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Manga NAME Practicals 3 : “BONOLON the Forest Warrior” – Japanese Manga 101 #035

Taiyo Nakashima Taiyo Nakashima 18/09/2015 8 min read
Just under 2 more weeks till the deadline of SILENT MANGA AUDITION 04! Here is us sending you all the best wishes, in your creation. Those who have already finished a piece, there’s still time to draw another piece! Hoping to see many more of your entries, by 30th September!   So let’s continue with the Manga NAME Practicals, with BONOLON the Forrest warrior! We left off at the scene where Bonolon appeared in front of Lemo. スクリーンショット 2015-09-29 12.24.41 We begin with a panel, that shows what kind of character, our Bonolon is. Huge! in comparison to Lemo! By placing this panel right at the start, once the conversation begins, the readers know the relation, between Lemo and Bonolonwhere each of them stand in this particular scene. To make it feel more like the two of them are exchanging conversation, the direction of their face, is put in a way they oppose each other. To create the tempo and sense of motion and keep it feeling less repetitive, they are always drawn at different angles and distance. Please note the way, how Bonolon looks down, while Lemo looks up. This is to present to the reader, that their body size is greatly different. Very clever technique, done so naturally that you may have missed it! スクリーンショット 2015-09-29 12.25.49 When there are lots of dialogues, the scene tends to luck the visual excitement and if you are not careful, may end up being a bit dull. Make your characters act like a stage actor, with big exaggerated gestures and facial expressions!   To sum up the storyline… Bonolon was summoned by Lemo’s mother’s wish of tears. He came from the giant forest Tazmun, and offered to make one wish come true for Lemo. Bonolon says, he has no powers to bring back the dead, but has powers to cure the illness. Bonolon had imagined that Lemo would then say “Cure my illness”, but Lemo says “Don’t worry about me, but please cure everyone else”. “With that wish, I can’t cure your illness, Lemo!” Bonolon is in shock, but once the wish is made, it cannot be changed. Bonolon is sad, that he can’t keep the promise made with Lemo’s mother. Lemo, being so considerate for the villagers, smiles weakly, with her body weakening.   スクリーンショット 2015-09-29 12.27.04 Bonolon place his huge hand on the giant camphor tree, and asks for the way to cure the illness in the village. Then a face appears on the tree, surprising Lemo. And then, the tree starts to talk… The big tree tells the truth, that the disease spreading in the village is not of a natural cause, but the evil plan of a certain man. Bonolon is filling with strong anger. Bonolon’s extreme rage is building up. The way the force in his hands intensifies, is drawn in 3 panels, giving the readers a sense of time and motion, drawn as a wide shot.   スクリーンショット 2015-09-29 12.27.47 Turn the page, and his explosion of RAGE, is drawn as a close-up of the face! When there is a “change” in the state of emotion, it should be drawn in a large panel. This really is a fundamental technique of Manga NAME creation. Please keep this in mind and use it well in future creation!   スクリーンショット 2015-09-29 12.28.28 GOT IT?  – And we have more today! スクリーンショット 2015-09-29 12.28.53 Back to the weapon smith Zunga’s shop. This is where Zunga’s evil plan is revealed to the readers in full! Zunga, poisoned the village well, so he can keep all of the magic crystals, found in the underground mine. The mysterious bottle that appeared in the scene when Zunga first appeared, is the cause of the illness in the village.   スクリーンショット 2015-09-29 12.29.46 Evil Zunga at home, laughing at the success of his evil plan. then he notices something heavy, something BIG is approaching his house. Here you see many cinematic techniques, such as ripples of water in the glass, shaking of the chandelier, rumbling of the earth… He jumps out of the house in fear that there may be an earthquake! To see giant Bonolon standing there.   スクリーンショット 2015-09-29 12.30.17This panel of Zunga, Looking UP, signifies the huge size of Bonolon, in relation to Zunga. Those small panels create a feeling of motion, a good rhythm, that makes reading a whole more enjoyable experience.   スクリーンショット 2015-09-29 12.31.24 Then Bonolon throws him away! So so far, into outer space, and he hits the Moon! Taking the nature of the story and characters into consideration,  the scene is directed in a very comical way rather than serious. Our experiences tell us that they’d like to see things in an obvious, exaggerated way! And the facial expressions are very different from the previous scenes. It feels good to see a baddy, getting what they deserve doesn’t it?   That’s all we have for today. Next scene, will be the climax! How did Tsugihara sensei achieved the effects he needed for a moving final scene? The Manga NAME is posted on our website in full, till the end. Please do take a look yourself, and see if you can spot the techniques yourself!  
Taiyo Nakashima

Taiyo Nakashima

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