Spanish manga artist Juan Albarrán, known for his work on Matagi Gunner, launched a new manga titled A Mangaka’s Road to Japan on Monday, with an immediate English simulpub available on Kodansha’s K MANGA service. The new series, which delves into Albarrán’s personal journey as an international mangaka, also debuted simultaneously on Kodansha’s Comic Days app and website in Japan.
Chronicling the Journey: “A Mangaka’s Road to Japan”
A Mangaka’s Road to Japan is described as a hard-hitting essay manga that documents Albarrán’s experiences and challenges in achieving his dream of becoming a serialized mangaka in Japan as a non-Japanese speaker. The series explores the unique hurdles faced by an overseas creator navigating the Japanese manga industry, offering readers an intimate look at the dedication and perseverance required. This narrative offers a rare perspective on the inner workings of the highly competitive manga world from an outsider’s viewpoint.
Juan Albarrán’s Path to Japanese Manga
Before making his significant foray into the Japanese manga scene, Juan Albarrán honed his skills in the American comics industry, working for approximately seven years as an inker for DC Comics. His career shift was influenced by the global pandemic in 2020, which prompted him to pursue his long-held ambition of creating manga. Despite not speaking Japanese, Albarrán found opportunities as an assistant for Japanese mangaka, using translation tools to bridge the language barrier.
His pivotal breakthrough came with Matagi Gunner, a series he illustrates for Kodansha’s Morning magazine, with Shōji Fujimoto writing the story. This makes Albarrán one of the few foreign artists to successfully establish a career within the demanding Japanese manga industry. Matagi Gunner, which tells the story of an elderly rural hunter unexpectedly skilled at video game first-person shooters, recently concluded with its 11th and final volume shipped on June 23.
The Significance of English Simulpub
The immediate English simulpub of A Mangaka’s Road to Japan on Kodansha’s K MANGA service highlights a growing trend in the manga industry to make new content accessible to a global audience simultaneously with its Japanese release. This approach allows international fans to follow new series without significant delays, fostering a more connected global readership and combating issues like piracy. For Albarrán’s autobiographical work, the English simulpub is particularly relevant, as it directly speaks to an international audience interested in the cross-cultural experience of a mangaka.
Albarrán, who moved to Japan after starting Matagi Gunner, has spoken about the immense workload and intense dedication required to survive in the Japanese editorial world. His new essay manga is expected to shed more light on these rigorous processes and the personal sacrifices involved in pursuing a mangaka’s career in Japan.
