Assistant mangaka

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An assistant mangaka is an artist who works, usually uncredited, for the mangaka of a weekly manga.

The duties of assistant mangaka vary widely; some mangaka only sketch out the very basics of their manga, and have their numerous assistants fill in all of the details, while others use assistants only for specific things (Go Nagai, for instance, at one time employed an assistant specifically to draw helicopters and other military vehicles). Other mangaka have no assistants at all, and prefer to do everything themselves (Yoshihiro Togashi is rumored to be of this type). Most often, assistant mangaka are responsible for the backgrounds and screentones in manga, while the mangaka him/herself draws and inks the main characters. While they are often employed to help with art, assistants almost never help the mangaka with the plot of their manga, beyond being a "sounding board" for ideas.

Most full-fledged mangaka started out as assistants, although there are many assistants who are happy staying out of the spotlight, and spend their entire careers as assistants.