Orange manga artist Ichigo Takano posted a short comic on her Twitter account depicting the trials and tribulations of being a manga artist. The manga explains her perpetually busy schedule, which only gives her one day a month off work (which she usually spends sleeping), and describes the negative impact this has on her social life and health. The reason the schedule is so grueling, she explains, is because missing a deadline is the biggest no-no in manga.
悩まず簡単に描いていてすごいと言われたいので、本当は話したくない事だけど、今なら話せると思いました。
漫画家は「考える時間がもっと必要」なのではなくて「頭と心を休める時間がもっと必要」なのではないかと思います…。良い漫画を描くために。 pic.twitter.com/xeYE38wb2o
— 高野 苺 (@ichigo_takano) August 5, 2019
Takano wrote in the conclusion: “If a manga artist misses a chapter, please don’t get mad and file a complaint. They didn’t miss the deadline out of laziness. They weren’t given any leeway, and were drawing as much as they could. Half-completed chapters don’t get published.”
She also wrote a message for fellow manga artists: “Please get some rest pronto and don’t push yourselves too hard, okay? I also hope that any publishers reading this can come up with a way for manga artists to create manga without pushing themselves excessively.”
Takano launched Orange in Shueisha’s Bessatsu Margaret magazine in 2012, but moved it to Monthly Action in 2013. Takano ended the manga in August 2015 and Futabasha published the fifth and final volume in November 2015. Takano launched a new manga titled Kimi ni Nare (Become You) in April 2018.
Source: Ichigo Takano‘s Twitter account