15 Manga about Manga Artist (Mangaka)

There are many different genres of manga, but one genre that I personally think has a lot of hot manga is “mangaka manga”!

Mangaka manga is as the term implies, a manga about manga artists. There are many other story types such as manga editors, assistants, aspiring manga artists, and students who draw manga, and many of the stories about people pursuing a career in manga are very heartwarming.

Because he/she is a manga artist, the drama and philosophy surrounding the world of this manga are conveyed in a very realistic manner.

That is why this time we would like to introduce you best 15 “mangaka manga” that depict the world of manga!

15 Best Manga about Manga Artists

I would like to introduce you to the world of manga, which is full of variety!

Let’s start with this classic…

Serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump from August 2008 to April 2012. Following “DEATH NOTE,” it is a combination of work by Tsugumi Ohba (original work) and Takeshi Obata (drawing). It has been widely adapted to multimedia including TV animation, video games, live-action movies, and stage productions.

The story takes place in present-day Saitama. It begins when Akito Takagi (Shujin), a third-year junior high school student and aspiring artist asks his classmate Moritaka Mashiro (Saiko – who has excellent drawing skills) to partner with him to become a manga artist.

Saiko has a crush on his classmate named Miho Azuki who aspires to become a voice actor. By chance, Azuki promises to marry Saiko if their work is made into an anime. Saiko and Shujin then set out to make their debut as manga artists under the joint pen name “Yumekana Agi,” which means “to make the dreams of Azuki, Mashiro, and Takagi come true.

The story depicts the tough road to becoming a manga artist and the growth of the main characters, with the exciting development that is typical of JUMP. Even if you are not familiar with the world of manga, the story is full of interesting tidbits and realistic depictions of the backstage of manga artists, making it a very worthwhile read.

At first glance, you may think it’s a simple story about aspiring to become a manga artist, but the passion of the characters will surely draw you in at once.

The drawings are beautiful and easy to read, and the content is well thought out. Read about this modern version of Mangaka, which is full of friendship, light-hearted love, and romance.

The story takes place in Tokyo in the 1950s. Kaitoku, who has been serializing a war story manga based on his own experiences, is so conscious of Osamu Tezuka that he is driven by him in his imagination, in everything he does…

It is very interesting to get a sense of the interaction between the mangaka and his editor in the 1950s, as well as the background of that era. Cigarette smoke and Japanese-style toilets fill the pages. You can feel the era from the whole work.

Kaitoku criticizes Tezuka at every opportunity and continues to pursue Tezuka as his rival. He has an unusual rivalry with Tezuka, such as deciding to get married if Tezuka gets married. This situation is depicted in a very comical manner. It is amusing to see how he is shaken by the awesomeness of Osamu Tezuka (the god of manga) and how he is so conscious of it all that he becomes funny. Even though the main character stands out for his crazy and funny side, before you know it you fall in love with Kaitoku.

Chaser means a person who chases, and Kaitoku is literally chasing Osamu Tezuka. This is an unusual storyline, it depicts a manga artist who admires and is jealous of the manga god. Read on to find out how conflicted manga artist Kaitoku Mitsuichi struggles to keep up!

The protagonist of the story is Akiko Hayashi, a girl who grew up in Miyazaki and wants to become a manga artist. In her third year of high school, Akiko starts attending a spartan painting class through a friend in order to go to art school. There, she was abused by her teacher Kenzo Hidaka for her poor sketches and disciplined like an animal every day.

The certain developments that unfold as soon as the story begins are extremely interesting and captivating. The story is full of laughter and tears as it depicts the growth of a girl who thought she could easily get into art school and become a manga artist without any difficulty.

Her acceptance into art school, university life, finding a job, working, and becoming a manga artist. Her interaction with her former teacher is profound and sure to move the heart. The drawings of every character are brilliant, and it is a wonderful manga that will make you laugh but will also touch your heart.

The story begins in Osaka in the early 1980s. The main character is Honoo Moyuru, a student at the Department of Visual Planning at the Great Writer’s College of Arts. Honoo believes in his talent but is troubled by his lack of drawing ability and dreams of becoming a manga artist. The work depicts Honoo’s growth toward becoming a manga artist in a comedic manner.

Although it is supposed to be fiction, many manga artists and animators appear in the manga under their real names. The mix of realism and fiction makes this work enjoyable with a sense of reality.

In addition, the thoughts of aspiring to become a manga artist are depicted in a high-tension and passionate manner. This work is a must-read for those who aspire to be manga artists.

🏆 60th Shogakukan Manga Award 

It was serialized from November 2000 to June 2003, and was made into a radio drama on NHK in 2005. The author, Yowoko Nihonbashi, is the pen name of a married couple who co-wrote and drew her signature volleyball manga “Shojo Fight!” and many other works.

The story takes place in the present day. It is about Machizo Sakai, the son of the popular mangaka (manga artist) Taizo Sakai and an aspiring writer who meets with Tetsuo Hasegawa a talented manga artist. As they grow up while dealing with their own conflicts.

His father put manga first and did nothing to stop his mother when she left home. Because of this, he came to hate his father. Tetsuo, on the other hand, was a prodigy with a talent for manga. But his mother rejected the manga he drew for his father and since then he has kept his manga to himself.

One day, Tetsuo came across Machizo’s novel through an accidental dispute and sensed Sakai Taizoin it. He told Machizo “I can feel the scent of Sakai Taizo, but it is much stronger and gentler than that”. This was their fateful encounter. The two then decided to create a manga together.

The storyline is fascinating, as you can sense the emotional struggles of the two, who are shaken by their respective circumstances and backgrounds. The human drama depicted in this seinen manga is deeply moving.

The main character is a hot-blooded manga artist named Honoo Moyuru. The manga amusingly depicts his relationship with his assistants and editors working at Flame Productions.

For some reason, he always wears rugby headgear. The members of Flame Productions face various events and deadlines with extraordinary enthusiasm and vigor. However, they are so passionate that the people around them are bewildered and pushed around.

This manga depicts the manga world of the 1980s with a mixture of realism and fiction. It is a hot-blooded manga that is full of laughter and anguish, with a momentum that is second to none!

It began with Fukumoto, former chief assistant to Osamu Tezuka as the storyteller. Tezuka Productions, which had always been at the forefront of the manga world with a series of blockbuster hits, went bankrupt due to Mr. Tezuka’s slump.

It was during this time that Fukumoto met Taizo Kabemura, the famous editor-in-chief of Weekly Shonen Champion. At his request, Tezuka began the serialization of his masterpiece “Black Jack. This work, which broke all records, immediately became a topic of conversation and attracted a great number of manga fans.

Full of a Showa-era feel it is sure to be fresh for young readers and nostalgic for those who read Black Jack in real-time. More than a secret story of his creation, it is a wonderful work to bring you to know Osamu Tezuka, the god of manga.

The main characters are manga artist Kakushi Goto and his beloved daughter, Hime. Kakushi hides the fact that he is a manga artist. He wears a suit in the morning and changes into shorts on the way to work. The reason for this is that the mangas he draws are vulgar and he is afraid that Hime would hate him if she knew!

In the daily life of a father and his daughter, who want to keep his mangaka identity a secret, the real-life of a manga artist is depicted in a realistic and interesting way. Kakushi’s tearful efforts to keep his “drawing job” a “secret” for Hime-chan’s sake!

The author, Mr. Kumeta used to actually draw manga with underlying stories, so the story has a realistic feel. The story is realistic, and the comedic dialogue between the assistants is also an appealing aspect of this manga. The drawings have a delicate touch and are easy to read. It is a beautiful manga that will make you feel warm and happy!

Kurio Komitsu, 26 years old, is a rookie manga artist who has a serial in “Shonen Gelman”, a very large publishing company called Gelman Publishing Co.

His concern: personnel changes at Gelman Publishing. The editor in charge of his work who has gone to the great lengths to understand his work will be replaced. The next editor Mr. Tanaka brings in to take over is Kago, who seems to be lacking in self-confidence. He came from a monthly magazine called “Cargo Pants Monthly,” which dealt with the topic of cargo pants.

The company’s policy was to change editors once a week, and one after another editors who had nothing to do with manga arrived. The difficulties of changing editors and the dialogue between Komitsu and Matsui (his assistant) is drawn with a gag-like style that is very amusing.

The tempo of the story is very fast-paced. Matsui’s characterization is also interesting and funny. A gag manga about a mangaka that will make you laugh at the everyday life of a manga artist. Even if you read it casually, you will definitely be laughing out loud before you know it!

The main character is not a manga artist. He is a university student, Kokoro Kurosawa working hard just to win a gold medal in judo. When an injury prevents him from competing in the Olympics, he decides that he wants to create a manga like the ones he read as a child!

He takes an exam to get into a major publishing company. Fortunately, Kokoro passes the written test and goes in for an interview. Despite the fact that he throws away the company’s president who was dressed up in costume at the interview, he is hired by the company because of his unwavering attitude. He was then assigned to the editorial department of Vibes, a weekly comic magazine.

Yes, this is about a protagonist who struggles as an editor and in the manga world. There are lots of jobs involved in a publishing company, such as editors, sales representatives, and bookstores. This is a very different perspective on manga than we have seen before. A manga is never created by a single artist, and the work demonstrates the passion of everyone who participates in the production.

This work is also unique because it depicts the human charm of the characters so well. The main character, Kokoro, in particular, has a beautiful and straight heart.

It is a masterpiece for every working person in the world!

The protagonist of the story is Norito Fushimi, a high school boy who aspires to become a manga artist. He devotes much of his time to manga and completes a 60-page masterpiece during his summer vacation.

He then takes the story to the editorial department of his favorite magazine Torus, but the result is a dismal failure. Still, Norito refuses to give up and continues to work hard with a renewed spirit. His destiny is greatly changed by his encounter with a psychic girl, Rin Ishidou.

The most attractive point of this manga is the overwhelming passion of the characters who aspire to become an artist. Norito has the possibility of contracting a hereditary disease that causes his body to become immobile, and he draws manga in a situation where he does not know when he will no longer be able to draw manga. That is why Norito’s attitude of devoting all his energy to the manga in front of him is the best.

Another characteristic of Harold Sakuishi’s works is that the email characters are cute. Norito has something to do with a beautiful girl at school Akahina Honda, and a psychic girl Rin Ishidou. Even though they do not seem to be related to each other. How the relationship with these girls develops is also a highlight of this work.

The main character of the story is Mutsumi Namikawa, who works as an assistant in order to make her debut as a manga artist. Throughout the manga, we see her growth and development as she struggles to cope with the personalities of pro mangakas.

Basically, the story is drawn as a complete story, and the content is in a comedic style. One of the charms of this work is that it is easy to read and laugh at, so it can be enjoyed casually. Several of the characters stand out due to their strong personalities, including a senior with a foul mouth, another one who only gives BS advice, and a senior assistant who’s fond of gothic lolitas. They interact in such a way that you can’t help but laugh.

Even in such a comedic setting, Mutsumi’s efforts to become a manga artist are carefully depicted. It is impressive to see her moving forward step by step, despite his troubles.

Sachi Hikasa is the protagonist of the story and she is a first-year high school student with excellent athletic skills, beautiful eyebrows, and impressive academic achievements. She is greatly admired by others at school.

Moreover, she is a promising manga artist who has even won a rookie of the year award. In school, she hides the fact that she is a manga artist from everyone around her. In her class, there is a classmate, Alice Toyosaki, who is a total nerd and is always drawing manga.

One day, while Alice was drawing a manga a boy in her class with a bad temper read it out loud in front of the class and made fun of her, tearing it up. Seeing her classmate trampling on what she had seriously created, Sachi becomes enraged and punches him in the face. After that incident, Alice takes an interest in Sachi and invites her to join the manga research club.

The characters are all girls and it looks like a moe manga, but don’t be fooled by that. You will be struck by the character’s dedication to draw manga.

Another highlight of this work is the development of Sachi’s struggles surrounded by strong characters. It is fascinating to be swept away by the members of the manga club.

The passion of these high school students will move you to tears, so be sure to read this manga!

• Place: Kyoto, Japan
• Period： Late Sengoku – Edo period
• Theme: Musashi Miyamoto, Kojiro Sasaki

The protagonist of the story is Yudai Watabe who aspires to become a manga artist. He is a 27-year-old young man attending a manga artist training course at a vocational school. But as the title says, he is a “manga artist who does not draw”.

He has not a shred of talent, but in order to turn a blind eye to his own incompetence, he gives any reason not to draw. He has never even drawn a name, and yet he spends his days criticizing other people’s work. The story depicts how he deals with his manga.

Watanabe (the main character) is just a bum. While he criticizes others’ successes, he believes it could have been more successful if it had been drawn by him. However, he does not draw. It is hard to understand how he attracts the people around him despite being incompetent, arrogant, and pompous. His words influence people around him and women who like him.

The second point of this manga is that you can empathize with him to a moderate degree. Everyone has probably felt like Watanabe at least once, whether it was feeling jealous of other people’s successes or not doing things out of a lack of confidence. While he is a scruffy protagonist, you can relate to him somehow, and you can’t hate him either. This makes him such a lovable character.

A fantastic gag manga that will make you both laugh and cry!

The main character of this manga is based on Fujiko-Fujio himself (this is a half-autobiographical manga). Michio becomes friends with a boy named Shigeru Saino at his new school, who is of course inspired by Fujiko Fujio. The story is somewhat adapted, but we get to know the story from their first encounter to their successes.

How did they think and how did they continue to create their works until they reached their current position? How much effort did they put in until they became successful? Their images are depicted in a pop style that is fun to read and gives you a sense of great encouragement.

This work is a must-read for everyone who is challenging themselves in any way, regardless of whether they aspire to be manga artists or not!

🏆 Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize Special Award in 2014

Summary

Now that you’ve seen our top 15 recommended manga about manga artists, what do you think?

These are all mangas that will give you a sense of the human drama and philosophy that comes from the harsh world of manga. If you find a work that interests you, please read it! You will surely fall in love with manga even more than before.