Manga in Theory and Practice: The Craft of Creating Manga

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When an artist gives form to something invisible, their state of mind will be reflected in the picture whether they’re aware of it or not. Any attempts at fake sincerity will be in vain. The readers will always see through to the truth." Manga in Theory and Practice” ha sido diseñado cual guía o manual (en palabras del autor, un “know how” o “how to”) destinado, aunque no limitado, a los aspirantes al Manga como medio artístico y forma de vida. Como breviario, entonces, el libro está dividido en capítulos o secciones que siguen el orden cronológico de la producción de un Manga (Cómo comenzar, Personajes, Historia, Arte, etc.) donde todo se basa—el esqueleto, por ponerle un nombre—en las 5W1H (acrónimo popular que del inglés se traduce como Quién hace Qué, Cuándo, Dónde, Por Qué y Cómo) y las Cuatro Bases del Manga (Characters, Story, Setting, Themes), que pueden aplicarse, también, a otras formas de Arte, pero en especial al Teatro, el Cine y la Literatura. Información, claro, disponible en todo curso literario básico, pero que Araki esporádicamente presenta con acrónimos propios e ingeniosos. Como ejemplo de lo anterior está el “ki-sho-ten-ketsu”, donde “ki” es la introducción, “sho” el desarrollo, “ken” el giro o clímax, y “ketsu” el desenlace. Cualquier parecido con una clase de nivel primaria sobre las partes del cuento o la novela es mera coincidencia. Cualquiera el caso, la terminología empleada (el “Camino dorado”, “La inmutable regla para escribir historias”) es banal pero lo suficientemente atractiva como para no fabricar un sentimiento de monotonía. Asimismo, los “secretos” que el autor anuncia revelar—el currículo individual de sus personajes, la v

In Dio’s case, I depicted him as coming from an unfortunate upbringing, saddled with a father who had no redeeming qualities whatsoever. [...] I was initially drawn to the Japanese edition of Hirohiko Araki’s Manga in Theory and Practice because of the two dudes looking like they were about to kiss, on the cover. They looked like sophomore versions of the Joestar family Araki is best known for creating, and I thought this was a pretty major coup of transition from homosocial straight to homosexual as far as mainstream manga was concerned. In Manga in Theory and Practice, you say that the theme of all 8 parts of JoJo is "an affirmation that humanity is wonderful". Could you elaborate on that? You get a behind the scenes look at his Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure series, and the thoughts, ideas and approaches that went into making it the series it is. (I have to say, as a Jojo’s fan, I really enjoyed all the tidbits about the series he scatters throughout the book.) The Ki-Sho-Ten-Ketsu story structure he outlines is a good one for short story writers to keep in mind, and simple and flexible while still offering a straightforward way to structure your stories. (One of his two Implementation chapters acts as an example in great detail, which is also nice. Although after you read it, you can look at any Shonen comic and see it in action immediately.)The through line in all successful franchises, to Araki, is a strong goddamn character. This cannot be over-emphasized. The emphasis reflects Araki’s success with the dynastic narrative of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventures, if also the general direction toward which the manga paradigm has shifted. He goes so far as to say that in extreme examples, “compelling characters negate the need for story or setting.” As someone who has only ever failed to explain Araki’s storylines to the uninitiated, I daresay Araki doesn’t lie. He explains basic story structure as “ki-sho-ten-ketsu, or Introduction (ki), development (sho), twist (ten) and resolution (ketsu),” and explains what each section should accomplish and how it should relate to the other parts of the story. While he remains focused on manga, many of Araki’s precepts could be applied to Western comic books, graphic novels and story development for animation. My closing conclusion is this: ultimately, the 'golden way' or 'royal road' to Hirohiko Araki is alike to Shelley's 'sublime.' That is to say, it is directly linked to his philosophy on the 'Golden Ratio' or symmetrical perfection; divine beauty derived by synchronised, synergised points of emphasis. He understands he does not achieve this all the time, but aims to achieve it where possible by refining his style and attitudes accordingly to maximise the propensity. My work centers around protagonists who grow as they overcome hardship. In creating Johnny, I didn't necessarily set out to depict a hero with a disability. He was the end result of my pursuit to create a character who could grow, both physically and mentally, during a race where he would be forced not only to rely on other people, but horses as well. Story. Araki says that story is the least important of the three. The explanation he gives is interesting. But I believe story has never been the strongest point of Araki's manga, so perhaps his emphasis on the other two fundamentals is unsurprising.

That said, being able to get readers to empathize with ugly desires is a tremendously tall hurdle, one that requires thought and planning to overcome. Once you have that ability, you could turn even a heartless killer into your main character. He opens with the subtitle, “Returned to the Envelope Unread,” which reads as clumsily as he claims his failed submissions were in the beginning of his career. It is telling that he can’t describe his failures very well, because the leadfooted tone disappears when Araki starts discussing his triumphs. He is as good at talking about his greatness as he is poor at talking about his shortcomings, so I’d caution taking him too seriously when he waxes humble: His precision and planning behind proud achievements is as important on the confidence, even hubris, required to start any career in the arts. Araki’s methodology will do nothing if not impart confidence in craft. He calls his methodology the “Golden Way.”I think that even if you’re creating a manga that includes love and romance, you could have it be between two male characters, as long as that fits with your manga’s world. As long as your characters are appealing, you could get away with a world of all men. You have nothing to fear." Overall if you are interested in writing manga, this would be a good book for you as it contains a lot of information when it comes to arranging and creating your manga. It is also an interesting look into the author's life and motivation when it came to creating their own work. Though I am not part of this audience, I did find these points interesting and a neat insight when it comes to the creator of JoJo. Major props to him for admitting the earlier arcs were marginally defined by their abundance of dichotomies. I was drawn to it for the same reasons I was drawn to Sonic Adventure 2, Yin and Yang, and the colour grey. But while fantastic for superficial reasons, it's too reductive, as he admits and says he learned from (and I believe) later on. Perhaps JoJolion was a test of this, and that's where my complex feelings towards it lie.

Any manga that can be considered famous, as well as any novel or movie, will share certain story beats that will never stop captivating audiences. The basic version of this structure can be summed up as ki-shō-ten-ketsu, or introduction (ki), development (shō), twist (ten), and resolution (ketsu) [...] Whether you’re working in long form or short, when it comes to the story, the two ironclad rules are that you follow the ki-shō-ten-ketsu structure and that your protagonist is always rising. Even if you’re changing up the structure to ki-shō-ten-ten-ten-ten-ketsu, through each ten your protagonist must always be growing." Araki’s thoughts on the relationship between Setting, Story and Character and how they’re all tied together by Theme are worth remembering and a good primer for new writers. He also gives a lot of good tips and suggestions about those elements of story and how they work in a Shonen comic. Araki Sensei: I think it can be applied, but I'm not too familiar with American/Western comics so I can't give specific examples. However, I believe that detailed, precise manga panel development designed to depict intricate emotions is the defining feature of Japanese manga, and that approach can be applied in various forms.Is worthwhile advice given to many children but often forgotten later down the line, especially in writing. It shouldn't be outwardly apparent all the time, sometimes illusionary, but they are the words that glue together intrigue. If entertainment is about reaffirming the values and tacit biases of the audience, and art is about encountering the unfamiliar and expanding horizons, Hirihiko Araki is clearly an entertainer. In his book, Manga Theory and Practice, Araki provides exceptionally clear guidance for conceiving and designing successful manga and provides informative examples that precisely illustrate each of his points. The book is a marvel of synthesis and summary, bringing to life the mangaka's creative process with an economy that surely reflects a lifetime of thinking carefully about the ways in which words and images communicate. You'll learn more than the steps for making manga, because he teaches you how to think and reflect about each step and which considerations are (in his professional experience) most important. After reading Hirohiko Araki's book on manga theory, I realized that this was similar to a lot of writing books that I have read before. There were differences to certain approaches, but it was close to what I have read from authors. The pacing of a book is similar, the path of your characters is similar, etc. Think of the golden way of which I write in this book as signposts directing you to the royal road of manga at the summit. Attempts to reach those heights without any such map or anything else to guide the way will be frustrated far from the peak. This is something I’ve seen and heard happen many times. [...] To be perfectly honest, by making public ideas and methodologies that are trade secrets, which up until now I’ve held under monopoly, the publishing of this book will be disadvantageous to me on a personal level. But I’m writing this book because my desire to impart these techniques is far greater than any disadvantage that may come from revealing them." One that I had a difficult time with (not artistically, but rather in terms of plot and story development) is ‘ Killer Queen’ in Part 4. I felt that I may have made it too strong. It wouldn't have been a surprise if Josuke was not able to defeat it.

That is not to say that I do not recommend purchasing this book. The insights into the mind of a mangaka is interesting to read about. At first, I thought he was telling you how his way was the only way, only to find out that he wants you to take what you have learned in his book and do better. Be original. Follow certain paths, but create something brilliant. At the time, Star Wars (1977) was wildly popular, but I preferred Carrie (1976) and its tale of a girl with supernatural powers who exacts ferocious revenge upon her parents and bullies. I was well aware that what I liked and what became smash hits were two different things. But even knowing that, I couldn’t shake my desire to remain true to the things that I personally enjoyed, and that I thought were good, and to not hew to what was currently in vogue." Panel One: Comic Book Scripts by Top Writers (Panel One Scripts by Top Comics Writers Tp (New Prtg)) (Compilation book) Digital goods, open DVDs and Blu-rays, smart art prints, mystery bundles, and final sale items are excluded from the return policy. In conclusion, Araki wants readers to know about his Golden Way to manga craftsmanship, without feeling beholden to any narrow specifications of what it means to make manga, and yet he wants only the best, most long-running manga out of you. In short, he has good ideas for how to make successful manga, but his ideas of success could use some qualifying. This is one lesson not taught in his art of mangacraft, perhaps better suited for his editors: know your reader. When Araki talks about sending his first winning submission to a shonen weekly at the age of sixteen, I can picture someone of the same age reading Manga Theory and Practice. They may be startled to see he had mastered a style so early on, but rather than be intimidated, a young reader will almost certainly be encouraged to start writing immediately. And that’s what makes Araki so special: he has a voice that is easy to relate with as a young reader. But then in his conclusion he says good writing is like drinking a fine single malt Scotch. I picture the 16 year old, emboldened to draw manga, studying guns, gulping a glass of Balvenie and spitting it out, confused. There’s some solace in knowing the teenager will know how to depict it accurately now. The original Japanese cover in question.At the most basic level, the first panel should illustrate the five Ws and one H—in other words, who is doing what, and when and where, and why and how."