If the artist is as serious as I am in submitting these to Japanese magazines and contests, we would split the prize from the magazine we're submitting to. I assume this would be a partnership:
Are you ready to keep drawing new manga in order to keep our place in the magazine?
(A mangaka has to come up with new manga to stay popular/keep their position)
I am practising Japanese and have a good ear for dialects. I used to take some online classes but had to pause due to exams. I plan on taking real classes, however, where you meet up in person, but it'll be once I've moved back to the main land in two months.
I memorised the hiragana system in a month, next up is katakana. And kanji isn't too hard in my opinion.
Tough love time, but it;s only because you remind me of me at 18.
Before any artist will jump at the chance to work with you at the level you're describing you need to have a name for yourself. My personal feelings about the "ancient being trapped in a teenage body" trope aside, the story you're proposing sounds like you're imagining some huge, sprawling epic which is an enormous commitment for any artist. I know writing is hard work, but art has an ENORMOUS time commitment attached as well. You're asking someone to believe in your idea as much as you do and I'm afraid that's probably not going to happen unless you can prove to them with examples that you know what you're doing.
There's so many steps between becoming a successful manga author before you even get to the fact that Japan is an incredibly tough place for most foreigners to get professional creative work, let alone in a communicative media. Consider this, there's thousands of amazing comic authors working in their native language who haven't made it big, and that's without the barriers of trying to make it in a different culture and language. I've been to Japan a few times, and I can't imagine any westerner ever being a successful manga author on their terms. You can do manga style stuff in English and you're probably more likely to be well known as you have an eager market for manga outside of Japan, and especially online.
My advice would be to write a formal comic script, don't fuss too much about "shonen" or genre immediately. You're only limiting (and essentially prescribing) yourself to a bunch of cliches and ideas. I'd advise not trying to do your magnum-opus first, as it's best to start with smaller stories you can actually finish and judge as a whole. If you're as creative as you say you are it should be easy to come up with some ideas for short stories (I'd advise no more than eight pages) that tell a contained narrative. If the scripts are good an artist is more likely to take a punt on it, and there's a few comic anthologies that will accept short stories (depending on where you live). Also putting short stories online is perfect because long form webcomics can put people off and short stories are fun.
Please let me know if I'm just being an asshole here.
I agree with @shiftingverses, I think you are being unreasonably ambitious with this project with not living in Japan, not knowing the culture, and not speaking the language. It is so difficult to break into comics in your own country (just imagine getting into Marvel or DC in the States).
I also don't think an artist who doesn't know you personally would come on this project without monetary compensation and without you proving to them that you are all that and a side of fries, you know? You are asking for a huge amount on work based solely on faith and hope and unfortunately that doesn't pay the bills.
I would focus on smaller projects, I know there are publications in the States that take in short comics or one-shots. Try that first, maybe you'll find your break there.
@shiftingverses I don't think you're being an asshole. 
You're just trying to help me by giving your honest opinion. I'm open for feedback like this, however, I still want to give it a shot at Shonen Jump. A fellow artist I know told me about the story having to be Japanese-like, and so I've been digging into what it means for a story to be Japanese.
Of course I am limiting myself by specifically targeting readers, mainly guys, between the ages of 10-18 (i.e. shonen), but it's also an interesting challenge. Amongst all my original ideas, I specifically chose to do something mainstream in order to catch my target group's attention – yet it still has some originality to it once getting deeper into the progression of the story.
I am indeed aiming high, after all, I am planning on submitting this to an editor or at least a contest. The focus is not on the "ancient being trapped in a teenage body" however, it is one aspect of it. But mainly it is "the cold jerk subconsciously caring for another person", though subconsciously. He still is a cold jerk, but for some reason feels to protect a certain person. And also a focus on the two of them doing some heists to gather information about some crystals they have to find throughout the series. You could say the crystals are a main focus as well.
At first I'm just doing a one-shot to kind of set a feeling, I'm confident it'll catch some readers interest at least in the contest. When I've decided whether the artist is a keeper, I'll be doing a few other stories before eventually returning to the one-shot and do a series from it.
I get what you mean about making a name for myself fist, so the artist can see whether I know what I'm doing. But I can't do something half-hearted and create something "not designed for a contest" or "not designed to be really good". I write with a passion and I do what I do whole-hearted. I have come across other writers writing stories without them knowing what they were doing, and I learned how not to write a story. 
The same goes for artists, some are seeking writers but their art is yet to be improved. I know that some popular manga actually have a not-so-pretty looking art style but the story is good, but I'm seeking a good artist to fit a good story.
As I said, I am fully aware of how tough it is for a foreigner to succeed as a manga author/artist. And as I said, I am very confident in my ability as a story-teller. I know you, among many other people who've been telling me this exact same thing, only mean the best for me. But it is kind of getting to me in the end. I'm trying to do something, and people tell me I can't. Where does that get me? Nowhere. 
I am indeed asking someone to believe in my idea as much as I do. If I didn't believe my work would be enormous, then who would? I do have some examples, but I'm also cautious about not spoiling the plot for everyone, risking someone might rip-off. Private messages or mails would be fine to send examples, and I actually do have some novels that I've been working on. So I'm not completely unprepared. 
Your enthusiasm shows through a lot and you do seem to have a clear direction, there is a lot to be said for aiming high and giving it your best.
I honestly don't think people like me are trying to put you off doing a comic, so don't let it get to you. No-one wins if you don't manage to put together a kick-ass project, but I think I was just trying to give you a bit of steer towards something more achievable in the short term. It's tough out there man, but your drive and ambition will get you somewhere, just maybe not the singular goal you have in mind straight away.
@mrjonzap I understand that you think it is unreasonable. But there's absolutely nothing wrong with being ambitious – quite the contrary. Ambitious people are the ones who make progress in this world. Not to mention I am moving to Japan once I finish university, I do know the culture, and I do speak somewhat Japanese, though still improving. The Japanese language is like a computer-programming language; it's nice and systematic. The only irregularities being when to use which system (e.g. nouns can be written in hiragana, kanji and sometimes even in katakana). Yes, I too am a computer-programmer, but that's off-topic.
All I'm asking for is an artist to contact me so we can have some fun together, making a one-shot. I'm just believing in myself, actually initiating a project rather than not doing anything. It's only a "huge amount of work" to the one not feeling up for the project. An artist loving to do what they do would take this opportunity to have some fun with a writer. And yes, it does indeed pay the bills once we've got a finished name or manuscript that someone else wants to pay for, hopefully an editor. All it takes to know my personality is a Skype call.
Like Japanese people, I too have my honour, and my goal is a publication in Shonen Jump. I cannot do "smaller projects", my mind simply doesn't do small. Short is another thing, even short stories can be big. As I don't live in the States – I'm not even a native English-speaker – I won't be publishing there. I have set a goal and I am determined on reaching that goal.
I'm sorry if I sound negative, it's just really late here, and all I've been getting from people is "Forget about your goal and just blend in". I don't feel I'm being taken seriously. I'm asking for an artist, and what get a bunch of people discouraging what my post represents. Sorry, I know you only wish the best for me, but if you aren't feeling up for the challenge, then why respond to such a serious title? Again, sorry I don't mean to blame you, it's all just my frustrations and it has nothing to do with you.
Let me add my Skype details in the top post. Feel free to contact me if you want to get to know my personality. People say I'm really nice and kind – I'm just really tired, and this is a really emotional topic to me.
Sounds like a typical angsty teen light novel protagonist, which Japan is quite saturated with, but at the same time, is a popular enough concept that I don't think people will get sick of it over there.
The only issue I see is that you're planning a story that doesn't seem to have a set ending. Most Japanese manga comics have a 30-50 page limit for submissions. You'll need to plan this as a oneshot or bust.
A second problem I'm seeing is just naive blindsightedness. You're 18. You probably haven't experienced enough failures and losses in life to realize that life is not that easy. Stake high hopes and carry big dreams, but you won't realize that chances to win a contest are just as slim as anyone else who has the same ambitions as you (which is many).
Finally. Based on previous winners to several Japanese-hosted manga and illustration contests, the winners tend to come from East Asia, Southeast Asia, or Europe more often than not. Don't expect to break the mould within a single day or year's worth of work.
EDIT: since this is just advice, you don't have to take it. I'm not super experienced nor am I as ambitiosu as you are. I understand Japanese culture, that's about it. waves degree in Japanese studies in yo face
Yes, in this particular name I was aiming for a "typical angsty teen light novel protagonist". However, the story does somewhat have an end, but I'm saving the longer part of the story for a potential serialisation. I'm just doing a one-shot, as you suggested, to be recognised.
Although I'm only 18, I have experienced such a huge amount of failures and losses in my life, and I realised that life was't easy, a long time ago. I know my chances, there may be many incredibly talented artists and writers submitting for contests and editors, only a few get selected. Everyone's aiming for being one of those few selected, like myself, and that's why I fight to better myself wherever I can!
As good'ol Soma-kun says:
I did learn from experiencing failure.
Now, I'm not saying I'm some manga-writing god who definitely will surpass a whole lot of seriously talented folks in a contest, I'm just saying I want to submit and get some feedback. But of course I'll put my soul into this work so I can get the best possible feedback I could get. And if coming from Europe is an advantage, haha, then I sure must be lucky to live in Europe!
Honestly, I would love to talk to you on Skype about Japanese culture, if there's anything I could learn (which there is). It would help a lot in my writing process, getting to know the culture better. My Skype name is in the top post.
Discord is now provided in the top post!
(Also, I just realised my previous message wasn't set as reply, hehe oops)
Hey, good luck to you in finding an artist. Truthfully, there was a time when I also thought it would be fun to try and get into Shonen Jump, but here's my two cents on that, which you didn't ask for
I've been studying Japanese for sixteen years, with a private tutor for the last four, and while I'm reasonably proficient at both conversation and reading I had to come to terms with the fact that it's not possible to learn everything I need to know in order to be a skilled Japanese writer while living outside of Japan. The language is far too nuanced to be used well without years of immersion. So if I were you (and you're still young) I'd get my butt over there as soon as possible and never come inside except to sleep. None of this "living in Japan but playing games in my apartment all day" BS.
Writing well in your native language is hard. In a foreign language, exponentially harder. See above.
The beauty of the internet is that it can free us from the shackles of regular publication. The problem with being a manga artist in Japan is the work ethic required. Your artist should expect four hours of sleep a night and no holidays. This is not an exaggeration. Check out live streaming feeds of published Japanese mangaka and you'll see what I mean. Day or night, many of them are ALWAYS live-streaming. Working through the internet creates more opportunities, not fewer.
It's likely that you must be located in Japan in order to be published, in order to have regular face-to-face meetings with your editor.
With all that said, you ARE still young. You're more likely to be able to pull off something like than someone older. But I started at your age, too. So, like I said. GO EAST, YOUNG MAN.
ETA
5: I forgot this one! Don't expect a clear division of labor where you spend one day a week writing a story and the artist does the rest. While some writer/artist teams work independently, it's far more common for creative teams in Japan to work together. And by that I mean, the writer has to do some of the art. I'm an example of this: I write our manga, but I still do much of the less-skilled art labor. Toning, blacking, special effects, text, etc. Before we went digital, I did even more. I commonly spent two to three hours a day on stuff like this.
Thank you for the reply. And this is really an interesting read!
I'm aware of the lack of sleep and no holidays. And yes! I am definitely moving to Japan when I get the opportunity – I do not play video games, so that's good! I don't like working completely separately anyways, having an influence in both processes of art and writing is amazing, it's like raising a child of your own. I can actually draw a little bit, but I'm far from experienced and disciplined enough to draw hundreds of panels in detail. I'm better at writing, and possibly those final touches you mentioned with toning, blacking, special effects and text.
I would love to see your work and even have a conversation with you over Skype or Discord. Would you be available for a chat this week? 
It's good that you don't mind being a part of making the art if necessary. It's not uncommon for writers to show up around here basically hunting for slave labor. 
Unfortunately I don't really do Skype or Discord. Again, I'm an old fogey. But the odds are that the person you'd be more interested in talking to is my artist, and he doesn't do human communication, haha. He's every waking moment either drawing or developing our website. But thank you so much for the compliment of asking! If you like you can click my avatar to look at our comic. It might give you an idea of the quality that is possible when you are not able to employ assistants. In other words, when we produce a high volume (sometimes 8 pages a week for our website) you can see that a lot of things that are common in Japanese manga have to be left out due to lack of time and workforce. I ramble.
This is certainly true at the basic level, the sort of Japanese you learn in beginner and intermediate-level classes, but 'real' Japanese that is used by native speakers, whether in conversation or in media they consume, is a very different beast. The Japanese you learn in classes for non-native speakers is very good for equipping you to have business conversations, or simple everyday conversations, the sorts of things anyone who moves to Japan or deals with Japanese people will need to know to get by, but it won't prepare you for understanding the sort of language used in manga, film and other media.
I have a degree in Japanese Studies, and one of the first things I did once I got a firm grasp on standard Japanese grammar and had a good bank of vocabulary in my head was import some comics, books and games, because I figured I could understand them if I had a dictionary to check any unfamiliar words. I was wrong, and completely out of my depth. They were full of colloquial terms, weird and irregular verb conjugation, half sentences that required a firm understanding of Japanese culture and tropes to realise what the unspoken words were, and all sorts of other things that were pretty incomprehensible to me. It's taken many years of hard work to reach my current level as a translator in the games industry, and I still come across plenty of colloquialisms that I have to Google to understand.
Even if you're fantastic at the language, it's going to take you a long time to reach the level of Japanese required to be producing manga that will appeal to a Japanese audience and working with Japanese publishers.
Having ambition is great, and regardless of where it ends up taking you, learning a new language is a valuable skill that will offer plenty of opportunities. I haven't written this to discourage you, but although you've said you understand it will be hard work, a lot of the things you've said about learning Japanese sound rather naive. I would strongly suggest that you focus on learning the language, as well as improving your writing skills in your own language, and worry about finding an artist later.
Hi, I have some questions:
1) Do you have any experience writing for comics?
2) do you have any examples of your writing? (Preferably.
a sample manga script)
3) Do you plan on lettering the comic pages yourself?
(seeing as it has to be in Japanese and most likely the.
artist won't be able to write it)
4) Do you have any art experience? (As someone posted.
earlier you may be required to help with things like.
tones etc)
5) Do you have a contest in mind to submit the project to?
6) Does the contest accept digital works? (Most artist.
you'll find online work digitally)
7) Is Shueisha taking open submissions? Or is the only way
in through a contest? (For instance Image comics here in
States are not always open for submissions)
8) What is your back up plan if you don't win the contest
or get serialized? (Specifically in terms of paying the
artist for their work)
Just curious
Yes, quoted for eternal truth. I've been studying for years and years and the colloquialisms trip me up daily. Not to mention chunks of sentences that are always used, almost redundant, and never explained. Like "ii janai kana to...omoimasu." How many sentences end with this and when does it ever appear in a textbook?
I absolutely agree! I'm just starting with learning "school Japanese" and then planning on moving there to gain a more "natural Japanese" language. As my good friend posted:
I'M GOING EAST! 
XD
With that said, I shall take your advice closely and target my language towards the readers, learning their way of communicating through everyday-native Japanese. Thanks a lot for pointing that out to me!
Do I have any experience writing for comics?
I used to write a comic script for my friend, however, we never aired with the project due to busy periods in both of our lives. Then I turned to writing novels, and recently, back to writing scripts and storyboards.
Do I have any examples of my writing?
In my DeviantArt gallery I have the prologue for my latest novel18. For the current name I'm writing, I turned to starting it as a light novel with a storyboard on the side. I do hope an artist will find me before I write too much, that way the artist can have an impact on the story so it won't just be mine alone.
Do I plan on lettering the comic pages myself?
Yes. The artist and I will be able to save time, and I can lay my print on the final drafts. Also to prevent letters being confused with other look-alike letters.
Do I have any art experience?
Actually, I used to draw concept art for my friend's comic, the one I mentioned before where I also wrote the scripts. He was basically the idea man, coming up with the whole comic and giving me a setting. Then I did all the rest, writing and drawing, haha. Keeping that in mind, I'm sure I'll be able to do toning, blacking, special effects, text, etc.
Concept art can also be found in my DeviantArt gallery:
Do I have a contest in mind to submit the project to?
I did. But I forgot the name of it. My old partner used to be into contests and had a few in mind. But he never sent in his one-shot. Nor did we ever get to really start on one of my stories. Sadly he lost his spirit just before we planned on drawing our first collaborated manuscript. Personal reasons.
Does the contest accept digital works?
I'm afraid the contests I'm seeking are traditional-only, but I honestly don't know right now. There's a certain honour in being able to say you used no digital tools, although, many digital works are astonishing and have their charm as well! I'm not saying traditional is better than digital, I'm simply saying it's a matter of taste, who likes what. Personally, I enjoy both, but am currently more into making traditional comics myself. I'm kind of old-fashion, one could say.
Is Shueisha taking open submissions? Or is the only way in through a contest?
I couldn't find anything on their official website. From what I've heard, amateurs have to submit to their contests where only the few best amateur manga gets published in the magazines. From here the artists can improve and eventually get a serialisation and publish in actual books. This is the road I'm heading for. Contests, magazines, serialisation.
What is my back-up plan if I don't win the contest or get serialised?
As in my old partnership, we would just make manga because we loved doing it, I hope I'll find such a partner again. One I can call a close friend. One who doesn't require payment if we fail in a contest, but rather continues to grow and improve with me. If we win, we split the prize as a team, of course. Should we fail, so what. Let's go home and draw something even better this time!
Here's an article on How does one get their manga published with Shueisha?17
Hope I answered all your questions!
