When two mangakas gather (with Rea Wylie | Part 1)

Just two mangakas gushing about their favourite mangakas and workflows. (Collaboration with Rea Wylie)

Harshini: Hello!

We're very glad you're here to celebrate the 50th article of this newsletter, (Harshini Writes) with us!

Yes, I said “We”, because a special guest and a great friend is going to be joining us today in this discussion.

Before I get more into what we're discussing today, let's welcome our guest,

Rea Wylie

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Rea: Hi! Thanks for having me as a guest! I’m an amateur mangaka working on making my own webcomic/manga series! And I’m super excited to talk about the medium with Harshini!

Harshini: Hi! I'm glad to have you here, Rea.

Now a quick note to the readers: be sure to check out Rea's newsletter where she shares about her mangaka routine, updates on her comic, and awesome hand-drawn items available on her online store:

Rea Wylie | Webcomics, Manga, Storytelling

also check out her 2nd newsletter where she reviews interesting manga series:

The Junk Drawer

Alright! Today, we're going to be discussing our favorite mangakas and thoughts on manga creation.

We're going to be coming up with some questions we would want to ask a fellow mangaka and answer them here.

Are you ready?

Rea: Totally! Let’s get into it.

Question #1: What was your first exposure to manga? And do you have any clear memory of first discovering that?

Harshini: I think… It was about 4 years ago. The first manga I read was Noragami (by a duo under the pen name, Adachitoka). It was a supernatural, classic battle shounen manga, but somehow unique and different from other shounen manga. (And I absolutely love the background music from the anime adaptation.)

The manga had art that seemed awesome to my younger teenage brain. I felt that the characters were actually moving because of the way the artists drew the characters. Even recently, I’ve referred back to its pages to study the perspectives, poses, expressions, and techniques the artists used.

Probably one of my biggest inspirations to start making manga, even though I completely thought I could never ever make manga at that time.

Rea: That’s awesome! My first exposure was probably almost 5 years ago. The first manga I ever read was a random volume of “Yotsuba&!”, a slice-of-life comedy by Kiyohiko Azuma at a library.

I immediately knew I wanted to dive into this world and that this was something I wanted to be able to draw.

I remember getting the first volume of that series for Christmas that year, flying through it, and then re-reading it to look at the art. The binding is pretty worn now!

Harshini: ohh, “Yotsuba&!”. I've heard of it a few years ago too, someone said that it was a good manga to read for beginners and I really loved the detailed backgrounds it had!

Question #2: With many mangakas switching to drawing digitally nowadays, do you also prefer the digital medium, or do you prefer the traditional method?

Harshini: I've been drawing traditionally for most of my life and picked up digital art more than half a year ago. So far, I can say they're both equal to me.

Digital is convenient because there are a lot of tools and options that can't be used traditionally. And we don't have to scan it or take care of the fragile, physical manuscript. (I'm a bit clumsy when it comes to preserving papers.)

And most of all, digital manga doesn't require expensive materials. Where I live, manga papers, pens, and screentones are super expensive! (Industry-level art programs cost less).

I love drawing on paper, whether it's for pencil portraits or sketches. It is when my years of drawing skills truly shine. But, when it comes to making manga, I prefer the digital medium more.

Rea: I don’t know if I could say I’ve been a traditional artist for most of my life, but I’ve only done one manga project traditionally.

So, in the sense of manga, I don’t have as much experience with traditional in terms of using dip pens on big paper and transferring screentones.

It’s a super fun process digitally and traditionally, but each has pros and cons. I’d love to work on projects that involve both (or one of each) to get experience with.

Can’t really beat the zoom-in feature though. I’ve tried zooming in on physical paper all too many times lol.

Harshini: Haha, it reminds me of that one time when I went back to drawing on paper after drawing digitally for a few months. I tried to undo a line by clicking on a regular pencil mistaking it for a stylus (out of habit). 🤣

Question #3: Who are your top 2-3 mangakas / comic creators? What makes them your favorite? (Or which of their works are your favorite and why?)

Harshini: Ah… this is going to be a long one. Hope you're ready.

I absolutely love the way Takeshi Obata draws. (The artist of Death Note and Bakuman.) He makes it look so easy and satisfying. (Like- just look at this video of him drawing):

Watching him draw makes me want to draw smoothly so that it feels satisfying to the soul.

The next mangaka I really admire would be Kohei Horikoshi. (The artist of My Hero Academia). The quality of his art is amazing. The way he draws hands is on another level. Also, his Twitter(X) sketches will make you ask “THIS is a ‘sketch’??”

I've never seen someone sketch like it's a full-fledged artwork until I saw how he sketches.

This is the best video I found that will accurately show how ridiculously awesome his art is (Watch it):

Another mangaka I want to mention is Gege Akutami, the artist of Jujutsu Kaisen. We don't know their real name or their gender. They also talk through a robot mask whenever they appear on camera, keeping their identity completely private. You can see them appearing in this short video:

Gege's rough art style is something I really like. It reminds me that my lines don't need to be perfect in order for me to become a professional.

(Many mangakas became pros even though their art wasn't particularly good. Other attributes like uniqueness, story, hardwork and luck helped them climb to the top. But it doesn't mean that art isn't important. Many artists have become pros because of their fantastic art).

I think I mentioned Noragami before.

And I also mentioned Bakuman twice in this newsletter before, Haha. It just gives me so much energy.

Rea: Oh those are great choices! Let’s see… I think my tops would be:

Kazuki Takahashi (The creator of Yu-gi-oh!, The Comic, etc) I’d probably give him my #1 slot. His art style was so sharp and edgy, I love it sooo much. His use of black and screentones are just awesome. I also love the use of scratchy art to emphasize facial expressions. Here’s a video of him drawing:

Another one would be Tatsuya Endo (The creator of Spy x Family). His storyline and art are just amazing. It’s super detailed, and balances a wide variety of screentones throughout, using less black. The line art really does shine though, all the hatch marks and clothing are super well done. Here’s a video of him drawing:

Last, I’d say probably Kouji Miura (Blue Box) or Miriam Bonastre (Hooky, Marionetta). Miura’s work is just so pretty, and super detailed in close-ups, it’s very eye-catching. For the webcomics Hooky and Marionetta, the art isn’t necessarily manga style, but still super inspiring. It’s so colorful and expressive, and the storylines are amazing. *sigh* I can’t seem to find a drawing video for either of them.

Harshini: that reminds me, I also recently took a liking to the Blue Box manga. The way the artist draws the hair is amazing. (I see, the mangaka’s name is Kouji Miura. I'm just learning that, lol).

Rea: Isn’t it? The hair sure is something. I’m excited about the rising popularity of Blue Box since the anime’s release on Netflix.

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Rea: I suppose it’s time to wrap things up for now, isn’t it?

Harshini: Yes! That was fun! ✨

I got to know more about the mangakas who inspired you and I enjoyed talking about my favorites too.

Rea: Same here! Thanks again for having me as a collaborator. 😁

Harshini: I'd like to thank you for joining as well. (It's my first time collaborating with someone). But, it isn't over yet, because…. We'll be doing a part 2!

Until then, stay tuned. See you!

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Thank you for reading! I hope you liked reading this article and I hope it was helpful. Come again next week on Friday for a ✨new post✨

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