CAA: Christian Anime Alliance

Dear aspiring manga artists (you know who you are), since we don't have our own webmanga/manga thread yet, I'll kick this in "General." (Admin, I apologize if you feel this is more appropriate in "Manga mania")


The point of this post is to sincerely encourage you in your efforts.


1)I know that it's not easy to produce a good storyline without compromising God's Law (applicable to writers as well).

2)I know that it's not easy to self teach yourself manga techniques especially if you don't have enough resources (money, artbooks...). "Arrgghh, how do I get that lightning effect?"

3)I know that it takes time to scavenge screentones/fonts from the internet and it takes EVEN more time to make your own screentones/fonts.

4) I know that it's not easy drawing manga characters...."hmm..how come I can't get the pose that I want? Why is my main character's head too big? Gah!!"

5)I know it takes time to get that scanned drawing cleaned up while trying to fix that resolution.

6)I know that doing all this is frustrating when your computer is slow and it takes 5 minutes just to scan one page and you're running out of disk space and memory.

7)I know that it takes A LOT of time just getting all those blistering screentones, fonts and panels to look good together.

8)I know that it takes time to put together a nice website, to upload your manga files and to make sure ppl can read it easily.

9)I know it must be frustrating when readers start bugging you for the next chapter 2 seconds after reading Chapter 1. (hey at least, they're interested... )

10)I know that it's annoying that after all these efforts, you're most likely NOT going to make any money out from this. "Dangit!!"

Just so you know, I KNOW. And more importantly, GOD KNOWS. We're fools for God. Doing all this for His purpose simply because He did everything for us first. May you be filled with the joy of creating manga for the Creator and for blessing your readers. You have no reason to feel underappreciated....


Notes for artists:
1) If you want more feedback about your manga or want to discuss techniques, do feel free to PM me or others such as Inkhana, Gypsy, Psycho Ann etc.etc. I'm sure they'll love to help.
2) Submit your link to be added to CAA's Quicklinks so that more ppl will know that you're working on a manga.
3) Join Cognatio, a Christian manga webring created by PsychoAnn
4) Post your works on the Artworks thread often enough to get attention..

Cheers

That was a great post Mic.....Mave thanks for the boost of confidence

This is an awesome post! I'm a bit of an aspiring manga artist who hasn't produced a manga yet =D

Thanks for the encouragement.. you rock.

It was good to read this, and I certainly hope that it can be an encouragement to many. Well written and I assume well thought out. Perhaps, though, you mean that we are all "tools of God" not "fools of God." Unless you really meant that.

Maybe she means fools (in the world's eyes) for God.

1 Cor. 1:27 But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty

I don't consider myself an artist, but maybe with time I could become one, who knows. Thanks for this post anyway.

Thanks, though I think this is directed more toward the really good artists here, rather than me.

I have a manga, of sorts. I'm constantly forgetting to update the website (though I have several pages already done, unloaded, ready to go... I just forget to go to my site week by week to do the html coding -_- )

It's not really any kind of "manga" or "comic" style that I know.. it's drawn in... my own weird style. Manga-influenced, but I'm not sure it's good enough to call manga...

Furthermore, the storyline... is something I consider secular. There are Christian elements to it, and the "most good aligned" characters are Christians, but the storyline more has to do with conflicts of war and peace and concience than with outright Gospel. The main character is a very conflicted individual, and he's also an atheist.

Maybe it is Christian, then, in that sense... it's like the Christians in the comic are there to try to provide the main character answers, but he's still unconvienced and is looking for answers still. It's just that... my comic is not "preachy"... and if, by some miracle, someone wanted to print publish it, unless they were a specfically Christian compay, I wouldn't market my comic as "Christian"... because it's not... terribly preachy and we all know that most "Christian" entertainment out there is.. well, preachy and cheesey... My work is more - a secular storyline (that many non-Christians I know like), that has elements of Christianity here and there. Basically, secular story written by someone with a Christian worldview?

In any case... I don't think it's really "Chrsitian" enough to try to get linked on Anime Angels or anything... plus... I don't flinch with gore. My comic is fairly violent - has a lot to do with war, the meaning of killing... and I like to draw... detailed gorey things that freak some people out. It's just not to everyone's taste, I think.

But, yeah, thanks for the encouragement, anyway.

>I wouldn't market my comic as "Christian"... because it's not... terribly preachy and we all know that most "Christian" entertainment out there is.. well, preachy and cheesey...

Yeah, this has been my observation (with notable exceptions, of course). I just...*sigh*...stories that are like, "Oh quick! Run out and become a Christian because these characters say it's the right thing to do and let's all stand around and sing happy songs!"...those really bother me. I'm trying to avoid that in my own work - I think the best way to influence people (especially non-Christians) is to show through deed, not through words, so I try to let my characters' actions speak for themselves. Whether or not I have succeeded may be questioned, but at least this is my attempt.

thats great And I would contribute...if I had a scanner that worked I dont have a scanner cable yet (how much do they csot???)

Anyways, what if you're manga isn't really Christian. Cause mine that im crueently working on right know can get.....er....violent. Like Rurouni Kenshin/Samurai X/Hellsing violent. And a guy dancing on a table drunk in his skivies

I meant 'fools' in a biblical way. You've hit it on the nail, St Kevin. I have some unbeliever friends who think I'm completely NUTS to give up my manga drawing hobby for this cause without hoping for $$$$ back. But UC, I definitely agree with "tools of God" as well.

Haibane Shadsie wrote:Thanks, though I think this is directed more toward the really good artists here, rather than me. It's not really any kind of "manga" or "comic" style that I know.. it's drawn in... my own weird style. Manga-influenced, but I'm not sure it's good enough to call manga...

Hey, anyone's welcomed. ^^ I have no right to judge whose art is 'good' or not or decide that "if it's not 'manga' enough, we're not accepting it". I'm glad you posted here coz somehow I missed knowing about your webcomic. I'll be checking it out!

Now, I haven't really seen the cheesy and preachy stuff you've mentioned. 0.o Like Inky said, I hope to be as realistic and down to earth as much as possible. But that brings us to the topic that I personally would like to avoid but can't.

Really, what makes a manga, "christian"? It's a big gray area, trying to make that definition. Personally, I don't think there's a clear answer to that.
For example, Hitokiri, referring to your question, should Christian manga be completely clean of violence? Boy oh boy...I see a lot of discussions and opinions on that question alone. I think this thread may serve this purpose of discussion (EX: Do you think I should put this element in my manga? etc etc) But everyone's gotta be nice to each other, OK? This thread is an encouragement thread, no nasty mean critiques is allowed.

I just want you all to know that my vision is to support Christian manga artists not just in drawing techniques but also to bring emphasis on your spirituality and Christian growth. Terribly ambitious heh? but if God puts it in my heart, I'm going to do it.

Hitokiri, to answer your question, I think it's Ok to have some elements of violence and erm...dancing drunk ppl (0.o) as long as you indicate somehow that it's not a good thing to be encouraged. But of course, that's my input.

Cheers

inkhana wrote:Yeah, this has been my observation (with notable exceptions, of course). I just...*sigh*...stories that are like, "Oh quick! Run out and become a Christian because these characters say it's the right thing to do and let's all stand around and sing happy songs!"...those really bother me. I'm trying to avoid that in my own work - I think the best way to influence people (especially non-Christians) is to show through deed, not through words, so I try to let my characters' actions speak for themselves. Whether or not I have succeeded may be questioned, but at least this is my attempt.

That exactly how I think when I come up with stories because I don't want it to be a sermon I just want it to get people thinking down those lines you know open up their mind a bit. Because many people can relate to what they read it makes a for a great field to work of even if you just get them to think about how there lives are and then compare it to the characters. They mite see that hey even though this character is going through some troubles he still stands up for what he believes in and doesn't let the world drag him down so maybe I could do the same.

Mave wrote: Hitokiri, to answer your question, I think it's Ok to have some elements of violence and erm...dancing drunk ppl (0.o) as long as you indicate somehow that it's not a good thing to be encouraged. But of course, that's my input.

well.....let me explain. Thiers lots of blood at times. A guy gets shot int he head, people getting stabbed, etc. As the guy drunk, he's the main character. Well....he does get beat up by some guy so....maybe by being drunk you will get beat up.

Ohh...chapter 3 has a half-naked guy (he appears naked ont he road cause he gambles and he gambled his clothes......kinda like what we see in Trigun and Vash).

Hopefully I can get my scanner hooked up and you guys can be the judge of what's appropriate.

Mave wrote:Cheers

Good show

Totally agree with Ink and the rest about the typical cheesy preachy stuff marketed towards Christians. If we intend to use comics (manga or whatever) in a way that not only glorifies God, but also aims to get the gospel out, we have to do it in such a way that we don't turn off readers before they really get a chance to get in to the stiry. Also, here's a thought. Perhaps the manga does not have to be "Christian" at all, maybe it could just be a tool to get people to come to your site, where they could also hear your testimony in an "Author's Bio" section, or through personal correspondence. However we do it though, we must aim to keep God as our reason for our efforts, and we must obey our Lord's mandate to "go, and make disciples of all nations," (Matt 28:19 NKJV).

Hitokiri I think you need to ask yourself this question: Will having people get stabbed and shot in the head make my story better. I'm going out on a limb here but I'm going to say probably not. I can't condemn you for what you do though, the Lord knows your heart, and remember, you will have to answer to Him, not to any of us, for why you do what you do, artistically and otherwise.

Thanks! That was a really encouraging. ... I don't have time... I will probably post here agaion... some time in the future... no idea when... but iI think I will some time... Thanks anyhow!

A very Inpirational Post...

I haven't read Ink's manga yet! I'm so bad about reading webcomics. I'm bad about a lot of things... wind up getting involved in my own stuff... and watching TV, and goofing around online... I'm a huge time-waster... I have... unwatched anime sitting around the house! *gasp!*

Yeah, I even forget to update my own comic half the time.

But... yeah... the violence in my comic... is rather intense in places, but I always have a reason for it. I don't portray it as good. The story is set in an era of a lot of war... I will always write and draw battlescenes (in stories and comics) with a lot of ickiness. You see... I don't like how war is sometimes portrayed as a glorious thing. Sure, I've never been in a war (directly), but I know from history... that war is Hell.

I mean... it's like, my favorite authors are C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien... but one thing that always kind of disturbed me in reading "The Chronicles of Narnia" and "The Lord of the Rings" were when there were chivilrous characters feeling the "joy of battle" or being very happy about the business of killing. It was portrayed as the righteous defending the innocent and all, but, still, it always distrubed me that battle was seen as a rather good thing...

So... when I write a battle scene in a story or draw one (as for my comic), I tend to put a lot of blood... I want to potray it as a hellish, awful thing. War is a hellish, awful thing - so I seek to convey that.

Also, my main character... he justifies what he does as a soldier, and a lot of it has to do with traumatic events in his past. His reasons for killing are reasons that would drive any of us to give into hate. He is a very vengeful man. I think he is probably best comprable to Rin in "Blade of the Immortal"... she has "good" reasons for her quest of vengence - what happened to her family. My main character is a warrior for similar reasons that Rin has become an assassin... and, like Rin, the vengence that he feels is actually tearing him apart inside.

The main character's life is a path of blood, sorrow, and questioning. I have violence in my comic, and I have an odd facination with drawing gorey things... (I am a weird person who likes finding dead animal carcasses in the desert and poking them with a stick @_@... and if you've been to my main art site, you've probably seen my bone art... maybe my non-squemishness has to do with being a butcher's daughter, as well?)... but I have reasons for violent scenes, and I don't think I put too much of that in the comic. Most of my comic so far seems to be philosophical conversations between people @_@. ... The violence in my story is not potrayed as "fun". On the contrary, it's potrayed as hellish and painful.

Hmm... I do have a teeny bit of "fanservice", but it's for humor. I just thought it would be hilarious to have my main warrior character sleep "commando style" and have an embarrasing moment when his sister walks in on him looking for a pet cat that gets in his bedroom and gives him a rude awakening by pouncing on him.... Those scenes dont' show anything significant, but I think some people here would think of them as "too fanservicey". It was for a humorous scene to lighten the tone of the comic at a much needed place.

Hitokiri wrote:well.....let me explain. Thiers lots of blood at times. A guy gets shot int he head, people getting stabbed, etc. As the guy drunk, he's the main character. Well....he does get beat up by some guy so....maybe by being drunk you will get beat up.

Ohh...chapter 3 has a half-naked guy (he appears naked ont he road cause he gambles and he gambled his clothes......kinda like what we see in Trigun and Vash).

Hopefully I can get my scanner hooked up and you guys can be the judge of what's appropriate.

Good show

Do try and get it scanned. It's a lot easier to evaluate seeing it in picture form rather than having it explained in words. ^^ I will feature a murder and some violence in my manga later on (but nothing unnecessary and glorified). I'm not a gore fan so you'll see me try to present the violence as tactfully and subtle as possible...hehe Can't believe you're at Chap 3 already? Wow....it takes me forever to get Chap 2 done ...

yeah, why i added "blood, gore, etc. is to make it more realistic. It somone is cut by a sword but no blood shows up....it doesn't look realistic.

but I get what you're saying.

Actually, me and my friend have been thinking bout doing a Crhsitian Manga....Almost like a "Hero" thing (that rock opera featuring mark stuart, michel tait, etc).

I also have questionable content in mine since well... I dunno, there's something about you can't tell about love without knowing hate and you can't tell peace without showing violence. The Bible itself is full with violence and "questionable material" but it shows that God is honest in shedding light on what the world is really like and just how loving He is to die for it regardless. ^^

So, I'd say showing violence, etc just for the sake of it is WRONG. Showing violence, ect for the sake of emphasing peace/love would be a good strategy ^^ (not too much that it overides any good points though!!! O_o) Hehehe, sorta like a bloody battlefield and then two opposing sides shake hands--it's a much more dramatic shot than having two strangers shake hands on the street. (if that doesn't make sense then... well, ah, can't help you there ^^;;; )

Anyway, I never really noticed this thread before I wonder if I can post some tips I PM-ed to wiggins. Or is there another thread for that somewhere else?? O_o;; I think I'll go looking first....

^__^ hehe! I'm so glad I found this thread! I've been wanting to make a christian manga for a while now. I never knew it existed yet. XD but then I bumped into your site and Pyscho Ann's site and was SO INSPIRED!!! But then I started to have that whole feeling that like I wasn't good enough skill wise and shouldn't even bother. Even though I wanted to start one SO BAD, I was intimidated. But its really cool cause I read this thread when you just posted it and it really made me realize that I should let that get in the way. It could have been Satan putting all that doubt in my head. Thanks for waking me up! ^__^ \/

Hey there spirited,

My fav. stolen phrase is "Just do it!" You know what to do now!

EDIT: BTW, you've got the cutest avatar I've ever seen....! awwww...

Long post, but it's got an educational purpose. ^_^

Madoka Mako - Christian Comics Pioneer
http://members.aol.com/christiancomics1/Madoka.html

Madoka-San was born Misuzu Kato in the 1950s. She took the pen-name "Madoka Mako" (or "Mako Madoka" in the Japanese order) when she began her professional career in comics and illustration.

As a child she was very interested in, and influenced by, the humorous manga comics style of Osamu Tezuka (creator of Astro Boy). She believed in Jesus at the age of ten and decided then that she wanted to make comic book versions of movies such as "The Ten Commandments" and "Ben Hur." However, she knew, even as a child, that the light-hearted and gag-oriented manga style she enjoyed and practised was not adequate to illustrate such epic stories.

When she was 15 years old, Madoka-San discovered gekiga, a very realistic and serious form of Japanese comics, both artistically and in storytelling style. She has said that when she saw it she knew, "This is it!" In those days the gekiga style was not fully developed, and she dreamed about the different kinds of gekiga style that she would like to do. However by the time she started working as an assistant of an established secular gekiga artist, gekiga had established a bad reputation, known for its emphasis on themes such as sex, violence and gambling. Police departments were even checking gekiga books to stop the more extreme ones from being produced and distributed.

She felt that one of the good points about gekiga was that it influenced Japanese girl's (sho-jyo) comics, and manga, and expanded the possibilities of developing comic book styles. After a while there was no border between gekiga and manga, and Madoka-San was able to do the kind of comics she had always dreamed of doing.

However she found that many Christians were not in favour of her manga. In the early 1970s she was "chased away from a church" because of the comics she was producing. She says that a man in the church once shouted at her, "No way that you can draw Christianity with manga!" She did not have any place to work and supported herself with other part time jobs. In her spare time, Madoka-San continued to make gekiga Christian tracts of sixteen to thirty two pages. Then one day, she received a letter which reported that seven people were saved through her gekiga tracts in a single day, which greatly encouraged her.

"A comic tract is good for attracting people's interest to read," she has written. "If it is not in comic form, people would not read it and would just throw it away."

In the beginning of the 1990s, Madoka-San produced a series of 3 black & white personal testimony comics for by Sinsei Undou/New Life League. These were entitled "Heaven's Newscaster" ("Tengoku No Nyuusukyasuta" - Testimony of Yamakawa Chiaki), "A Wonderful Life" ("Subarashiki Jinsei" - Testimony of Yoneko Tahara) and "Touched by the Light" ("Hikari Nifurerarete" - Testimony of Morofuji Kenji), all shown here.

Around this same time she drew "Glory to Jesus," a rock comic about the music group EIKO-GO/Electric Church (shown below, right).

Madoka-San drew a number of manga tracts for ICM Press (International Chapel Ministries) in Ikoma, including the popular "Grandma" tract (shown here at left with the green cover), "My Life,"and (in 1996) a two-colour manga tract, "True Love Waits" (shown below, at right, with the red/pink cover) which was created to teach young girls about how wrong prostitution is. Madoka-San explained her reasons for producing such a tract: "There are young girls who prostitute themselves just to get expensive clothes and bags. They are not involved in prostitution to make a living, but to purchase luxury items. I drew this comic for these girls to read. The 'heroines' are two high school girls. I inserted lots of gags, but brought a very serious message at the end. In this story, there is a woman who is older than these high school kids, and who had a similar experience (of prostitution). She explained the reasons why prostitution, or sex outside marriage, is wrong. She also told them what the Bible teaches about it." Over 50,000 copies of this booklet were printed and the majority of the print-run was distributed. "There are two college students who came to the church through that tract. One missionary distributed those tracts to students in the school for stewardesses, and many responded," she added.

Madoka-San has drawn other gekiga books including "Sito no hataraki" ("Acts"), shown here, below left. "These are answers from God to my prayers," she said.

While Madoka-San has produced comics and tracts for both male and female readers, a number of them seem to have been created especially for women and girls. "Normally, these are called 'ladies comic' and 'sho-jyo (girls) comic'," she explained. "These are different from boys' comics in that the main theme is to depict the details of emotions and feelings. The artists design the layout creatively to exhibit the feelings of the characters. Some artists make effective use of blank or white space." One of these tracts was about a lady who was involved with fortune-telling, based on a true story. "She suffered with problems caused by occult activities, but she was set free by Jesus Christ," said Madoka-San. "This booklet had quite an influence on many people. Even today, there are many people, especially women, who seek fortune-tellers for guidance, who are attracted to occult. Nobody teaches them that it's dangerous, and people accept them without any question. Thus there are many problems because of the occult and fortune-telling. We need comic tracts to help people avoid these dangers. This necessity is growing more and more."

She went on to say, "Currently there are many manga about sex, violence, gambling, occult and the 'New Age.' Especially in animation and video games, the occult is a very popular theme. If children read those occult comics too much, it affects their minds. If those children grow up and become Christians, and draw Christian comics, those comics might be horrible and dangerous. In manga, the artist's thoughts and spirituality are exhibited clearly. If you are a Christian, and want to draw Christian comics, you may need to purify yourself from the influence of those evil comics before starting anything else. Anyone who is considering drawing manga, please pray to God first. That is the most important step. As you start with prayer, I believe that God will bless your work."

Among her other work, Madoka-San has painted a number of Christian children's books (one example shown at left), drawn for Word of Life Press publications, and rendered over 500 comics-style illustrations for a CD of full colour, bilingual overhead projection (OHP) sermon presentations (as shown at right) produced by Kenny Joseph of R.E.A.P. Mission.

She has also illustrated kami-sibai pictures for Sunday school materials. (Madoka-San explains, "After World War II, there was not much entertainment in Japan. Children enjoyed Kami-Sibai or 'picture-story card' shows. Japanese kami-sibai were read by a storyteller. He had a series of illustrations of a story prepared as big 'flash cards,' and the cards were put in a wooden box. The storyteller was like an orator of silent films... but he is able to receive response from the children, which has different effect from TV, which is simply one way communication. Sometimes it is hard for Japanese children to understand the Bible stories that are originally published in the States. Since most of Japanese children have very little background knowledge about the Bible, extra help from the pictures is often needed.")

At one time Madoka-San was known as the most prominent Christian manga artist in Japan. Now (as happens so often with many long-established comics artists and cartoonists) publishers and readers have begun to consider her style as having gone out of fashion. In addition, her latest book "The History of Japanese Christianity" (June 2000), shown at left, has been very controversial among evangelicals in her country.

Madoka-San continues to operate her illustration studio "Madoka Creation" (her logo is shown at top by her name) in the greater Tokyo area.