EAT, MANGA & LOVE! The Italian artist who studied MANGA in JAPAN! She joined SILENT MANGA AUDITION® to challenge herself and her skills! Will she be able to make the SMAC! (readers, creators and editors) say “MAMMA MIA”!? Let’s ask it directly to her! Hello, Marvi Manzoni!

• ABOUT YOU

“When I’ve found out my favourite anime were also manga, was love at first sight!” 

  1) How did you begin creating Manga? When I was a child, I always drew and watched a lot of anime on TV: “Sailor Moon”, “Marmalade Boy”, “Ranma1/2”, etc… so I started copying them! During middle school, I found out that my favourite anime were from manga and it was love at first sight! 2) What is your working environment like? Are you an analogue or digital person? Any unique tools you use to draw? It’s a mess! I used to work a lot in a traditional way, but in these years I’m working mostly with “Clip Studio Paint”, my iMac and my lovely Cintiq! (This is an old photo, before the arrival of my Cintiq.)

• ABOUT YOUR PLACE 

3) Anything the world should know about where you live? Interesting events/sights/foods/culture etc? Well, I live in Rome, Italy! I think our culture and food are one of the most known in the world!   4) Popular comics/manga in your part of the world at this moment? A looot! Probably the most popular in Japanese manga! To me,  my favourites are the ones by Io Sakisa sensei, but I’ve always been her fan, so maybe I’m a little bit biased.   5) Are locally created comics/manga popular in your town? Do you know any local creators? Over the past five years, several publishers and some self-produced artists are making Italian readers understand how “manga” are not produced in Japan only. Obviously, because these are still small publishers, they are far behind the Japanese market. One of the most prestigious Italian artists, my former teacher and friend, is Ilaria Gelli, who script writer and comic creator at the “Tatai Lab” publishing house. I also had the chance to meet some of the artists published on the magazines “Mangasenpai” and “Kasaobake” – like Elena Toma, Giulia Della Ciana, Rossella Sergi – who, thanks to their commitment, are becoming more and more popular in the Italian manga market. Thanks to them I also met Salvatore Nives, several times winner of SMA & member of MASTERCLASS, and I look forward to reading his work!

• ABOUT SMA7 AWARD ENTRY

10) The girl orders three pizzas? Is she eating all three?

Ahaha no! Those are for her parents too!  

11) Besides pizza, the protagonist eats other foods: what are they? “Supplì”! A classic Roman street food. It’s fried rice with bolognese sauce and a mozzarella cheese heart. Then there’s “Arancino”, the typical Sicilian street food. These kind of snacks are all sold in the classic takeaway Pizzeria in Rome, called “Pizza al taglio” (squared pizza shop).

12) Which SMA7 Award winning entries do you like? “Like that old Italian wine” by Hagane Ishi! Graphically, it’s one of my favourite and its story is very well narrated!

• ABOUT THE FUTURE

14) What do you want to do from now on? I would like to work in the animation field! After the experiences in “Accademia Europea di Manga” and at “Yoyogi Animation Gakuin” in Tokyo, I studied at “Nemo Academy” in Florence to improve my skill as a colourist. When I was studying there, I also felt in love with the animation world and decided to be part of it! I would like to work as a storyboard artist and/or 2D artist, and I’m on my way to make it possible!   15) What do you expect to achieve by taking part in SMACommunity – The fans, readers and the Japanese pros? I joined the competition to prove myself; I didn’t expect to win!   16) Anything else you would like to share with the community? Try, then try again. The only way to achieve your goals in life is to give all of yourself, and to try again after you fail!

---