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Manga Writing

Philip Overby

Staff
Article Team
I fell off the radar for a bit. Started a new job and playing Dragon Age 2 will do that to me. Also, I've put a lot of my projects on the shelf for the time being while I work on a manga with one of my co-workers.

Since I live in Japan, I'm right in the middle of the epicenter for manga publication. I was wondering if anyone was widely read in manga and could offer some resources for writing it. I'm sort of new to the genre, as my friend liked some of my fantasy ideas and wanted to collab on something together.

Any fantasy themed manga/comics I should check out? Although our manga is not entirely fantasy, it does have elements.

Thanks!
 

Ophiucha

Auror
Though I can't offer much in terms of advice for writing a manga (if there are two artistic endeavors I could never pursue, they are hand drawing and script writing), I used to be pretty well read in manga and have a few fantasy favorites I can recommend.

Saiyuki, based on the Chinese classic Journey to the West, is basically a road trip manga with some demon battles. It's an odd science fantasy hybrid. It takes place in our world, sort of, as they are traveling to India. Science is relatively modern, with a mad scientist as one of the antagonists and their main form of travel being a jeep (that is also a dragon[!]). But they are also all demons, monks, etc. It's a good story.

Uzumaki is really a horror manga, but it is very Lovecraftian and also very short (three volumes), so whatever. It is about a small town on the coast which is infected by the spirals. The premise sounds remarkably absurd, but honestly, I've had more than a few friends I've recommended this to develop an irrational unease at the sight of a cinnabun after reading this. There was also a campy, slightly terrible but just terrible enough to be amazing, film based off of the first two volumes with a pretty great soundtrack.

Amatsuki is about a kid who is failing history class, so he goes to a museum where he is hooked up to a virtual reality simulator of the Edo period. Except there are monsters. After he gets attacked, however, he finds out that he can't leave and is forced to live in the virtual reality world and adapt until they (other people are there) find a way out.

A couple of others I like: Fullmetal Alchemist (I prefer the anime, but the manga is good) and Fairy Tail, both of which you can read a summary of and see if it appeals, I guess. The former was insanely popular, also.
 

Behelit

Troubadour
Berserk

Its the only manga I've read consistently. I used to work in a bookstore so I've flipped through many manga but none have captured me so thoroughly. There's a fantastic storyline ladened with many underlying themes, it does not rinse and repeat; There's superb character development, we get to grow up with many of the characters and watch their relationships flourish; Its appropriately emotional on many levels; The art is top notch, last I heard the author does it all himself.

It's an incredible series I HIGHLY recommend.

There's also a short 25 episode (with a cliffhanger ending) anime.
 
Since you live in Japan, you have access to some of the best information available... living, breathing mangaka.

Look in the back (front by NA standards) section of any published work that you enjoy. You'll find an address for either the publisher or the mangaka (in the case of one-man publishers or doujin). Send them a letter asking for information and resources on how to get started in the field.

Manga publishers, unlike many of the stuffed-shirt publishers in the West, are known for their openness towards new artists, writers or ideas. That's a cultural aspect that comes from manga's place as a counter-culture element in Japanese society. I have personally worked with a handful of Mangaka on translation projects and tours and found each of them to be incredibly approachable. I can think of perhaps 3 who don't fit that profile.

As far as Fantasy manga... Anything that comes out of Ultra Jump (ウルトラ ジャンプ,) is practically guaranteed to be in the fantasy vein. Personal favorites for me include Black Butler (Kuroshitsuji) and Bleach... a partner of mine who works in marketing could give you a list as long as your arm. Wonder if I could entice her to drop by.

Many mangaka are -very- active on Twitter and other social media as well.

On other resources... there's a wealth of books (the "How to Draw Manga series is practically legendary at this point) and videos, but you can't beat learning from a master.
 
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Philip Overby

Staff
Article Team
Thanks everyone. Especially, GameMasterNick. We're going to do more research. I'm big on Fist of the North Star, Berserk, Death Note, and some others, but I'm not completely familiar with the way of writing manga and such. Good to know the market is pretty open.
 
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