Kaishi Professional University in Niigata, Japan is Now Offering an Anime and Manga Degree

If you were born in the ’90s like me, then you most likely grew up watching or, at the very least, hearing about Japanese animes. Back then, it was our Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok wrapped into one.

Beyond copying famous anime scenes or drooling over anime food, some of you might have even been inspired to start an anime series featuring your own characters, stories, and sketchings.  Well, guess what? It’s now possible through Kaishi Professional University in Niigata, Japan, which will offer an anime and manga degree starting 2021!

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Planning to get an anime and manga degree? Here’s what you need to know

According to a press release by Kaishi Professional University via Crunchyroll, the world’s biggest Japanese anime and manga online platform, the establishment of its anime and manga department was approved by the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology on 16 Nov 2020.

“Kaishi Professional University’s anime and manga department is scheduled to launch in April 2021, and its capacity is 80 students,” Crunchyroll states on its official website.

“They will learn the theory and practice needed to create for more than 600 hours from leading anime and manga creators, such as professional animators, animation directors, manga artists, character designers, illustrators, and game creators, as well as animation and manga researchers.”

Per its website, the Dean of the Faculty of Anime / Manga will be the famous Japanese animator, Sachiko Kamimura, who was the supervising animator of the 1987 anime series, City Hunter. You can see the rest of the faculty members here.

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Application details for the first batch of students

Those interested to take up its new anime and manga degree can send in their applications from 1 Dec 2020 through this page. Entrance exams will begin on 19 Dec 2020, leading to the department’s official launch in April 2021.

The qualifications are as follows (as translated from the university website):

1. One must know how to solve basic problems and know basic knowledge.
2. One must know the importance of organising and decision-making.
3. One must be able to convey thoughts verbally and in writing to others.
4. One must have a strong interest in anime and manga, and undergo undergraduate education.

Still lacking in drawing skills? Don’t worry, Kaishi Professional University assures that you don’t need them to qualify for a spot in the programme. Once you pass the initial screening, you will first go through an interview test. Here, you will present your own illustrations and your motivations behind them.

Kaishi Professional University is one of the newest private universities in Japan. It just opened in April 2020 in Niigata Prefecture. Note that for the first batch of the anime and manga programme, the department will only accept Japanese-based students or residents.

All images credited to Kaishi Professional University | Official website