New Course Opening At Kyoto Seika University from 2017: New Generation Manga Course/新世代マンガコース

The Only University in Japan With a Manga Faculty, Kyoto Seika University Will Open a “New Generation Manga Course/新世代マンガコース” To Train Creators Who Can Self-Produce Themselves.

～Expected Faculty Members Include Serialized Manga Illustrators Gou Oohinata and Keiichi Tanaka～

Kyoto Seika University will open a “New Generation Manga Course/新世代マンガコース” from April 2017, aiming to train next generation manga artists who can broaden the access of manga.
Kyoto Seika University emphasizes that the current manga business model is facing a big challenge now; relying on sales of paper-based comic books is becoming outdated, and new means of “illustrating, reading, and selling” are being developed. The course focuses on turning out writers and creators who can create new values using new generation business models.

The new course is being watched with great interest whether it can give a boost to the OTAKU culture, which is now one of the most prominent industries in Japan.

『New Generation Manga Course/新世代マンガコース』
https://www.kyoto-seika.ac.jp/edu/manga/newgenerationmanga/

【『New Generation Manga Course/新世代マンガコース』 Summary】

While the number of comic books and comic magazines sold is continuously decreasing year after year, more mangas are distributed on electronic devices such as smartphones. Also, more and more amateur manga artists post their work on SNS recently, and there are some works such as “Wotaku ni Koi wa Muzukashii (Fujita)” and “Kounoike Tsuyoshi to Neko no Ponta Nyaaaan! (Tsuyoshi Kounoike)” that turned out to be hit manga series that sold more than 1 million copies of comic books. What seemed to be the ordinary way of publishing a manga, which requires amateurs follow certain steps to send or literally bring in their work to the publishers, make a debut in a magazine, obtain a slot for the serialized manga and release of a comic book is no longer a standard business model. New generation manga artists should be able to know their strength themselves and to plan a manga that emphasizes their talents, to analyze the needs of readers ahead of others, to lead their work to success by cross-platform media franchise, and to become a creator who could produce by themselves totally. Kyoto Seika University will be the first university to open a course specialized for next generation manga creators, named “New Generation Manga Course/新世代マンガコース.”

Faculty members include Gou Oohinata and Keiichi Tanaka. Gou Oohinata not only specializes in gag mangas but also showed his producer’s skills in organizing manga-based oogiri (making a joke out of one picture) events. Previously worked in a tech company, Keiichi Tanaka is brilliantly talented in self-producing on SNS and also has experience as a game producer. Being active manga artists with works serialized in magazines, they can provide cutting-edge techniques and knowledge to students.

【『New Generation Manga Course/新世代マンガコース』 Expected Faculty Member】

○Gou Oohinata

Born in Akita, Japan, in 1969. Manga artist. Made a debut with four-panel cartoon “Kokoro wa Marin/心はマリン” on a manga magazine Comic Giga (Shufu-To-Seikatsusha) in 1991.

His past works include “Oyatsu/おやつ” (total 5 volumes, Akita Shoten), “Face Guard Toriko/フェイスガード虜” (total 6 volumes, Akita Shoten), “Inu no Juice Ya San Z/犬のジュース屋さんZ” (total 6 volumes, Shueisha), and “Ore ni Chimanako/俺に血まなこ” (Koei).

His recent work serialized in Comic Beam magazine “Medamayaki no Kimi Itsu Tsubusu?/目玉焼きの黄身 いつつぶす？” was adapted to anime on NHK in 2014.

He also worked with people from other fields; he published “Bakuman!” (Gentosha) in collaboration work with Japanese comedian unit Bakusho Mondai, designed Group Tamashii’s tour T-shirt and posters for theatre troupe Otonakeikaku (script by Kankurou Kudou), and drew illustrations for comedienne Michiko Shimizu’s DVD. He also organized “Gag Mangaka Oogiri Battle!!/ ギャグ漫画家大喜利バトル！！” which was held yearly from 2008 to 2012.

○Keiichi Tanaka

Manga artist. Made a debut with “Mr. Kawado/ミスターカワード” in 1984. His later work “Doctor Chichibuyama/ドクター秩父山” became a big hit and was adapted to anime.

From 1995 on, he became eminent as parody manga artist. Also, he got a job at toy manufacturer around the time of his debut. After that, he also worked for a game developer, a software company, and a digital book company, that he’s well known as a part-time manga artist.

【Curriculum and Career Path】

Freshman (Basic Techniques)：Learn the basic techniques of manga and digital illustration.
Sophmore (Applied Techniques)：Learn how to plan new manga and games, train in planning and marketing methods.

Junior (Practical Skills)：Train in techniques and methods of expression, presentation, and self-production

Senior (Comprehensive Skills)：Work on an individual senior project to culminate the learnings in a research seminar.