Getting down to storytelling

Lots of stuff going on, I don't know where to start.

Well, I've been doing English babysitting, which is a real challenge because it's an 11-month-old girl, and 11-month-olds don't want to play with you or hear you talk, they want to grab whatever catches their fancy and throw them. She's actually noticeably improved after one session of me talking non-stop to her, though - she can almost say "hi" now and waves. Yay.

I also went to the creative arts section of a vocational school (not the Manga Juku, a different place) and met with a professional mangaka - Fukuyama Youji sensei, the creator of Mademoiselle Mozart. He lectures there now. When we first saw him he was making beautifully detailed figures out of something like plasticine. Apparently all you have to do to harden the figure is stick it in the microwave. He was saying how easy a class this was as there wasn't much to teach about model making - and manga students would come here to relax when they got stuck or uninspired and come make their characters in 3D. He had a botched head on a piece of wire that looked so cool, and I asked him if he was throwing it away, and he said in a sort of singsong voice, "Nope, you can't have it." As he can't let a botched piece out into the world.

He and his wife gave me some really helpful advice on my work. While earlier people I met with at the school hinted at how some of the kids had no motivation and were pretty much flunking the classes, with a sort of cool disapproval on their faces, I got none of that negativity from Fukuyama sensei. He was very accepting and he and his wife were both funny, cheery and laid-back. They suggested I get used to inking things the traditional way - using pen nibs - and draw in a way that will appeal more to Japanese tastes in order to get assistant work. They also said what I expected - that the most important thing in manga is /expressing/ the story you're trying to tell - and as my art is already fine I need to show I can do the story and expression side of things. He was very nice about my art, taking time to look at it properly and giving a bit of praise and constructive criticism. I'm going to make something before I see them again in January, on one of the days I can take free classes there.

On that topic, I notice there isn't really any kind of "indie comic" scene in Japan (unless Comike counts). Aspiring mangaka will choose a manga magazine they want to get published on, and slave away at trying to get accepted. Teachers advise students not only based on skill, but also based on how well they're appealing to their chosen magazine's target audience. It makes me wonder what those people do who want more freedom in their work. I guess they "gaman" - grin and bear it for the time being, until they reach a level of success where they can take more liberties.

One of the school directors was telling me that thanks to the recently passed law restricting expression in anime and manga, some of their school activities such as animation screenings will no longer be held in Tokyo. :(

There were quite a few non-Japanese there, too. I met a Brazilian guy who attended the school between return trips home and back to renew his tourist visa. There were quite a few Koreans, Chinese and Taiwanese around.