The Institute for Japanese Studies presents:
"Introducing Alternative Manga"
Marco Kohinata and Keita Katsushika
Abstract: Japanese manga is massively popular and widely recognized around the world, but much of the attention tends to be on a limited range of works with anime tie-ins. However, beyond the manga found in the mainstream, lies a vast underexplored ocean of alternative genres, art styles, and stories. In this talk, Marco Kohinata and Keita Katsushika, two Japanese manga artists representing this lesser-known side of manga, discuss their careers in the industry—their debut as a manga artist, first publication, working with editors, current endeavors, and future plans.
Both artists will also delve into the craft of making manga; a craft that not only requires artistic skill but the ability to create engaging stories with intriguing characters. They will share their inspirations and references, techniques and work processes, and show the steps needed to not only create a varied cast of characters but also build the settings—often based off real-life locations—where their stories happen.
Keita Katsushika is a manga artist and illustrator from Katsushika ward, Tokyo. He debuted in 2010 with his manga appearing in independent magazines such as USCA and PON-RAI. As an illustrator, he makes illustrations for the covers of books and magazines. Since 2022, his work Higashi Tokyo machimachi (Diverse East Tokyo) has been serialized in the web comic platform Michikusa.
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Marco Kohinata was influenced by her mother’s love for art and became enraptured with drawing as a child. Her mother often took her to art exhibitions and museums and at home she was exposed to picture books from all around the world, manga, illustrations, anime, and the like. Marco first learned art as an academic subject when she joined the art department at Osaka Prefectural Kogei Senior High School. After high school, she took correspondence courses through Musashino Art University but eventually left academia after making her debut as a manga artist. While working as a manga artist she also takes on illustration and animation commissions.
Beginning with manga, Marco has felt comforted by many works of art made by her predecessors and wishes to recreate that feeling in people through her art.
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Manga International Network Team (MINT) Project
MINT aims to support early career manga artists and editors in Japan who are working to achieve a global presence, and to increase the recognition and value of manga’s diversity overseas. This project is the manga section of the Creator Support Program, a program managed by the Japan Creator Support Fund, which in turn was established by the Japan Arts Council with a subsidy from the Agency for Cultural Affairs. MINT is honored to collaborate with the Ohio State University to bring Keita Katsushika and Marco Kohinata to the university for this guest talk.
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URL: https://www.mint-mangaproject.com/en/
