4+ Dramas and Movies about Manga and Mangaka

These recent days, I got hooked in some dramas that tell about mangaka and the manga they created. At first, I didn’t know much about manga since it was not really in my radar until some years ago when my friend introduced me with Bakuman manga. Even though some said that new anime reader, like me at that time, was not suggested to read manga with too many words and bubbles for conversation, I didn’t really have much trouble in reading the manga. Perhaps, I enjoyed reading novels quite a lot so I just consider it as reading graphic novels. LOL. 

Ever since I read Bakuman, I got more and more interested in manga. Therefore, when I found some movies or dramas that tell about manga or mangaka, I would gladly watch it. Just hope that the story is not merely about romance, but more of the creation of the manga itself.

So, I’d like to give you some movies/ drama recommendation about manga/ mangaka.

Bakuman (Movie, 2015)

Bakuman is originally manga series written by Takeshi Obata and Tsugumi Ohba. The manga got its serialization by Shonen Jump from 2008 to 2012. It got its anime series in 2010-2013 by NHK-E. It has its live action version in 2015. And the live action is the one I’m going to recommend for you.

The story is about Mashiro Moritaka (Takeru Satoh) with his excellent in drawing skill was invited by his classmate, Takagi Akito (Ryunosuke Kamiki) to form a duo to create amazing manga. Their aim is to get their manga to be serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump, and hopefully to become a hit and then got its anime release. The duo, especially Moritaka had an earnest joint dream with Azuki Miho (Nana Komatsu) if their manga got an anime release, then Azuki Miho would be the voice actor. Azuki had  dream to become a seiyuu. 

I read the manga in 2017-2018. I found out that creating an engaging manga is not easy. The movie didn’t really cover all the story, especially the ups and down of their serialized manga compared to the manga. Well, what do you expect from the live action movie that has the duration only less than 2 hours. But, I still love the live action version. Maybe I’m being objective here since I love Satoh Takeru and Ryunosuke Kamiki. If you didn’t read the manga, you might feel that the movie was too rush. The battle between the duo and the number one mangaka, Eiji Niizuma was illustrated in animation. While in the manga, you can feel the tense every time they got updated about their manga ranking.

Well, for me, Bakuman is an eye opener for me to get know more of manga and mangaka world.

Ano Toki Kiss Shite Okeba (Dorama, 2021) 

I just finished this dorama around two days ago. It has 10 episodes with 45 minutes duration. I didn’t expect that the dorama got me hooked from the beginning. Maybe it’s because I didn’t really read the synopsis, and just randomly watched since I like to see Matsuzaka Tori’s acting. 

The story revolves around three people: Tomoe Yuizuki (Kumiko Aso), Momochi Nozomu (Matsuzaka Tori) and Masao Tanaka (Arata Iura). They might never imagine that their life would get come into contact one another since they didn’t know each other at the beginning. With one encounter in a minimarket where Momochi worked, Tomoe who was well-known mangaka went for shopping. A small incident made them get to know each other. Never had Momochi thought that the customer was his idolized mangaka from his beloved on going manga he was reading. From then on, they got closer to each other until one day they decided to go Okinawa that changed their fate. Another passenger was sitting together with them in an airplane. The plane got accident, and Tomoe passed away in the accident. Momochi got conscious and tried to find Tomoe. However, what he got was an old man, Masao Tanaka, who tried to convince him that he was Tomoe, the mangaka.

Well, from the synopsis I wrote previously, it didn’t really look the drama is about manga. It only tells about the ending life of a mangaka. But, as soon as the episodes grew, the story developed more about the on going manga Tomoe was writing. The scenes when she drew using her tablet, and the engaging characters in her manga that made Momochi burst into tears seemed amazing. When I read a manga I love, for example: Classroom Assassination, Death Note, or Yumemiru Taiyo, I might be as emotional as Momochi. This story also tells about some negative comments from manga haters and how the manga fans handled it. 

By the time  I got into second or third episode, the story developed into a mere boys love or shonen ai thing. For your information, recently, I just got addicted to few of Thai BL dramas. So, I screamed in excitement (?) to see the twist. But this drama is actually about someone being possessed by the late spirit that he/ she drew the manga. Often times, the man (Masao) got back into himself that made his relationship with Momochi awkward but somehow it’s hilarious.

I recommend this drama since the 0drama discussed about manga as well as the mangaka.

Renai Mangaka (Dorama, 2021)

The English title for this drama is Romance Manga Artist. This drama was over almost about the same time as Ano Tokiss. Since the title mentioned something about manga, of course I anticipated that the drama would be about the mangaka. And it’s granted. The other reason to watch this drama is mostly about the main lead here, that is Ryuhei Suzuki. I don’t watch all his dramas yet, but I always remember his as Takeru’s brother in a drama entitled The Emperor’s Cook in 2015. 

Seiichiro Karibe (Ryuhei Suzuki) is a popular mangaka whose manga got its popularity among teen female. He wrote a shoujo manga that depicts romance from different era. I guess the main character experienced something like time travel that he/ she met his/ her fated one from time to time. One day, he attended his younger brother's funeral. He accidentally met a woman who used to be his brother's ex girlfriend.  She was Akiko Kuon  (Riho Yoshioka) who was head over heels in love with his brother that he confessed 5 times during high school. Out of the blue, Karibe san proposed Aiko san to be his pseudo romance’s partner in order to get a great picture of his recent character in his manga. Currently, Karibe san was writing a romance story taking place in Reiwa era. 

So many unexpected things happened that later drew them together romantically. As predicted from romance drama, don't you think?

This drama is more of mangaka story than the manga itself.  

The manga Karibe san writing was entitled Ginten that had been serialized for years. He himself never experienced a real love. For all this time he put his own statement that romance only happened in fiction, in his manga. When romance hit him in real life, he suddenly lacked of confidence to balance between romance in fiction and real life. It caused his genius in manga dropped, and worst came to worst, his manga got delayed for some time. Speaking about on going manga that got delayed its update might happen in real world of publisher. The mangaka got sick (just like in Bakuman) or in Ano Tokiss (when the mangaka passed away, then the manga wouldn't have proper ending). You see, the drama tells about the mangaka's world. Personally, I have never really been attached to a certain that got delayed, especially if the manga got many tankobon and it's ongoing. What about you, minna?

Nee Sensei,  Shiranai no?

To be honest, I didn’t watch this drama on purpose.  I just random watched it and found there was a cute male lead here. I didn’t know who Akaso Eiji in the beginning since I didn’t watch Kamen Rider Build (2017). So, when I found this drama, it was like I won a lottery to get to know an ikemen  

This drama only had 6 episodes with only less than 30 minutes duration. The story revolves around two main characters who had a very difference backgrounds.  Hanai Ao  (Baba Fumika) is a manga artist who wrote a shoujo romance drama but she didn’t have much experience in romance in her real life. One day she came across Kido Riichi (Akaso Eiji) who was a charismatic mature beautician.  He happened to treat the manga artist's hair and fell in love at first sight. 

Well, the story is only that simple that actually I didn't really find it interesting. Compared to the previous drama I mentioned, this drama is merely about two main leads who fell in love and tried to get know each other. The manga is just something you can put aside. If the female lead changed her work into a web novelist or something else, it wouldn’t influence the story. I expected to have more of just romance, the fluffy one. The most interesting thing from this drama is only the male lead. I will keep putting my eyes on him in the future. Lol.

Well, I found some more of movies and dramas about manga and mangaka. Unfortunately,  I only watched those four drama I previously mentioned.  Here is another list of drama and movie that you can consider watching. Some are still waiting to broadcast on theater or television.  Check out which ones you might want to watch.

Love Kome No Okite: Kojirase Joshi to Toshishita Danshi (Drama, 2021)

Hmmmm… what a long title of a drama.  The English title is Love Comedy's Rule, Kojirase Girls and Younger Boys. Frankly,  I watched only one episode out of  12 episode-drama. Why? Let's check out the synopsis below.

 The setting is in manga publisher where Ruri (Chiaki Kuriyama) works. She's well-known with her hardworking and beauty. She's also sharp in giving guidance to her subordinates in work-related and relationship. Never had every one assumed that she actually got all guidance from the manga she read. She looked neat and beautiful at her office, but at home, she turned into an otaku who didn’t care about her surrounding.  Plus, it had been 15 years the last time she dated. One day, Ryo (Yuta Koseki), one of her subordinates,  approached her to ask her advice for romance. Ryo was much younger than she with perfect appearance and content. How could she not be shaken by their closeness?

Well, the tag of the drama in mydramalist is manga artist, but from the first episode I guess it's all about mature woman who yearned for real love. And you know what, I dropped some drama with similar theme like this. I prefer watching teen dramas with typical theme like Mairunovich, Black Cinderella, Sixteen Syndrome, etc. Well, I guess you get my point.

Love Stage (Movie, 2020)

I read the manga by Eiki Eiki illustrated by Zao Taishi a few months ago. I really loved it that I made a podcast reviewing about this manga. You can check the podcast in Spotify or Apple Podcast. But, sorry to say, the podcast is in Bahasa Indonesia.  

The story revolves around two boys who met each other in a wedding advertisement when they were child. Sena Izumi (Sugiyama Mahiro) was dressed into a girl for his spouse, Ryouma Ichijou, at that time. Years later, they met each other again in another wedding advertisement.  This time, Izumi tried to reject the request since he's a teenager now that he couldn't get dressed into a bride. Unfortunately,  Ryouma who was now a popular celebrity insisted to have him as the bride. He never knew that Izuma was a boy after all. Ryouma had fallen for Izumi the first time they were in advertisement making, years ago.

Izumi never wanted to be a celebrity even though his parents and his brother were public figures. What he wanted to do for his life was becoming a manga artist. However,  how could he reject Ryouma's charm who was persistent to get closer to him, ROMANTICALLY.

Yup, this is a boys love story. I haven't watched the movie, by the way. I just don’t want to ruin my image about the manga. You know, some live action versions couldn't be compared to the original manga. Besides, the manga has so many intimate scenes between the two. I just can't let my eyes see those scenes performed by the actors. Lol. 

Fyi, there is a Thai drama adaptation for this manga. But, the release has not been announced yet. I’m willing to give it a try for the version. I hope it's as hilarious as the manga. 

The drama poster for Thai Love Stage

Juhan Shuttai  (Drama, 2016)

Well, actually I found this drama while I was writing this blog post. I haven't watched it for sure. But from the synopsis, I guess it's about manga industry.

Kokoro Kurusawa (Haru Kuroki) used to be a contender  for the Olympic Judo Team, but an accident happened to her that made her give up on her dream. From then on, she started working in a manga magazine called ‘Vibes’. The magazine got a hard time since ebook got its peak. She and her tree am struggled to come up with ways to sell more manga books.

See, from the synopsis, I think it's really related to the present book/ manga industry.  I myself sometimes prefer reading scanlated manga. #sinful :/ Oya, this drama is going to get a Korean remake with Kim We Jeong as the main lead. But, the air date is not yet announced.

Character (Movie, 2021)

It might be my most anticipated movie in 2021 after Rurouni Kenshin: The Final and The Beginning. I was lucky to watch Kenshin via Netflix since the pandemic has not been down yet. I’m not a movie goer but I would gladly watch some anticipated movies on theater. But in this situation, I don't think I would.

Follows an aspiring manga artist named Keigo Yamashiro (Masaki Suda) who dreams of making it big. Yamashiro is extremely talented, but what holds him back is his inability to create any villains due to his overtly cheerful personality. Due to this he is currently stuck in the position of being an assistant to a mange writer. One day Yamashiro receives an assignment from his boss to visit a home and sketch the family living there. When Yamashiro arrives at the house he finds all four family members dead, and a mysterious man. Startled by the incident, the unknown man makes his escape and Yamashiro calls the cops. When questioned by police Yamashiro lies and says that he did not see the murderer, he does however use the murderer as a villain for his own manga titled “34”. The manga series becomes a surprise hit and Yamashiro quickly becomes a top star in the manga world. However, murders extremely similar to incidents in the “34” manga begin to happen in real life, and Yamashiro is soon confronted by the mysterious murderer. (From mydramalist)

I expect this movie to be thrilling, full of suspense and leaving some great impression to me. It's like when I read Bakuman. This movie was released in June 11, 2021. I hope there will be some streaming application would take this movie, so I could watch it soon.

Teacher, Please Sit Next to me (Movie, 2021)

Ahhh, this is the second movie of Haru Kuroki in drama/ movie with manga as the theme. It's going to be released in September 10, 2021. From the synopsis and the trailer, I assumed this movie is going be about couple's affairs. Both husband and wife are mangaka. 

Sawako works as a manga writer. Her husband of five years, Toshio is also a manga writer. On a summer day, Sawako begins to write her new manga. The story for her new manga deals with adultery. The manga describes Toshio having an affair with her editor and Sawako having an affair with her driving instructor. Toshio reads Sawako's manga with fear and jealousy. (from Asianwiki)

I didn't expect much from this movie about the process of writing manga or something. But, I quite anticipate the movie. 

Well, any of the movie or drama I mentioned you want to watch? If yes, just leave your comment in comment box below. If you have any recommended movie/ drama about manga, feel free to leave your recommendation on the comment box.

Ja, matta ne...

Share this post