Historical overview
Gekiga Sonjuku: a history
The history and creative approach of Gekiga Sonjuku, a school for manga artists and story writers.
Current status
No courses are currently offered
MANGA RAK does not currently operate a manga school or accept student applications. This page describes past activities.
Manga exhibition view; not a record of Gekiga Sonjuku classes or activities.
Learning to create
Stories built around characters
Kazuo Koike opened Gekiga Sonjuku in 1977 as a school for manga artists and manga story writers.
Its teaching focused on developing stories through the personalities and actions of characters. Its graduates went on to work in manga and other creative fields.
Timeline
Gekiga Sonjuku and MANGA RAK
- 1977
Kazuo Koike opened Gekiga Sonjuku.
- 1988
The original courses were temporarily suspended.
- 2006
The school reopened as Kazuo Koike Gekiga Sonjuku.
- 2009
On April 1, the school became independent of Kazuo Koike and continued as MANGA RAK.
Courses opened personally by Kazuo Koike from 2011 onward were separate from MANGA RAK's activities.
Historical record
Selected early graduates
These creators studied at Gekiga Sonjuku before its activities as MANGA RAK.
Rumiko Takahashi
Hideyuki Kikuchi
Akira Sakuma
Tetsuo Hara
Yuji Horii
Keisuke Itagaki
This historical overview summarizes the reference material. It is not an announcement of current courses or enrollment.