Someone who wants to move to Japan

[Bishamon]

Hello all, My name is Morgan, I'm 16 years old. Sometime in the future (post college) I want to move to japan and get a job there as a Manga artist. I know it may be hard being Gaijin and new, but I am willing to double major in English and Art, so i can have a masters in english, so I can use teaching to keep me afloat while I try to find a manga job. please tell me what you thing about this idea. Any CONSTRUCTIVE advice is appreciated. Please don't shoot me down, I'm just confused and I love with Japan as a whole. I appreciate your help, thanks!

Morgan.

what do you think I should do?:confused:

[Charles]

1. You don't need a masters to teach English, A Bachelor's degree in anything will suffice, unless you want a career position at a Japanese university, and then you'd probably be better off getting a Master's degree in Education. Or at least, that's what my friends who were Ed Majors told me.

2. You have essentially zero chance of getting a job as a manga artist in Japan. If you want to study art, that's great, but you'd pretty much have to be an acclaimed comic artist already, before you had any chance of getting the attention of Japanese publishers. Even if you could get a job, the pay is apparently pretty bad. Search around this board, and you'll find plenty of links to stories about Japanese artists abandoning the manga trade because the pay's so bad, and all the work is being outsourced to even cheaper workers in places like India or Korea.

I don't know what it's going to be like when you graduate from college, but people are always preparing for what's hot when they go IN to college, not realizing that everyone else has the same idea, and there's usually a glut of graduates to compete with. I remember when I went to college, everyone wanted to be a journalist, and 4 years later there were so many J-school grads the pay scales actually dropped and jobs were hard to get. So you really ought to think about preparing for whatever you cannot forsee. If you're interested in art, don't think about manga specifically, tastes may change, even yours. Study the fundamentals like drawing and painting, photography, etc. When I went to art school, I studied photography, computer graphics were primitive back then. But my studies in photography prepared me for applications like Photoshop much better than anything else I could have studied, so I was ready when it came along. Even if you really end up as a comic artist, you will do better to study traditional fundamentals like figure drawing & human anatomy, perspective drawing, art history, etc. and then you can easily adapt to whatever you end up doing. California has some of the greatest art schools in the world, CalArts, Art Center, SF Art Institute, Parsons, UCIrvine, etc, take advantage of them.
Maybe you should study Japanese too. I know my studies of Japanese literature were far more helpful to my studies of Japanese art history than I expected. Artists are storytellers to some extent, you need to know how to present a story, whether it is visual or verbal, there is a lot of crossover.
There's a saying from a famous artist, he said, "chance favors the prepared mind." You want to take a chance, and it's a chance in a million. So you'll have to prepare well. Become a well-rounded artist with a good basis in fundamentals, become a person with multiple interests in different artistic fields, and you'll have more resources to work with.
I hope you don't think this is throwing cold water on your dream. I'm an artist and it's about the hardest field to succeed in. It takes many years to become an overnight success, it is often said. So keep your eye on your dream, but realize the path may not be a straight line to your goal, it may take you to many other places first.

[AssKissinger]

I think you should try to come here as a student first.

[sillygirl]

or on a homestay. Does your school have any exchange programs? Start learning Japanese now. Good luck to you. Don't know anything about the manga industry, but nothing ventured....

[Pencilslave]

Hello all, My name is Morgan, I'm 16 years old. Sometime in the future (post college) I want to move to japan and get a job there as a Manga artist. I know it may be hard being Gaijin and new, but I am willing to double major in English and Art, so i can have a masters in english, so I can use teaching to keep me afloat while I try to find a manga job. please tell me what you thing about this idea. Any CONSTRUCTIVE advice is appreciated. Please don't shoot me down, I'm just confused and I love with Japan as a whole. I appreciate your help, thanks!

Morgan.

what do you think I should do?:confused:

I made a post similar to yours back in September of 2004 under my old username Kaibutsu . Here's the link to it which should be helpful. http://www.fuckedgaijin.com/forums/showthread.php?t=8604&highlight=work+visa+manga+publishing+house

You may want to give this a lot more thought, because it's going to be extremely tough to realize your goals. You'll also have to truly love and be dedicated to your dream, because manga artists don't make that much money.(12-15,000 dollars a year. Per week that'd be between 230-288 bucks a week.)

As was recommended to me, and as was recommended to you by Charles, you'll probably want to get an established career in the states before trying to make it big in Japan. One thing you may want to look into, is Tokyo Pop's annual Rising Stars of Manga competition where entrants send in their amateur manga and the winners have their stories published in the annual Rising Stars of Manga collection.

Wishing you Good Luck,

Alan

[Bishamon]

than you for all your help... I'd just like to say though, this isn't a phase. I've wanted to do this for YEARS. I know it'd be difficult but with out trying, i'll never know, so i gotta keep on up with it.

[killjoy]

I thought Charles's best line was "It takes many years to become an overnight success, it is often said. So keep your eye on your dream, but realize the path may not be a straight line to your goal, it may take you to many other places first."

That says it all about Japan and the guy's dream to be a manga artist. While I think about it, you could say that about Nomo, Ichiro and Matsui in the US who all beat the odds and non-believers.

[mas]

I think you should try to come here as a student first.

Since you're still in High School, you might be able to swing a short-term home stay though organizations like the Kiwanis or Rotary. If your high school has a Key Club or Interact Club then join up, do some service, and apply, apply, apply.

Forget about manga, though. It seems as though all the hot gaijin jobs are in English education or computer/electrical engineering. Guess which career pays more...

[AssKissinger]

Yeah ...


Are you a chick or a dude ...

is Morgan an androgynous name?

[Bishamon]

Our school does not have those programs.... Sad I know... I can just forget about manga, it's my dream. I don't WANT to teach, I don't want to be an engineer. My dream is to be an artist... japan is just the frosting on the cake so to speak. I'm a guy, and yes morgan is both male and female.

[Bishamon]

Sorry all this goes along the with previous post I made

[Taro Toporific]

Gee we're a lot alike: My nightmare is Japan.

[AssKissinger]

I'm a guy

Come over here as a student. You'll have pretty girlfriends and have the time of your life.

[Bishamon]

my school doesn't have those kinds of programs

[AssKissinger]

my school doesn't have those kinds of programs

Just make it happen somehow. Believe me it's the best advice you'll get here besides staying the Hell away in the first place. Japan will fuck up your life consider yourself warned.

[Charles]

Make your own program.

http://usa.afs.org/

[mas]

I can just forget about manga, it's my dream. I don't WANT to teach, I don't want to be an engineer. My dream is to be an artist...

Q: What do you do when an artist knocks on your door?
A: Pay them for the pizza then ask them to leave.

You want to be an artist and draw comics? I got news for you: lots of people want to be artists and lots of people want to draw comic books. So let's look at this realistically: even if you're exceptionally gifted when it comes to the drawing, you've got to go up against others that are equally gifted as you and want the same jobs. You've got only one option: refine your craft so that you're truly exceptional in your field. Unfortunately, this takes years schooling, training, and discipline that no one's going to pay you for it. So your dream may not be teaching, but teaching is ten times better than flipping burgers at the neighborhood Makudonarudo.

Meanwhile engineers are earning twice the salary and working the same hours. Vive le difference!

[sillygirl]

Gee we're a lot alike: My nightmare is Japan.

Taro sama

Stop! My eyes! Arrrggh!!

[FG Lurker]

Meanwhile engineers are earning twice the salary and working the same hours. Vive le difference!

Twice the salary? Of a burger flipper? Or an English Teacher?

Better be more than 2x the salary of a burger flipper!! Perhaps twice the salary of a very well paid English teacher...

[mas]

Twice the salary? Of a burger flipper? Or an English Teacher?

Yes. And by 'yes', I mean both. Money rules!

$postcount++;

[Andocrates]

It's not what's outside it's what's inside that makes a home.

P.S. That AFS program is top notch I have hosted a student with that program. The kids they get are the best.

I saw a TV program on Japanese TV about a gaijin manga artist, (his J-wife did the kanji) so they do exist.

[Taro Toporific]

I saw a TV program on Japanese TV about a gaijin manga artist, (his J-wife did the kanji) so they do exist.

At least two members of the FG Forum are working/paid/fultime gaijin manga artists in Japan.

It's not what's outside it's what's inside that makes a home. .

The mastersof "wabi sabi."

[FG Lurker]

Twice the salary? Of a burger flipper? Or an English Teacher?

Yes. And by 'yes', I mean both. Money rules!

Nah, money sucks. The more you get the more you want... It never ends. Hmm, how can I make more this year than last... ]$postcount++;[/quote]

[kamome]

Even if your school doesn't provide a study abroad program, there are many independent organizations that do, such as the AFS program linked to above. Check to see if your city has a sister-city program with a Japanese city. Also, check online for other study-abroad and homestay programs for kids your age. Some are more selective than others and some are more expensive than others.

[ahochaude]