Quote from Bunny-chan

I really want to be a mangaka, but everyone says I can't because I'm not Japanese, even though mangaka means "comics artist"... I want to be a BL (Boys' Love) mangaka, but since BL is a manga genre, and since I'm in America, I can't make BL, because manga are Japanese comics, and BL are a kind of Japanese comics for girls. soooo... what I'm saying is...

I want to be a mangaka= mangaka is a Japanese comics artist= I'm not of Japanese origin= thus I can't manga= BL is a manga genre, so if I make a comic, it won't be BL because its not manga...

I want to be a BL and shojo mangaka so bad!

Wait, can I be a mangaka if I publish in Japan and work there?
I think so... um...

Do you understand?

Yes, if you had your work published in a Japanese serialized manga, then and only then would you truly be a manga-ka. So it's not impossible, just more difficult as you'd have a language barrier to overcome. Then again, if you started out doing true yaoi the language factor wouldn't be that important.

This signature was recovered from Hades to serve in my rotting armies.

What is it you really want: to have the title "mangaka", or to tell and draw stories?

There is an increasing industry for Manga-styled American comics (though it isn't BL, tokyopop certainly publishes a lot of English titles). Having your work published this way does not require you to be Japanese, or to be anything but yourself.

And just as a note, being an artist of any kind is extremely difficult work. As a dancer, I had to spend eight hours a day, six days a week, on my toes, and years before that training equally hard. My art teacher spends hours daily painting. You're prepared for that kind of commitment, even if it does not guarantee your success?
(For the record, as a writer now, I spend that amount of time writing instead.)

And just as a note, being an artist of any kind is extremely difficult work. As a dancer, I had to spend eight hours a day, six days a week, on my toes, and years before that training equally hard. My art teacher spends hours daily painting. You're prepared for that kind of commitment, even if it does not guarantee your success?

too true drawing take an enormous time.

Don't worrying about whether people will accept you, what country or language your work will be published in, and what label it will be given- those are trivial things.
Instead focus on your art and develop a style of your own.

Call yourself whatever you want, but it really doesn't matter. What matters is that your work is good, original, and fulfilling to you and those who read it.

http://kittenpatriot.wordpress.com/

Names are just names and the fact you are worring about it means you are focusing on the wrong things. Comics are comics no matter who does them and the story and art is what is important. The major turn-off for western manga-styled comics for me is not the name of the artist or what they choose to call themselves, it's the fact they tend to work digitally and far too cleanly, or take cliches in drawing style too far. You can tell they are faking it. Also, if you are planning to go into the industry, don't let personal preferences or fetishes get in the way of communicating with the audience otherwise you will be doomed to fail.

My deviantart: [url]http://auro-cyanide.deviantart.com/[/url]

manga is just a tool to express your great (or not so great) ideas. it doesn't mean that if you suddenly try to draw comic you'll suck. just feel the difference.
you can draw a descent story that will attract even Japanese and make them translate your creation to Japanese. or write a great novel worth reading... millions of possibilities. 😎
PS is it just me or this topic is a pretty lame stuff 😐

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I agree, mose OEL manga that considers itself "BL" or yaoi, lacks that "beauty" thats essential for making it work.

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Quote from Catriona

BL is not specifically Japanese (it only stands for Boys love after all). There are quite a lot of Western Bl writers.

As for manga... I'm of the faction that considers mangaka to be specifically Japanese as well as manga per se. But that doesn't stop you from becoming a BL comic artist. Yaoi Press for example publishes lots of BL comics from Western artists. They call it yaoi, most probably for recognition/ identification reasons for the readers, but yaoi (the word) is also specifically Japanese.

So for me it's like this: If you're not Japanese you can't be a mangaka nor call what you draw yaoi (if I'm gonna be really strict with my own opinions).

You can, however, be a BL comic artist which is about the same thing, only that you're a non-Asian BL comic artist.

So don't get your hopes down because of that. It's all a matter of terminology 😀

I'm with this person. Unless you've spent a significant amount of time in japan or grew up there, it's a comic.

What's wrong with writing a comic? American's that say they draw manga always look off. There's something about the techniques perhaps. But that aside, there's a word for it here, regardless of style. It'd be if I called american comics a "puff of smoke", which I hear is the italian way of referring to comics(not sure but I'm just making a point). There's nothing wrong with making a comic regardless of where the inspiration came, even an overseas market.

Now whether you sell your drivel is another matter. The mainstream comics market is ailing. And BL I doubt will be mainstream unless you make it artistic enough, which you won't with the conventions of BL manga. The independant market has a smaller circulation but its alright I guess. They seem to like weirder things than the conventions BL manga use.

You could try learn japanese, move there, work as an assistant, and then try to get your own manga published(or sign up for contests). This is the true road to being a manga-ka. It's also hella hard. I'd be impressed if that girl worked that hard and actually achieved this goal.

“𝒯𝒽𝑒 𝓇𝑜𝓈𝑒'𝓈 𝓇𝒶𝓇𝑒𝓈𝓉 𝑒𝓈𝓈𝑒𝓃𝒸𝑒 𝓁𝒾𝓋𝑒𝓈 𝒾𝓃 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓉𝒽𝑜𝓇𝓃𝓈.” ― 𝑀𝒶𝓌𝓁𝒶𝓃𝒶 𝒥𝒶𝓁𝒶𝓁-𝒶𝓁-𝒟𝒾𝓃 𝑅𝓊𝓂𝒾.
あたしは腐女子です。少女漫画、たくさん読んでください。

Quote from Scyfon

Quote from HuhWhat

If you know a decent amount of Japanese, or collaborate with someone who does... then sure, you can make manga. Otherwise, stick to drawing comics.

Original English Language Manga are retarded. Just call them comics and be done with.

I beg to differ.
If it's in manga style (right to left readings, manga-esque drawings), then it's a manga, not a comic.

There's no reason for an English-language "manga" to read from right to left. Our language is read from left to right, and therefore makes for easier reading by English speakers. It makes more sense. Just because you copy the right to left "style", which only came about because Akira Toriyama refused to have it any other way when Viz was bringing Dragonball over, doesn't make it an "English Manga". Actually, maybe it does because a manga is just a comic, and it's in English.

Whatever, I don't care.

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Currently Undergoing Nativity Training

Quote from HuhWhat

Quote from Scyfon

Quote from HuhWhat

If you know a decent amount of Japanese, or collaborate with someone who does... then sure, you can make manga. Otherwise, stick to drawing comics.

Original English Language Manga are retarded. Just call them comics and be done with.

I beg to differ.
If it's in manga style (right to left readings, manga-esque drawings), then it's a manga, not a comic.

There's no reason for an English-language "manga" to read from right to left. Our language is read from left to right, and therefore makes for easier reading by English speakers. It makes more sense. Just because you copy the right to left "style", which only came about because Akira Toriyama refused to have it any other way when Viz was bringing Dragonball over, doesn't make it an "English Manga". Actually, maybe it does because a manga is just a comic, and it's in English.

Whatever, I don't care.

It's not hard to read from right to left - it's really not a challenge at all.
It's not the matter of "copying" the right to left style, but it just doesn't feel right when you're reading a "manga" left to right.

[img]http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa229/azrinirza/makotoshinkai1_zpse3901c5a.gif[/img]
Everyday I'm tumblin'

I love how so many people are splitting hairs over this one. When does it become a manga?

Peepo Choo is published by Kodansha, by a guy living in Japan named Felipe Smith. Is it still manga, or is it not because the guy isn't Japanese by blood?

Really, so many manga fans scream about how 'intolerant' westerners are to manga and its 'style', when they're getting pissy over something like a guy in the US drawing Japanese-looking comics.

It must lose its novelty or something.

damn... a manga is a comic is a graphic novel is a manga is a comic is a...

silly bastards worrying over what you call a way of telling a story...

Quote from Scyfon

Quote from HuhWhat

Quote from Scyfon

[quote=HuhWhat]If you know a decent amount of Japanese, or collaborate with someone who does... then sure, you can make manga. Otherwise, stick to drawing comics.

Original English Language Manga are retarded. Just call them comics and be done with.

I beg to differ.
If it's in manga style (right to left readings, manga-esque drawings), then it's a manga, not a comic.

There's no reason for an English-language "manga" to read from right to left. Our language is read from left to right, and therefore makes for easier reading by English speakers. It makes more sense. Just because you copy the right to left "style", which only came about because Akira Toriyama refused to have it any other way when Viz was bringing Dragonball over, doesn't make it an "English Manga". Actually, maybe it does because a manga is just a comic, and it's in English.

Whatever, I don't care.

It's not hard to read from right to left - it's really not a challenge at all.
It's not the matter of "copying" the right to left style, but it just doesn't feel right when you're reading a "manga" left to right.
[/quote]

I argue that; both manhwa and english comics are read left-to-right, and it does not detract from my reading expericence at all.
My only opinion is that the story should be left in it's original format when translated.

Honestly, nonaware kind of got it right: who cares about the format (is it manga or not?!) vs. good storytelling?

It all depends on your argument on whether or not manga is a classification of graphical novel, or simply a japanese word for comic. Although originally manga was simply a japanese word, with globalization and the export of mangas to the western world, the word has expanded beyond its original definition from comic to a genre of graphic novels. When people say manga, there is generally the anime-ish style associated from it, with leeway ranging from the old school dragonball and astro boy, to shoujo soft drawing style, or the drawings of ecchi mangas or action shounen mangas. When someone says manga today, there is automatically an assumption that takes place, a "anime" style animation not a marvel comic or dc style (although some western styles have begun to immitate anime styles, straying away from the simpsons and family guy 4-finger style [they only have four fingers] and straying from the marvels style and heading towards the anime style, like avatar the last air bender.). When someone says manwha, someone expects something very close to mangas, but with a slight variation that is noticeable in most korean comics. With that said, these are all simply semantics. In the end, what matters is not where you come from or the ethnicity you were born in, what matters is who you choose to imitate and how you choose to express it. If your drawing style is based on mangas, if your writing style, plot, and intent all shout manga, than what is wrong with calling yourself manga-ka?

Well as a person with experience on this matter, let me help guide you with some information.

If you draw manga in japan, you are a mangaka, period. Doesn't matter what these people opinions are on this board, your official title will be a mangaka.

Now here is some information for you regarding becoming a mangaka. I was overseas in Japan for 5 years. 4 years in the navy, 1 year working in Tokyo. I was/am interested in being a mangaka.

They actually have plenty of manga colleges out there for a much cheaper price than art colleges out here. The problem comes, of course, with your speaking ability. You will HAVE to become entirely fluent in Japanese. Some manga colleges doesn't mind you joining as long as you are fluent. Others want you to take the Japanese language proficiency test level 1 before you can enter, and others said no foreigners at all.
So you will have to do some research on the college before you decide to go, but your first goal MUST be to become fluent in Japanese. I cannot stress that enough.

Now I will be going to college and attaining one of my majors in Japanese so I can be a translator. (Second Major is computer science.) Now because I am married to a Japanese national, I am able to become up to a permanent resident and have no problem going to college in Japan. You on the other hand will need to obtain a student visa. The manga college that I'm planning to go to is 6k a year, only 3k for night classes. However, as spoken before. They require fluency in Japanese. My Japanese is only intermediate so I will of course need to beef up my speaking ability to go to the college.

Now, here is the plus sides for both manga and american comics.

Manga:

1. Much lower drawing skill required to be published. In comparison to american comics which focuses more on art, manga focuses more on story. So as long as you have a good story, if your art is at least decent, you will have a much better chance of being published in Japan than America.

2. Much easier to enter Manga industry in Japan. As of course, Manga is read by many more people in Japan than comics are in America, the demand is much higher in Japan. Both sides still have tons of competition to fight against before being accepted, but manga itself is much easier to get into than comics.

American Comics

1. Paid much more. In American comics, you traditionally make enough to where you can at least make a living. In manga, a lot of times a second job is required, especially if you are working as an assistant first. Now of course, things began to change if you have a major hit. In America, rarely do creator own projects become huge. Usually the big bucks primarily come from working at the big 2, marvel or dc. But that's nothing in comparison to pulling off a series like Naruto or One piece in Japan. But you'll have to be one of the super lucky to obtain that big. So I still place it as in American Comics, you'll make more money.

2. Less editorial interference. When it comes to creator owned project, the only way you'll have total freedom in Japan is if you self publish. Even with Naruto, there has been cases where kishimoto stated he wanted to do one thing, and the editor told him to do something else. You will not run into that sort of interference as long as your creation is published outside of the big two (and even in the big 2, if it's your own project, they usually take a hands off approach.) The only time you will have to worry about editorial interference in american companies if if you are working on an already established project like wolverine and spiderman.

So hopefully this will provide some information on what you wish to do. Let me know if you have any questions.

Quote from babybro

Well as a person with experience on this matter, let me help guide you with some information.

If you draw manga in japan, you are a mangaka, period. Doesn't matter what these people opinions are on this board, your official title will be a mangaka.

Now here is some information for you regarding becoming a mangaka. I was overseas in Japan for 5 years. 4 years in the navy, 1 year working in Tokyo. I was/am interested in being a mangaka.

They actually have plenty of manga colleges out there for a much cheaper price than art colleges out here. The problem comes, of course, with your speaking ability. You will HAVE to become entirely fluent in Japanese. Some manga colleges doesn't mind you joining as long as you are fluent. Others want you to take the Japanese language proficiency test level 1 before you can enter, and others said no foreigners at all.
So you will have to do some research on the college before you decide to go, but your first goal MUST be to become fluent in Japanese. I cannot stress that enough.

Now I will be going to college and attaining one of my majors in Japanese so I can be a translator. (Second Major is computer science.) Now because I am married to a Japanese national, I am able to become up to a permanent resident and have no problem going to college in Japan. You on the other hand will need to obtain a student visa. The manga college that I'm planning to go to is 6k a year, only 3k for night classes. However, as spoken before. They require fluency in Japanese. My Japanese is only intermediate so I will of course need to beef up my speaking ability to go to the college.

Now, here is the plus sides for both manga and american comics.

Manga:

1. Much lower drawing skill required to be published. In comparison to american comics which focuses more on art, manga focuses more on story. So as long as you have a good story, if your art is at least decent, you will have a much better chance of being published in Japan than America.

2. Much easier to enter Manga industry in Japan. As of course, Manga is read by many more people in Japan than comics are in America, the demand is much higher in Japan. Both sides still have tons of competition to fight against before being accepted, but manga itself is much easier to get into than comics.

American Comics

1. Paid much more. In American comics, you traditionally make enough to where you can at least make a living. In manga, a lot of times a second job is required, especially if you are working as an assistant first. Now of course, things began to change if you have a major hit. In America, rarely do creator own projects become huge. Usually the big bucks primarily come from working at the big 2, marvel or dc. But that's nothing in comparison to pulling off a series like Naruto or One piece in Japan. But you'll have to be one of the super lucky to obtain that big. So I still place it as in American Comics, you'll make more money.

2. Less editorial interference. When it comes to creator owned project, the only way you'll have total freedom in Japan is if you self publish. Even with Naruto, there has been cases where kishimoto stated he wanted to do one thing, and the editor told him to do something else. You will not run into that sort of interference as long as your creation is published outside of the big two (and even in the big 2, if it's your own project, they usually take a hands off approach.) The only time you will have to worry about editorial interference in american companies if if you are working on an already established project like wolverine and spiderman.

So hopefully this will provide some information on what you wish to do. Let me know if you have any questions.

Wow. What a great, informative post! Well written too.

One point I don't agree on: American editors can be very strict with new projects (depending on the company, of course). You have to establish yourself under any circumstances to gain the ability to have total choice and influence about the direction of your work. But once you do, I would agree that an American editor will give you very free range (I don't know anyone personally who has worked as a manga-ka, so I can't provide any knowledge there).