Want to show your Manga making skills to the world and win amazing prizes? Good news – Manga Jiman, organised by the Embassy of Japan in the UK is back, now in its 19th year, and this is your chance to submit your work and join a list of top manga artists and storytellers in the UK.

Since 2007, the Embassy of Japan in the UK has searched for the best comic creators in the country. There are three competitions across two categories with loads of great prizes to be won.

These competitions are open to residents of the United Kingdom only. Submission deadline is Monday 5th January 2026.

What is manga? Put simply, manga are comics and in Japan manga encompass a broad range of styles and themes. Create a short story told in six , seven or eight pages.

What is yonkoma? Yonkoma is a comic strip in the form of four vertical panels.

There are three competition categories: Manga Jiman, a story told in six, seven or eight pages for those aged 14 and over; Yonkoma Youth, a four-panel comic, for ages 11-14; and Yonkoma Youth 14+, a four-panel comic, for ages 14 and over.

• Check out the full details of the Manga Jiman competition here at mangajiman.co.uk

Manga Jiman: Create a comic within six , seven or eight A4 size pages. Your story can be in colour or black and white but must read from left to right.

• Read the Manga Jiman Rules & Regulations (PDF) | Download the Entry Form (MS Word)

The Competitions

Yonkoma Youth: Create a story in a four-panel comic strip, arranged vertically. Entries can be in colour or black and white.

• Read the Yonkoma Rules & Regulations (PDF) | Download the Entry Form (MS Word) | Download the Yonkoma Template (PDF)

• Yonkoma 14+: Create a story in a four-panel comic strip, arranged vertically. Entries can be in colour or black and white.

• Read the Yonkoma Rules & Regulations (PDF) | Download the Entry Form (MS Word) | Download the Yonkoma Template (PDF)

Need some inspiration?

You can hear from a former Manga Jiman winner, Edward Welch, who publishes as Darlevi Studios, about his creative journey and all about how to enter, and even win, Manga Jiman, at a special All Things Manga MeetUp between 6.00 and 8.00pm at Kings College London on 27th November, organised by the Kings College London Anime & Manga Society.

There are more details about this event here on Instagram, which is open to all creatives, including how to sign up to attend if you’re not a member of the Society.

Hailing from London, Edward Welch’s artistic journey is a fusion of cultural exploration and creative expression. With a background in History of Art from School of Oriental and African Studies and hands-on experience at the British Museum, his passion for Japanese and African art shines through in his work. From humble beginnings at the London Manga Artist Meetup, he soared to success in the Manga Jiman competition, claiming top honours in 2021 after his initial entries from 2019 (talk about never give up!).

He is currently weaving dreams and memories into the original series “Visions of the Phantomfield,” a spellbinding manga series featuring endearing sheep-rabbit creatures called Shabbits.

Read Past Winning Entries: You can check out the wide variety of artistic and storytelling styles that have won past competitions online. Read the winning stories in the Manga Jiman category and in both Yonkoma categories.

• Read the Manga Jiman Rules & Regulations (PDF) | Download the Entry Form (MS Word)

• About the Author
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John Freeman

John  is the founder of downthetubes, launched in 1998. He is a comics and magazine editor, writer, and Press Officer for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He also runs Crucible Comic Press.

Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine and Overkill for Marvel UK, Babylon 5 Magazine, Star Trek Magazine, and its successor, Star Trek Explorer, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics; and has edited several comic collections and graphic novels, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”, and Hancock: The Lad Himself, by Stephen Walsh and Keith Page.

He’s the writer of  comics such as Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs”, with Dave Hailwood.

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Tags: Competition News, downthetubes News, Edward Welch, Embassy of Japan, Events London, Manga, Manga Jiman