawing pictures on paper. You've got to come up with a story, spend sleepless nights drawing, please your finicky editor and deal with fickle fans too. Who would know this better than an actual manga artist? In fact, there are several manga about making manga. Check out these humorous, harrowing and insightful peeks behind the scenes (and behind the drawing boards) into the Japanese manga business.
1. Bakuman
BAKUMAN. © 2008 by Tsugumi Ohba, Takeshi Obata / SHUEISHA Inc.
Author: Tsugumi Ohba
Artist: Takeshi Obata
Publisher: Shonen Jump / VIZ Media
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From the creators of Death Note comes a series that's not very supernatural but definitely fascinating because it goes behind the scenes of Shonen Jump, one of the most popular shonen manga magazines in the world.
Bakuman shows this world through the eyes of two teenage comics creators, as they try to create the next big shonen manga sensation. Along the way, the boys share some helpful drawing tips, meet many real-life Shonen Jump editors and show some of the not-so-glamorous aspects of the manga business.
2. A Drifting Life
© Yoshihiro Tatsumi
Author/Artist: Yoshihiro Tatsumi
Publisher: Drawn and Quarterly
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In this 800+ page semi-autobiographical mega-opus, Tatsumi gives readers a front-row seat to some of the major turning points in manga history, as it evolved from being disposable entertainment for Japanese kids to the diverse and thought-provoking artform for adults and teens today.
Tatsumi starts his tale from his childhood meeting with manga legend Osamu Tezuka, then continues as he draws gritty pulp stories for the rental manga market, and meets like-minded artists as they draw gekiga or "dramatic pictures" comics for grown-ups. A one-of-a-kind manga memoir that will astound and inspire artists and comics fans alike.
3. Disappearance Diary
© Hideo Azuma
Author/Artist: Hideo Azuma
Publisher: Fanfare - Ponent Mon
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The life of a manga artist isn't easy. Just ask Hideo Azuma — after years of working as a published pro (drawing panty-flashing cuties), the pressure of constant deadlines and hard-to-please editors drove Azuma to "disappear" from his life. At one point, he became a dumpster-diving homeless person. At another time, he worked as a pipe layer for a gas company. And finally, when his alcoholism drove him to near insanity, he checked into rehab.
But these stories aren't total downers. Azuma tells his mostly true tale with a heavy dose of self-deprecating, slice-of-life humor. The result is a story that's funny and oddly uplifting.
4. Flower of Life
© Fumi Yoshinaga / SHINSHOKAN 2004
Author/Artist: Fumi Yoshinaga
Publisher: Digital Manga Publishing
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Like Bakuman, Flower of Life is the story of two teen boys who have dreams of becoming professional comics creators. But instead of a shonen manga-style "heroic quest" tale, Flower of Life is an incredibly wry look inside the manga world that is both wickedly satirical and utterly true.
While the boys' quest to draw manga is interesting, the side-splitting scenes focus on Sumiko, a shy girl who draws a historical romance shojo manga, only to have Majima, the class uber-otaku tell her to re-write it as a modern yaoi manga so it'll really sell. How she speaks up and shuts him down is pure comedy gold.
5. Even a Monkey Can Draw Manga
© 1990 Koji Aihara, Kentaro Takekuma, SHOGAKUKAN
Author: Koji Aihara
Artist: Kentaro Takekuma
Publisher: Pulp / VIZ Media
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If you've ever been intimidated by the thought of becoming a manga artist, Koji Aihara and Kentaro Takekuma are here to tell you that it's really a lot simpler than it looks. Or if not that, then they're here to skewer every tired manga cliché out there. Shonen and shojo manga, raunchy mens' manga, trashy ladies' manga, even mahjong manga gets mercilessly dissected and satirized.
While this quirky not-quite-a-how-to-draw-manga book is out of print and can be a little hard to find, if you're really into manga, you'll find this strange but silly book to be well worth seeking out.
6. I'll Give It My All... Tomorrow
OREWAMADA HONKIDASHITENAIDAKE © 2007 Shunju AONO / Shogakukan
Author/Artist: Shunju Aono
Publisher: VIZ Signature / VIZ Media
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40-year old Shuzuo Oguro is going through a mid-life crisis. After years of office work, he decides to quit his safe but boring job to pursue his true passion: to become a manga artist. Trouble is, Shuzuo doesn't have a single idea for a story, can't really draw well, and he can't really find the motivation to get started.
On top of that, his father thinks Shuzuo's lost his mind for quitting his job, and his teenage daughter has been working at a somewhat unwholesome afterschool job. Can Shuzuo succeed against all of these odds, or if he can't, can he at least make us laugh along the way?
7. Genshiken
© 20002 Kio Shimoku / KODANSHA LTD. All rights reserved.
Author/Artist: Kio Shimoku
Publisher: Del Rey Manga
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Contrary to popular belief, all otaku are not alike. Just look at the different flavors of pop culture superfans found in Genshiken. An anime fan, a cosplayer, a gamer, a toy collector, and a manga artist come together in a college club they call "The Society for the Study of Modern Visual Culture" (Gendai Shikaku Bunka Kenkyūkai) or "Genshiken."
Aspiring manga creators will especially enjoy Kio Shimoku's insight into the world of Comiket, the twice-yearly mega-comics event held at Tokyo Big Sight. While it's called Comifest in this story, fans will recognize the crowds, the comics and the mayhem that makes Comiket unique.
8. Dramacon
© 2008 Svetlana Chmakova and TOKYOPOP Inc.
Author/Artist: Svetlana Chmakova
Publisher: TokyoPop
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Christie is an aspiring manga writer who makes her first trip to an anime convention with her boyfriend. But her trip to the con is just the start of an adventure that helps her find new friends, new heartaches and new loves. Her experiences prod her on her first steps toward her dream, to become a published author with a major manga publisher.
Christie meets Bethany, a comics artist who becomes her collaborator, and Lida Zeff, an American comics creator who offers some sage advice and insight into the ups and downs of the manga publishing business. Christie also meets Matt, an enigmatic guy who teaches her some lessons in love.
9. Fall in Love Like a Comic
MANGA MITAINA KOI SHITAI! © Chitose YAGAMI/Shogakukan Inc.
Author/Artist: Chitose Yagami
Publisher: Shojo Beat / VIZ Media
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Rena Sakura is an 8th grader with an unusual afterschool job: she's a professional manga artist. Her classmates don't know, but that's just fine with Rena, because her stories are a little on the sexy side – which is kind of ironic since Rena has never been in a romantic relationship with an actual boy. When her editor tells her that her love stories lack authenticity because she's never been in love, Rena recruits Tomoya, a handsome and popular classmate to act as her "boyfriend," purely for research. But Rena soon learns that falling in love for real is a lot more complicated than falling in love in a comic.
10. Doujin Work
© Hiroyuki
Author/Artist: Hiroyuki
Publisher: Media Blasters
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When Najimi discovers that her classmate Tsuyuri is a doujin or amateur comics artist, she's merely curious at first. When she finds out that otherwise quiet Tsuyuri has got a significant fan following because she draws sexually explicit rape comics, Najimi's interest is piqued. But when Najimi finds out that Tsuyuri makes a good chunk of dough selling her comics at a comics festival, she gets fired up and wants a piece of the action. Najimi decides that she too wants to create doujinshi — but there's just one thing that's in her way. She can't draw.
