I’d like to share insights I gained from reading 『荒木飛呂彦の漫画術』荒木飛呂彦（著） (Hirohiko Araki’s Manga Techniques by Hirohiko Araki).

Background: Wanting to Learn About UX Thinking

I read this book to learn about UX thinking. Around 2017, a serial entrepreneur friend recommended it to me, but it remained unread in my pile until now.

Below are quotes and notes from memorable passages. Since there are numerous quotes, I’ll share only selected excerpts in this article.

Chapter 2: The "Four Fundamental Structures" of Manga to Keep in Mind

These Are the "Four Fundamental Structures" of Manga

When actually drawing manga, what you should always keep in mind is what I call the "Four Fundamental Structures" of manga.

Listed in order of importance:

1. “Characters”
2. “Story”
3. “World-building”
4. “Theme”

These four elements don’t exist independently but deeply influence each other. And augmenting and overseeing these elements is the most powerful tool of “art,” further supplemented by dialogue as “words.”

Chapter 6: What Is the "World-building" of Manga?

What Is World-building?

"World-building," one of the "Four Fundamental Structures" of manga, should also not be treated carelessly.

“World-building” can be described as background depiction, but it’s essentially the “world of the manga” and the place where you want to place your characters.

Readers Want to Immerse Themselves in the World

Therefore, "world-building" is extremely important for attracting readers.

Since “world-building” is essentially about reality, if the world is depicted carelessly, readers won’t be able to immerse themselves in it, and they’ll lose interest in reading the manga. Even if it’s fictional, the world-building must be firmly established in the manga artist’s mind, and even a fictional world needs to have internal consistency.

→ World-building: Reality, establishing something solid, maintaining consistency

Research Thoroughly

To express world-building, even when drawing a casual landscape, detailed research is necessary.

→ Research down to the details

Temporal elements are also points to keep in mind. If the world in the manga is set in 2001, you need to know and draw what car models were running at that time. If it's a story from 2001 but the latest cars are running around, readers will notice immediately and think "this is fake," making it impossible for them to immerse themselves in the world. Also, the design of mobile phones at that time, what was popular, what songs were hits - even if you don't actually draw them, this is basic knowledge.

→ Temporal elements are also basic knowledge to keep in mind.

Don't Draw Everything You've Researched

No matter how much you research and actually experience, you won't necessarily draw all of it, and the explanation of world-building shouldn't become the focus. What readers want to see is the characters' actions and fate, so you shouldn't hinder that by drawing the world-building endlessly.

The worst thing to do is to start by explaining at length “This is the kind of world we have.”

→ Don’t write everything you’ve researched, don’t explain tediously.

Chapter 7: All Elements Connect to the "Theme"

The "Theme" That Connects the "Four Fundamental Structures"

As I mentioned in the "Four Fundamental Structures" of manga, each element influences the others. What oversees and connects "Characters," "World-building," and "Story" is the "Theme."

Don't Let the "Theme" Waver

The "Theme" is essentially the author's way of thinking and how one should live.

Place that at the root of your work and try not to let it waver.

→ Don’t let the theme waver or blur.

Practical Part 1: How Manga Is Created - Ideas, Name (Rough Draft), Panel Layout Methods

Ideas Are Inexhaustible

I'm sometimes asked "Don't you run out of ideas?" but I think it's not so much that ideas run out, but rather that one's interest runs out, which causes ideas to disappear. Good ideas are closely connected to your life and lifestyle, so if you lose interest, they'll stop coming.

Conversely, if you can always maintain interest in something and keep an antenna that can respond honestly to surrounding events, you shouldn’t “run out of ideas.” I want you to keep this “honestly” in mind. Self-conceit that says “This is what I’m interested in” and ignores everything outside of that is absolutely NG.

→ Always maintain interest in something, keep an honest antenna up, and don’t let ideas run dry.

That’s all from the Gemba, where I want to learn and practice UX thinking.