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Answerman FAQ: "How do I get my idea made into an anime?"

Sheleigha wrote:

Honestly, I'm surprised that some people want to move to Japan and become mangaka and such, despite the overwhelming news of the non-stop work causing carpal tunnel, and other physical/mental illnesses that causes MANY of the main artists to take a several month's leave at a time :/ Apparently it's a desirable job.

That kind of dedication to the job is probably why manga is so beloved. It's not a great job for someone looking to make a quick buck, you have to really love the medium and put your all into it.

Many people don't realize how much tougher it would be to work over there, with how relaxed things are in the western world. It's a lot more stressful and filled with work. In the end, it IS a job and not just a hobby for weekends.

I think people will more likely get a book published than an anime made. So why don't people try to write a book, see how it sells (if it gets pick up at all), if it's relatively successful pay someone to translate it.

Spotlesseden wrote:

I think first Westerns need know what Asians like. You have to write you story to target Asians, not other westerns. Like the main characters are normally descendant of famous/powerful people or face. Japanese don't believe normal random guy can be successful. It doesn't mean you can't break the rule, but you still need to know this.

There are a lot of problems with this.

First, your example of what the Japanese supposedly like is questionable, since there are a lot of protagonists in anime that are supposedly ordinary, at least in the sense of not being, as you put it, a "descendant of famous/powerful people."

Second, the whole idea of "what Asians like" is ill-defined. Consider Japan alone. Its population is about 128 million, somewhere between a third and a half that of the population of the U.S. That's a lot of people, and even with Japanese culture being arguably more homogeneous than American culture, that's still a lot of opportunity for variation.

Third, attempting to target what some demographic can all too easily lead to something that looks bland or obviously derivative.

Best not to try to hard to try to target some audience, but rather just write or draw what one likes. The probability of success is about the same as if one does try to target, and if one fails, at least one fails while doing what one likes.