Skip to main content
Your source for in-depth interviews, manga spotlights, and expert advice for your life as a mangaka.
This month, things are heating up! Our interview with Hisashi SASAKI digs into the differences between mangaka and their audience, Liam Naughton breaks down some of his storytelling in “The Stranger," and in a new ongoing column, we feature manga-making advice from another Shonen Jump editor-in-chief—Kazuhiko Torishima!
CONTENTS:
In Conversation With Manga Editor Hisashi SASAKI
In the Spotlight - “The Stranger”
Dr. Mashirito’s Ultimate Manga Techniques: Page Layouts
Upcoming Portfolio Reviews
New VIZ Originals Graphic Novels
In this month’s interview, VIZ Originals One-Shots editor Hisashi SASAKI digs into one of the most important aspects of being an editor: understanding the mangaka and their work, which in turn makes it easier to help them understand their audience. In addition, we discuss the importance of thumbnails and the trickiness inherent in balancing your personal interests with what your audience may be interested in reading.
As an editor, you have to navigate a lot of challenges to help mangaka create their work. At the end of the day, what keeps you excited about the job?
Hisashi SASAKI: The greatest privilege of an editor is the opportunity to work with a diverse range of talents. However, each mangaka possesses a talent that’s uniquely their own. That mangaka has no choice but to bet on the talent they were born with. On the other hand, an editor can collaborate with multiple mangakas and present multiple talents to the world. There’s no greater joy than witnessing the process of a mangaka you believe is talented going up the ladder of success. Of course, only a few mangakas can achieve success as professionals, but still…
A big part of creating a one-shot is the thumbnail. Can you explain the importance of the thumbnail (the segment of the process that includes rough layouts and lettering for review) for mangaka, please?
SASAKI: One thing that surprised me when I arrived in America was that most mangakas attempt to pitch their works without creating thumbnails, relying solely on synopses and character designs. In Japan, pitches lacking thumbnails were usually not evaluated. Creating thumbnails involves translating the manga from the audience’s perspective. I recommend that mangakas create thumbnails spread by spread, adhering to the same format as the audience will actually read. By doing so, they can objectively evaluate their work from the audience’s point of view. For instance, they might ask themselves, “Couldn’t this panel layout be made easier to follow?”, “Is there an excessive amount of text compared to the art?”, or “Shouldn’t the panel that the reader encounters when turning the page be more impactful?”, and so forth.
While factoring in the audience’s reaction to be sure the one-shot is a success, how do you make sure you’re preserving the artist’s vision, as well? It seems like that would be a constant tug-of-war.
SASAKI: Forcing mangakas to draw what they don’t want to draw is the last thing I would do. I believe mangakas have to enjoy what they create in order to make the audience enjoy it. By factoring in the audience’s reaction, I don’t just mean to flatter the audience. Mangakas must strike a delicate balance between what they want to write, what they are good at writing, and what the audience wants to read.
How did you cultivate your eye for spotting artists with potential? Does a potential for growth mean that you see an excellence in their work that’s present already, or is it more complicated than that?
SASAKI: As a rookie editor, I was fortunate enough to review more than a hundred submissions every month for a couple of years. I think that is how I learned how to spot the talents of the mangakas.
Most of those submissions I read, and most of the submissions I review now at Viz as well, were by young, aspiring mangakas. Naturally, they were imperfect. But if there is anything that stands out, such as great art, super unique characters, extremely funny dialogue, and other things… I become interested in those mangakas and want to talk with them.
When you meet with a mangaka, what kind of conversation are you looking to have? Is it purely about the work, or also about the mangaka’s life and perspective?
SASAKI: I would like to learn about their personality first. What their favorite mangas are, how important manga is to them, what motivates them to create manga… all sorts of things. I need to know what kind of manga they want to make and what their strong points are in order to make proper suggestions regarding their work.
You mentioned a balance between what mangaka want to make and create, what they're good at writing, and what the audience wants to read. Are any of those aspects more important than the other? How would you encourage a mangaka who is struggling to find an audience who wants to read what they want to write?
SASAKI: The fundamental idea is that mangakas should draw what they want to draw. More accurately, it would be more precise to say that they can only draw what they want to draw. And I believe that not only mangakas, but any kind of creator cannot entertain their audience with anything other than what they enjoy drawing. However, if a mangaka creates a manga based on whatever comes to mind, there’s a possibility that the audience won’t enjoy it as it is.
If we compare it to cooking, it would be like a chef serving ingredients without cooking them. I think that one of the crucial roles of an editor (who can never cook!) is to work with mangakas to determine the best way to prepare the ingredients they present, consider the composition of a course meal, and sometimes even suggest altering the order of the dessert and main dish to enhance its accessibility. After all, regardless of the type of manga you draw, there’s no doubt that the work that all mangakas aspire to create is “a work that the audience will enjoy reading.”
Liam Naughton’s “The Stranger” has an emotional core that’s deeply resonant and more than a little bit creepy-crawly. Naughton’s work incorporates intense camera angles, unnerving themes, and a really remarkable facility for facial expressions. “The Stranger” is a fun one-shot, and it’s a pleasure to revisit it with its creator here.
“The Stranger” deals with many elements, some of which are darker, such as horror and deep loneliness. What about loneliness interested you enough to focus on it for this story?
Liam NAUGHTON: I actually didn't start the story thinking of loneliness as a theme or focus, per se. I started with an image of a “Stranger,” a very isolated creature. Building the relationships around that is what led me to loneliness. It’s either that, or I spend too much time drawing and too little socializing!
The way our emotions can affect our lives and personality is a significant part of the story. What appeals to you about using action manga to explore feelings?
NAUGHTON: Catharsis is almost as good to draw as it is to read, at least for me it feels that way! Drawing expressions are also as fun as drawing strange creatures and fights! I’m very selfish that way, doing what I like!
Speaking of which, you show great talent for drawing expressions in this one-shot. What, in your opinion as a reader and artist, makes a great facial expression? Are there any tips you can give our audience?
NAUGHTON: I think a great facial expression can serve as a sentence all by itself. One as easily understood as any word. On its own, it’s simple enough, but when paired with a sentence, it serves as the note unplayed, simmering below the surface. But in the making of it, I find I don’t consciously think about it too much. As far as advice I can offer the audience, pull the faces as you draw them. And feel the moment always!
.png "Viz Onewsletter 03 The Stranger Line Intvw (640)")
You chose really tense camera angles for some of these scenes. I particularly enjoyed pages 14-15, where the intense angle on page 14 is balanced out by the still off-kilter but more subtly unnerving one at the end of page 15. What kinds of things do you think about when figuring out the best way to lay out a page?
NAUGHTON: This is another one of those things I don’t think about! It’s a bit like the old stone walls we have here at home, they are not made from stones of equal shapes and sizes, but placed one by one. The right stone for the right spot. Find a small stone and put it in the gap. Designed as it forms rather than before. This is why storyboarding always makes me so tired!
Can you tell us a little bit about Andy, beyond what’s in the one-shot? How would you describe his personality? What influenced his design?
NAUGHTON: Ah, poor Andy… Andy would have been a regular guy living a regular life had things turned out differently. His wide frame, it feels comforting and safe. But that makes him a good example of a regular person becoming a Stranger. All that mild temperament, turned on its head. That wide frame becomes imposing in the face of that contrast. Grace as a person was a little different, which in turn made her Stranger different too.
Do you have any comments for your readers?
NAUGHTON: If you felt a little less alone or even got a cheeky chuckle out of the story, I’ll be a happy boy. I hope you like reading “The Stranger” as much as I liked making it! Be safe! Be well! Don’t read it while crossing the road, please!!!
The VIZ One-shot “The Stranger” is available now!
“As long as the chapter doesn’t begin or end on a single page, the reader will read manga as two-page spreads. That is why, when the reader turns the page to open the next spread, the previous spread will no longer be visible. It is preferable that you give your readers complete sets of information each spread so that they don’t need to flip back to see what happened on the previous spread. To put it simply, a single two-page spread should be drawn as one small story in itself. This is the secret to drawing an easy-to-read chapter of a long-form manga series. Of course, not everyone is capable of this from the beginning, but if you keep this in mind as you build up your spreads, your story will be much easier to read, no matter how long the story may be.”
—Kazuhiko Torishima (Dr. Mashirito’s Ultimate Manga Techniques, page 53)
Visit us for portfolio reviews! Please stay tuned for more dates.
Curryuku’s upside-down romance Not So Shoujo Love Story, volume 2 (August 12, 2025)
Akira Himekawa’s fantasy/adventure manga Kamudo, volume 1 (October 2025)
GRAVEWEAVER’s supernatural mystery I’m The Grim Reaper, volume 4
(November 2025)
Sign up here to get the latest VIZ Originals Creator Newsletter straight to your email!
You’ll never miss a beat when you subscribe to our newsletter.
Already have a VIZ account? Log in.
Don't have an account? Sign up.
Enter the e-mail address associated with your account and we'll email you a link to reset your password.
