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Beginner's Guide to Neon Genesis Evangelion

6/2/2017

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The complex saga broken down

NEON GENESIS EVANGELION has been over for more than a decade, but time hasn’t diminished its popular nor it's controversy. Having recently entered the world of “EVA” as a beginner, myself, I can attest that this show is worthwhile viewing to anyone looking to get into anime. As I've said many times in my column, few stories have captured my imagination so totally as EVANGELION and I'd already rank it as an all-time favorite in any medium - - comics, movies, novels, video games, and so on. It's really that good and I encourage you to watch it now.
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The Story
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In the “far-away future” of 2015, the world of EVANGELION is suffering from the ramifications of the Second Impact, a mysterious global catastrophe. The official story is that a meteor crashed into the Arctic and melted the polar ice-caps in 2000, but that really isn't the truth. Even though half of Earth’s population is dead and some major cities are now underwater, daily life’s more or less going on as it has, barring the occasional angel attack.
You read that right - - angel attack.  These things that are attacking are called “angels” but they definitely aren’t beautiful winged cherubs who dress in white robes and play harps. These angels are giant alien monsters who come in progressively more bizarre forms. When it becomes obvious that these beasts can’t be taken out with .50 caliber fire or heavy-duty rockets, the shadowy organization NERV slides in with a solution. It’s got a line of equally-strange giant machines called Evas which can take these monsters on, mano-a-mano.

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 Asuka and Unit-02

​Who better to pilot these walking weapons of mass destruction than some maladjusted teenagers, right? The story starts when young master Shinji Ikari is summoned to a rebuilt Tokyo-3 to save the city from Sachiel, the third of eighteen rampaging angels. It just happens that Shinji’s father, Gendo, is the head of NERV. It also just happens that Shinji’s the only one who can pilot the powerful “ Unit-01” Eva (and the reasons for that proved to be very… icky, by the series’ end.)
Shinji’s life of adventure begins thusly, as he’s joined by Rei Ayanami and Asuka Langley-Soryu, two teen pilots who are just as troubled as he is. Since his mother’s long dead and his father's keeping him at arm's length, NERV’s captain Misato Katsuragi takes it upon herself to look after him as he balances the typical angst of attending high school and having to save the world every week.  It's kind of like he's a freshman on the varsity basketball team.

Characters

The story goes that EVANGELION’s creator came up with this show after a four-year-long bout of depression, so that ought to give you an idea as to where these characters are coming from. Everyone's got some kind of emotional problem, and some fans have actually taken the characters to represent specific psychological disorders. ​
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Shinji Ikari

1.
 Shinji Ikari 

The whiniest, wimpiest world-saving hero you'll likely ever encounter - - and that's what makes him so interesting. A shy teenager, Shinji questions himself and his motivations so much, he makes Hamlet look decisive by comparison.  Somehow, though, he frequently manages to save the day. Somehow.
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2. Misato Katsuragi

2. Misato Katsuragi 
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A captain of NERV who's simultaneously a red-blooded ass kicker and a bubbly RA.  Not surprisingly, she has significant trauma in her past and some heavy "daddy issues." She adopts Shinji when no one else cares about him and they form a familial relationship that occasionally gets inappropriate.
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Rei Ayanami

3. Rei Ayanami 
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The mysterious "first child" of NERV's program and pilot of the prototype Unit-00 Eva. Don't be fooled by her cute blue hair and big doey eyes; Rei's a big downer. She's reticent and unemotional to point of seeming autistic, and her true origins are messed on levels psychological, biological and, well, spiritual. 
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Asuka Langley-Soryu

4.
 Asuka Langley-Soryu 

A feisty German fraulein, Asuka (pronounced "AHS-KAH) is the "second child" and pilot of Unit-02, an Eva with red coating to match her fiery hair. Outgoing and enthusiastic, she seems like the only normal Eva pilot, but when her fellows start doing better than her, she loses her self-esteem in the worst way.  
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Gendo Ikari

5. Gendo Ikari 

Shinji's father and the commander of NERV, Gendo's a world class mastermind and also a world class jerk who's inhumanely cold and distant in relation to his own son. Surprisingly, he's quite the ladies man (though it's actually kind of gross.) Give him points for making white opera gloves work, though.
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What Can This Be Compared To?

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The dream team

​Calling EVANGELION just another giant robot anime is like calling WATCHMEN just another superhero comic. Much like that seminal graphic novel did, this show deconstructs the tropes of its genre and fills its cast with three-dimensional characters whose damaged personalities are a far cry from the straightforward heroes you’ll usually find in escapist fiction. If you enjoyed LOST for its complex storyline and long-standing mysteries, then you’ll love this show.  It rewards you for paying attention and many later revelations will change your perception of earlier episodes if you watch them again. At times, the storytelling recalls the work of Stanley Kubrick, particularly 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY, in that many key plot points are never stated outright and you’ve really got to use your brain to peace together the puzzle and decipher the heady ideas. That being said, it’s still a very accessible show, and you can enjoy it without fully comprehending all the deeper meanings. However, if you desperately need answers when you get to the end - - WHAT HAPPENED TO SHINJI'S MOTHER?!?! WHERE DO THESE EVAS COME FROM?! WHAT'S THE LANCE OF LONGINUS?! WHAT DID I JUST WATCH ?!!? - - I recommend checking out fan site ReVolution of Evangelion for an extensive exploration of the series' mysteries.
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What You Need to Know

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The true finale

EVANGELION is the brainchild of
 Hideaki Anno, one of the co-founders of the animation studio, Gainax. The 26 episode-long series ran on Japanese TV from fall ’95 to spring ’96, and it was followed by two movies, DEATH & REBIRTH and THE END OF EVANGELION, in ’97. There have been several mangas that spin off threads from the story into different directions, but the show is always the original. It's not an adaptation. Currently, Gainax is putting out REBUILD OF EVANGELION, a series of feature-length remakes of the show, with animation updated to modern standards. You can think of these as big screen adaptations of the show, more or less, with altered characters and a streamlined story.
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What Should You Watch?

Due to budget problems and censorship threats Gainax suffered while producing the series, the studio hasn’t always gotten to properly execute its original intention.  As such, they’ve gone back and re-done parts a few times, creating a number of different versions. For clarity, you should get the Platinum Collection DVD box set instead of the Perfect Collection, as it includes “director’s cut” versions of key episodes with additional scenes and key alterations that really are necessary to understanding the show as a whole. You can skip DEATH & REBIRTH, as it’s just a condensed series recap, but you need to watch END OF EVANGELION. That isn’t negotiable. You are absolutely going to hate this series as whole if you stop watching with the last TV episode. Gainax ran out of money by the time they got around to making that finale, so it's an entire episode about the characters talking about their feelings and psychological hang-ups that leaves major points of the series unresolved. Think of END OF EVANGELION as the deluxe-sized final episode and be sure to check it out.  ​
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The kids and their ghoulish Evas


​BUYER'S GUIDE

Once again, you ought to get the Platinum Collection, not the Perfect Collection, and then order END OF EVANGELION as well. 
There you have it, NEON GENESIS EVANGELION broken down for the beginner. I can't recommend this series enough. A true tour du force, it'll warped your mind and maybe even change your life.

Reference:

http://www.animevice.com/news/beginners-guide-to-neon-genesis-evangelion/4495/

Manga Big Bang® is UK’s original manga magazine featuring multiple manga comic series and one-shot manga comics. ​You can follow the Manga Big Bang! manga series by becoming our patron on our Patreon page. Click on the Manga Big Bang! logo:
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Dr. Vee's Story: 'How I Became a Professional Manga Artist'

5/31/2017

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As a lot of you might have already seen, recently we chatted with the gaijin mangaka Dr. Vee about the best ways to become a professional manga artist if you live outside of Japan. After she took us through the necessary processes involved in becoming a professional, we got talking about her journey and her experiences in the medium. What it is that she did to reach her goal, and what it is she did once it had been reached - the good times, bad times and in between times.
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​Image taken from Ai Mai Mi

​Dr. Vee tells us that for as long as she can remember she wanted to be a mangaka. Raised on anime and in particularly on Doraemon, it was natural to her that she grew to idealize the creators, Fujiko Fujio, and from there she knew that she wanted - or was meant to be - a cartoon creator of some description. When asked about her first journey into the medium we found out that it was as she entered primary school that she began to draw with the use of speech bubbles and other such things. Having seen her ability and dedication, a classmate took the initiative and teamed up with Dr. Vee to form what was possibly the youngest (and probably most adorable) team in the industry. Her friend would write the stories and Dr. Vee would draw them - this bond continued for as long as they were in the same class and when that time drew to an end and they were seperated, Dr. Vee began to both write and illustrate her own manga. You could say it was at this point she became a professional - in time classmates and friends began trading possessions for her art. As her primary-school empire grew, so too did the fondness of her fans and in time a friend began paying her regularly for a long running series. This miniature scale empire continued to grow to the point that the teachers could no longer miss it - the whole operation was closed down.
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​Image taken from Ai Mai Mi

​As she grew older and reached middle school, the ‘real world’ was starting to take control. As most parents would do, Dr. Vee was pressured into academics and safer, more by-the-book pursuits of a career. Becoming a mangaka is a risky game and can often take the form of an all-or-nothing pursuit. After a countless number of arguments with her family, Dr. Vee eventually decided to go with the flow. At the age of 15, Dr. Vee was sent to the USA and UK to attend prep schools in hopes of getting into a med school.

“There was an air of 'academic achievement rules', and I felt great pressure for getting a place in medical school. At the time it felt as if I would be a complete failure if I didn’t reach that status. I struggled with my lifelong goal, and with all the stressful events going on around me, I chose to give in and go through med school instead of fighting for my dream.”

Working as a medical doctor for two years, Dr. Vee was drained of energy and in part enthusiasm.

“I had good salary that allowed me to get a car, live in nice neighborhood, buy designer labels. One day I reflected upon my choice and admitted that I was miserable despite the material success, and wondered what life would have been like if I had the courage to pursue my dreams.”

Following this train of thought Dr. Vee left her surgical job and once again began her search for an opening in the industry. After considering the possibility of moving back to the US to attend an art university Dr. Vee discovered a certain manga creator who ran classes for the medium in Jakarta, Indonesia.  
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“I felt that realistically at age 27 it was practically impossible to start learning the trade and make a success as manga creator in the competitive industry, but apparently I was wrong.”

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Image taken from Mangirl

​8 months after enrolling Dr. Vee succeeded in publishing her first work, PramBanana, in Indonesia. It was received very well and gained her a fandom of loyal readers. One and a half years following its publication Dr. Vee found herself on a plane to Tokyo to study manga in a designers school. Fueled on ignorance and completely unaware of how high the standards were in the industry, Dr. Vee made a beeline directly to the Shonen Jump office as soon as her plane had reached Japan. 

“I arranged an interview for a job as Masashi Kishimoto (creator of Naruto)'s assistant with my PramBanana comic pages in hand, done on low-quality A4 copy paper, full of outdated techniques.”

In the end things didn’t work out with Shonen Jump but as is often the case with life every failure brings with it some success. Though in the end nothing came of this particular endeavour Dr. Vee left the office after a short period of dealings knowing more about the industry and how it worked. 

Because of how the Japanese view trust and work ethics, it is often frowned upon to deal with more than one company at a time - especially if they're rivals. Though Dr. Vee was dealing with multiple publishers, she knew that she had to take a chance and ally herself to one of the many. In the end it was Shonen Sunday that she found herself working under and it was here that she managed to make her professional debut as a mangaka.
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Image taken from Mangirl

At times, we were told, the journey was of particular difficulty for Dr. Vee and although these times often felt like they could last forever, Dr. Vee never failed to continue looking in hope that someone would notice her own abilities.

“All the editors who previously showed much interest in my work suddenly stop doing so almost at the same time, after more than a year of working together.”

This slump was short lived, however and it was when a job opening for the assistant of Kenjiro Hata, the creator of Hayate the Combat Butler, opened up that Dr. Vee found her escape. It was at the hands of Kenjiro Hata that Dr. Vee was able to get a lot of her works into the limelight.

“One of my mentors, Mr. Hironobu Kaneko, who had been the head editor at Tezuka Production said that a mangaka should form a fully transparent relationship with his/her editor and be able tell everything to them like to a best friend”

Though many of her editors were helpful and offered key advice that lead her to becoming a professional, many would be very fickle about certain things and pay little to no heed to her efforts. We were told that certain editors would spare little time for her work, demand certain changes and then months later decide against the whole project. These times were obviously very stressful for Dr. Vee but through speaking to her we got the idea that even these times she deemed incredibly valuable to her journey.

We were informed about a particular friend who had had her work discarded as ‘rubbish’ by one editor and published by another. One thing that we found out from listening to Dr. Vee is that editors are individuals - being told one thing by one does not mean that you will be told the same thing by another.
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Image taken from Usagi Drop

After working very closely with Kenjiro Hata, the previously mentioned creator of Hayate the Combat Butler, for almost 2 years, Dr. Vee found her way to Shonen Sunday, where we already know she debuted. Her journey to Shonen Sunday was by no means an easy one and probably couldn’t have been done without the help of many others throughout her life. Through talking to Dr. Vee though we discovered that one thing above all else made it a possibility for her and that was her ability to keep looking forward and keep that passion that she had had since a child.

Inspired perhaps by the difficulties in her own journeys, or perhaps by those who had helped her, Dr. Vee offers manga classes for all ages and abilities. In her classes Dr. Vee offers so much more than drawing techniques alone and actually offers guidance into the industry itself. Growing now from a physical class to an online one, Dr. Vee’s Mangaka Club is open to everyone regardless of age, location or ability. Classes are held on a one to one basis and are certainly something we feel you should all at least take a closer look at. You can find all the information you might need here.
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Image taken from Mangirl

“Every step I have taken towards becoming a professional has been a valuable lesson, even the failures. One thing I wish I realized earlier is that dreams do come true. The universe will move in your favor when you focus on your goal, no matter how much seems to be against it. Age, financial circumstances, the language barrier and talent are not reasons not to achieve the goal, and it is never too late to start. I have seen many who thrived despite their adversities - the key is never to give up and to think outside of the box when all roads seem to be blocked.”
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Image taken from Mangirl

Reference:
http://media.goboiano.com/read-more-news.php?id=1322

Manga Big Bang® is UK’s original manga magazine featuring multiple manga comic series and one-shot manga comics. ​You can follow the Manga Big Bang! manga series by becoming our patron on our Patreon page. Click on the Manga Big Bang! logo:
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Inspirational speech by doctor turned manga creator

5/30/2017

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Dr. Vee, editor in chief of Manga Big Bang!®

​Manga Big Bang® is UK’s original manga magazine featuring multiple manga comic series and one-shot manga comics. ​You can follow the Manga Big Bang! manga series by becoming our patron on our Patreon page. Click on the Manga Big Bang! logo:
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Middle East embraces Japanese culture through manga

5/29/2017

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Cheers to Japan: At the annual Doha International Book Fair at Qatar last year, Meitantei Conan (Case Closed) was among the popular series that was sold out

Middle Eastern girls embrace Japanese culture through manga

EACH year, the annual Doha International Book Fair picks a country as a special featured guest. For 2012, that honour went to Japan.
At the event, which was held from Dec 12 to 22 in the Qatar capital, I produced a runway show by “kawaii” fashion brands, a panel featuring voice actors and a cosplay (short for costume play) show. The runway show and panel were the first ever held in the Middle East, while the cosplay show was the first in the region to be held at a public arena.
Right next to the event space was a booth for Kinokuniya’s Dubai store.
More than 4,200 manga and character products were on display at the fair, and more than 3,500 were sold. Among the 2,500 manga on display – all of which were translated into English – 2,300 were sold. Popular series, such as One Piece andMeitantei Conan (Case Closed) were sold out.
There is a strong demand for manga in the Middle East. According to Kinokuniya’s Dubai store, the most popular vendor at the fair, at least 500 copies of English-language manga are sold each week.
“We selected manga that sold well at an earlier Dubai comic convention,” said Kinokuniya Dubai’s Tomoshi Uramoto, who manned the booth for the entire fair. “But we didn’t realise that young Qataris already had many manga.”
Uramoto said he prepared the first 10 volumes of Naruto to target new manga fans. However, he had to shelve the first and second volumes of the series as many fans already owned them. “We should’ve increased selections for hard-core manga fans,” he said.
Meanwhile, box sets of completed series also sold well. Sets of Death Note andVampire Knight sold out on the third day of the event, he said.
Shojo manga, or girl’s manga, dominated the shelves at the Dubai fair.
“In the Muslim world, public pastimes for women are still limited. As a result, there’s strong demand for home entertainment. Manga-loving girls constantly check the Internet and are more aware of the latest manga than boys,” Uramoto said.
“Series featuring school life are particularly popular because there aren’t coed schools here, and these girls are also interested in cultures they aren’t familiar with.”
Kimi ni Todoke, an international best-selling shojo manga, is popular in the Middle East.
At the Dubai comic convention, Uramoto sold a Japanese-language manga to a young female customer because the English version was sold out. She told Uramoto: “It’s OK. I’ll study Japanese (using this manga).”
According to a Japan Foundation survey, the number of people studying Japanese around the world was 2.1 million in 1998. The number increased to 2.35 million in 2003, to three million in 2006 and to 3.65 million in 2009. However, these figures do not include self-taught Japanese speakers, many of whom learn the language through radio or TV, private tutors or textbooks. Many of my Twitter followers fall into this category.
Despite the weakened brand power of Japanese home electronics and cars, more people are eager to study the language. This must be due to the rising popularity of manga and anime, which have become the most powerful ambassadors of Japanese culture. The lifestyles and environments depicted in manga have sparked interest in modern Japanese culture among Middle Eastern women.
At the Kinokuniya Dubai store, books and magazines featuring crafts, hairstyles and nail art are popular, Uramoto said.
“Manga and anime have become a gateway for people’s interest in Japan, and play a crucial role for women, especially in the Middle East,” Uramoto added.
Uramoto said he was overwhelmed by the widespread popularity of manga and anime in Qatar.
“Since it’s hard to obtain information, people here do a lot of research in advance before travelling all the way from Qatar to visit our Dubai store,” he said. “I’d like to open booths at book fairs in other Middle Eastern countries to understand the strengths and weaknesses of Japanese manga.” – The Daily Yomiuri/Asia News Network

Reference:
http://www.thestar.com.my/story.aspx?file=%2f2013%2f1%2f25%2flifeliving%2f12598460&sec=lifeliving

Manga Big Bang® is UK’s original manga magazine featuring multiple manga comic series and one-shot manga comics. ​You can follow the Manga Big Bang! manga series by becoming our patron on our Patreon page. Click on the Manga Big Bang! logo:
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Amazing Artwork By Chinese Manga Fan

5/27/2017

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Gaikuo-Captain, A Student At Beijing Chemical Engineering University, Originally Just Wanted To Make A Profile Photo For Himself And Somehow Ended Up With Stuff Like:
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Reference: http://dailyartcocktail.com/amazing-artwork-by-chinese-manga-fan
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Manga Big Bang® is UK’s original manga magazine featuring multiple manga comic series and one-shot manga comics. ​You can follow the Manga Big Bang! manga series by becoming our patron on our Patreon page. Click on the Manga Big Bang! logo:
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AN INSIDER’S PERSPECTIVE ON MANGA TRANSLATION

5/16/2017

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Image reference: http://images.tcj.com/2016/02/Showa_Translation_Panel_1_Mizuki_Shigeru_Zack_Davisson.png

This post comes by way of Andria Cheng, professional translator and all around awesome human being:
I’ve been a freelance translator for six years, and people always want to know how I got started in the industry. After I graduated with my degree in Japanese in 2005, I sent my resume to all the major manga publishers at the time: TOKYOPOP, Digital Manga Press, Viz, and Del Rey. I got no responses from any of them. Two years later, a professor told me about an online message board (now Google Group) for professional translators called simply “honyaku” (translation). A translation agency posted a request for freelance Japanese manga and novel translators. I applied, took and passed a translation test, and then waited for my first project. At the very beginning I had to “compete” for every job I received, which meant a sample text would be sent out to a pool of translators and the client chose which translator they wanted. But after I won a few of these, the publishers began to request me directly and I no longer had to compete for work. Through this translation agency I was able to work with and have my translations published through all the companies who had previously ignored my resume. Throughout my years as a translator, numerous volumes of manga I translated have appeared on the New York Times Best Sellers List for Manga.
But I wouldn’t recommend working with a translation agency. At the time, I was desperate to break into the translation industry and had no other means to do so. But I had to sign restrictive contracts with non-compete clauses, and who knows how big of a cut the agency got from all my translations. If you’re fluent in another language and want to become a translator, I recommend that you post your resume to proz.com, a site for professional translators. Companies can contact you directly and you can browse job postings. I have a paid membership, and I definitely think it is worth it. Another one of my classmates took his resume to Comic-con in San Diego and directly approached all the publishers’ booths. He got some steady work translating novels for a major publisher thanks to this tactic.
Around the same time I started translating professionally, I began graduate school to pursue my Master of Fine Arts in literary translation. A big part of this degree was participating in translation workshops, during which the students would bring in poetry or prose they translated and have it critiqued and evaluated by fellow students and the professor. There were about fifteen students in the entire program whose ages ranged from 23-50+, and there was only one other student who also translated Japanese. The others translated Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, German, and one student translated from Chinese. I was actually surprised that I was the only published translator among the entire group.
But it didn’t take me very long to find out the director of the program at the time did not consider what I translated and had published “real literature.” She actually stopped one of my former Japanese professors in the grocery store one day to inform him about her concerns about how serious I was about translation. When it came time for me to choose the piece to translate for my thesis, the first question the professor asked me was, “Is this ‘real’ literature?” It was, in fact, a fiction novel by a prize-winning Japanese author, but she still seemed incredulous. At this point in my career I was not only translating light novels and manga, but I translated the bulk of a short story anthology for Del Rey manga called Faust 2, which featured many gifted and popular Japanese fiction writers. But even though I was the only one in the entire program who was actually making money translating, the content of the work I translated was apparently not “real” enough or “literary” enough to count. In the end, I came to the conclusion that no matter what I did, I wouldn’t gain this professor’s approval, so I switched to a different advisor and successfully completed my thesis and got my MFA in translation.
I came into the manga translation industry at a great time. I made enough money to pay for my graduate school education in full, but it wasn’t enough money to support myself. If I didn’t have my husband’s income, I wouldn’t have been able to pursue translation as a career at that time. In the beginning I got paid a flat fee per volume of manga. This was anywhere from $400-$700, but when you get a contract for an entire series of say, ten volumes, it can add up quickly. I generally translated anywhere from five to seven volumes of manga a month, in addition to any light novels I was doing at the time, which I got paid for by the page. When I started translating manga, someone else would be hired to “adapt” my translation, which basically means they Americanized my literal Japanese translation. This only lasted for one manga series I did for Viz called St. Dragon Girl, and after that I was credited with my own adapting. Most of the time the adapters don’t even know Japanese, so in my opinion there are much better results when the translator can adapt their own work.
When the economy took a turn for the worst in late 2008, the entire publishing industry got hit hard, but manga suffered a lot. Not only did I see my pay get cut by more than half, but the publishers were putting out fewer volumes of manga, more series were getting discontinued, and very few new series were being considered. TOKYOPOP basically tanked completely. Shojo Beat, the only monthly magazine specifically for young girls’ manga and which featured a few of my translations got cancelled. This was when I saw a very sharp decrease in my translation income and I had to start supplementing with things like translating family registers, legal documents, and other miscellaneous things just to stay afloat. (Strange anecdote: Around this time, I received a translation request from a man who sent me emails from his Japanese wife to a friend of hers. The man clearly didn’t know Japanese and wanted to know the content of these emails. I skimmed them and found out the woman was cheating on him after an emotional breakdown related to painful infertility treatments. It was clear he broke into his wife’s email account and there was no way I could ethically complete this translation, so I emailed him and turned it down without any explanation! Life of a freelance translator=crazy!)
I think when the economy tanked, there was a huge boom in amateur manga translations (“scanlations”) since the number of manga series being published started to drop. But in my opinion, I don’t think that scanlations have ever majorly negatively affected the translation industry or the livelihood of professional translators. Obviously any time someone chooses to read a scanlated version of a manga over a professionally translated published version, the industry loses money. But I actually know of quite a few series that were specifically chosen to be published because of their popularity in scanlation form. Seeing what scanlated series are most popular and most read can give a publisher a quick idea of how well a certain series or genre might do. And if it’s done right, the published version will be a better translation and of better quality than the scanlation, so a hardcore fan will still purchase the real thing.
But the biggest blow to the industry was just simple economics. Half the publishers I worked for before stopped working with freelancers altogether and turned to their own in-house translators to finish series. And the publishers who kept me on didn’t care that the series I translated for them (and was previously getting $700 a volume for) had every single volume on the NYT Best Sellers List for Manga. They just wanted the work done as cheaply as they could manage, and I had to suck up a lot of my pride at the time because I didn’t want to burn any bridges just yet. I felt loyal to these publishers and didn’t want to leave them mid-series with no translator. I even took on a series at volume 25 after its previous translator jumped ship after the pay cuts to show my loyalty. Trying to figure out the plot and continuity for that series was a nightmare, and obviously I never got paid for that extra time and effort.
So for a few years I translated a number of series for a ridiculously low amount of money. It wasn’t until this particular publishing company removed the first page translator credits and stuffed my name in the very back of the book in a tiny, barely readable font that I finally knew I was done.
I had held onto hope that when the economy turned around my pay would go up and more volumes would be published, but that just didn’t happen. I had hung onto these manga series despite the poor pay, insane deadlines, and almost complete lack of credit up until that point because I know there is always someone who will work for a cheaper rate than you. Despite my initial request for a higher rate of pay in 2008 when my rates got slashed (which was, of course, denied) I had never complained about the poor pay. I faithfully turned in every volume on or before the deadlines. My initial plan was to just say no when the next translation request came. But no translation request came. The translation agency I worked for never even gave me a courtesy email to inform me my projects had gotten assigned to another translator. My suspicion is that most of those series I had worked on, some for years, got re-assigned to in-house translators. So my career as a manga translator ended with very little fanfare, but it was great experience and an amazing boost to my resume. I’ve been told by numerous clients since then that the “New York Times Best-selling translator” line on my resume caught their eye.
Within a few months of my retirement (termination?) from the manga translation industry, I got contacted out of the blue by a company in Japan which makes games for mobile devices. They’re a great company to work with, the pay is great, the work is steady, and there’s no way I’m saying more because in this industry someone can steal your work right out from under your nose! I’m sure my former professor would turn her nose up at the content of my translations because they are most definitely not “real literature” but the work is fun and I’m finally able to contribute to my family’s income in a meaningful way, which is worth more to me than anything else.
Andria Cheng is the translator of Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, Ninja Girls, Wallflower,ARISA, Mardock Scramble, Faust 2, and more.

Reference:

http://whatismanga.wordpress.com/2013/04/08/9b/

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Manga Big Bang® is UK’s original manga magazine featuring multiple manga comic series and one-shot manga comics. ​You can follow the Manga Big Bang! manga series by becoming our patron on our Patreon page. Click on the Manga Big Bang! logo:
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Manga and anime declared good study tools for kids

5/16/2017

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Image reference: https://i2.wp.com/geekmom.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Manga-Guide-to-Statistics-and-Calculus-Images-No-Starch-Press-660x435.jpg?resize=660%2C435
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Children’s books and television shows these days are nothing compared to the ones that many of us had growing up. At least that’s what we tell ourselves. I think back fondly on those days of watching Rugrats and Scooby Doo marathons and scoff at the thought of modern-age children rotting their brains with Spongebob and Annoying Orange. But the fact of the matter is that letting kids subject themselves to those books and animations is important to the development of reading comprehension and critical thinking skills, though the shows now seem like garbage to our fully-developed minds. In Japan, the same sort of issue arises with kids becoming obsessed with manga and anime. Parents may try to insist that their children put away the comics and pick up a real book. Some may even go so far as to throw out their child’s comic magazines as they begin to pile up. However, according to one of the professors at Tama University, Yuichi Higuchi, in his short essay “Are you a Bad Parent?” keeping kids away from their anime and comics is a terrible thing to do! Let’s start with the manga. According to Professor Higuchi, reading and rereading the same manga many times over is the best way for children to naturally develop their language skills. This refers to more than just basic comprehension of the plot, which can generally be achieved after one quick read-through. For a child to pick up on the deeper meaning behind the words—the foreshadowing and the nuanced humor, hidden between precise turns of phrase and balanced visual depictions—it takes at least two or three reads for the full breadth of the story to unfold. Every time a child rereads their manga of choice, there is something new that they discover. The words and speech patterns make a little more sense and the meaning behind them becomes that much more clear. Every time a child reads that story their ability to comprehend it expands just a little. They are learning in a way that they love, so why not show some encouragement when they toss aside their textbooks for a well-worn comic? But what about anime? At least with manga, Japanese kids are getting in a bit of kanji practice, yeah? Anime uses pictures to convey its story, rather than writing. And yet, Professor Higuchi insists that anime also has ways of raising a child’s reading comprehension. The secret is providing discussion which leads to critical thinking. If your kids love anime, then they’ll love to share the experience with you and to talk about it. Engaging them in something that they love can be both fun and eye-opening. All it takes are some simple questions like, “What was the most interesting part?” to get their brains cooking up some comparisons and judgments. Now, you don’t want to kill their joy by firing of standardized test questions in the middle of the show, but even saying things to yourself like, “ I wonder why the character did that…” can inspire critical thinking in children. In addition, anime can drastically broaden a child’s vocabulary. Not everything that comes up is as inappropriate as Naruto’s “Harem Technique” or as nonsensical as Ichigo’s “Heaven Chain Slaying Moon” sword. What it really comes down to is that there’s no good reason to separate kids from the things that they’re interested in. With manga and anime in particular, there’s great potential for learning language skills. Personally, I’m just happy for the implication that the next time I prepare for the Japanese Language Proficiency Test, I can read manga rather than textbooks. The thought of studying has finally been made fun!

​Reference:
http://en.rocketnews24.com/2013/06/28/manga-and-anime-declared-good-study-tools-for-kids/

​Manga Big Bang® is UK’s original manga magazine featuring multiple manga comic series and one-shot manga comics. ​You can follow the Manga Big Bang! manga series by becoming our patron on our Patreon page. Click on the Manga Big Bang! logo:
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Oldest Manga: Chōjū-jinbutsu-giga

5/16/2017

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Chōjū-jinbutsu-giga (鳥獣人物戯画?, lit. “Animal-person Charicatures”), commonly shortened to Chōjū-giga (鳥獣戯画?, lit. “Animal Caricatures”) is a famous set of four picture scrolls belonging to Kōzan-ji temple in Kyoto, Japan. The Chōjū-giga scrolls are also referred to as Scrolls of Frolicking Animals and Scrolls of Frolicking Animals and Humans in English. Some think that Toba Sōjō created the scrolls, however it is hard to verify this. The reading direction of Chōjū-jinbutsu-giga is supposedly the origin the right to left reading direction in modern manga and novels in Japan. Chōjū-jinbutsu-giga is also credited as the oldest work of manga. The scrolls are currently entrusted to the Kyoto National Museum and Tokyo National Museum. 

Reference:
http://drveemanga.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/Manga%20history

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Manga Big Bang® is UK’s original manga magazine featuring multiple manga comic series and one-shot manga comics. ​You can follow the Manga Big Bang! manga series by becoming our patron on our Patreon page. Click on the Manga Big Bang! logo:
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How To Become A Professional Mangaka

5/16/2017

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2013 article via  http://media.goboiano.com/read-more-news.php?id=1287

I think every otaku at some point in their life has dreamt about becoming a mangaka. Getting paid to share your favourite original characters with the world, and being able to get down on paper the great stories that are no doubt rattling around in your head. Sounds nice, doesn’t it? If you’re anything like me, then maybe you gave up on your dreams - if you’re not Japanese, it’s impossible, right? Well apparently not, says Dr. Vee, an Indonesian mangaka who is currently having her very own manga published in Japan. We got together  with her and discussed all the little bits of information she wished somebody had told her. Below are the biggest and first steps that will set you on course for becoming a professional. 
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​As you probably expected, a lot of it comes down to content - what’s your idea worth to publishers and do you have to artistic skills to back it? Like anything, it’s important to think about audience, and understanding that is the first step to becoming a professional. The main barrier, says Dr. Vee is creating something that appeals not to our culture, but to that of the Japanese - after all, that’s where it all begins! Take Bleach or Naruto for example - yeah, they’re massively popular over here, but Japan is where it all started, it’s the Japanese audience that they’re writing for.
So, how do you discover that audience and cater your writing to them? Well, you move to Tokyo, make Japanese friends, absorb the culture and fully engross yourself in the country. Easy, right? Well - no, it’s not. Luckily though, there are alternatives, and plenty of success stories where people have got stuff published in Japan from overseas. What’s important is to learn as much as you can about your target audience. Take an interest in their culture, read up about it and objectively look at your favourite anime and manga and ask yourself ‘what themes does this have?’ and ‘Why has this done well?’. Understanding the fact that you’re writing for a Japanese audience is perhaps the most key aspect of all, and acknowledging this fact is the first step into becoming a professional.
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​So you’ve thought about what your manga needs to have, you’ve got your idea and maybe you’ve even gone ahead and written it - but now what? Unfortunately, having a great idea just isn't enough to get noticed. You need to make sure people can see it, and you need to make sure you’re not waiting to be found - slam it in peoples faces. The way to go about this is to target manga magazines through either entering contests or by taking your work directly to the editors or the publishers. Dr. Vee says that the most important aspect here comes down to that same thing again, target audience. If you’re writing a girly romcom, Jump probably won't be interested. Instead, research what’s out there and find magazines that match both your genre and your writing and art style. Smaller, less known magazines are probably where you want to be looking, and from there you can grow out and expand. What it all comes down to is getting your name out there, not waiting around to be found.
If all that doesn’t suit you, there are roads less traveled, but just as valid, which might be an option for you, especially as a foreigner in the eyes of the Japanese. This road is the road of a doujin artist, an indie artist who self publishes his work either at events, or on the internet. It’s not unusual for publishers to head-hunt creators - if it’s worth the money, a publisher is goign to make sure that they don’t miss you. There is one problem though - why would a publisher be looking outside of Japan? Why would they be searching through the English side of the internet? The short answer is that they probably wouldn’t be. Like was mentioned before, you have to be the one to thrust it in their faces. If you can, spread your work around the Japanese web space, visit doujin events in Japan and really show off your work. If it’s good enough, you will be found so long as you get it out there.
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​One point that Dr. Vee gave particular attention to was knowing what tools to use for what parts. When looking to get published, editors and such will be looking for a level of professionalism in their candidates. They’re looking for people who know how to draw manga, people who will require as little training and mentoring as possible. G pen, round pen, and screen tone; all tools you should be looking into purchasing. They’re hard to use and they're expensive to buy, but they’re needed. They are what will get you noticed. Above all else, showing that you own, and can use these tools effectively shows that you’re serious and that is what publishers want to see.
“What I would suggest to everyone reading this, skill or no skill, is to get a set of drawing pens and start now. Manga is extremely competitive, but it is not impossible to break through, even if some of you may think you lack the talent. It is about determination, there is no shortcut around it, get in the line, join in the queue. The manga industry has no place for those who whine about not having enough money or resources to start. I joined in the queue and invested a lot of money, hard work, and time 7 years ago, and I am now the first Indonesian to make a professional debut at Weekly Shonen Sunday, and I am still in the queue! If I can do it, so can you!” -Dr. Vee
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Following her incredible success as a gaijin mangaka, Dr. Vee offers online classes for anyone interested, regardless of age, ability or experience. For more information on this service, or if you’re interested in applying, you can check out her site DrVeeMangakaClub which is full of information. If you’re not yet ready to take that jump, you can see a set of notes that she has made and published on her Facebook, which freely document the first and most important few steps in becoming a professional. What we, and Dr. Vee say, is that if you have the passion to learn, and the drive to create then it’s not worth hesitating, not even for a second.

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Manga Big Bang® is UK’s original manga magazine featuring multiple manga comic series and one-shot manga comics. ​You can follow the Manga Big Bang! manga series by becoming our patron on our Patreon page. Click on the Manga Big Bang! logo:
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Realities of life as manga creator

5/16/2017

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Advice on shortcuts to becoming successful creator by manga magazine editor

Realities of work after professional debut

What would life be after debut as a professional mangaka (mangaka = manga creator)? This is the insight of what life is like from the moment mangaka debut as a rookie to multi million best selling author.

The hardest part is right after debutThe period after achieving grand, spectacular debut or "### Newcomer Award" to becoming a celebrated manga creator, must be the hardest, most painful time in a mangaka's career.
After debut, a rookie will be asked to produce a couple of pilot episodes that can potentially be made into manga series, provided that improvements are seen at each stage. If the readers' responses and anchete results are good, the rookie will be asked to write some story boards (called name in manga lingo) for potential series. If not, all the editors do would be to look for new rookies. As cruel as it sounds, it is business after all, and running a business is tough, so too bad.
Mangaka will use all power and abilities (those who doesn't are out of the equation, obviously), pour his heart and soul into the work. The rejection of a work done on labor of love is very, very painful to them. 
Lately, young people are getting weaker in spirit. It is a shame when young talents with great potential quit only after a few defeats. If possible, it would be best when these youngsters can get guidance from a teacher or mentor before debuting as professional, by actively creating manga, showing them, take in the advice and practice applying it to his own work. 

Rookies working as manga assistantThe norm is to work as manga assistant while being a rookie. Work environment pretty much depend on the mangaka sensei, while some have decent policies, others will make you work for many hours without enough sleep. 
I would send rookies with potential that I feel will benefit from apprenticeship to established authors. Workplace of a professional before deadline is full of tension and it can be a stressful experience for a rookie even to get simple tasks done such as blackening parts of the panels (beta, in manga lingo). Yet, it is a highly inspirational experience for a rookie to be able to handle professional manga manuscript.
Some people write manga only during the weekend while having other jobs, side jobs, or being a housewife. Most rookies would be in such position, but this can go on for 10,or 20 years in some cases.
Different aspects of life can contribute to creative process, so I can not say that it is necessarily a bad arrangement, but if you want to be a professional, it is best if you could work in jobs related to manga.
It would be best for rookies to work as manga assistant. Rookies who had acquired skills to certain extent by going to manga school are in demand for assistant jobs, and are certainly in advantage for better jobs. 

Life of mega-selling mangakaIf you run series and got your own manga books published, you would be considered a fully fledged mangaka. Once your books starts selling, it is a constant battle with deadline. Weekly deadline for weekly magazine, and monthly deadline for monthly magazine.
There are authors surviving by running a series in bimonthly magazine without hiring a single assistant, but such cases are very rare. Basically, as a rookie you would be fighting for your life, and as an established mangaka, you would be fighting with time.
Certain horror manga author would have to write a story in 2 days, and despite of that, never ever failed a deadline. Hats off to him. 
Another high in demand female shoujyo mangaka (shoujyo manga = manga for girls) have deadline once every 3 days, and she maintained the work at the same pace even while looking after her new born. 
As an editor, it is best to see mangaka maintaining social commonsense in everyday life while pouring out creativity onto paper.
There are many people who study in manga school before debuting, so I feel that comparatively we have better quality rookies now than ever with good senses. It is my hope that such people will bring great contents to the magazines in the future.

Reference:
http://xn--n8jtc6ad0n856xgq2a0ek.com/something_to_know/debut.html

​Now, my take as a non-Japanese professional mangaka running monthly series in Japan, is that this could be a reality for you, though who might think that you haven't got the right conditions to make this happen, because:

1. You don't have the money to go to Japan, or enroll in manga school, or university that offer manga as subject.

Vocational school for manga is expensive. In fact, the yearly tuition fee is more expensive than medical school. People still choose to go because the idea of overnight success as mangaka is lucrative. All the urban legends of mangaka rags to riches stories are true, because I have met many of these authors in person. People do get rich almost overnight once the work hits jackpot.

2. You don't speak a word of Japanese.

Except for the words 'oppai', 'hentai', 'otaku', and 'kawaii'

3. You haven't got the time.

You are working full time, studying full time, looking after spouse/children at home, running a business etc.

4. You think you suck at drawing.

5. You think you suck at story writing.

6. You tried self publishing or getting published by your local publisher, only to discover your manga books laying dormant in some obscure corner of a bookstore collecting dust and spiderwebs.


Sounds bleak? What if I tell you that there is a way around all of those problems?

1. Money

If you can not afford the living expenses in Japan, or the ginormous tuition fees, can you afford something you can earn from working part-time serving fries at you local fast food chain for a month? If the answer is yes, read on.

2. Language barrier

Do you speak English? What the heck, you are reading this article, of course you do! So read on.

3. Time

Can you spare 1 hour and 30 minutes per week off office hours to learn the professional skills? Good, read on.

4. Drawing 

Can you draw stick figures? Yes? Read on.

5. Story

Can you think of any statement or idea you want to tell somebody else? Can be as simple as 'smoking is bad for health', 'My girlfriend is awesome', 'Life is tough but it can be rewarding' etc. Yes? Then here's the deal:

Dr.Vee Mangaka Club is an international online manga school that can accomodate participants from anywhere in the world.

www.DrVeeMangakaClub.com

You CAN afford the education to gain the basic skills necessary to climb up the manga ladder to richness and fame, because our courses are made to be affordable for most people.

If you speak English, good news, our course materials are available in 3 languages: English, Japanese and Indonesian.

Our courses runs once weekly, at convenient time for you. Adjustments can be made for members residing at certain time zones. We also have intensive courses during holiday seasons for those who wants to complete a level in 5 days.

Can you imagine having a professional mentor giving you a pinpoint advice on how to get your drawing to new levels, to the level of professionals that you admire so much?

Can you picture being able to pull out ideas in abundance at anytime you want, and being able to write stories effortlessly?

Can you imagine receiving your first million dollars, or pounds cheque from your publisher for the royalty payment? Seeing your book in top 10 best seller list in your local bookstore?

What if you get thousands of fan letters every day from ravaging teen fans who absolutely love your work, and YOU for being the author who touched their lives?

Do you agree with me that you need to be doing something different to get from where you are today, a system or new strategy to get to the glorious place as manga author?

Our system of successful creation had been tested and proven. Don't wait another day, because time is precious. Join our family:

www.DrVeeMangakaClub.com
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