We asked Tsukino Mito about manga works that will inspire your creativity. Here are more than 10 of them!

Interview and article by Tamagomago

- Tsukino Mito
- VTuber. 2nd-year high school student. She has a tsundere personality, while also being a serious class president. Even though she does her best, she slightly feels her efforts are in vain. After giving a speech she often wonders if she spoke too much and feels depressed afterward.
I was in the mood for a bit of a gamble, so I read manga from my father's bookshelf.
── What kind of works did you read when you were little?

── I heard that there was a time when you wanted to become a manga artist.

── I'll ask about the works that you think people who draw manga should read, or that might be useful to them. First of all, which manga has the best characterization?


── You once said you're a fan of Kobeni Higashiyama from Chainsaw Man.

── First you'd decide which character you loved, and then you'd read the manga.

It feels good when a manga betrays the reader.
── Tell us a work that will make you feel like drawing manga.

── You used to draw manga when you were a kid. Was there a particular work that inspired you?

── What manga would one find stimulating to read when working on a story of their own?

── One could never guess it was all a foreshadowing...

The feeling of being in touch with the artist's sensibility is vital.
── Which artist's style do you find especially enjoyable?

Also, I really loved Yuriko Hara's Cocoon Entwined, which was recommended to me by a listener. It's about a school for girls who grow out their own hair to make uniforms, and the detail in the drawing of the hair is incredible.
── What would you recommend to people who want to try their hand at essay manga?

Toru Seino's Sayonara Candle ep. 1
── Even the most off-putting episodes turn out a bit better in manga, don't they?

Can getting stabbed with needles cure insomnia? [My Experience] - YouTube


── Did it feel like you couldn't keep up with the people around you?

── Do you choose essay manga based on how relatable they are, their realism, or just for fun?

Challenging the boundaries of manga with panel layout
── Which works can teach you how to use panel layout and pages when drawing manga?

── And the windows are the panels...?

Purposely created discomfort and laughter
── Are there any manga that you think do a good job portraying sadder atmospheres?

There's also a scene where one of the bully girls gets a paper cut on her hand and puts an adhesive bandage on it, and then the main character who was being bullied goes into berserker mode and cuts the girl's finger off. And then you see a bandage on top of the amputation like if it was a simple paper cut. I really felt that the artist tried to do whatever possible to make those scenes unpleasant. It's like he's trying to figure out how much discomfort he could intentionally cause.
── That scene is really something, isn't it? Going the opposite direction, what is a comedy manga so good you wish you'd drawn it yourself?

(* Translator's Note: Hello Work is a real-life employment service center operated by the Japanese government.)
Osamu Suzuki and Sakurakura Meg's Himitsu no Chaiharo vol. 1 (Kodansha)
── Not something you would ask your average elementary school student.

── If you were to draw a manga, what genre would it be?

I want participants to lower the bar, in a good way!
── Gakusei Manga Day is coming up on August 22 (Sun). What are you looking forward to the most?

── Last but not least, is the Student Manga Club still looking for members?
