Rumiko Takahashi Weekly Schedule (Update)

Recently, we took a look at the work schedule of Rumiko Takahashi, the creator of manga series such as Inuyasha, Urusei Yatsura, and Ranma 1/2. The seemingly tireless artist mentioned that when she draws a new chapter, she typically works through two nights in a row and only finishes her work around 9 a.m.

However, this doesn’t mean she has the other four days of the week off, as Takahashi is both the artist and the author of her series: meaning she is also responsible for developing the story and writing the characters' dialogues. Takahashi has now posted an update on her new Twitter account, listing the entire schedule for producing a chapter.

It all starts with a meeting with her current editor. After various discussions and potential merchandising topics they need to address, Takahashi determines where the manga's plot will go in the next chapter. The meeting usually lasts about three to four hours. Next, Takahashi begins the "name," as the manga industry calls preliminary storyboards. She says she can create about six pages of the storyboard in a day... and that she starts at 11 p.m. and finishes the day's work around 6 a.m. the next morning! Later that day, she has another short meeting with her editor about the progress of the storyboard so far, and the process repeats for three days until the name is complete.

That’s when the process of drawing the actual images for the chapter begins. For a single page, Takahashi spends about 30 to 40 minutes drawing and another 20 minutes coloring the characters, totaling about an hour per page.

This might sound like a very fast pace, but it’s important to remember that the preceding three days for storyboarding, layout, etc., are also part of the process.