塗鴉日記 4

Blank Canvas: My So-Called Artist’s Journey #4

by Akiko Higashimura, 東村明子, 林佳祥 (Translator)

明子終於實現了夢想，成為漫畫家。她將所有心思放在漫畫上，不再繼續繪畫。為了專心畫漫畫，明子決定搬離故鄉宮崎、離開日高老師。
描繪自己剛走上少女漫畫家之路的那段時光，東村アキコ老師的精彩回憶錄第四彈，開幕！

Genres: Manga, Memoir, Comics, Josei, Nonfiction, Graphic Novels, Japan

152 pages, Paperback

First published July 25, 2014

About the author

See also 東村 アキコ

Reviews

[Anna]

That wonderful mix of waxing nostalgic on one's youth (early to mid 20s) while at the same time wishing for a time machine to go back and punch your ignorant younger self in the face!!

[Rod Brown]

Higashimura career as a manga creator starts to take off. As she meets other professionals in the field (and there is some name dropping), she begins to break free from the orbit of the eccentric mentor who has guided her since high school.

Funny, yet with a realistic view of how hard it can be to make your dreams come true. The next volume is the final one and promises to be a dramatic turn.

[Beth]

Higashi moves to Osaka to be with friends who are also manga creators, and continues to passively neglect Sensei. A life-changing event that has been hinted at for a couple of volumes looms much closer.

[Mahlon]

This series consistently meets and exceeds my expectations with each new volume. I think it’s one of the better memoirs I’ve read... maybe ever? Definitely top three.

I feel Higashimura’s heart in every page. Her treasured, sometimes remorseful, memories of Sensei create a palpable tension that is so, SO compelling. This story isn’t about its author’s artistic journey... that’s just a framing device. This story is about the friendship she had with her teacher.

I’m looking forward to this next and final volume, despite knowing I’ll need tissues.

[Liliana]

This series always gives me an existential crisis in all the best ways.

[Andy]

The story feels so real and the protagonist is very relatable. I love the drama aspects on the choices made and the consequences that are now occurring when one is not honest.

[Des Fox]

This series is great, and this volume in particular captures something special. It's a moment in time, and Higashimura does it justice, like painting out a memory. It's a lot of fun to follow her journey, and think about art as a life force, the way it is for Sensei. It's funny and cute, with the author's personality saturating each page. I'm a fan, excited to finish.

[Pollapollina Books]

Continua l’autobiografia a fumetti della mangaka Higashimura, un po’ comica e pazzerella, un po’ commuovente, nel suo rapporto con la figura del maestro di disegno, da lei stessa definito un “supereroe”.

[Loz]

Raw, painful, hilarious in inimitable Higashimura style. Can't wait for more!

[二六 侯]

這集作者已經在往「漫畫家成名之路」上了，對我這個普通上班族而言讀起來比較沒那麼有共鳴。

p.116 藝大入學考試題風格改變，畫室學生踢鐵板全都重考。對於老師而言，猜題的能力很重要啊，但比起小型畫室而言，大型補習班比較能對應吧。

p.150 「當時沒有手機、也沒有數位相機跟智慧型手機……那間繪畫教室我去了好幾年……卻一張照片都沒有留下來。」

[Emmen]

I really love stories about creativity, especially memoirs! Akiko Higashimura's Blank Canvas is a really charming story about her journey to become a manga artist. What makes this series really stand out is her honest portrayal of her complicated relationship with her art teacher.

This particular volume sees the beginning of Akiko's creative career. While caught up in the excitement of achieving her dreams she begins to neglect other aspects of her life. The volume ends on a cliffhanger that has me both dreading and anticipating the concluding volume.

[David Doel]

The story is generally good and informative (it's autobiographical and talks a lot about how manga is created). For me the most interesting character, by far, is the sensei, Hidaka Kenzou. He is drawn crisply and has an equally crisp character in the story.

The other characters are mostly frumpy and wishy-washy as characters. Without Kenzou, the story would not be very good.

Volume 4 finished with a bang; I was ready to quit, but I will pick up and read the last volume, which is due out soon.

[Michelle]

This is when Higashimura's career takes off. She regularly making manga and money. Then she gets invited to a holiday party in Tokyo her publisher has for all the mangakas. I love this part because she sees Yamaha Ai, who seems very fashionable in a formal kimono. Two of my favorite josei mangakas meet! This also spurs Higashimura to move to Osaka, but she's afraid to tell her sensei. She has become a trusted assistant in preparing student for art college exams and even helping change his yard to look like Monet's with paving stones and violets. She's enjoying the single artist's life when she gets a call from her sensei -- he has cancer and he needs her back to teach one last set of students. What a perfectly paced cliffhanger!

In this volume, I like different art style uses for Ishida Takumi who is loose limbed and cartoony. I think there's a greater attention to the backgrounds and space. The art is graceful and yet fun like when sensei recalls teaching at a school and having the students scare off a biker gang.

[febriani]

Karir Hayashi sebagai mangaka mulai berkembang ke arah yang menjanjikan. Atas beberapa pertimbangan, Hayashi memutuskan untuk pindah ke Osaka untuk fokus bekerja sebagai mangaka. Ia masih merasa sulit mengaku akan fokus total pada pembuatan manga kepada Hidaka-sensei, sehingga ia hanya mengaku akan kembali setelah beberapa bulan. Karena pernyataan ambigu tersebut, Hidaka-sensei masih berharap Hayashi akan kembali membantunya mengajar kursus lukis terutama pada masa menjelang tes masuk kuliah. Hingga pada suatu hari, saat Hayashi baru menerima pekerjaan besar yang penting bagi karir mangakanya, ia pun menerima kabar memberatkan dari Hidaka-sensei.

Pada volume ini, penulis menyajikan lebih banyak seluk-beluk industri manga dan kehidupan mangaka. Penulis juga mulai berinteraksi dengan beberapa mangaka profesional lainnya, termasuk beberapa nama terkenal seperti Ai Yazawa.

[D.T. Henderson]

Gosh, I love this series and her teacher! He’s hardcore, but he loves his students even more. ;__; The way the author wants to go back in time and slap some sense into her younger self makes me laugh, and I definitely sympathize with her regrets. Like her, my art teacher wanted me to become a painter just like him, and I never wanted to disappoint him but my heart wasn’t in painting either. I see why she wanted to write this story so much now.

I KNEW THIS WAS COMING, but it hit me all the same. I already had the idea her sensei died probably from old age but apparently it was terminal cancer instead ;___;

[Deeja]

This 4th installment to Akiko's manga memoir is slightly less engaging than the last three in my opinion but does include a few really fun insights in to the changing path of her life from Amateur to Early Professional Mangaka. There's an explanation of the many duties expected of a single artist and the community created by the overworked and their unpaid loved ones or paid professional assistants. I do look forward to the next book and believe it will be a good finale to the series, this volume just felt slightly padded to make the five volume deal.

[Dominique]

This manga tugs at my heartstrings and the ending to this one! What a cliffhanger! I can't wait to read the last volume. But I can see why this won award. The story is just so well written for graphic memoir and I love Akiko's voice over and bluntness about how she was as young adult lol. it's a lovely story about her and relationship with her sensei and feeling appreciative of learning from someone who you respect so much

[Noelle]

Now somewhat established, Higashimura continues to create short stories for Bouquet magazine. She moves out and makes new friends that assist her with the inking and screentones for her manga. Meanwhile, Sensei has accepted her manga passion but pushes her to do fine art in her free time. And she has a hard time saying no.

The end of this one was GUT-WRENCHING! I’m so eager to see how this all ends up.

[Lailatun Nadhirah]

Alaa....sedih pula jilid ni walaupun ada bahagian yang menghiburkan.

Apa-apapun, jilid ini banyak mengajar cara untuk hidup sebagai seorang dewasa. Bukan senang hendak bahagikan masa bekerja dengan masa minat kita. Situasi Akiko Hayashi tersangatlah boleh berkait rapat dengan situasi penggiat seni yang sebenar.

Huuuuu....nak menangis kejap. Kisah manga ini buatkan saya berasa bagai dihargai.

[Suhail]

Higashimura sensei delivers yet again. With warmth and wit she shows us her first steps into the world of Manga making.

One of the things I enjoy about her work is how she changes style to tell her story more effectively. For instance when talking about the differences between the Bouquet Magazine and Cookie Magazine, she changes her drawing style so you immediately get her point.

[Robert Hudder]

This arc covers early successes while continuously pulling the reader forward in time, always pretending it is a digression. It's funny in a way, as the author is talking about how she learned to story board and how it works claims that this is a story that just seems to meander.

I mean, it is an interesting trick but there doesn't seem to be many, if any, wasted panels.

[Gabe]

The series has been hinting at the twist at the end of this volume for a while and I still got sad when I got to it. Higashimura writes with so much regret in her narrations that pairs so painfully well with her flashback self's constant bumming around and half-hearted attempts at getting her life together. It all crashes together to make a very compelling, very heartfelt memoir.

[Noninuna]

I still love the series. We're approaching the last instalment and here we get to see her evolved and adapted to demand rather than being a stubborn artist. Clearly, this is why, I think, she is one of the successful mangaka to date. That cliffhanger tho!!

[Shae]

THE WAY I AM IN MY FEELINGS ABOUT THIS MANGA!!! The end of this volume in particular was quite the gut punch to me. I can really appreciate what Higashimura is getting across in this autobiography, and it will always be something I recommend.

[Bee (BacchusVines)]

This graphic memoir is so touching. I keep wanting to cry every time we jump to the present and know that Sensei isn't around anymore. And the *ending of this volume* had broken that dam and here I am, crying. I really want to explore more of Higashimura's work.

[Emma]

so enjoying this series.
Now Akiko is getting jobs and first successes. But it also means a lot of stress.
And there's always the tense relationship with her first teacher.
And her inability at telling people what she really thinks, and this getting into difficult situations because of it.

[Lusionnelle]

Ce tome est particulièrement touchant, et très intéressant encore une fois sur le regard porté sur son parcours, son évolution personnelle et professionnelle, son rapport à ce professeur...
Presque pas envie que cela se termine au prochain tome..!

[Gardy (Elisa G)]

Vorrei un interno volume spin-off con il racconto dettagliato del party di Cookie ai tempi in cui Ai Yazawa con Nana dominava il mondo.

[Kurtis Burkhardt]

Adorable manga Love it👌😁😻 🖼💕

[Kristin]

Read scanlations.