What Does a Manga Editor Do?

In the initial storyboard (a rough conceptual draft showing the panel layout, script, and scene compositions; called a “name” in the manga industry) created by Matsuda, the protagonist was a manga editor who was characterized as being “too busy to go on a date on Tuesday because of a proofreading deadline (but was available on other days).”
After seeing the storyboard, Yamauchi, who at the time was so busy that she rarely had a single night off for personal plans during a given week, used her actual schedule to explain how the characterization differed from her circumstances, and had Matsuda change the story.

She also suggested visiting a bookstore to gather ideas. Matsuda agreed, and after visiting bookstores and platemaking shops across Japan, eventually completed the story in its current form. This was the start of the manga production process, a close partnership between manga artist and manga editor.

Professionals involved in manga (1) Bookstore staff

 ”Sleepeeer hit!” goes beyond the inner workings of the manga editorial department and deals with a broad range of jobs related to manga.“Many people—manga artist, editor, sales representative, advertising, production, materials procurement, distributor, bookstore staff—work in relay to pass the baton to the reader. 

If at any point in this process a person were to say, ‘well, whatever,’ and cut corners, or were to think, ‘I’m not up to this…’ and lose confidence in their job, the cycle would become distorted or diminished. When everyone is in this process together, the manga gets sold as a great work.”These words, which were spoken by a bookstore staff member in an interview prior to the manga’s creation, still serve as the inspiration for the work.

Professionals involved in manga (2) Platemakers

Episode nine of the story is set in a “platemaking shop.” The platemaking shop is where professionals scan the manuscript drawn by the manga artist, remove any excess marks or particles from the manuscript, combine these images with the specified text (dialogue), and create the final proof.

This work can continue late into the night, and not many staff are available for the task. In the manga, a female staff member, unable to go on a date due to work commitments, is depicted as deeply engrossed in her work in a passionate scene where she states, “Even then, I can’t betray this emotion.”

In creating”Sleepeeer hit!”!, Matsuda and Yamauchi often went out into the field to research places they were both interested in seeing and knowing more about, such as new initiatives and lesser-known jobs in the publishing industry. They then built the characters and story around the information they gathered.

“Instead of simply illustrating the contents of her research like a documentary, Matsuda is really good at turning the fascinating parts of the personalities and episodes she encounters into manga characters. It’s as though she uses her fieldnotes as ingredients to cook a delicious meal,” says Yamauchi.

Through this type of research, the job of a typeface designer, for example, as well as the distributors who created a system for the wholesale distribution of small quantities of books to general stores other than bookstores, also make an appearance in the manga.

Matsuda: “Until I created ”Sleepeeer hit!”!, I didn’t completely understand the process my manuscripts went through before they became books. For example, the platemaking shop I visited during my research was a whole world I had never seen before.

When the platemaker operator scanned the manuscript I had drawn, I was completely moved by how they wore white gloves and handled my manuscript with care, as though it were a national treasure. These kinds of things that I thought were interesting during my research are reflected in the manga.”

When Matsuda sketches out the storyboard, she writes dialogue (and monologue) lines on sticky notes that she attaches to the paper. This makes work easier, because she can reattach the sticky notes in a different spot whenever she needs to adjust the position of the lines. As she worked on the series, she settled on this style while searching for a method that was less stressful for her.

The storyboard is something that looks completely different from one manga artist to the next—some are fleshed out in minute detail, while others contain only the minimum necessary elements. “Among all the manga artists I’m in charge of, Matsuda is number one for submitting storyboards without any pictures in them,” says Yamauchi, laughing.

This is the storyboard sketch of the first scene where we see the protagonist Kokoro Kurosawa in episode one. Kokoro is depicted with her back turned to the reader in a double-page opening spread.

Yamauchi: “Her character really shines through in details such as her muscular legs, which she has because she used to do judo.

But because it’s the opening of the first episode, I really wanted her to be facing the readers, as a sort of ‘hello.’ As the editor, I was the first reader, so I told Matsuda my opinion that I wanted to know more about what kind of person the protagonist is.”

In the corrected storyboard, Kokoro is depicted facing the reader.

What is the best way to get readers to know about a new manga? Constantly thinking about where the customers are is a new part of the editor’s job. Even in the story of ”Sleepeeer hit!”, there is talk of publishing a manga about travel in a travel app.

These changes are not only affecting editors. Manga artists’ use of Twitter and aspects of their job other than “drawing” have become more pronounced in recent years.