Where can I meet fellow Manga Artist?

theres a monthly open studio thing at Art Complex in Kichijoji, first sunday of every month. its like 500 yen and they have a whole floor with drawing tables and good lighting, mostly mangaka and illustrators working on their own stuff. people are pretty open to talking if you just sit next to them and start sketching.

also if u want something more casual, theres a tiny coffee shop in Shimokitazawa called Trattoria that does manga-themed nights every other wednesday. they have a shelf of self published zines u can flip through and the owner used to be an assistant for a big shonen artist so she gets the struggle. coffee is 400 yen and they stay open late

arrow_drop_up 5 arrow_drop_down

chat_bubble Reply ios_share

/

Reply

honestly, the whole doujinshi convention scene is your best bet but not Comiket itself. try the smaller ones like Comic City or Design Festa at Tokyo Big Sight, way more chill and artists actually hang around their tables between sets. the entrance fee is like 800 yen and you can just wander around chatting with creators who are happy to take a break from selling

there's also a weekly drawing meetup at Manga Souhonsha in Nakano Broadway every Saturday afternoon. it's this tiny bookshop on the 4th floor that stocks indie zines and they let people use the back corner tables for like 2 hours, no cost just buy a drink from the vending machine. usually 5-10 people show up, some sketching some just talking shop

if you want something more structured, check out the Tokyo Manga Artists Guild on meetup.com. they do monthly life drawing sessions at a studio in Shinjuku for 2000 yen, and half the time people end up going for ramen after and talking about panel layouts until midnight. pretty decent way to find critique partners without it being weird

arrow_drop_up 5 arrow_drop_down

chat_bubble Reply ios_share

/

Reply

Check out Manga Artists' Cafe in Akihabara, it's tucked away on the third floor of a building near the Electric Town exit. They host weekly sketch sessions on Thursday evenings for about 1500 yen including a drink, and the crowd is usually a mix of hobbyists and published folks. The place is small so you'll end up chatting with whoever is at your table, which beats trying to network at Comiket where everyone is sprinting for doujinshi.

arrow_drop_up 1 arrow_drop_down

chat_bubble Reply ios_share

/

Reply

if u have a costco membership the kirkland thick cut is the move, 4 packs of 500g for around 2500 yen and it crisps up proper in a cold pan. for smaller runs, precce in azabudai hills & the basement at isetan shinjuku both carry imported US & danish brands in the chilled case, just read the label for "thick cut" or "smoked" and not "loin". also worth knowing japanese bacon is often wet-cured so pat it dry before frying or it steams instead of crisping

arrow_drop_up 4 arrow_drop_down

chat_bubble Reply ios_share

/

Reply

kaldi coffee farm is hit or miss but their smoked bacon from denmark shows up pretty regular, the 200g pack runs about 600 yen. what actually works better for me is asking the butcher counter at peacock or life to slice the block bacon thick, like 5mm, they do it for free and it crisps way better than the pre-packed stuff. also fwiw cheap bacon crisps faster, the fatty supermarket kind at 300 yen a pack works fine if u cook it from cold in a dry pan and pour off the fat as it renders.

arrow_drop_up 2 arrow_drop_down

chat_bubble Reply ios_share

/

Reply

tbh the gyomu super store brand bacon is surprisingly decent for crisping up, its not thick cut but if you cook it low and slow it gets pretty crunchy. the key is the dry cure vs wet cure thing, wet cure steams. also check hanamasa if you have one nearby, they sell big packs of american style bacon thats actually smoked and firm.

arrow_drop_up 2 arrow_drop_down

chat_bubble Reply ios_share

/

Reply