Tenko & Rhyme page
Currently making original comics and joining contests to become a professional mangaka in Japan. (It’s a job hunt!)
If I win, I get to be officially published as a professional artist. If I lose, I just repeat the cycle of joining contests till I win.
Aiming for a big publisher, so I’ll probably fail a lot before I win, but let’s keep trying.
【2nd Try】 Project Codename: Motorcyle
– 31 pages (8 Jul – 31 Aug)
– 8 Jul – 9 Jul: Wrote the plot and the whole script.
– 11 Jul: Finished the first storyboard.
– 14 Jul: Winners of the previous contest I lost announced, so I analyzed their works and fixed my storyboard to reflect the things I learned. (Stronger opening, more surprising MC, more action in the present scenes and less focus on the MC’s past)
– 18 Jul: Finished the second storyboard. The story’s finalized, so now I just need to draw it. Thanks to friends for checking and giving their opinions.
– 19 Jul: This manga has a futuristic setting, but I’ve almost never drawn futuristic things before, so I’m collecting references and studying. Will start designing the characters after I finish the study.
– 20 Jul – 26 Jul: Finished designing all characters and transportation.
– 27 Jul – 31 Jul: Planning to go to Russia (St. Petersburg) to study Russian for 2 weeks (31 Aug – 15 Sep), so I self-studied and took a placement test in a language school. Also went to buy the things required for the trip.
– 31 Jul – 1 Aug: Fixed the draft again because it has too many flashbacks. Made it focus more on the present.
– 2 Aug – 31 Aug: Finished the final comic. Went to Russia from 31 Aug – 14 Sep and returned to Japan.
– 17 Sep: Went to the publisher in Tokyo to meet an editor in person. Showed the editor both Balalaika (my first try that failed) and Motorcycle. Motorcycle got particularly praised since I showed a lot of improvements from Balalaika. So now I have an editor who’ll check my comics and work together with me to win the newcommer contest. Yay!
– 29 Sep: Finished making the final fixes for the current work and send it to this month’s contest. Winners announcement in December. Hope I can win this time!
【1st Try】 Project Codename: Balalaika
– 55 pages (25 Feb 2025 – 31 May 2025)
– FAILED
– 14 Jul: Winners of the contest announced and their works are shown online, so I analyzed them. I suspect that I lost mainly because my first 3 pages don’t have a strong enough hook/impact, and I need stronger traits for my main character. Improving on character expressions, reducing panel count, and making the climax panel more impactful might also help. On the other hand, the story’s message, worldbuilding, plot twist and MC relatability/likability that I paid particular attention to all don’t seem to be a necessity to win the contest. Will try to incorporate this knowledge in my next work.
Your progress is both impressive and inspiring! I also heard today was your birthday, so happy womb breakout day!
Still hard at work on my fic for you, it kinda blew up into something really huge and while I’m worried I can’t deliver that kind of ambition, I will still most certainly try!
Oh you, thank you so much, Villicus! ♥
And ooh! The version that you showed me in Feb was amazing, so I bet the final result will be awesome!
Looking forward to reading it and good luck for finishing it 😀
Best wishes for your birthday! I hope you’ve been doing well in life and on that dream of yours! Can’t wait to see your name in my bookstores ;D
Thanks for the sweet comments, Out! Looks hard, but I’ll do my best till I succeed XD
Good luck to you with everything you’re doing, too!
It’s great! Been hard at studying codes, a bit confusing but aye, we’ve both been there, right? xD
Woah, you’re hard at work! We’re rooting for you. Keep going to the end!
Aww, thank you always, Livi! I’ll do my best ^^
Would have been truly impressive if you got it first try, but it’s okay! Never give up, and keep striving towards that goal! You have a lot of people rooting for you, and I will be one of your loudest supporters.
Give it your all!
Thanks for always being so awesome, Villicus! I’ll do my best ;u;
Hope you’re doing well too ^^
遅くて返事してすみませんでした!!! ;w;
この夏はずっと作曲して、新しいOCを作って、クラスをとるから、「ライムさん、漫画家になるように！」とか「誕生日おめでとう」って言葉を伝えるのは全然忘れてしまいました！ごめん！;w;
ライムさんの努力は凄くて、絶対果たします！そのうちに、漫画家になるということを信じています！頑張って！！>___<
優しい！！
いつもありがとうございます。頑張りますね！
Shiさんも夢が叶いますように～
Happy Zeraora day! Please be safe on your travels.
Thanks, Villicus! Zephyr was happily celebrating with the team. Have an awesome week ahead too ^u^
I was a bit worried for your safety due to ongoing events but it is relieving to know that you made it back alright. Hope you win this time!
Hi, Villicus! Thank you so much for checking here and for cheering for me regularly. You’re too sweet ;u;♥
And thank you so much for worrying. I was afraid they might close borders if things worsens, so I wanted to go while I still can (Needed to gather references for future works) T-T
The city I went too was quite far north, so it didn’t seem affected at all. People and even random strangers on the streets were so nice! I can speak a bit of Russian now XD
Still hoping that peace returns quickly to both sides!
I hope you’re doing well too and have a nice week ahead!