The SILENT MANGA AUDITION® (SMA) is the world’s biggest manga audition, exclusively for manga without dialogue. Through silent manga, talented international creators have the same chance as Japanese creators to join the manga world. Draw your characters’ expressions full of emotion and heart to work towards your dream debut!
This round’s theme is ‘A Kind Heart’! Through this theme, we hope to convey the Japanese concept of omoiyari, which describes consideration, thoughtfulness, and kindness towards others. Omoiyari often incorporates an element of self-sacrifice, in that you put the needs of others above your own.
In this increasingly complex and chaotic world, we hope this theme will inspire you to consider the needs and emotions of others, as well as how acts of selflessness can transform the world. Of course, your stories do not have to be on a grand scale. You can portray the tiny, everyday acts of kindness that make all our lives a little better, such as a character carrying an elderly woman’s shopping bags for her, or a character giving their seat on the train to a young child.
We encourage you to create stories in which characters stand in the shoes of others, open their hearts, and show kindness and consideration for others, such as in Nona’s one-shot My Mother’s Afterimages, whose characters are featured in the banner illustration.
Just remember to keep your story ‘silent’! Show us a 5-17 page story without dialogue – just pure storytelling! Create a manga without language barriers that can move the hearts of readers around the world!
For SMA25, we are accepting submissions through our Google Form. Please read the submission instructions carefully before submitting your work.
After reading and understanding the above, please click on the button below to access the submission form.
Just like you, these creators joined SMA while following their dreams! Now they’re with us in Japan, working towards their debuts! Check out what they’ve made so far:
Offer to Enter the MasterClass and Receive Editorial Support Introduction to the Artists Village Aso 096k Project
Offer to Enter the MasterClass and Receive Editorial Support Introduction to the Artists Village Aso 096k Project
¥100,000
Excellence Award and Above to be Published on “Zenon Plus”
Excellence Award Runner-Ups and Above to be Featured in Monthly Comic ZENON
¥30,000
Excellence Award Runner-Ups and Above to be Featured in Monthly Comic ZENON
¥10,000
EVERY entry receives professional editorial feedback! The feedback will contain your entry’s strong points and highlight things we’d like you to practice and learn more about in order to create professional-level manga.
Entrants who complete a survey after joining will receive a Clip Studio Paint EX 3-month activation code! Clip Studio Paint is the artist’s drawing, painting, comic, webtoon, and animation tool, loved by professionals. Don’t miss out on your chance to try Clip Studio Paint! Please also keep in mind that you can only receive the free trial code once!
The SMA judges evaluate SMA entries based on the following criteria. Above all, conveying your character’s expressions is the most important thing.
Characters’ emotions are expressed and displayed clearly.
The story and setting display your originality.
The theme is conveyed well through a story that’s easy to understand with enjoyable paneling.
NOTE: Entries done on paper should be scanned and digitized with a 300 dpi resolution. Page Layout Guidelines HERE (B4 Size) >>
Check out our tutorial on how to set up and export your pages in Clip Studio Paint EX!
COAMIX Inc. is a Tokyo-based manga publisher founded by manga creators who are famous worldwide. Among its many titles, Record of Ragnarok, MOTHER PARASITE, Keiji’s Kabuki Adventure, and The War of Greedy Witches stand out as some recent and internationally acclaimed manga series from COAMIX Inc.
