Did you know you can get your manga published in Japan, even if you’re not Japanese?

If you’re a Western artist who grew up reading manga, chances are you’ve been dreaming of creating your own but the barriers to entry always felt too high. “This industry is closed to outsiders,” or “you’re not Japanese, you can’t be a manga artist” are among some of the debates you often see online.

The reality in 2026 looks very different though. Japan has slowly and very intentionally opened its doors to international creators. One of the biggest forces leading this shift is Kodansha Ltd. , one of Japan’s largest and most influential publishers (Akira, Ghost in the Shell, Cardcaptor Sakura, Attack on Titan, and many more).

Kodansha is actively looking for new visual styles and storytelling perspectives that can keep readers surprised and excited.

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Last year the publisher launched Kodansha Manga Academy - an English-language platform designed specifically to help non-Japanese creators learn how the manga industry works and how to work with Japanese editors. They cover everything: process, expectations, terminology, workflows, and publishing paths.

Creators don’t have to speak Japanese, though it genuinely helps since all published work appears in Japanese first. It’s also a great path towards anime: more than half of Japanese anime are manga adaptations. If your story becomes popular, it opens the path to adaptation.

So, how do you become a manga creator with a Japanese publisher?

The key to getting a deal is to partner with an editor. They guide you from early idea development all the way through refining the story and preparing it for publication.

Here’s where and how creators typically meet editors:

1 - Manga Awards & Competitions

Current awards & competitions:

• NIUHI - Indie Manga Contest

  • Deadline: 31 May, 2026 17:00 Japan Time

  • Open to everyone, no AI-generated works.

  • Rewards include: 1200 USD prize and translation support across languages.

• 20th Japan International MANGA Award

  • Deadline: 30 June, 2026

  • Submissions at least 16 pages long, both published and unpublished works accepted.

• Kodansha Manga Academy Award

  • Deadline: 22 July 2026, 23:59 Japan Time

  • 8 pages minimum (60 maximum), only completed manga.

  • Rewards include: 300,000 yen prize, editor support, and others.

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For example, Kodansha’s Morning Magazine runs a monthly competition. Submissions are mostly in Japanese and highly competitive.

Silent Manga Audition - while not affiliated with Kodansha, it runs a dialogue-free manga contest twice a year, with prizes and opportunities to join the Artist Village in Fukuoka. Also a great opportunity to get on the radar for the Japanese editors.

Kadokawa World Manga Contest has recently expanded to global participants and now accepts entries in Japanese, English, French, Spanish, Chinese, as well as “worldless manga” from anywhere in the world.

2 - Mochikomi (Direct Submissions)

If you’re in Japan, you can bring your work directly to Kodansha’s editorial department. They’ll give feedback and, in exceptional cases, assign an editor on the spot.

Kadokawa World Manga Atelier is a new project by the Japanese publisher covering two key initiatives: “Online Portfolio Review MOCHIKOMI” - a website now accepting manga submissions at any time'; and “OnSITE Portfolio Review” - a workshop series where editors travel worldwide to provide in-person feedback on manga works.

The First OnSITE Portfolio Review will take place at Anime Expo 2026 in Los Angeles, USA, from July 2–5, 2026.

3 - Online Posting

Editors scout socials all the time. Japan’s main creative platform is still X, so sharing your work there is important to build visibility.

You can also upload your work to DAYS NEO - Kodansha’s submission site. The platform is Japanese, and so should be the submissions.

4 — Cons & Events

Editors often attend comic cons, anime and manga conventions, and related events to scout new talent. Kodansha also plans to launch a new international creator award next year. There’s a great story on this from Manga Barcelona at The Japan Times.

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If becoming a manga creator is your dream, there’s never been a better time to enter the industry. Japanese editors and publishers are more open to international talent than ever before and they’re actively looking for new voices.

Follow Kodansha Manga Academy to learn the process, improve your craft, and understand how the publishing ecosystem works from the inside, and maybe learn a bit of Japanese along the way. Keep creating, keep posting, and keep refining your storytelling.

頑張って！✨

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Hi, I’m Anastasia, founder and producer at Cowboy Anime - a content studio helping bold brands tap into the power of anime to build global fandoms. I write about anime, culture marketing, Japanese pop-culture.

Ready to explore what anime storytelling can do for your brand? Drop me a line at anastasia@cowboyanime.com. ✨

Anime is a huge cultural force.

Demand is global. Audiences are growing. There’s a hunger for more content from viewers and platforms alike.

For decades, anime was built primarily for a domestic audience. Today, we see a shift towards the global audiences. The demand for content is ever-growing and it’s no surprise that the production system in Japan is stretched to its limits.

Japanese studios are increasingly looking beyond their borders for talent. If you’ve ever dreamed of working in anime, this might sound like your moment. However, it comes with a steep learning curve for anyone joining from the traditional Western production background.

In March, I got a closer look at this shift while hosting a session at Kaboom Animation Festival.

We invited Masaya Inaba, a Japanese CGI artist and director, to walk through the anime feature film production pipeline. He laid out the foundations of the Japanese production for the audience of 100+ professionals and students.

One of the main insights from the session is that Japan has a very specific production system and it is not a system you casually “break into.” It’s a system you either commit to, or consciously choose to work around.

To balance that perspective, the session was followed by Florian Walraven, a Dutch creator who built his own creative path by drawing inspiration from anime with anime parodies and original skits that gathered millions of views online.

At this stage, I see two distinct paths for artists: you either learn the Japanese system or you build something adjacent to it. Two very different paths, both very valid.

But first, let’s look at what makes the Japanese production process so unique.

Analogue vs Digital

One of the biggest surprises for many Western artists is how much of anime production is still analogue.

Storyboards, background art, key animation - many of these are still done with pen and paper. Digital tools come in later: 3D simulation, digital painting, compositing.

This hybrid process is deeply embedded in how anime is made and it means that understanding analogue workflows is still incredibly valuable.

Layout is King

In Japanese animation, layout is the backbone of the entire production. It’s the blueprint for the entire scene that connects background art, character animation, camera movement, and timing. It includes notes, instructions, and visual guidance for every department that will touch the scene in the production process.

In many ways, layout is less about drawing and more about thinking. The system as we know it today traces back to Hayao Miyazaki-sensei and his work on Heidi, Girl of the Alps in 1974, where this approach was formalized into a production standard.

Layouts are dense with annotations and director notes. Even experienced Japanese artists sometimes need time to interpret them. This is one reason why learning Japanese can be such a valuable asset.

As production evolves, 3D layouts are increasingly being integrated, especially for camera work and spatial planning.

Communication through Craft

Because layout sits at the center, it also becomes the main communication tool.

A strong layout allows multiple departments to work in parallel. Background artists don’t have to wait for animation and animation doesn’t have to guess framing. Everything connects through that initial blueprint.

This efficiency is one of the defining strengths of the Japanese system.

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So Where Does This Leave You?

If your goal is to work inside the anime industry, the path is pretty straightforward but demanding. Learn the pipeline, the language, and adapt to the system.

I recommend exploring resources like guides from creators working in the industry, such as, for example, Cyrus Rebello (animator, director) and (producer, director) Jarrett Martin, who openly share their experiences working with Japanese studios.

At the same time, anime doesn’t have to be a destination, it can also be a starting point. It’s a visual language, a storytelling framework, and a source of inspiration for building something entirely your own.

Whatever path you choose, stay focused and stay creative.

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Hi, I’m Anastasia — founder of Cowboy Anime, a creative studio helping brands and creators tell authentic stories through anime.

From fan-first strategy to working directly with Japanese studios and talent, we help make stories that stand the test of time.

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