Thank you for so many comments! The feedback really encourages me to keep writing! =^-^=
Continued from: ☆ part 1 ☆ part 2 ☆ part 3 ☆ part 4 ☆ part 5 ☆ part 6
Answers to questions from part 6: ^-^
Kyle: Did Konomi-sensei seem like a typical boss (compared to Nova bosses) or more… interesting?
A: Hmm.. I’ve had a variety of bosses in my life– from friendly and fun to really strict and scary. Konomi-sensei was more on the fun (and cute!) side!
Blayne: 1. THE G-PEN!! WHAT’S IT’S LIKE? HAVE YOU USED IT? (if you did, is it hard to get used to?) Any other pens and nibs used?
A: I have, LOL. Actually in Tenipuri, though, I Only used the maru-pen and liner pens. Marie used G-pens or Saji-pens when she inked the characters. 
What are screen tones like, and where you taught to use them? (Heard you may need to apply it quickly.)
A: They’re actually pretty simple to use, and yes, you should apply them immediately or else I suppose the adhesive will dry out. I will include a tutorial at a later time! ^^
What’s the kind of paper used in the in process? Such as Storyboards, Manuscript, and Colour works?
A: In Konomi-sensei’s case, he used B4 and later A4-sized manga paper for all of his work, including color. Sketching and names were done on regular copy paper.
What sort of “Colouring tools” are used in making the colored pages?
A: Konomi-sensei used Copic markers and airbrushes for his color pages. Some of them were outsourced to a company that does CG coloring, though. All of the times that I did color work in Tenipuri, it was using Copic markers. ^^
And most fearfully of all… What does the “deadline syndrome” (I read about some Manga-ka, that stress over it) feel like? If you ever experienced it…
A: It wasn’t my work, so I never felt under immense pressure. But sometimes we definitely were pressed for time, so we had to work quick and fast. There were plenty of other sources of stress to deal with, though, as you’ll find out! ^.~
Elise: Someone should really make a manga about this whole being the assistant of Konomi-sensei!!! Anyways, did have you ever felt like maybe he liked you in some way?
A: I’ve thought about making one, lol. Hmm.. well, he said that I’m like family to him, so I guess we’ll leave the speculation at that. ^^ (Actually the thought of ever becoming involved with him is like.. well, like dating your brother! Ewwww, no way. XD)
Kari: those bunk bed look reaaaally small… how did you manage to fit in it?
A: LOL, they were just barely big enough for me! They’re meant for one person, though it wasn’t always just one person in them! ^.~
Kyle: At this point did you realize you had a job or did you think this was some kind of cruel yet strangely awesome Japanese interview joke?
A: It wasn’t until after Konomi-sensei invited us to a Tenimyu (the musical version of Tenipuri) show that I accepted that I was working for him for real. This was a few months from the time that I’m writing about now.
Lillian: Does Sensei have to go outside to go to his part of the house?? Did you ever get a tour?
A: I’m not sure if he has to go outside, or if there’s a staircase. I never did get a tour of the upper level. Some things must be kept private, I guess! I often saw a cat in the window upstairs though. (not Karupin!)
Ann: Was it weird sleeping with three other people nearby? How long did it take to get used to it? And did you ever chit-chat before you fell asleep, or did everyone quietly lie in bed?
A: It was weird at first, but I’ve had my share of sleepovers, so I got used to it eventually. I wasn’t able to sleep well until I brought in earplugs, though, since some of the assistants snore! o.o;;;;;;; We spent many a night chit-chatting away to the wee hours, though sometimes we went right to sleep, too. And sometimes one or two people would chat and the rest would sleep.
Su Su: By the way, everyone sleeps in the same room???!! O.o Male and female?? You have to stay there for 1 and a half year???
A: Yep! We all had our own beds, at least. ^^
Well now.. where was I?!
Oh yes.. I was just about to commit a faux pas!
It was actually rather stupid, really. I didn’t learn until later, but we were supposed to get up at a certain time! But hey.. I didn’t even know what “agari” (see last post) meant! If he’d said when to get up, I surely would have missed it.
So, finally, I had dozed off somewhere in the wee hours of the morning. The storm shutters (giant metal blinds on the outside of the house) were down for most of the time that I worked for TK Works, so I rarely saw the bedroom in the light of day.
Oh, that’s right, I forgot to mention that TK Works was(is) the name of Konomi-sensei’s studio. I’d have you guess what the name stands for, except.. with the boss’s name being Takeshi Konomi, it’s pretty obvious, right? ^.~
When I woke up finally, after maybe an hour of sleep at the best, the bedroom was dark. But I could hear people rustling around, and some voices in the other room. I didn’t want to get up yet, though. I had no idea there was an “wake-up time,” I was still exhausted, and, well…
I just really, really wanted some alone time! I know that it should have sunk in by now, but really, I was still reeling. Roughly 24 hours ago, I had been just arriving at the train station nearby and struggling to call Konomi-sensei for the first time. Thinking that I was going in for an hour or so interview (maybe 3 at the very most, I thought!), it had somehow morphed into a surprise (for me!) overnight visit. What’s more– I still had today and part of tomorrow and.. who knew how long we’d really be there for! Wish that I’d bought underwear the day before (though I still didn’t know that’s what Marie had been asking me about).
I heard people leaving the room, but I stayed inside, all curled up on my bunk bed. I barely fit. Of course I couldn’t go back to sleep, there were too many things to think about. But it was nice having the few minutes alone in the dark.
It wouldn’t last, though. Eventually, Marie (sent by Kaiwa-san I have no doubt!) came back into the room. I, still wanting to remain undisturbed, faked that I was still asleep.
“Jamie?” She gently pushed on my shoulder. “Wake up.. You have to wake up now.”
There wasn’t really any helping it now, so I opened my eyes, and nodded. “Okay..” I didn’t really look at her. But I’m glad that she was gentle.
She left me alone, and so I finally made my way into the main room. A little slowly, mind you. “Ohayo, Jamie,” (ohayo = good morning Kaiwa-san said, as bright and cheerful as he had been all of the day before. I liked him. But I am one of those people who can turn on in an instant– a morning person, I guess. 
I’m only grumpy late at night, or on the train. (XP)
Sensei wasn’t there yet, but all of the assistants were up and drawing or pretending to draw, chatting here and there. Marie was still inking, and Tamusho was still drawing shoes. I wonder what Kaiwa-san was doing besides watching me.
But anyways, apparently it was time for breakfast, and this time it was takeout from a place called Hotto Motto. Or, Hokaben as Kaiwa-san called it. I couldn’t figure out why at the time, but one day months later I asked, and apparently the chain store used to have a different name, Hokka hokka. Hokaben is also the generic name for a take-out bento.
“Wait.. can you eat rice?” Kaiwa-san suddenly asked me.
Of course.. ^^;; Who can’t eat rice? Well.. I’m sure there are some people who can’t for health reasons, but in general, I think that most people can eat rice. I’ve been asked this question in varying forms (can you eat sushi?, etc) over the years, though.
“Yes, I love Japanese food!” I replied with a smile. I’m pretty easygoing when it comes to food. I eat everything! Except for vinegar. I haaaate vinegar! (What do you hate? Tell me in the comments!)
In the end, Tamusho ordered the food over the phone, and he had to go and pick it up down the block, since they don’t do delivery. Lucky me– I got to go with him! YAY!
But there was one thing– I barely knew him, and it was awkward to be alone. I hadn’t counted on that.
Silence..
More silence..
Then finally, he broke the silence.
“What made you want to apply to work here?” he asked after we’d picked up the food and were on our way back to the studio.
Now, that’s a hard question, and my Japanese wasn’t up to par. I did the best that I could. “I want to be a manga artist,” I said (and I really love Tenipuri! And I never thought that I’d really get in.).
“That’s really cool,” he said. But that’s where the conversation ended, because we had arrived back at the house. Tamusho knocked on the window next to the front door, and someone (never saw whom) came to the door to let us in.
The day passed much like the day before, without all of the surprises. I got some drawing advice from Kaiwa-san and sensei, and I tried out a maru-pen for the first time.
This is a maru-pen:
They cost almost $1 for each nib (3,000 yen for a box of 36), and I went through several every day in some of my busier times in the studio. Mangaka tools are quite expensive!
Also, Kaiwa-san and Marie started coloring the poster! They used Copic Sketch markers (many mangaka use these. So do I ). I found out quickly that Konomi-sensei had boxes and boxes of these markers, AND there are specific colors for every character.
Copic markers:
There was a LOT of talk about Tenipuri, though. I guess it’s to be expected, since these are the people who created the manga, but still.. I had no idea that for most of the day, they would gossip on and on about the anime, the musical, the voice actors, and more.
As I wrote in my journal right after my visit:
“Working with Konomi-sensei and team is like.. spending days&nights locked in a room with a bunch of insane Tenipuri fans. 90% Tenipuri talk including gossip about Tenimyu and all kinds of random stuff and who is going to play together and what match and on and on… It is seriously like fandom x 1000. I had no idea that he was THIS passionate about his work. But everybody in there talks like an insane fan and it kind of rubs off. It’s hard not to get back into it, that’s for sure! ”
Talk like that happened a lot over the time I worked with him, but at the beginning it was definitely the most fervent. Really like being in a room with a bunch of mega-fans! (Maybe I just got used to it over the years, or we all got a bit tired of that talk, lol. I’m not sure which.).
Suffice it to say that despite all of the hardships of the previous day, and the stress of being in unfamiliar territory, it it was a fun day. We ended at about 2am, just like before.
And the next day, I learned a lesson: Even pros make mistakes.
Stay tuned for the next part! ^.~
This time, I’m upping the ante: 30 comments and I will post the next part of my true story! (Get your friends to comment, and spread it around in Tenipuri/anime communities!!)
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Like fandom x 1000, huh….? I wonder how that works exactly? Because I think a big part of fandom is like, speculating about how this or that is gonna turn out, what are such-and-such character’s true intentions with insert situation here, that kinda thing. But wouldn’t that be weird/impossible to discuss with a room full of the people MAKING the manga? Haha I mean, even if you guys didn’t necessarily know the WHOLE whole thing inside and out, at least one of the people in the room knows the story and characters better than ANYONE… Or is it more like, the assistants speculate and Konomi-sensei just kinda sits there doing his artz like “heh heh heh :3″ ?
Hmmmm, what do I hate foodwise… Well, there’s a few things I guess… What I hate the MOST though, is WHIPPED FROSTING. I swear to God, whipped frosting is like almost completely the antithesis of buttercream frosting. Buttercream is HEAVEN, while whipped frosting is like this horrible, unnatural, bland wolf in buttercream clothing… There is absolutely nothing worse than being at a birthday party (especially if it’s your own) and seeing there’s a cake there, and getting all excited like OH YEA CAKE YEA – only to find, when you have finally plopped that much anticipated little cube of rainbow sugary goodness on your flimsy paper holy platter of a party plate, and have taken that sacred first bite – ONLY TO FIND THE FROSTING IS WHIPPED.
…..Wow, I really do hate whipped frosting, look at that rant….. xP ^^; Sorry about that. Kind of amusing though, right…?
i hate tomatoes and sour food.
I love reading these. Waiting eagerly for part 8
I love your “working as assistant on The Price of Tennis” posts~
It sounds like a dream to me…although it seemed to be really exhausting and stressing but you write it in such a lose way. I LOVE IT
And after reading that konomi-sensei is hot for several of times I am super curious about him *o*
I hope someday I can have similar stories to tell ^.~ although I gave up on being a mangaka ^^” But I would love to get to know my favorit mangaka XD
I am really exited and happy that I found your blog I want to read lot’s more (*^o^*) Seriously it’s like you are living my dreams…mabye someday I will meet you in Japan
I love reading your posts, they’re so fun and inspirational! I’ve been working hard towards becoming a mangaka and I cant wait to go to Japan. I hope you find success soon!
@Stephanie Wow now that’s a coincidence, we both have the same name and we both hate mustard! XD
I’d say the food I hate the most though is tuna. bleh!（￣へ￣）
Anyway, how much Japanese did you know when you first went there?
What were your main jobs as an assistant ex. doing backgrounds, tones etc…
Hmm.. I hop I am the 30th one XD.
How is your Japanese before and after working as a manga assistant? How much did you improve? I wish to speak Japanese and be able to write well, but I guess it is more practical to move there in order speak and write well (almost as native people) ?
Did drawing manga help you learn Kanji by proximity to the other mangaka, and the characters actual usage of it in the stories?
just wondering…
Where in America did you come from before heading off to Japan?
I love reading this, it’s awesome–like a making-of Tenipuri soap opera!
I’ve always wanted to do something like what you’re doing. Maybe not for art, per say, but to travel to Japan and maybe become an actor? Tenimyu being the influence, haha..
Thanks for sharing!
I actually hate eating fresh tomatoes, i can eat them cooked but fresh makes me gag.
I can’t wait to read more of your story, you have an amazing ability to get me hooked :p Great story telling!
Love copic markers! I wish I had every color available!
Food I hate? The first thing that comes to mind is milk. I mean, pure milk. I can’t drink it or I’ll throw up. I love rice, though… can’t imagine what’d be like if I couldn’t eat it. Hmmm sushi.
you have to continue!!!! =D
i don’t really like tsukemono.. i think even natto tastes better to me xD
Food I hate… Anything that has peas or beans. I hate both on their own and mixed with anything. Also, I’m intolerant (or allergic, however you want to see it) to corn, so I can’t eat corn or anything made out of it. I suddenly became intolerant to it a few years ago. I used to eat corn all the time but now I can’t because if I do I get massive stomach cramps, it feels like I’m going to die. So no corn, or anything made out of corn (some breads, nachos, certain chips, most cereals, etc).
I was always curious about copic markers! I saw them a lot at anime conventions but never really understood what was so special about them. And I wouldn’t even know how to use them, I’m not really good at coloring with markers to begin with :S
I greatly dislike slimy-textured foods, but I love vinegar! Especially on my fish & chips, but maybe thats just my British showing.
I was wondering though, while working at the studio, how did the approval process go? Like, how did you know when you were done with your task to Konomi-sensei’s liking? I have this bad habit of over-working my own illustrations and wouldn’t know what to do when working on someone elses….
ahh so excitinggg ^__^ aren’t you at all sad that you had to quit working for him?
I would not be able to resist asking to meet his cat…
I eat…pretty much everything, lol XD. Except I try to stay away from sweets, since I have a ridiculously low sweet tolerance.
And oh my. Fandom x1000. That’s…pretty scary. Though if it was Rikkai talk, I’d jump right in *-*.
Keep it up!
I’m not comfortable with all foods, but hand me a plate of foreign food and it’s down the hatch. I’m always willing to try out new foods personally.
Wow, You answer all of my questions! Thanks! I feel greatly informed!!
well, I can relate to being in new teritory as a stresful experience. I’m having trouble with it myself. even though I’m staying with my friend and I speak the language I still feel strange and out of place. like when I have to go shoping, I’ve been asked 3 times already if I’m alright by sales people. and I started wondering if maybe I look frightened or something like that for them to be aking me that. anyway, I’m sure for you it must have been 10 times harder since you didn’t peak the language well and you were literalry thrown right into the midst of the action.
as for food I dislike, the only things that come to mind right now are mayonese , I completly hate the stuff, I don’t know why exactly but I can’t even tand to look at it, it looks kind of gross to me and the taste….. it just feels like very “heavy” for the stomach, I don’t know how else to decribe it. also mushrooms. I will eat them in some cae, ussualy when mom puts them in the pata auce that she makes, but it’s safe to say I’m not exactly a fan.
i hate natto, and umeboshi, and those nasty ribbon seaweed thingies in oden… oden itself is quite nasty too, but the rest of it is edible (if i absolutely must eat it) but those ribbons are just GROSS.
Damn i was late on this one… but very good read like always and im looking forward to the next installment… and yes please more about materials and how to use the, i think i speake for everyone when i say we wanna learn as much as possible. and since you were actually working for some one who was published who better to ask right ? oh and by the way how did you learn to speak and read Japanese ? oh and yea lie the person above spinach is nasty and so is a lot of vegetables (specially the soggy ones)
These are fun to read.
You say everyone talks about Tenipuri a lot, but does Konomi-sensei ever ask his assistants about the plot? Does he use assistants as sounding boards for his ideas on what to write next?
I’m not to good about eating most foods that most people like to consider as a juicy treat, but with any foreign foods; I’m happy to chow it down… But I have two traits in eating, “quick-eater” and “black hole stomach.” I surprise people in both areas. “Did you get anything to eat?” and “A second dishing? A third? What happened to everything on your plate?” are asked often by those who I come over to eat with.
It’s pretty awesome that they were all so into Tenipuri, Tenimyu, and stuff. You must have gottten to hear some pretty good gossip.
it’s funny how they are like super fans of tenipuri and talk about it so much. ^^ i thought since they worked on it, they would be bored with it and talk about other things. i wanna know more about the manga tools!! i sometimes draw, but always have trouble coloring because with regular markers, it always doesn’t look that nice. i wonder what the pros use for their drawings… xD
Oh wow~ These people all sound so nice! It’s great that they were all welcoming and friendly and didn’t yell at you or anything for getting up late.
…you sure make me want to go to Tokyo ;_; I love food too!
Hi Jamie– I’ve wondered often about what you experienced in Japan; it’s really cool to be able to read about it now!
Definitely keep up the posts!
I love your story of following your dream, makes a refreshing change from people complaining about how their life sucks! ^_^
what do you know about copic caio markers, are they any different from standard copic markers aside from the price?
Was it hard for you to adjust to the TK Works schedule? And hopefully you’ll tell us about your Tenimyu experience
Thanks for this post! Can’t wait for the next ones 
tenipuri!!!! daysoooo!
I really hate mustard for some reason…but except for that I can´t really think of anything at the moment. As for Japanese food… I haven´t eaten a lot of Japanese food so far, so I can´t say for sure, but I really liked what I have eaten (like ramen, miso-soup, sushi, chicken teriyaki.) But I guess I wouldn´t try Nattō…. ^^
Can´t wait for the next post!!
And I really want to learn about the manga tools!!! ^^
Katsubai below says they hate spinach ^^ I eat like a whole bag of spinach by itself with some salt X3 It’s low in calories and has 0 fat calories too~ I think I might just go make some now *hungry*
As for me…I don’t like chickpeas XP Or beets… ugh.
I had no idea that some of the coloring work would be outsourced to a company too :O
I understand due to time constraints that it’s needed I guess, but I dunno… It would bother me to find out an illustration I’d admired for it’s coloring job, thinking the original artist did it, was done by someone else – because no credit was given :\ Or is it given on the image? I dunno.. Anyway, if I were to do that, I’d definitely give credit for it…
You’re saying that’s expensive, but I only *wish* I could pay $1 per maru nib
I have to pay at least $2.30 per maru nib, buying 10 at a time ;__;
The g-pen and others are usually $1.35 each-10 at a time…but I prefer the maru.
I love the copic sketch markers though. When I first learned of copic, I made the mistake of buying a set of the regular ones >o<;; But thankfully I resold them and got the sketch sets instead. They're not cheap x_x , but they're really nice quality, you don't have to worry about colors you don't use as often drying up, they last for yeeears.
XD That's pretty funny, talking about Tenipuri all day, while drawing it too, lol~
( just wanted to say I'm not using these initials to copy ^o^; I've used them for a long time – my last name is too long, not catchy, hard to remember/say for other people…and I can't think of a good pen name that I can be committed to…)
Any really fun gossip? Not the really personal stuff of course, but silly stories that you can share about any of the TeniPuri/Myu/Seiyuus/characters?
And…I must ask, did Konomi-sensei ever say anything about Inui? (he’s my favorite character! *grin*)
COME ON PEOPLE COMMENT ALREADY! WE GOTTA GET TO 30 FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!!!
thank you
I hate beef and any red meat! I’m a sea food and chicken person! I just can’t stand it! I don’t care how it’s cooked, it always tastes BAD to me!!
Q1. Was it hard to use the maru-pen at first?
Q2. What time did you wake up in the morning?
….hai! I want to learn about Copic Sketch markers and how to use them please >_<"
can't wait till next post! ^_^
I hate spinach >___> nastiest texture of them all.
I SUCK at copics btw, you should make a tutorial video for those. coloring was something i was never good at haha.