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SMA9 – SILENT MANGA AUDITION® Round NINE “2018 MARCH”

Mayuna Mizutani Mayuna Mizutani 04/10/2017 17 min read

This is your best chance to prove yourself! – Rocket-start your MANGA career, with generous prizes and the chance to work with manga pros from Tokyo!

This is one opportunity that any aspiring manga artist can’t afford to miss 😉


For additional tips, hints and tutorials on MANGA creation:

SILENT MANGA AUDITION – Event INFORMATION
 

SILENT MANGA AUDITION® EVENT ANNOUNCEMENT

SILENT MANGA AUDITION® ROUND NINE

“SMA9 – 2018 MARCH”

THEME : CHOOSE ONE OF THE THREE!

“FAIRNESS”

“RESPECT”

“TEAMWORK”

RULE : NO DIALOGUE. Use drawings only to tell a story

DEADLINE : 31st MARCH, 2018


NEW PAGE NUMBER LIMIT FROM SMA9!!

From this round “SMA9”, all entries must be “16 PAGES OR LESS”.

As a manga creator, you gain much more experience by completing “Short pieces, extremely well”.

( If your creativity is flowing, please try to send us “Several short stories”, than “One long story”! )


The Prizes:
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  • GRAND PRIX : JPY 500,000
  • GRAND PRIX RUNNER-UP : JPY 300,000
  • EXCELLENCE : JPY 100,000
  • EXCELLENCE RUNNER-UP : JPY 30,000
  • HONOURABLE MENTION : JPY 10,000
 

The Judges :

 

Endorsements and Interviews :

 

SMA9 – 2018 SPRING Round 

Theme : “Fairness” / “Respect” / “Teamwork” 

Life is a stage, life is a game and in some people’s mind, life is SPORT. There are many elements in our daily lives that we enjoy, that has elements of “sportsmanship” in them – SMA9 is about finding that moment, and re-creating it as one entertaining story! Please do not limit your imagination to physical sport or gaming match only – we welcome even more, all moments of competition, fight, race or game in our daily lives. It may be about getting more likes on instagram, Trying to catch the attention of the girl in your class, Running to be at the front in line for an idol event, Or to beat your friend in an online gameHave your felt “Fairness” / “Respect” / “Teamwork” in any of those? Can you imagine adding the theme to an actual event, to make them even more entertaining? Capture those moments, and re-imagine them as SILENT MANGA!
 

Please note there are new rules from SMA9 – 16 page limitation and single-side opening page. See below.  


HOW DO THE SMA MASTERCLASS CHALLENGE THE THEME?

“Panda & Bear” – by Vanilla (Indonesia)

An adorable battle between a Panda and a Bear!!

“How the Bikini was Born” – by Yos (Brazil)

The SHOCKING secret episode hidden in history!!

“PUMPED UP KICKS” – by Ichirou (Brazil)

A heart warming tale of a game, friendship and shoes!!

“ACTIONS AND REACTIONS” – Japanese Manga 101 – #054


  

SMA9 SPECIFIC GUIDELINES

  • Our plan is to compile works that support and promote the spirit of 2020 Tokyo Olympics. However, please do not limit yourself to SPORTS themed manga only. Themes are chosen to enable the creation of stories, that shows the spirit of sports in everyday situations.
  • We welcome all emotions – happiness, sadness and everything in-between. However, we recommend you always end with a positive heart-moving message. We like both sweet and bittersweet chocolates. We don’t like the bitterness of raw cocoa powder alone – we welcome good chefs of a story who always add a pinch of happiness to the mix.

Please note SILENT MANGA AUDITION® is about the creator’s will to tell stories – NOT a trial of skills to fit a pre-set standard. Anything a creator sees fit is most likely welcome! Be creative and entertain readers by igniting their imagination!

“A creator’s ability to tell a story, through visual execution” is the main focus of evaluation.


“TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS” from 2017

– Please note the [ 16 PAGE NUMBER LIMIT ] from SMA9! –

  1. Your manga must be 16 pages or less. Use of the appropriate amount of pages for a theme is a part of the evaluation process. We welcome short, focused stories.
  2. Your manga must start from A SINGLE PAGE, on the left side of the spread.
  3. All Manga is to be drawn for “Right-to-Left” (Japan standard) Page order. This is to help with the publication of the compilation volume.
  4. You are encouraged to make good use of “W-Page spread ( a pair of 2 adjacent pages in a book )” at all times. Treat each page pair (“spread”) as ONE WIDE CANVAS. Use “Mekuri (page turns)” other techniques for storytelling benefits.
  5. Pages MUST BE upload as “1 page / 1 Image”. For “W-Page Spreads”, each spread must be saved as “2 separate image files”.
  6. Images will be displayed on the web, exactly as you upload. Please TRIM AND CROP your images. All gutter, trim marks and other parts of the image you wouldn’t present to a reader, should be trimmed off.
  7. Those comfortable with preparing print-ready images may upload “print-ready” images as one .zip file, accompanying the separate page images. ( Doing so has no affect on the evaluation process – It ensures your work will be presented in the best image quality possible upon winning an award. )

Followings are “recommendations & advice” :

  1. Don’t kill characters. Imagine entertaining athletes and audiences who gather for a sporting event.
  2. Utilize the 1st page, as part of the storytelling and not just a cover page.
  3. “Complex stories” are often inappropriate to tell in a silent manga. Plan ahead, before you begin the final drawing.
  4. “Simple message, told well” will be awarded higher than, “Complex story told not-so-well”.
  5. THE STORY ITSELF is NOT a part of the assessment. Instead, we see what “Message(s)” the story clearly presents to the reader – evoking emotions and feelings. The clearer the message, the higher the title will be awarded. No need for complex plots, and we strongly recommend to keep it short and focused.
  6. For all other guidelines and tutorials, please see our regular contents like “FAQ Section”, and tutorials like “Japanese Manga 101 with Taiyo & Mayu”
  7. While drawing can be a tough challenge, always remember to have fun and enjoy yourself. Then do your best to entertain the readers. 🙂
  8. Thank you for reading the small prints! Please spread the words to your friends 😉
 

legal agreement for all SILENT MANGA AUDITION® Events : 

SILENT MANGA AUDITION®︎ Legal Submission Agreement
 

Messages from the Manga Masters to Ambitious Creators :

Tetsuo Hara They say the devil is in the details. In manga, the more attention you pay to the details, the more life your characters will have. It is this philosophy that has made Japan’s manga culture beloved throughout the world. I look forward to fighting alongside the creators of the world.

Tsukasa Hojo As in movies, a simple change of camera angle in Manga can make a scene fun or sad. Even with the same facial expression, it is possible to convey different emotions. I hope everyone will enjoy the “power of performance” that is the core of manga, as they work on their projects.

Nobuhiko Horie It’s been over 60 years since an author from Osamu Tezuka’s generation developed manga into an accepted form of expression. In Japan, manga has spread itself into new frontiers and many new talented artists have discovered themselves. Historically, manga has used the same flow as movies to express the essence of action and movement. Manga has the power to move people. This is the idea that was the foundation for the SILENT MANGA AUDITION. Please test the expressive power of your country’s manga.


We strongly recommend ONLINE ENTRY whenever possible.

Application : Online

Submit your application via entry system :

Create account to enter your Manga!

Application : By Post

When sending by post, we now require you to register your work into our online system, same as with online-only entries. Instead of your manga pages, please include an image file named “entry_details.jpg”, stating how we should expect your work to arrive. ( by post? parcel ID number? ETA? ) *If you wish to have your submission returned to you, please provide a self-addressed envelope with appropriate postage. If sending by post we advise you to keep a photocopy of the work, in case there may be problems during transmission.

Send Application to: The SILENT MANGA AUDITION Committee 3rd Floor, Kichijoji Zizo bld., Kichijoji-Minami Cho 1-9-9, Musashino, Tokyo, JAPAN, 180-0003


This is the last line of this page! Thank you for reading, and happy drawing 😉 – Looking forward to reading your manga!

Taiyo Nakashima, Deputy Chief Editor, SMAC! Web Magazine. 2017/10/4

Mayuna Mizutani

Mayuna Mizutani

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