'GIGAZINE Manga Awards' starts accepting entries in March 2025 & a look back at the key points for creating attractive character designs
The GIGAZINE Manga Awards accepts manga works at any time, with monthly submissions and monthly screening. In addition to the story and setting, characters are also important in the creation of manga. We have summarized the ingenuity used to create attractive character designs in the manga serialized in GIGAZINE in '
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'Let Me Make It! Ejima-san' Episode 1 'Let Me Make a Love Game!'
Read 'Secret Palace' Episode 1: 'Loneliness, a Beautiful Girl, and an Android'
Check out the comic ' I'm the Gas Man!!, ' the story of Kiyu's year in the life of a new gas man, below!
Vampire x Maid x Garlic Gourmet '
Also check out the comic ' Ame Ame Fure Fure Usoyandde ,' which depicts two weeks in the life of a girl who loves rain and a boy cursed by it!
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◆ Send your portfolio to apply for illustrations, storyboards, and illustration help positions
◆Click here for original script submissions for novels and screenplays
◆ A young lady, an android, a demon king...what are the key points of character design?
'Gas Shop Desu!! ' tells the story of Kiyu's struggles as a new employee at a gas shop over the course of a year, and in episode 8, a young lady from a rival company appears. The young lady's design in the initial concept was as shown below, and was based on the image of a 'good worker.'
The design of the rival lady, Mitsuki, underwent significant changes when the name was created, as shown below.
There are two reasons why Mitsuki's design changed so drastically. First, Mitsuki makes his full appearance in episode 8, but the end of episode 7 featured a scene that foreshadowed the meeting with Mitsuki. For that reason, we wanted to make the impact as strong as possible so that people would become interested in the character just from this cut.
Secondly, Mitsuki is a cheerful character in the story who is 'cheerful and kind, but quite capable', but in the initial draft she was portrayed as 'a sulky and scary character'. As the setting in the story changed from 'an elite beauty in the initial concept' to 'a prickly daughter of a company president' to 'a bright and elegant young lady', the character design also changed accordingly. Manga character designs need to be 'animated' in the story after they are completed, so it is important to adjust them while keeping in mind the scenes and lines in the story.
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For that reason, the illustrator, Boru, adjusted the design of 'how to clean up the drawing.' He paid particular attention to how to draw the 'eyes.' The eyes are an important aspect that greatly affects the impression of a character, and because Rinne has a unique setting in that she 'looks human but is actually an android equipped with AI,' he considered how to express an inorganic and otherworldly quality along with her girlishness.
In the end, after considering the suggestions from the illustrator, the original author finalized the character designs as shown below.
In addition, 'The Secret Palace' is set in the near future. Therefore, some items and costumes appear that would not exist in the modern world. Rinne and the others often wear school uniforms, but when they are at home or in flashback scenes, the original author gives the design of the costumes, saying, 'This is the image I have in mind.'
In addition, the design and color of the underwear depicted in the scene in her room was also decided. Small items and costumes can be useful in strengthening the character and worldview when you pay attention to the details.
In 'The Part-Time Life of a Corporate Hero,' a story about a hero from another world who stumbles into modern Japan and works both
At the time of writing the script, the Demon King's setting was that she was 'extremely strong but still looked like a young girl,' and there were no other specific specifications, so cygnusil, who was in charge of illustrations, created and considered various patterns of face and costume roughs. In this way, when creating a character design, it is also important to 'just try drawing various patterns and solidify the idea.'
Ultimately, the following three designs were born. While the main body has the appearance of a young girl, since a 'demon lord-like silhouette' appears in each episode, the silhouette is designed to look like a large demon lord through the outfit.
The three-dimensional drawing of the adopted design looks like this:
Manga details such as character designs are published and explained exclusively on GIGAZINE Secret Club (GSC). GSC allows you to access the unlimited manga bookshelf at any time and read the latest manga before anyone else, so you can support manga even more. For details and to register, please check
◆ 'GIGAZINE Manga Award' Application Guidelines
▼What happens when you serialize a manga on GIGAZINE?
・Completely remote work & work timing can be left to your discretion
・Serialized manga will be published on GIGAZINE, so people can read it first.
No strict deadlines make scheduling easy
- No restrictions on genre or target audience, anything is OK as long as it's interesting
・Assistants available to help with coloring and backgrounds (no need to pay for yourself)
・Because we are still a young label, it is easier for our opinions and requests to be accepted, just like a venture company!
・For those who have concerns about working as a freelancer, such as 'Is it okay if I don't know anything about laws or taxes?' or 'What is it like working on a serial with an editor?', we have published 'Guidelines for creating an environment where freelancers can work with peace of mind' in line with the guidelines of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. We have compiled a Q&A to answer any questions or concerns you may have, so please check it out.
Etc. If you have any other questions, please click here to contact us.
▼Basic conditions:
・It is assumed that it can be read on a smartphone (no double pages, vertical scrolling is the standard)
・Full color, full digital (black and white works may be treated as 'original works', but applications are welcome)
・Any genre and the completed manuscript of 'Episode 1' and its behind-the-scenes materials should be submitted. Please send behind-the-scenes materials including character designs and settings, as well as a summary of the entire story in a range of 200-800 characters. Please note that if the content of your application is insufficient, we may not be able to proceed with the review.
・Manuscript format:
Please refer to ' The Princess and the Gamer ' for aspect ratio, file size, and resolution.
・Number of manuscript pages:
Free. Any number of pages is OK.
▼Others:
・Original works that you have already published in other media or on other platforms are OK
・Works that were published in magazines but never published in book form, or that were discontinued midway through due to unavoidable circumstances, are also OK. Please don't give up.
▼Deadline:
Monday, March 31, 2025, 11:59:59 PM
▼ Screening process:
After the first round of selection by the editorial team, the review process is scheduled as follows: The review process and stages may be subject to slight changes, so we will send you separate explanations and confirmations before the first round of review.
Phase 1: Evaluation in a closed environment that can only be viewed by GIGAZINE Secret Club members + Evaluation including making materials by the editorial department
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Stage 2: In a format that is more conscious of serialization, we will review the work after you have prepared additional necessary information such as the 'first episode manuscript' and 'plot up to the final episode.' If you have advanced to this stage, we will almost guarantee that your work will be serialized in some form.
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Final stage: The serialized manuscript will be judged by the editor-in-chief of GIGAZINE, evaluated by GIGAZINE Secret Club members, and judged by guests such as writers currently serializing in GIGAZINE, to determine the winner of the Grand Prize. In addition, if the work remains in the final stage, the serialization will be guaranteed.
▼Rewards:
All the people who passed the first round and were selected for the first stage:
Prize money: 30,000 yen
2nd stage advancement:
An additional 20,000 yen prize will be awarded, plus an editor will be assigned to serialize the work.
Finalists:
If you advance to the final stage, you will receive an additional 50,000 yen prize (total of 100,000 yen) plus a guarantee that your submitted work will be serialized after being polished.
Winners and above:
Additional prize money from 100,000 yen + guaranteed serialization
Grand Prize:
Prize money of 1 million yen + guaranteed serialization of submitted work
▼ Selection results of submitted works
For works that proceed to the first stage of judging, we will contact you via email at the address you provided when you applied by the end of the month following the month of application with details about the judging.
Please note that in all other cases, we will not notify you of the results of the screening.
▼Procedure after winning the award
After the serialization on GIGAZINE is over, the work will be made into an e-book and sold on Amazon. We will pay you the prescribed manuscript fee and royalties. GIGAZINE will also be responsible for the sale and promotion of the e-book.
▼Question submission form:
If you have any questions about applying, please click here to contact us. If we receive similar questions repeatedly, we will compile them as an FAQ, so we appreciate your understanding and cooperation.
▼Manga Award Application Form:
Click here
◆Applications for illustration staff, storyboard staff, and illustration helpers
▼How to apply for 'drawing only':
Just show the URL of your portfolio or collection of works in the Manga Award application form . Please write 'Applying for illustrations only' in the 'Other' column. There is no limit to the number of illustrations or manga for your portfolio, and there is no line on how many you need, but the more you have, the easier it will be to get recognition.
▼How to apply for a 'name composition position'
We are also looking for 'name composition' who will turn the original text script into a name. As with the illustration only, please send us as much information as possible about your portfolio, names of works you have created in the past, and manga works.
▼ Review flow for 'Artwork only' and 'Name composition':
Those who pass the first stage of screening, which is based on the portfolio, will be contacted by the month after the form is submitted. In the second stage, we ask you to actually draw a trial original. If you pass this, it will move on to the final stage of voting.
▼Rewards:
Participants who passed the first stage portfolio screening and participated in the second stage:
Prize money: 50,000 yen
*Because this stage of judging requires additional manuscript work, all applicants who advance to the second stage will receive a stipend.
Winners of the final judging:
Additional prize of 100,000 yen + serialization guarantee
Grand Prize:
Additional prize of 200,000 yen + serialization guarantee
*Due to the nature of the original script, we cannot guarantee that your work will be serialized immediately, but we will guarantee that it will be serialized by making it a priority proposal.
▼How to apply for help:
We are also looking for helpers who can help with the production of full-color manga. We also welcome helpers with underpainting characters, text placement, and backgrounds. This is a completely remote project and you can participate from home only when you can.
▼Conditions :
Nothing in particular. The flow is 'if you can work, choose what you want to take on from the task list and work on it,' so it's possible to not participate if you're busy.
You can also help out, earn some pocket money and improve your skills, while also creating original works and making suggestions to the editors.
▼Reward :
For 'coloring help' and 'background help,' the hourly rate is calculated using work management software. The hourly rate is set as a trial period at first, and can be increased based on the level of skill and the number of contributions made.
In the case of 'name composition', the manuscript fee will be calculated per page.
▼How to apply :
On the GIGAZINE Manga Award application form , paste the URL where you can view your past color manuscripts and portfolios instead of the 'address/URL for downloading the work file.' Also, in the last 'Other information we need to know,' enter the appropriate information you would like: 'Coloring help,' 'Background help,' or 'Name composition.'
・Manga Award Application Form:
Click here
◆ Original script submission requirements
・In addition to the manuscript for Episode 1 , please also prepare a plot (synopsis) from Episode 1 to the final episode . The synopsis should be a detailed summary of the entire story, between 100 and 800 characters, on the first page of the manuscript.
・The first round of judging will simply look at the entertainment value of the story and the completion of the first episode. If you make it through the second round to the final round, you will be judged on whether you can consistently write stage directions right up to the final episode, with the idea of actually creating the original manga.
・If you are submitting an 'original work only' and only text, you can simply paste the text into a Google document and enter the address of the shared link in the application form. In this case, please do not edit the document after submitting.
・Please make sure that your Google sharing settings are set to 'Anyone with the link.' If you leave it set to 'Restricted,' submitted work will not be readable. For more information, please check 'Share files publicly' in the Google Docs Help .
▼Rewards:
All the people who passed the first round and were selected for the first stage:
Prize money: 30,000 yen
2nd stage advancement:
An additional 20,000 yen prize will be awarded, plus an editor will be assigned to serialize the work.
Finalists:
If you advance to the final stage, you will receive an additional 50,000 yen prize (total of 100,000 yen) plus a guarantee that your submitted work will be serialized after being polished.
Winners and above:
Prize money of 100,000 yen + serialization guarantee
Grand Prize:
Prize money of 200,000 yen + guaranteed serialization of submitted work
*Due to the issue of matching with illustrators, we cannot guarantee that your work will be serialized immediately, but we will guarantee that your work will be serialized by making it a priority proposal.
Click here for the application form
The Manga Award selection process includes the 'GIGAZINE Secret Club (GSC) Closed Review.' Whether you are a GSC member or not, please take this opportunity to become a member of GSC and witness the birth of a future masterpiece. Register for the GIGAZINE Secret Club here .
We look forward to receiving your submissions from all creators. Thank you very much.
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