00:00 [Music]
00:09 Everyone's heard of manga.
00:13 One of Japan's most influential subcultures.
00:16 But did you know that many Japanese draw their own?
00:20 Many amateur artists sell their self-produced manga at popular conventions like this.
00:28 [Music]
00:32 More than anything else I've tried, I definitely say manga is the ideal way for me to express myself.
00:39 Here in Tokyo's Akihabara, the heart of Japanese subculture, you can even take lessons in drawing manga.
00:47 In the past, manga artists mostly started by teaching themselves.
00:52 But now many get their start in classes like this.
00:56 [Music]
00:58 I thought it would be a fun way to learn the basics and become a better artist.
01:04 They're teaching us a lot of really practical information and techniques.
01:10 Today's lesson includes tips for best positioning the action inside each frame,
01:16 and how to better bring your characters to life.
01:22 An important skill is guiding the reader's eye through the frames as the story unfolds.
01:27 Written characters are used in manga for more than dialogue and have their own special rules.
01:34 In this frame, the writing style enhances the feeling of shock.
01:40 The great thing about manga is that anyone can learn to make it.
01:48 Many of my students had never drawn anything before joining my class.
01:52 By the end of the course, most become quite schoolful at expressing themselves on the page.
01:57 There are now many digital alternatives to publishing manga in print.
02:02 More and more Japanese illustrators and manga artists rely on social media,
02:08 where it costs nothing to post their work online.
02:14 The biggest of these services is Pixiv, with a user base of over 40 million.
02:19 It currently hosts more than 80 million creations submitted by users.
02:26 We serve a huge range of people of all ages, and the art they post is tremendously varied.
02:33 The essence of our service is to provide a platform where anyone can show their creations to the world.
02:40 Posting couldn't be simpler. Just click a button and upload your file.
02:45 Moments later, the entire world can see your creation.
02:52 This is Sawa Shiromori. She's still a university student.
02:58 In middle school, she liked to draw cute illustrations and post them on social media.
03:09 This gradually gained her an admiring fan base that now extends far beyond Japan.
03:14 I always had a vague hope that someday I could make a living through art,
03:20 but it was the response to my online post that inspired me to get really serious.
03:25 At first, she drew only single illustrations,
03:29 but imagining stories for her characters led her to create manga.
03:33 In high school, Shiromori turned pro,
03:36 and today she's the author of a popular manga series.
03:40 Social media is the perfect match for manga.
03:46 Now you don't have to go full-time to be a manga artist.
03:49 You can do it while keeping your regular job.
03:51 If you can draw and create a story, there are so many opportunities.
03:56 It's easier than ever to create, and to share what you make with the world.
04:03 The more people express themselves through manga, the more the potential of this subculture grows.
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