Shueisha announced that it opened "Manga Drawing Island: Manga Classroom from Level 1," a completely free "manga classroom website" where beginners can learn how to draw manga while having fun, on June 30th. This is a joint project of the company's manga magazines "Ribon" and "Saikyo Jump," and manga app "Shonen Jump+", and it is the first time that the three editorial departments have collaborated to create a manga drawing website.
"Manga Kakuko Island" was planned and produced primarily by the editorial team running the "Ribon x Shonen Jump+ Elementary School Manga Grand Prize," a manga award jointly held by three editorial departments. In 2025, the award received 314 entries, exceeding the previous year's number, demonstrating the high level of interest and enthusiasm among elementary school students for manga creation. To further expand this momentum and let more people experience the joy of manga creation, they decided to provide content that allows even "absolute beginners" to learn how to draw manga from the basics in a game-like way.
The site allows users to experience the entire process of manga creation, from character design and story structuring to storyboarding and drawing, step by step through games and videos. The site is story-driven, and users can learn manga creation skills while exploring an island with editor characters. Sixteen active manga artists currently working for "Ribon," "Shonen Jump+," and "Saikyo Jump" have participated, and their original illustrations are used on the site. Users can also enjoy video content of popular artists creating color illustrations.
The editorial departments of "Ribon," "Shonen Jump+," and "Saikyo Jump" commented, "The three editorial departments of 'Ribon,' 'Shonen Jump+,' and 'Saikyo Jump' want to create an environment where as many future manga artists as possible can be born. We have already published many excellent works by elementary school students in 'Ribon,' 'Shonen Jump+,' and 'Saikyo Jump.' We hope that as many people as possible who have never drawn manga before, don't know how to draw manga, or think that drawing manga seems difficult will visit this site and create their 'first work.' And we hope that 'Manga Kakko Island' will be the starting point of a great adventure in the manga artist career of a future hit author."
