MANGA POST
Part 5 The Formula for Fascinating Manga? Crafting Stories That Captivate Readers – The STORY LINE Edition
The formula for a hit manga, an interesting manga?
How to create a story that captivates readers
~STORY LINE edition~
Ahahaha!
This manga is hilarious!
Of course, MangaPost is all about posting manga, so you must know how to create funny comics, right?
Ahahaha!
There's no way I would know that!!
What?!
MangaPost is an app for aspiring manga artists.
Ahahaha!
This manga is really funny!!
I'll save it to read later.
To create an interesting manga, we focused on the essential "Story" and "Characters".
Introducing "STORY LINE" to support crafting stories that captivate readers!!
Introducing "Character Board" to support creating attractive characters!!
What makes a story so captivating that readers get lost in it? Whether it's comics, movies, or novels, it's said that successful storylines follow common patterns that humans are drawn to.
There seem to be countless tales out there that can make readers forget time, but when you boil it down, it's surprisingly simple and essentially the same. In the movie capital of Hollywood, this concept is already common knowledge, likened to climbing a mountain.
Yeah!
The First Scene
The story begins with an ordinary, everyday life.
Got the map?
Got it.
Leave the navigating to me!!
The trick is to start in a way that sets up the anticipation for what's to come, and the first scene is like the entrance to the mountain climb.
Let's watch the sunrise from the top of the mountain.
Prologue
Just a bit past the entrance.
This is where the characters and the situation are introduced.
Various characters make their appearance, and you start to understand their relationships and the context.
The First Incident
This is where the first incident occurs. It could be a murder, a heartbreak, a war, etc. The ordinary daily life is disrupted by the extraordinary, drawing the reader into the story.
I'm lost...
What?!
Climax and Highlight
Walking on and on, yet still lost...
The protagonists, whose ordinary lives have been disrupted, find themselves unwittingly caught up in a series of nerve-wracking events.
The story reaches a crescendo, becoming increasingly interesting.
Obstacles such as incidents, accidents, interpersonal conflicts, and inner struggles spur the protagonist's growth.
Mountain weather is unpredictable.
Why me, of all people!?
Phew, saved!!
There's a house in such a place!!
Excuse me!! Is anybody there!?
Interval
Time for a break. If it's all climaxes, the reader will get exhausted, so after a climax, it's good to include a breather, a healing scene, or a gag to soften the reader's mood.
There's tea prepared, even though no one's here... Isn't that a bit strange?
There are snacks too. That must mean it's okay to help ourselves, right?
A Great Trial
It brings a major twist to the story and ramps up the excitement all at once.
If it's a comedy manga, expect a barrage of gags!
Eek!!
Just as I thought, it appeared!!
Run away!!
Who ate my sweets, was it you guys?!!!
Climax
The pinnacle of the story, the most thrilling moment. For a comedy, it's where the strongest joke explodes! In action or sports genres, it's the final showdown with the ultimate rival.
The characters' abilities and mental growth through conflicts and challenges, how the protagonists overcome the incident, it's the time for the author to showcase their skill.
I'm going to eat both of you!!!
I'm sorry.
Forgive me.
Help me!!
Manga Beam!
This manga is pretty interesting!!
Huh...?
Epilogue
A conclusion that leads to the last scene. Make it snappy and brief.
I'll forgive you, so give me this comic.
I'll even give you a reward.
What?
Lost your way?
Want to see the sunrise?
Then open that door.
Last Scene
Having overcome the incident, the heroes return to their new daily lives, showing their growth.
They win the battle and bring home the treasure. Problems are resolved, and so on.
End with a lingering aftertaste.
If it's a comedy, include a punchline.
So this was the summit, huh?
A reward...!?
If we were to visualize it, it would look something like this.
Every year, a lot of movies and stories are born, and while they may differ in genres like suspense, action, romance, science fiction, and in what they want to convey, their themes, and their characters, it is said that the underlying scenario patterns are the same.
First Scene
Prologue
The Initial Incident
The Climax/Showstopper
Interval
The Great Ordeal
Climax
Epilogue
Last Scene
Interesting Manga Storyline
~Flow of the Plot~
Ordinary Daily Life
Extraordinary / Challenge to Change / Ordeal / Progress and Setback
Grown Daily Life
Act One Departure, Separation
1. The Ordinary World
2. The Call to Adventure
3. Refusal of the Call
4. Meeting with the Mentor
5. Crossing the First Threshold
Act Two Trials, Rites of Passage
6. Trials, Allies, Adversaries
7. Approach to the Inmost Cave
8. The Supreme Ordeal
9. The Reward
Act Three Return
10. The Road Back
11. Resurrection
12. Return with the Elixir
References: The Laws of Myth, Whole Brain Thinking, Osamu Tezuka's Manga Classroom, Fujiko F. Fujio's Manga University
In the Case of a Four-Panel Comic
Ki... Something "happens". Prologue
Sho... The story "accepts" it and progresses.
Ten... The accepted story "turns". Climax.
Ketsu... The accepted story reaches a "conclusion".
Ki
Sho
Ten
Ketsu
I see... I've got the hang of how to structure a story!! If I match it to the best-hit storylines, I'll be raking in royalties as a manga artist!! ...hehehe... drool!
I'll draw a battle manga where a mini-boss appears in the "first incident," a mid-boss in the "highlight, showstopper," and the final boss in the "climax"... It's bound to be a hit!!
The First Incident
The Climax, The Showstopper
The Climax
No way... You're not planning to write a manga for Manga Post where, in the "first incident" a minor boss appears, in the "highlight showdown" a mid-boss, and in the "climax" the final boss shows up, are you?
Gasp!!
How... how do you know that?!
Does this person really get it, I wonder?
While the best-hit storylines do capture the essence of an enthralling narrative, simply placing events of varying magnitudes along these peaks and valleys doesn't inherently make the story interesting.
Thinking of these highs and lows merely in terms of the scale of incidents or events can lead to self-indulgent works by the author. Hidden within these peaks and valleys is another layer of significance that goes beyond just the size of the events.
Beyond the size of events, there's another crucial meaning hidden in the peaks and valleys of a story. If you grasp what that is, you can gain the power to freely manipulate the narrative, transcending the "Law of Myth".
Next time, I'll explain what the peaks and valleys signify using MANGA POST's STORY LINE.
Time to draw a battle manga!!
To be continued...
Vote