Before we begin this review, I would like to thank Viz Media and NetGalley for the opportunity to review this title.
Creating Art is one of the greatest experiences in the world, and that is the same feeling when you’re a writer. Today’s review will be focusing on Viz Media’s newest book, The Shonen Jump Guide To Making Manga.
From the Editorial Team of Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump Magazine, this guide walks you through the initial ideation phase of creating a story. Then we’re brought to the storyboard stage with real examples of an actual storyboard from the Editorial Team. Any budding artist knows how invaluable real-world examples are, and what makes them even better is that it is from mangaka that has the on-the-job experience and gives advice on characterization and scene placement is the best.
One of the best things about this book was the interviews with sixteen (yes, sixteen!) mangaka, for example, Eiichiro Oda of One Piece, Gege Akutami of Jujutsu Kaisen, Tite Kubo of Bleach, and the list goes on.
These interviews show us the difference between artists and the reinforcement of the Editorial Department’s views that there is no “one way” to become a mangaka. But we also have honesty regarding manga workloads, recommendations for pens and ink, and even advice regarding how to create manga digitally.
This guide reminded me of another book, The Right Way To Make Jump! From Takeshi Sakurai. The only difference behind this was that you got to take a journey to the printer, the paper supplier, the editorial department, and surprisingly, the home of Mangaka, Kohei Horikoshi. The only difference between these two books is that both drive the idea home about creating manga, but it is this book that this guide gives the proper advice that a creator is looking for and craving without sugarcoating it. It is fully translated and comes straight from the editorial department, and there isn’t any better place to get career advice than mangaka who works for one of the most esteemed companies in the world.
The Shonen Jump Guide to Creating Manga will be available at Local Book Stores on October 18th, 2022. Pre-order your copy today!
Final Grade:
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