Animation about the manga industry

Manga is one of the biggest entertainment media in Japan, and its close relationship with anime only highlights its importance in the country's culture. Hundreds of new manga are released every year, and while not all of them are successful, it's clear that the powerhouse that is the manga industry shows no signs of slowing down.

Manga and anime have a wide range of subjects and topics, and making manga is naturally one of them. It's always interesting to see how the manga industry works behind the scenes. Here are some great anime that show what it's like to make a manga.

Updated on October 15, 2024 by Hamza Haq: Looking behind the scenes at creating lovable characters, storylines, and all the different scenes that go into writing a manga is somewhat of a meta concept that has gained amazing popularity over the years. Many slice-of-life anime are made with a mangaka (someone who writes manga) as the protagonist. These anime usually romanticize and sometimes criticize the grueling nature of the industry and the constant competition to push out more volumes day in and day out while still managing to convey the appeal of touching people's lives through the unique medium of manga.

10 A neighboring galaxy

A neighboring galaxy The story follows a struggling mangaka who has become a homeowner who is suddenly tasked with taking care of his younger siblings after the death of his father. She balances her grueling schedule and failed career with taking care of the little idiots. He hires a new female assistant to help with his manga, who turns out to be a star race princess. The main character accidentally touches a pen that buys him and reveals him as the princess's destined husband, bonding the two for life.

A neighboring galaxy is a rom-com anime wrapped as a slice of life in a sci-fi setting. The relationship between Ichiro (the protagonist) and Shiori (the princess) and the manga business are the focal points of the anime, with the children serving as comic relief with doses of sad reality.

9 Denky-guy

Denky-guy It tells the story of life at the Umanohone bookstore, a showcase for manga, dozen, light novels, and even games, told from the perspective of Umio, an otaku hoping to find work around what he loves most. While Umio is ostensibly the main character, the other Umanohone employees are just as important, if not more so. References to popular anime and light novels are sprinkled throughout the story, making the anime feel like it's part of the real world and something fans can easily relate to.

Denky-guy A wonderful light comedy about life in a busy manga shop. It's about the idyllic fantasy of living and breathing the passion of manga in a slice-of-life setting with no overarching goal other than to enjoy the ride. The cast of characters are grounded in reality and interact with each other in human ways. Throw in a little romance and comedy and it's an easy recipe for success.

8 comedy party

Kazuki Sendo and his friend Taishi Kuhonbutsu go to Tokyo Big Sight, where they find a large doujinshi convention called Comic Party. Impressed by the work displayed there, and an artist himself, Kazuki is encouraged by Taishi to begin making his own dojinshi.

Basically a dating SIM card, comedy party The focus is on the undertones of dojinshi, which are self-published manga by amateurs. The dojinshi community in Japan is as large as the manga community, and some dojinshi creators continue to create their own manga.

7 funny girls

Kaoruko Moeta is a high school mangaka whose work is trying to rank high in the magazine it is published in. His editor suggests he move into a special mangaka dormitory to work on improving his manga. At the dorm, Kaoruko meets a few other mangaka, whom she befriends rather quickly.

funny girls A very lifestyle series about a group of young women who work together to improve their manga. The series covers a wide range of genres, as each character works on a different manga.

6 Dozens of jobs

After losing her job as a store clerk, Najimi Osana is struggling to find an alternative job. When Najimi sees that his childhood friends Tsuyuri and Justice have both become successful Dojin artists, Najimi decides to become a Dojin artist himself.

Dozens of jobs It is a comedy story about the world of Doujinshi. Unlike other series Dozens of jobs It focuses less on the actual work and more on the comedy that occurs when certain actors are separated from each other. Despite this, the series shows how hard doujinshi artists work to create their art and sell it to others.

5 Comic artist and his assistants

Yuki Aito is a deviant man obsessed with shorts, despite being a fairly successful mangaka. His antics and whims are constantly moderated by his assistant Ashiso Sahuto, who is forced to keep him in line and prevent him from procrastinating or obsessing over the smallest things.

Comic artist and his assistants Another comedy series about the manga industry is from the same author Dozens of jobs. The series focuses more on the manga industry and the manga creation process, although the quirky characters are still present as always.

4 Kakoshigoto

Kakushi Goto is a fairly successful mangaka who even has his own manga creation company. However, since his manga is perverted, he wants to make sure his daughter Hime never finds out that he draws manga for a living.

Kakoshigoto A slice-of-life comedy series from the creator Sayonara, Zetsubo-sensei. Fans of that series can expect offbeat banter, dark and cynical comedy, and crazy misunderstandings. This series offers all this and more, as well as the author's unique perspective on the manga industry.

3 Nozaki Kan Girls' Monthly

Chiyo Sakura is in love with her classmate Umtaru Nozaki. However, when he confesses his love for her, she instead mistakes him for one of his admirers. It turns out that Nozaki is actually a shoujo mangaka who writes under a pen name, so Chiyo takes the opportunity to help Nozaki with his manga so he can get closer to her.

Nozaki Kan Girls' Monthly It's a funny romantic comedy with funny characters who all have their own quirks. While the series is more invested in comedy than the inner workings of the manga industry, it still offers some insight into what it's like to be a mangaka.

2 Genshiken

Newbies Kanji Sasahara and Makoto Kosaka join Genshiken, a cultural club where otakus discuss anime, manga, and video games. They are joined by Kusaka's girlfriend, Saki Kusakabe, who hates otaku and everything to do with them. The series follows these three characters and the rest of the club members as they spend their college days.

While Genshiken More about the otaku lifestyle than just the manga, it has a heavy focus on doujinshi, especially in the later episodes when the characters start working on an anthology for their club. The series takes a casual look at the doujinshi community, but still has a lot of insight to offer.

1 Bakuman

Moritaka Mashiro has two things he loves: painting and his classmate, Miho Azuki. His classmate Akito Takagi discovers his art and asks him to create manga with him. Moritaka understands the difficulties of making manga because of his late uncle, but when he learns that Miho plans to become a voice actress, Mashiro offers a promise: if his manga becomes an anime and Miho becomes the voice actress, they will get married.

Bakuman It is a series written by an iconic duo death note: Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata. These two infuse the excitement of erotic battle manga into what should be a slice-of-life series, making the manga-making process a tense and stressful experience.