Juan Albarran Launches a Manga About His Road to Japan

Kodansha’s Comic Days platform launched a new manga on Monday from Spanish artist Juan Albarrán, titled A Mangaka’s Road to Japan. The company’s English service began a simultaneous release the same day, so readers abroad can follow along from the start.

The series is a personal essay manga built around a real and difficult question: is it even possible to get your work serialized in Japan as someone from overseas who does not speak the language? Albarrán shares the highs and lows of his own journey toward debuting as a manga artist there.

It is a story he is well placed to tell. Albarrán is the artist behind Matagi Gunner, a series written by Shōji Fujimoto that ran in Kodansha’s Morning magazine from 2022 until it wrapped with its eleventh volume earlier this year.

This new work also ties into Kodansha’s recent push to support creators around the world, having been highlighted as a real life example in its newly launched manga academy.

My take: An honest, behind the scenes look at breaking into manga from outside Japan is genuinely valuable, not just entertaining. I imagine it will resonate with a lot of aspiring artists chasing the same dream.