Reporting from the path of manga
I’ve always wanted to be a mangaka (manga author) since the age of five. Typical, right?
It didn’t end up being that simple.
It’s because I’ve also wanted to be a scientist since the same age. I love nature, math, designing and building stuff, computers, and generally geeky things. So I ended up pursuing a track in physics.
Before I knew it, I found myself in grad school. But halfway through the program, in my mid-twenties, I realized something about myself that’s really important. Now you might be thinking, “why the heck did it take you so long to realize something so important?” Well, you might remember from biology class that more complex organisms tend to take longer to mature. So if it takes an amoeba two days to split in two, a mosquito a couple of weeks, and a chimpanzee twelve years, I think I’m starting to look pretty good.
In any case, what I realized was that as much as I like science, I didn’t like always being cooped up in the lab. I had this nagging suspicion that the answers to many of life’s questions couldn’t be found there, and that I needed to get my “data points” from a larger world, so to speak.
I also felt that although making progress in science is a creative process, it wasn’t using all of my artistic skills. On the other hand, drawing pictures or making plastic models (I’ll get into that later) may be more artistic, but I didn’t find them to be that intellectually stimulating by themselves. I wanted to do something that was truly meaningful and would leave a lasting impression on people, while tapping into as many of my skills and interests as possible. Finally, after a lot of soul searching, I decided to become a mangaka, so I could pursue my ideas while expressing them to others in the form of visual stories.
Soon after, I became that stereotypical guy who’s always doodling or daydreaming in the wrong place. Alright, maybe I was always like that, except now we can consider it official. Despite that, I eventually managed to finish grad school. I picked up a day job at a nearby software company called the MathWorks, and worked on my manga projects at night. I must admit it’s not the most efficient way to work on manga ideas and improving skills, but dreams alone can’t pay the bills. So until the day my manga brings in a reasonable income, I take consolation by reminding myself that “every superhero needs a day job.”
Well, that’s how it began. I’ll continue with how things turned out since changing career paths. Once we’re done with the history, I’ll start posting real-time updates.
In case you prefer reading in Japanese or are interested in the language, I’ll be keeping a Japanese version of this blog updated in parallel here.
I look forward to sharing my experiences with you!
It didn’t end up being that simple.
It’s because I’ve also wanted to be a scientist since the same age. I love nature, math, designing and building stuff, computers, and generally geeky things. So I ended up pursuing a track in physics.
Before I knew it, I found myself in grad school. But halfway through the program, in my mid-twenties, I realized something about myself that’s really important. Now you might be thinking, “why the heck did it take you so long to realize something so important?” Well, you might remember from biology class that more complex organisms tend to take longer to mature. So if it takes an amoeba two days to split in two, a mosquito a couple of weeks, and a chimpanzee twelve years, I think I’m starting to look pretty good.
In any case, what I realized was that as much as I like science, I didn’t like always being cooped up in the lab. I had this nagging suspicion that the answers to many of life’s questions couldn’t be found there, and that I needed to get my “data points” from a larger world, so to speak.
I also felt that although making progress in science is a creative process, it wasn’t using all of my artistic skills. On the other hand, drawing pictures or making plastic models (I’ll get into that later) may be more artistic, but I didn’t find them to be that intellectually stimulating by themselves. I wanted to do something that was truly meaningful and would leave a lasting impression on people, while tapping into as many of my skills and interests as possible. Finally, after a lot of soul searching, I decided to become a mangaka, so I could pursue my ideas while expressing them to others in the form of visual stories.
Soon after, I became that stereotypical guy who’s always doodling or daydreaming in the wrong place. Alright, maybe I was always like that, except now we can consider it official. Despite that, I eventually managed to finish grad school. I picked up a day job at a nearby software company called the MathWorks, and worked on my manga projects at night. I must admit it’s not the most efficient way to work on manga ideas and improving skills, but dreams alone can’t pay the bills. So until the day my manga brings in a reasonable income, I take consolation by reminding myself that “every superhero needs a day job.”
Well, that’s how it began. I’ll continue with how things turned out since changing career paths. Once we’re done with the history, I’ll start posting real-time updates.
In case you prefer reading in Japanese or are interested in the language, I’ll be keeping a Japanese version of this blog updated in parallel here.
I look forward to sharing my experiences with you!
posted by Kaz at 12:00 AM
2 Comments:
I've just finished reading on some of your posts. They're really attracting me. This post, however, makes me want to post a feedback ^_^ cuz i'm having quite the similar problem.
Yea, i've got a grad on physics but somehow i'm still hesitating on continuing this path. And i've found that the science lab is not artically creative enough to trigger me more on this path. And for some reasons, i've been still keeping and reading manga until this twenty something age (haha when i was 'bout in middle school, i'm used to drawing some pictures, mimicing characters from mangas like Doraemon or Captain Tsubasa XDDD ).
To me, it seems like my imagination is too out of the lab hahaha.
Still, you're so lucky that you can speak, read and write Japanese fluently. I can't v,v. Manga's got a generous land in Japan and i'm envious of you to have such Japanese skills.
Anyhow, this post helps me, in some ways, in finding my soul path. I don't know yet if i've got such a manga ambition like you've got but i thank you for sharing this information to me, at least ^__^
I really admire your honesty in soul searching yourself. It reminds me of what Osamu Tezuka had to decide when he got his degree in medicine: should he continue becoming a doctor or draw manga? Eventually, his mother advised him to do what makes him happy. I couldn't be happier knowing that he decided to become a legendary Japanese mangaka and that I'm able to read his incredible stories.
Of course, by the time Tezuka got out of school he had already done tons of publications and gained popularity as a mangaka. I also want to be a mangaka/graphic novelist and I'm in the same boat as you - haven't done much promoting myself as an artist while I was pursuing other career interests, and in dire need to make a living and support myself.
Right now my plan is to get a day job as a market researcher and draw at night, and once I've gotten confident enough in business and art I will devote myself to my art and be able to make a living with it. I wish you luck on your endeavors, keep drawing!
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