Masterclass member ryancomicpress, who won the SMA19 Grand Prix with his work, “The Unexpected Dinner Guest”, has received another award for his newest one-shot, “New Days”! The award was announced in the July Edition of Monthly Comic Zenon.



In “New Days”, Butcher, an assassin, is assigned to protect Margot Valington, the teenage daughter of a mafia boss. Even Butcher, a stoic and emotionless assassin, is moved by Margot’s bubbly personality, and the two strike up an unlikely friendship. However, how will the two react when their new bond is tested?

“New Days” received an Excellence Award in the 11th Kyushu International Manga Award, and is now available to read in English! To celebrate the English release of “New Days”, we are releasing a special Q&A with ryancomicpress! Read on to find out more about his process and the inspiration for this one-shot.

How do you feel about winning this award?

It feels good and I’m very grateful. However, I still want to try for a better award next time. It’s a hopeful indicator that I’m on the right path to becoming a professional mangaka, but I’m still not satisfied yet. After I get a better award, I want to aim for a piece that can be serialized and make my Japanese debut. I’d like to move to Japan and live in the Artists Village, too.

How did you think of the idea for this piece?

I wanted to draw a friendship between a prim and proper ojou-sama type character and a scary, “evil” character. Although this piece changed many, many times, the main idea always stayed the same.

What do you think is the best part of this piece?

Without trying to sound like I’m boasting, I think my art is the best thing about the piece. Even though the deadline was right around the corner, I’m happy to say that the art I drew was up to my standards, and I didn’t compromise on the quality.

What did you struggle with when creating this piece?

I feel like I struggled with almost everything – anything related to writing, really. I’m still new to writing stories in general. Keeping the dialogue to the absolute minimum was a huge challenge for me in the beginning. Trying to cram everything into a short and concise 39 pages was incredibly difficult. Even after writing draft after draft, it still did not go the way I originally envisioned. I often wondered if there was a “correct” way to make the story and which paths would lead me to that correct way. The deadline was rough, and as much as I tried to maintain a healthy relationship with making this manga, it still almost wrecked me in the end.

Was there anything you tried to keep in mind while creating these characters?

I tried to always remember that my protagonists are supposed to contrast. To me, the more they contrast, the more unique and alive they feel.

What are your favorite manga?

I love gyaru romance manga. My favorite right now would have to be Otaku ni Yasahii Gyaru wa Inai!?, or Gal Can’t be Kind to Otaku!?. It’s probably because pretty popular girls never took an interest in my anti-social nerdy self, while I always wanted to date a pretty popular girl.

What kind of manga do you want to draw next?

Something stupid and fun. Something with crime. Something with superheroes. Most important of all, I really want to draw a sexy curvy lady.

What is your latest obsession?

Fortnite. I love Fortnite. I just want to play Fortnite all day. If I wasn’t trying to be a mangaka, I would try to become a Fortnite pro and win the Fortnite world championship. I’m also forever obsessed with Yu-Gi-Oh!

Do you have any final comments for the readers?

These questions make it seem like I got here by myself. In reality, my editors played a huge role every step of the way in helping me make this piece a reality. If you are aspiring to win SMA, then be prepared to work with your editors. Also, as an aside, I used photographic references for nearly every character in every panel of the manga. Every morning for around a month I would wake up, spend around an hour taking pictures of myself posing in a high school girl outfit, and then draw it. The process was difficult, frustrating, and extremely stressful, but it was fun. You have to be willing to do anything to make your piece successful, which can be really difficult. That’s why I still sometimes wonder if I’m cut out to be a professional mangaka.

READ “NEW DAYS” IN ENGLISH HERE!

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