MANGA KINGDOM TOSA

MANGA KOSHIEN

>> 2024 / 33st MangaKoshien information <<

Official Name: National High School Manga Championship (Since 1992)
Manga Koshien is a competition where high school students compete for the position of Number 1 by creating one-page manga.
About 300 high school teams, comprising three to five students each, enter every year. Of the participating schools, 33 teams (30 from within Japan and 3 from abroad) participate in the main round in August. Competing teams battle it out with their ideas, techniques and teamwork, all within a limited amount of time.
Talented students participating in the main round may also be scouted by major manga publishers and perhaps even debut as professionals!

Preliminary
Round

Manga are submitted by high school students from all over Japan as well as and from three countries overseas.

Announcement of Submission Theme: Mid-April

Closing Date: Early June

Announcement of Results: Late June

Only 33 teams (30 from within Japan and 3 teams from abroad) out of the 300 or so teams submitting manga will be selected to participate in the main round.

First
Round

One of five possible themes, which will have been previously announced, will be selected just before the competition begins.
Teams have 5 hours and 30 minutes to complete their manga based on the selected theme. From the 33 schools, 10 works are nominated as Outstanding Works.

Second
Round

Like the first round, one theme is announced directly before the second round begins. The round lasts for 5 hours and 30 minutes, with many of the participants being so focused on drawing that they forget to eat lunch!
From the 33 schools, 10 works are nominated as Outstanding Works, combined with the first round there are 20 works. The first, second, third, and an additional 10 awards are also awarded.

Events

Scoutship Development Program The most skilled young artists are selected from among the participating schools. Selected artists can receive training from publishers in order to become a professional manga artist. Over 400 students have been scouted so far.

Live drawing Live drawing exhibitions by guest manga artists. This is a valuable opportunity to watch a professional manga artist's process of creating an illustration.

Owarai Manga Dojo Local high school volunteers and judges participate in an annual manga improv tournament. The manga artist Nenpei Moo provides prompts and the participants respond with some wacky manga!

On-site Editorial Departments

Professional editors will be present to evaluate work brought to the event, not just by participating schools and students, but anyone present. This is a rare opportunity for aspiring manga artists, for if you catch the editors’ eyes, you may even get a chance to become a professional manga creator!