漫画家mangaka
Quick definition:A mangaka is a professional manga creator, the person who writes and draws a manga series, sometimes with assistants helping with backgrounds, inking and finishing details.
Meaning
Mangaka is the Japanese word for a manga artist, and it normally refers to someone who creates manga as a profession. Many mangaka both write the story and draw the pictures, while others work with a separate writer. The mangaka is responsible for the plot, characters, layout and artwork of each chapter.
Working life is demanding. Weekly series require a new chapter every week, so mangaka plan carefully with an editor, produce rough layouts known as name, and then complete the finished pages with the help of assistants. Many start their careers by entering contests run by magazines and then work on a short series before getting a longer one.
Once a series is popular, the mangaka may see it turned into anime, books and merchandise, but many continue to draw it for years. In fandom, readers often address a favourite artist as sensei.
Origin:Mangaka is made from manga, meaning comics, and ka, a suffix meaning a person who practises a profession or craft, as in artist or specialist. The compound became the standard word for manga artists as the modern industry developed in the twentieth century, and it passed unchanged into English-language fandom.
Example:A new artist might spend months drawing a short story, send it to a magazine's editorial team and receive feedback on the pacing and the characters. If it is accepted, the editor helps develop it into a series. Bakuman, a manga about two teenagers who dream of becoming mangaka, shows this process in detail.
Did you know?Series are occasionally paused for a break, known as a hiatus, when an artist needs rest or time to recover. Fans often read the artist's comments in the margins or at the end of the volume to find out what has happened.
