For all the amateur and professional manga creators of the world who are being held back by poor working environments, the Akihabara Seisakujo is here to solve all your problems. Billing itself as a “Creators Cafe”, Seisakujo offers studio desks and various art equipment, including high-quality scanners and PCs equipped with Photoshop, for a modest hourly charge (starting at 500 yen).
Obviously, this isn’t ideal for long-term use, but in cases where your living situation becomes inconvenient (disapproving family members or noisy neighbors) it could be a lifesaver. I also expect that it might prove to a be a good place to sequester yourself for a pre-comiket all nighter.
I can’t see any professional mangaka taking advantage of this in the near future, but it’s interesting to think that between this place and neighborhood manga cafes, it’s no longer all that difficult to lead a productive otaku lifestyle even if you’re completely homeless.
I can’t help but wonder if it might do better if it were staffed with maids, though.
Akihabara Seisakujo via Mainichi via TentacleCat
That’s actually pretty awesome.
My niece is an avid manga fan and loves to draw. I’m sure she and her friends will appreciate manga cafes.
I wonder if they have Cintiqs? :)
Or consumables like markers? Or do fledging mangaka no longer use markers?
I wish I knew about this sooner! My circle was looking for a place to work at for our copy books. I will definitely remember this for future references.
[...] the issue goes on sale March 5, ANN reports. Heisei Democracy (possibly NSFW) has a brief story on a creator’s cafe in Akihabara, which offers would-be manga-kas a desk, computer with Photoshop, and everything else they [...]
well I must say that is a unique idea of an internet cafe, I doubt it if there would be people making mangas over there because it is hard to make mangas in public places, somehow I’ve experience making it, but there’s no doubt that many people will visit this cafe because of curiosity.
>chickmagnetstuff
I beg to differ. Actually, it’s good cheap publicity, especially if the mangaka is really good.
In my country, Singapore, in a quaint place called China Square (near to the old Chinatown area), but modernised with air-conditioned, covered shelters, one can find amateur artists drawing their own stuff on those free university-style ‘study’ benches.
They’re not really there to sell their artwork, but to have a big, free and sheltered place to do their work. Occasionally, one comes across a very good piece of work. I’ve bought a few pieces before. (less than S$100 each.) Who knows, these unknown artists may be the next Vincent. ;-)
But 500yen per hour can be expensive for a poor starving mangaka. But with the proper facilities, I guess it’s alright for a short-term last minute touch-up before the comiket weekend.
It’d be awesome if they had rooms with huge drawing tables, hi-end scanners, 19″ Cintiqs, and computers loaded with CS4. That’d probably be heaven for the aspiring artist.
I love hearing about projects like these. Community workshops are great for those curious about the craft but not yet willing to shell out for equipment. Also great for the old hands to pass skills on to the newbies.
Reminds me of similar projects like this one facility where you can get monthly access to powered shop equipment for wood- and metalworking. The shop keepers can train you on proper use, or offer a spare set of hands for large projects.
I’ve seen many manga cafe here in our place and I hope to visit some soon.
I’d say that’s cool. But isn’t it actually hard to create such mangas with risking your concentration because of the public?
[...] Heisei Democracy [...]