Ask John: How Do You Get Mangas Published?

Question:
How do manga artists get their art recognized and published? I know there are several well established artists – how did they start out? Do you know about other jobs linked to manga or anime?

Answer:
Publishing manga in Japan can be as simple as walking down to your local printing shop. But that’s not what you’re asking. There are essentially two main ways for Japanese artists to get recognized. Many Japanese publishing companies sponsor annual manga competitions, with the prize being publication of the winning manga stories. Many famous manga artists including Rumiko Takahashi and Yuu Watase got their start in professional publishing this way. A second way to earn status as a manga artist is to be successful as a doujinshi artist. Many, many Japanese manga and anime fans draw their own manga. These fan produced books are called “doujinshi.” Many high school manga clubs produce and sell their doujinshi. Doujinshi range is size from a dozen pages to books of over 100 pages and vary in publishing quality from Xerox copies to very professional caliber publications. The Comic Market convention is held in Tokyo twice a year and is devoted entirely to fanzines and doujinshi. Even with no professional sponsorship, Comic Market manages to dwarf the largest comic book conventions in America. CLAMP, for example, started out as a group of non-professional friends drawing and selling their own home-made manga. As their legion of fans grew, CLAMP was recognized by major publishers and offered professional contracts. A third, and much less common route to becoming a pro is by beginning as an apprentice to an establish artist. Some manga artists prefer to do everything themselves while others employ assistants to do clean up art, add screen tone or do other menial tasks. Kaoru Shintani, for example, creator of Area 88 and Cleopatra DC began his professional career as an assistant to Leiji Matsumoto.

In regard to other jobs in the anime industry, naturally, like any other type of published or cinematic medium, the anime and manga industry needs publishers and advertising agents, editors, producers, directors and supervisors of all types in addition to creative artists. Breaking into the industry in Japan, though, may be a daunting and near impossible task for the average Western anime fan. Beside the fact that Japanese work permits and employments customs visas to foreigners are extremely difficult to acquire due to Japanese law, Japanese society is very constrictive and isolated, offering openings to foreigners mainly only in select positions and industries. Even businesses as independent and casual as the anime industry still virtually mandate total familiarity with Japanese language and customs, and with little exception, demand total professionalism. Scott Frazier is generally considered the first of only a small handful of Americans to work in the anime industry in Japan. His homepage offers advice and recommendations to fans interested in trying to follow in his footsteps.

You may have more luck trying to find employment with a domestic company that’s involved in anime translation. From there you can gain experience and try to work your way into the Japanese industry. The American companies, including anime translation companies like AD Vision and Pioneer, and manga translating companies like Dark Horse Studios, Studio Proteus and Studio Ironcat, are all multi-million dollar businesses interested in professionals able to bring valuable assets and experience to the company. My advice, if you’re interested in finding employment with one of these companies, be professional, and send them a résumé.