Go Tokyo Your Experience
When mentioning the tools of a manga artist, do you first think of paper and pen, or computers and graphic tablets? The Japanese manga artist Takashi Shiina, known for works like “GS Mikami: The Ultimate God of Hell!!” and “Chuchu the Sorrowful Supergirls,” recently talked about a phenomenon—young people are increasingly not using traditional paper and pen for manga creation, which makes him feel that the modern trend is irreversible, stirring up a sense of sentiment in his heart.
Perhaps in the future, paper and pen may become tools that exist only in memory, and people might even forget that they are also an important part of manga creation. Let’s take a look at Takashi Shiina’s thoughts on this.
Is it true… that young people nowadays can’t create manga without machines? Hurry up and get me some paper and pens!
Paper and pens? What exactly do you want to do!?
This joke becomes more and more uninteresting every year.
‘Go to Grandpa Shuina’s place; he must still have a lot of network paper. Remember to tell him my name to get some.’
Dot paper…? Uh, not everyone can manually stick on the dots, right!!
I thought the same back then.
As the author of representative works such as “GS Mikami: God of Boundless Pleasure!!” and “Chuchu’s Pitiful Superpower Girl Group,” Takashi Shiina recently discussed how he has noticed an increasing number of young manga artists no longer using traditional paper and pen or adhesive dot sheets, a trend that has sparked widespread discussion among netizens…
To commemorate the 20th anniversary of “Chuchu’s Pitiful Superpower Girl Group,” Takashi Shiina is preparing to hold a signing event.
Takashi Shiina does not oppose the trend of digital painting; in fact, he himself has started to try learning various digital tools and techniques in recent years.
However, he has found that the paper and pen, along with dot paper, which he has been familiar with for a long time, are gradually becoming rare creative tools. He has not yet fully transitioned to digital painting, which makes him quite nostalgic.
Just this May, Takashi Shiina stated:
“I tried drawing a draft on the iPad, but I just couldn’t produce a satisfactory effect. However, once I switched to paper, my hand moved smoothly. What exactly went wrong…”
In 2021, he also once said:
I still haven’t figured out why I can’t use a drawing tablet to draw lines. It might be due to the habits or feel of drawing.
Faced with Takashi Shiina’s sentiment, the reactions from Japanese netizens are…
…I am still using pen and paper to draw. (´ω`)
I mainly use paper and pencil to draw comics.
The wave of digitalization is truly frightening… This spirit of perseverance is also very admirable.
I have indeed encountered people who say ‘I can only use digital tools, I can’t create with paper and pen at all…’
Just imagine, in the future, someone asking ‘What is… paper and pen?’ That would be truly terrifying.
Someone actually said to me: ‘Huh? Do you still use paper and pencils to draw?’
Manga artist: ‘You actually draw with paper and pencils?’
Reborn Comic Artist: ‘What did I do wrong again? (laughs)’
I have always felt that drawing for a weekly publication on paper is not something just anyone can do.
I’m really curious, how do those comic artists who can’t use paper and pen interact at event sites?
