PROFILE
Pen Name / Name: Agata Maliszewska & Dennis Tran
Your social media profiles: Agata: @posupoko Dennis: @snackteam (Instagram)
Country: Agata: Poland, Dennis: USA
Age: Agata: 27, Dennis: 32
Favorite manga:
Agata: Currently, Dungeon Meshi!
Dennis: A Silent Voice
Favorite movie:
Agata: I’m not sure if I have one, but The Wild Robot left a huge impression on me!
Dennis: Back to the Future
Favorite quote: 
Agata: “If everyone is not special, maybe you can be what you want to be.”
Dennis: “Why should you go to jail for a crime someone else noticed?”

Entry title: “Bà”
Round: SMA21: “The Biggest Surprise”
Award: Excellence Award Runner-up

---

“Learning to be patient with yourself and giving yourself time is as important as your drawing skills. Please be gentle with yourself.”

About SMA

How does it feel to receive a SILENT MANGA AUDITION® award?
Agata: I’ve been following SMA for years now, so it feels a bit unreal to see our work win. I’m not quite sure if I’ve fully processed it yet!

Dennis: It feels amazing. My partner and I were just happy to be able to share our story. To know that our piece was viewed by such esteemed judges is a reward of its own, but to have it win an award as well? It was certainly an unexpected and incredible outcome, and we want to thank the judges wholeheartedly for this amazing honor.

What was the inspiration behind your awarded work?
Agata: It’s very personal to Dennis and his wife!

Dennis: Our story was loosely based on my wife’s grandmother, who passed away in 2022. She was an incredibly kind, incredibly strong woman who survived through a particularly turbulent era in history, but still managed to keep so much love in her heart up until the moment she left us. Losing grandma was difficult for all of us, especially for my wife, so in order to help her through her grief, I wanted to honor her memory and show her one last glimpse of her grandma in a medium that is near and dear to our hearts. 


What challenges did you face while making your manga? How did you overcome them?
Dennis: Coming up with the concept for the story was the hardest part for us. We wanted to tell a story that we felt would have an emotional impact on readers, but our ideas (our earlier ones, that is) felt too hollow or too distant compared to our ideals. I started asking myself, “What’s making me feel a strong emotion right now? What is impacting me?” It was then that we managed to land on our concept. All it took was a simple look inward!

Agata: We had some troubles with page six, too. However, after showing it to a couple of friends, we managed to find a solution. Feedback from other people is priceless!

READ Agata Maliszewska & Dennis Tran’s SMA21 ENTRY HERE!

---

About Your Manga

How and when did you start making manga? What do you wish you knew as a beginner? What advice would you give to someone who wants to start drawing manga?
Agata: I remember picking up drawing manga after a magazine called How to Draw Manga was released in Poland years ago (I was still in primary school!). Initially, my friend bought it, but she got bored with the magazine and the tools attached, so she gave them to me instead. That’s how it all started. Then, I ended up pursuing drawing more seriously, made some stories with my best friend, and even enrolled in university to study Japanese, as I thought it would be helpful. What I wish I knew was that life won’t always go the way you want it to. You can still achieve your goals, it will just take more time, and importantly, dedication. I feel like I hyper-focused on art and orchestrated my whole life to eventually do that professionally, but I noticed that I didn’t learn as fast as other people. I struggled with finishing projects, and I prioritized others’ opinions about my art over my own feelings. Sometimes, it’s easy to feel like you’re losing your dream because of the struggles you face, but hard times will eventually pass. Learning to be patient with yourself and giving yourself time is as important as your drawing skills. Please be gentle with yourself.

Dennis: As the writer of our manga, it’s a bit difficult to answer this question, since I’m not exactly the one putting pen to paper. I remember drawing a lot of comic books as a child, but I could hardly call those manga, as they were not only styled after American comics, but they were also very, very bad. Story structure, however, was something that I knew very well and have been studying for a very long time. So, I suppose if I were to give advice, I would say study stories and learn what makes them work. Break each of your favorite stories down to the smallest beats and put them under a microscope. Figure out what the characters are doing, why they are doing it, where they’re going, what keeps them going, what’s in their way, and how they are going to change.

Do you draw your manga digitally or by hand? What are your go-to digital or analogue tools?
Dennis: As a writer-artist duo, this is a question for my wildly talented partner. 

Agata: Digitally! I love ctrl+z!!!


What was the first manga you picked up? Is it easy to access manga where you live?
Agata: I believe the very first manga I bought in a store was called Drug-on. Right now, it’s quite easy to buy tons of manga. We now have access to a variety of titles here in Poland.

Dennis: The first manga that I ever owned was a volume of Pokemon. Back then, manga was a relatively unknown medium in America, so accessibility was limited.

Which manga changed your life?
Agata: My answer to this is probably Dungeon Meshi. I’ve been very burnt out these past few years and have been unsure what to do with my art, but Dungeon Meshi reignited my love for anime and manga. I love this series so much and I love Ryoko Kui’s art style.

Dennis: My first read-through of A Silent Voice was absolutely life-changing. I remember being awestruck by both the art and how viscerally the story was told.

Which manga character do you most identify with? Why?
Agata: Bocchi from Bocchi the Rock! I’m very awkward and dedicated to one thing that I’m sort of good at haha.

Dennis: I identify a lot with Usopp from One Piece. Considering that he is the most “ordinary” member of the Strawhats, I relate to his lack of confidence, and am inspired by his ability to stand with his god-like comrades anyway, despite his cowardice. 


What kind of manga do you want to make next?
Agata: I struggle with being interested in too many styles and genres. I also feel like, artistically, I’m still trying to find my voice, so I’m not sure… My main goal right now is improving my craft and sending more entries to SMA! When it comes to challenges… I feel like Polish people still have a tendency to view manga, and anything drawn or animated even, as strictly a children’s medium. Sometimes, it feels as if manga artists here are a little infantilized and not taken seriously because of that. We have many wonderful manga artists here, so that’s a shame.

Dennis: I’m honestly not sure what I want to write next. I’m very drawn to stories about romance, so I want to try my hand at that for my next work. As for the challenges of being a manga creator in America, I suppose the lack of infrastructure and editorial support is probably at the top of my list. Given that manga is not as big of an industry over here (as opposed to graphic novels and comic books), it’s difficult to get a foothold without searching for opportunities abroad.



About You

What do you do when you’re not making manga? How do you relax?
Agata: I find it very hard to relax, but when I do, I usually doomscroll on Tiktok. I desperately need a better hobby.

Dennis: I can nap just about anywhere, so when I’m not making manga or working, I’m most likely sleeping.

What industry do you work in (if manga making isn’t your primary job)?
Agata: I’m currently working as an animator and an editor for a big YouTube channel! 

Dennis: I work in video post-production as a video editor.

Where do you see your manga career in five years time?
Agata: I really hope I’ll be more confident in my skills! It would be cool to work on longer stories as well.

Dennis: I’m hoping that in five years time, I will have written a story that is serialized, either in print or web.

What manga making advice would you give to your younger self if you could?
Agata: “Don’t draw pretty boys only!! Please!!!”

Dennis: “Read more manga and keep drawing, stupid!”

What advice would you give to people entering the SILENT MANGA AUDITION®?
Agata: If you struggle on your own, find company, or at least discuss your ideas with friends! Brainstorming can help a lot!

Dennis: My advice would be to do your homework! Don’t just blindly rush into your story without learning from those who came before you. Read every winner and runner up and break down their stories into acts, those acts into beats, and figure out why their stories work the way they do. This will teach you a great deal about narrative structure and how to effectively tell a silent story!

---

Thank you, Agata and Dennis! We’re eagerly awaiting your next manga masterpiece!

The deadline to join SMA22 is February 2nd. Enter for a chance to develop your potential as a manga creator with us in Japan!