Mangakas in Japanese movies/dramas

As those connected to us through facebook already know: we went to anime convention this weekend! It was awesome. Anime is what started my need-to-know-about-Japan-love so it is a big part of my life. It must be the same for a lot of people. It made me realize how important are manga artists - mangaka's - in the social phenomenon that is "becoming a fan of Japanese pop culture/ Japan in general".
So this post is about how Japan portrays those amazing people in the moving picture format.

TROUBLEMAN - Tokuda Kazuo + 4 sad woman

 Kazuo didn't become mangaka himself, but he did become an assistant to Yamada Kikuko who already had three talented assistants. But it can get quite messy when there's one ikemen and four woman whose love life can be described as non-existing as all they do is work and work and work.

Chichi yo anata wa erakatta - Onodera Yu

 He is the example of people aspiring to become mangaka and the conflicts it may bring with one's parents - after all mangaka's paycheck is something that makes people eat instant ramen (I mean everyday and all the time ). The mangaka part is only in the beginning of the movie, so there isn't much to it.
As Kato Shigeaki played both Tokuda Kazuo in "TROUBLEMAN" and Onodera Yu in "Chichi yo anata wa erakatta" I have to add the fun fact that he actually is kind of mangaka in real life too! His novel "Pink to Grey" got serialized as a manga as soon as the novel came out in 2012.

Party wa owatta - Asakura Toake

 After a long time working friends must drag mangaka's out of their room just to show them the real world. But even so the friends can't stop the brain of mangaka. And so Toake is the perfect example how a small thing can be an inspiration for something big. And that you can work where ever you want to.

My darling is a foreigner - Saori

Saori shows how it might get difficult when a mangaka moves in with someone. As mangaka's mostly are freelancers who are trying hard to get a serialisation (that doesn't happen so often), then they need a lot of work with no interruptions. Through Saori we can also see what other possibilities mangaka's have in the work field.

Nihonjin no shiranai nihongo -Luca

 He represents the smallest group of mangakas - the foreign authors.Yes, they do exist. There have been many discussions about foreigners writing manga - wheter it is authentic manga or rather something similar to western comics. My opinion is that manga is manga no matter who writes it - when the appearance and story are manga like - then it's manga. 

Loss time life (ep. 5 "Childhood friend") - Hajime

 Hajime became a mangaka because he promised his childhood friend that he will become one. He is the example of "nothing comes when one doesn't give his best" - nowadays it is really difficult to have a break through but he was able to do it. He also portrays the reality of being a mangaka: living with his mother and having constantly sleepless nights.

If you thought being an manga artist is all about doing what you love, then you are wrong. As you can see even in dramas and movies mangaka's are portrayed as "workaholics whose life is filled with different problems". I think the more we should appreciate our favourites! :)