The New Generation Manga Course emphasizes the importance of acquiring the ability to create bestselling works on one's own, so students’ careers as manga artists don’t end as one-hit wonders.Self-branding is the crucial skill that makes this possible.By definition, a bestselling hit manga is one that sells more than 100,000 copies, and there are only a handful of manga artists who can produce a string of hits.Comparatively, there are many more one-hit wonders in the manga industry—the artists who suffer from their inability to produce their next hit.And since publishers and editors are always on the lookout for fresh, new talent,for the average manga artist to stay relevant and produce their next bestseller, they must study current trends and possess an allure that others do not.We call this "the ability to self-brand" at the New Generation Manga Course, and we believe it is the single most important skill for students to acquire at university. The goal is for students to learn how to create numerous bestsellers to sustain manga careers throughout their lifetimes.

It’s rare to see people reading paperbacks on the train anymore.Instead, you see more and more people swiping their smartphone screens.Similarly, the circulation of manga magazines has been decreasing in recent years.At a time when more and more people are reading manga on their smartphones and other electronic devices, the ways in which manga is drawn, read, and sold are transforming dramatically.The New Generation Manga Course is Japan's first manga education program that trains artists who can adapt to these changing times.In recent years, there has been an increase in cases where manga published on websites, personal blogs, and social media have struck a chord with fans—and struck gold with book deals.Amateur works published on the internet have been printed as books and sold in bookstores, becoming sensations selling over a million copies. Manga artists can now become famous without having to debut in a manga magazine first.

It is often said that the quickest way for the inexperienced to learn to draw better and create better stories is to copy the manuscripts of successful professionals.However, experience has shown a great deal of variation between people, which begs the question of whether copying leads to competency.Why is that? We have the answer.The New Generation Manga Course has a specialized curriculum that teaches students unique techniques to create memorable characters, come up with new ideas, develop and direct a story with the reader in mind, and the dos and don’ts of panel composition.Some students who were near beginners when they entered university improved so much that they won the Newcomer's Award in just four years. This kind of curriculum is indispensable for turning students into creators.

Unlike genres such as novels, films, and music, manga has yet to sufficiently establish its theories and methodologies,and manga artists hardly ever reveal their secret recipe for success. For this reason, the training of new manga artists tends to rely on the individual skills of the person teaching.Even so, Kyoto Seika University, as a center for manga education and research, has been accumulating knowledge and expertise in the field over the past 16 years.Many of our alumni have had hits that have been serialized or made into animated series or live-action movies, and the core competencies made at Kyoto Seika lie at the heart of their success.

Students study basic drawing skills, such as storyboard creation, pen techniques, and other essential skills for drawing manga.Moreover, students learn the basics of digital art to build a foundation for drawing manga in the future.

Students choose a seminar that matches their interests and future goals to further deepen their technical, expressive, and presentation skills in their third year.Students also present their works in the media and gain self-branding experience by applying their skills in practice with the future in mind.