The heartbeat of Shonen.
From Attack on Titan to Blue Lock, Weekly Shonen Magazine has been where legends are made for decades. The editors behind those series are now judging the KMA Award: Mangaka Discovery.
This is our "Meet the Judges" series, a closer look at the seven editorial departments searching for the next voice to define their magazines.
One submission. Seven departments. Cash prize + your HENSHUSHA + a stage in Tokyo.
Deadline: July 22.
── KMA AWARD: MANGAKA DISCOVERY [https://t.co/byRFIZfUPC]
#KMAAward #MangakaDiscovery #KodanshaMangaAcademy #WeeklyShonenMagazine #MangaContest #MangaAward #MangaArtist #MangaCreator #Manga #Mangaka #Shonen #KMA
Ways to like drawing even if you're bad at it:
Sync it to relaxation
Use music, ambience, or none
Do it more
Study what u need
Study things u want to
Do fanart only
Do projects
Set aside daily time
Use timers, don't use timers
Consume more media and have an opinion on taste
https://t.co/HiBC7kWKrl
Videos like this are just so nasty. You don't prop up an artist you so-called like by lambasting their work with harsh insults. Especially considering how long it takes comic artists to learn and grow. It's really hard, honest work
This kind of stuff is extremely necessary for the west to grow into the Manga space. People severely underestimate how important the editor to mangaka relationship is. for mangaka to flourish, you need proper feedback on how the story feels
🏆 KODANSHA MANGA ACADEMY AWARD: MANGAKA DISCOVERY
Kodansha's largest-ever global initiative to discover new talent. WE'RE NOT LOOKING FOR PERFECTION. WE'RE LOOKING FOR POTENTIAL.
We welcome creators of all nationalities and experience levels. Every submission will be reviewed by HENSHUSHA from all seven of Kodansha’s manga editorial departments.
【AWARD BENEFITS】
🥇 Grand Prize (Up to 7 winners—one potential selection per editorial department)
Cash Prize: ¥300,000 JPY
Professional Partnership: Assignment of a dedicated Kodansha HENSHUSHA
Invitation to Tokyo: Award ceremony travel and accommodation fully covered
Global Debut: Publication on K MANGA and COMIC DAYS
🏅 Encouragement Prize
Professional Partnership: Assignment of a dedicated Kodansha HENSHUSHA
📝 Top 100 Finalists (First-Round Qualifiers)
Direct feedback from a Kodansha HENSHUSHA
Note: Grand Prize selections are made at the discretion of each department. Up to 7 awards may be granted, or none if professional standards are not met.
【HOW TO APPLY】
Eligibility: All creators worldwide (No prior experience required)
Submission: Original manga (8–60 pages) in English or Japanese
Entry Fee: Free
Application Period: April 20, 2026 – July 22, 2026 ( PM JST)
👉 Apply here: https://t.co/byRFIZfUPC
Video by: @shibutake_Ole
#kodanshamangaacademy #kmaaward #kodansha #mangaka #manga
🏆 KODANSHA MANGA ACADEMY AWARD: MANGAKA DISCOVERY
Kodansha's largest-ever global initiative to discover new talent. WE'RE NOT LOOKING FOR PERFECTION. WE'RE LOOKING FOR POTENTIAL.
We welcome creators of all nationalities and experience levels. Every submission will be reviewed by HENSHUSHA from all seven of Kodansha’s manga editorial departments.
【AWARD BENEFITS】
🥇 Grand Prize (Up to 7 winners—one potential selection per editorial department)
Cash Prize: ¥300,000 JPY
Professional Partnership: Assignment of a dedicated Kodansha HENSHUSHA
Invitation to Tokyo: Award ceremony travel and accommodation fully covered
Global Debut: Publication on K MANGA and COMIC DAYS
🏅 Encouragement Prize
Professional Partnership: Assignment of a dedicated Kodansha HENSHUSHA
📝 Top 100 Finalists (First-Round Qualifiers)
Direct feedback from a Kodansha HENSHUSHA
Note: Grand Prize selections are made at the discretion of each department. Up to 7 awards may be granted, or none if professional standards are not met.
【HOW TO APPLY】
Eligibility: All creators worldwide (No prior experience required)
Submission: Original manga (8–60 pages) in English or Japanese
Entry Fee: Free
Application Period: April 20, 2026 – July 22, 2026 ( PM JST)
👉 Apply here: https://t.co/byRFIZfUPC
Video by: @shibutake_Ole
#kodanshamangaacademy #kmaaward #kodansha #mangaka #manga
Hey guys, for those that might be new to me, I'm an Australian currently living in Japan, trying to serialise a manga!
I'm sure there are some of you that are curious about it though, and I want to share what little knowledge I have. Is there anything you guys want to know?
Devido aos Acontecimentos recentes aonde a autora de Ganbare Nakamura-kun sofreu hate e deixou o twitter e outros autores falaram de "fãs" que querem influenciar nos mangás, o Anime Trends reviveu uma antiga fala do Tite Kubo, autor de Bleach.
Ele disse na época:
“Vou dizer isso porque há algumas pessoas que parecem não entender. O que os leitores têm não é o direito de mudar a história de uma obra. O que eles têm é o direito de escolher se vão lê-la ou não. Se você não gosta, então apenas pare de ler.
Se você tem talento para criar algo mais interessante que Bleach, então deveria imediatamente se tornar um mangaká. Se realmente for mais interessante, você definitivamente terá mais sucesso que Bleach.
Se você diz que não sabe desenhar, então trabalhe duro, torne-se editor e dê conselhos aos mangakás. Se você realmente tem talento, será bem-vindo em qualquer lugar.
Mas se você não tem talento, não se esforça e mesmo assim reclama daqueles que dão o seu melhor — se você é o tipo de pessoa que só atrapalha quem está trabalhando duro — então vá se esconder em algum lugar, mantenha os olhos fechados, a boca fechada e viva da chuva e da sujeira.”
I lay down and thought deeply, and eventually made a decision.
For the future of global manga—and for the future of Korean and Japanese manga—I decided to share my ideas and thoughts I have developed over the years, without asking for anything in return.
Someone has to love those who draw manga.
When I think about it myself, I believe I am a mangaka who has had an unusually wide range of experiences in this industry.
And I have spent a long time thinking about the future of manga around the world.
So I decided not to keep my ideas to myself, but to share them openly.
After that, I met many people to pass these ideas along.
I met people from Saudi Arabia, the United States, South Korea, and JICA.
And wow, I reached out to many countries.
I even met people I cannot speak about yet.
Of course, not everyone listened to me, accepted what I said, or responded positively.
But that didn’t matter.
I had decided to keep trying for a while.
I met many people and wrote a great number of emails.
I worked together with my friend Steve.
Because of these efforts, my main work—drawing manga, which requires intense focus—was significantly delayed.
I can’t continue like this much longer, but I wanted to bring these efforts to some kind of conclusion.
Not long ago, I met an extraordinary individual, and we spoke for 12 hours.
I believe this person is also someone making tremendous efforts for the manga industry.
To maintain my concentration during the discussion, I deliberately ate nothing and fasted the entire day.
Up until 30 minutes before the meeting, I was suffering from diarrhea. (No kidding!)
That was because I had already been in discussions the day before, and before that, I had spent two days preparing with Steve.
Until then, I had also been continuously working on my manga.
Will these efforts of mine have meaning?
Maybe Yes, maybe No.
But that is exactly why we call it a “dream.”
Dreamers and their dreams are certainly beautiful, but most of them fail.
That is what we call a dream.
And that is why so precious and we love them wholeheartedly.
Even if it has no meaning, we still strive.
Even if it never comes true, we keep moving forward.
That is what LOVE is.
And what I love most is drawing my manga.
The most precious people to me are my readers.
The ones I am most grateful to are my fans.
And those I rely on the most are the publishers who give me work.
And now I start on my deadlines.
From last Christmas until the end of this month, when the cherry blossoms begin to bloom here in Japan,
I believe I have spent about three months striving intensely for the future of global manga.
Now, it is time for me to return my full focus to creating manga.
As for the Morocco project, this is as far as I can go for now.
It is time for me to return to the work that humans have done for 50,000 years—or even earlier:
to draw, like those who once painted on the empty walls of caves.
Creation is not something every human does.
But it is one of the most human things we can do. 2/5