#oh and i wrote “bim” not “beem” because it's an alternative spelling for bune

[umeji-writes]

Why the manga Mairimashita! Iruma-kun is a masterpiece, part # (idk at this point)

Spoilers for the latest M!IK chapter (332) under the cut ♡

Okay, I was loving this art-focused arc already, as someone who after... several years (hi I'm old)... decided to learn illustration for good. But unholy shit I wasn't expecting an actual storytelling lesson from Nishi-sensei!!! I'm specifically referring to these two pages:

..........do you see what Nishi did????? See, I always found the characters in M!IK to be exceptionally alive, as if they had independent lives outside the pages we can read. Basically all named characters are consistent and three-dimentional, even if they appeared for a couple of chapters at most. And there are LOTS of them, I tried to compile a spreadsheet for personal use and we are well beyond 100 at this point (I'm not done yet). This is most likely Nishi's writing method. It fits: "when it comes to terror designing characters, what's important is the foundation. When, where, from whom, and from what was that terror were that character's motivations born? Without that, art doesn't live". See all the crumbs of information Nishi left along the chapters, in text or drawings, or in the Q&As. M!IK's characters are alive, like the Bowing Palome. Clearly this is not new when it comes to storytelling in general, and to manga specifically. As an example, there's a whole chapter dedicated to character design in Hirohiko Araki's Manga in Theory and Practice, The Craft of Creating Manga (most recommended read btw), that goes over the data to collect even before drawing a character. I imagine that's among a mangaka's best practices. But that's the point, Nishi actually follows the rules of the Golden Way*, and created a work which is nearly perfect from any point of view: the four fundamentals (characters, story, setting, and themes), and even rhythm, art, comedy... I'm in awe. I know I sound like a smitten fan, and I am at this point, but seriously, this manga is qualitatively great, and it's a pity it's so underrated. *The set of rules/tips Araki compiled, which if followed would lead to a manga being successful, according to him. I guess there are other sources as well out there, like illustration schools? But this what I can tell you, as an outsider :D