Fall is officially here, and so is the November edition of the VIZ Originals Creator Newsletter! To ease you into the cooler weather, we have a look at the growth of genres in our slice of the publishing industry, and mangaka Alissa Sallah shares a memory of creating her one-shot. Finally, we welcome more advice from Kazuhiko Torishima about the working life of a mangaka!

CONTENTS: 
Infinite Genres. Infinite Possibilities.
In Their Own Words: Alissa Sallah & “Sun Tribe: Waffle Shack Index”
New From VIZ Originals in 2026!
Dr. Mashirito’s Ultimate Manga Techniques
Take a Look

Infinite Genres. Infinite Possibilities.

Slice of life. Battle manga. Second-chance romance. One of the most beautiful aspects of manga is the broad variety of genres available to the audience and mangaka themselves. Any kind of story is fair game, as long as that work builds to a good story, right? More than ever, mangaka are free to follow their passions, and there is an audience out there, eager to see how the mangaka is going to create something entirely new or explore a new adventure in a classic genre.

In a prior edition of the newsletter, VIZ Originals One-shots editor Hisashi SASAKI spoke about the intentional genre diversity of the one-shots program:

“SASAKI: I wanted to publish a diverse range of one-shots to convey a message to the mangaka community.

We don’t seek manga that is limited to a specific genre; instead, we welcome any manga that is good. This aligns with our true intention of discovering talented mangaka. I’m delighted and consider ourselves fortunate to have published one-shots across such a wide spectrum of genres in our first year.”

In the past, many genres in comics were seen a bit differently than they were today, and some were mostly available in a “if you know where to look” kind of way. In fact, it’s likely that a big part of Japanese manga’s rise in America is thanks to the wider variety of genres found in those works compared to what was easily available previously to people in the United States. Comics of all types and in every genre have existed forever, but as time went on, superheroes became the dominant genre here, and their market dominance had a way of crowding out other, equally worthy genres.

The truth is, human beings love stories of all types, from romance to action to sports and beyond, and having a variety of genres available to read and create, as a member of the audience or a mangaka, is important. The presence of many genres gives people a wide variety of stories to read, increasing the chances of finding a story that speaks directly to them. Think of genre as something that defines the immediate, baseline appeal of a story, instead of the very point of the story itself. If a prospective reader saw a thumbnail, what would they think about this story? What would they assume about the setting? How do the little details inform the greater world? Is the story soft or hard? Cozy or creepy?

Thinking this way can help cut away things that may detract from the story you’re trying to tell as well. If your story is an Ai Yazawa-ish tale focused on the complexities of romance in a university setting, for instance, a subplot about the apocalypse would feel inappropriate amongst all of the earnest, deeply-held feelings you’re going to be exploring. But if you’re eager to tell a story about desperation at the end of the world, then maybe Armageddon is the perfect background to push your characters into confessing their feelings. These stories may appeal to different audiences, and those audiences will have different expectations.

Tatsuki Fujimoto’s work is a great example of how to use a variety of genres to the benefit of your career and creativity as a mangaka. Chainsaw Man is an intense story that spans several genres, from action to horror to comedy. As such, the manga has a shocking range and is full of major surprises on a regular basis. You don’t have to take my word for it. You can check out years of hyperbolic, but well-earned, reactions to Chainsaw Man on social media. You may even find some friends yelling about it at the top of their lungs.

In contrast, Fujimoto’s one-shots are frequently very controlled. “Look Back” and “Goodbye, Eri” give the mangaka a chance to explore other genres and types of stories that would not fit well in as intense of a setting as Chainsaw Man. Both one-shots benefit from being set in a world that feels very much like our own, and when Fujimoto twists the storytelling knife or suddenly introduces a virtuosic drawing that breaks the rules of that world, it hits incredibly hard, possibly even harder than some of the twists in Chainsaw Man.

Both of the approaches Fujimoto takes with manga, controlled dramas and explosive action, are popular, lauded, and respected. Fujimoto is proof that you don’t have to tell just one type of story to find success. As SASAKI says, VIZ Originals welcomes any manga that is good. Sometimes a manga is good because it’s exploring an underutilized genre. Sometimes a manga is good because the mangaka is incredibly skilled at drawing or dialogue.

There are many reasons why a manga can be good, but it starts with the mangaka following their passion. A diverse range of genres is the sign of a healthy industry, because it means that any mangaka has an opportunity to find an audience for their story by exploring their own interests, rather than chasing any single genre or style. The goal, as ever, is good stories!

 
 
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In Their Own Words: Alissa Sallah & “Sun Tribe: Waffle Shack Index”

In Their Own Words offers a firsthand look at what it’s really like to create manga and one-shots—straight from the mangaka who make them. What’s their favorite place to draw? What tools inspire their best work? What is it like being a working cartoonist? We debut this feature with Alissa Sallah, creator of the one-shot “Sun Tribe: Waffle Shack Index,” who brings us an anecdote of creation that spans two continents.