KUMAMOTO -- Nobuhiko Horie, 63, who was formerly the editor-in-chief of Shukan Shonen Jump, a weekly manga magazine for boys, has recently established a base to foster new manga artists in Kumamoto, the city from which he hails.
He plans to solicit people who have great potential to be professional manga artists from across the whole Kyushu region, and his staff will train them to help them debut.
Currently, Horie also serves as president of Coamix Inc., a Tokyo-based publishing company. "I want to revitalize my home city with manga works, as it was damaged by the Kumamoto Earthquake," he said.
In an about 120-square-meter space on the seventh floor of Tsuruya Department Store's Wing Building in Chuo Ward, Kumamoto, advice was being given to a young would-be manga artist via a large monitor screen.
Hiroshi Akiyama, 40, editor-in-chief of the company's digital manga business, said via the screen: "The character of the heroine is so attractive. It would be better to also make the other characters more unique."
The space is called Coamix Manga Lab and it opened in late October. Akiyama had examined digital copies of the manga sent to the company's head office in Tokyo's Kichijoji area, before giving guidance to the creator via the screen.
Misaki Fujii, a third-year student at Sojo University who had brought in the manga work, said with a smile: "I'm glad to receive practical advice from a professional editor. I'll continue to use this place, as I aim to become a professional manga artist."
The company regards Coamix Manga Lab as a satellite office of its editorial department. The lab receives manga works, and editors in the head office in Tokyo give advice directly to the would-be artists by screen.
In the near future, the company also plans to hold weekend training sessions in which professional manga artists will give lectures.
Horie emphatically said, "I want to attract young people hoping to be manga artists to Kumamoto, as it's in the center of Kyushu."
After working as a member of the editorial staff at Shukan Shonen Jump, Horie became editor-in-chief of the magazine in 1993. At the time, the magazine carried popular manga series including "Dragon Ball," "Slam Dunk" and "Jojo's Bizarre Adventure." In 1994, the magazine's circulation hit a record high of 6.53 million copies.
Later, Horie became independent, establishing Coamix Inc. in 2000 with manga artists including Tsukasa Hojo, author of "City Hunter."
Currently, the company's activities include publishing works like Comic Zenon, a monthly manga magazine.
In April 2016, strong earthquakes hit Kumamoto Prefecture twice. Using manga to help the reconstruction of the quake-hit areas, the company began the Kumamoto International Manga Festival in 2017, introducing manga works from both Japan and overseas.
In September this year, Horie held an event in Takamori, the town in Kumamoto Prefecture where he spent his childhood. Hojo and other professional manga artists gave lectures to 52 would-be manga artists from Japan and abroad.
Many manga artists who are active on the front lines are from the Kyushu region. Horie wants to give a further boost to his home city by establishing this base for searching for new talent.
"Because of progress in telecommunications, now is a time when people can draw manga and serialize their works, while living in provincial regions. Living in Kumamoto is more comfortable than Tokyo, so people with potential can concentrate on their creative activities. I want to find as many talented people as possible," Horie said.
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