It has been over a week since ChibiCon Jakarta 2025 was held. The event featured a lineup of prominent guest stars, including Shinn Uchida, a manga live painter known for her highly detailed works and dynamic action scenes. Although she began her career as a mangaka, Uchida-san took a huge step to become a manga live painter in 2015 and has performed in various countries, including the United States and Germany, ever since.
After she visited Indonesia, we contacted Uchida-san and asked her more about her professional work and her views on Indonesian otaku. In this interview, Uchida-san shares her first impression of Indonesia, her creative process, her passion for the cyberpunk genre, her thoughts on the possibility of returning as a mangaka, and other fascinating things.
KAORI Nusantara (KN): Thank you for visiting Indonesia! To start off, could you walk me through how you were first invited by ChibiCon? What was that process like?
Shinn Uchida (SU): In January, I received an email addressed to me from the organiser of ChibiCon. I believe he probably found my page on Instagram and reached out to me.
KN: Since this was your first time in Indonesia, what were your impressions? Anything stood out to you, like the food, the weather, or the people?
SU: I was impressed by how sweet teas, like black tea, were. Since I like sweet drinks, I really enjoyed the sweet jasmine tea!
KN: When you receive offers to attend events in different countries, Indonesia included, what are the key factors you consider before saying yes? Do you usually do any kind of research beforehand?
SU: When I receive an invitation to appear at an event, I first check whether the event actually exists by looking for its official website, how many times it has been held, and what kinds of guests they have invited in the past. Basically, if the travel expenses and appearance fee conditions are suitable, I will participate.
KN: Are there any unique characteristics you noticed about Indonesian audiences compared to other countries?
SU: I was especially impressed by how well everyone knew Japanese, and how enthusiastic idol fans (otaku) were. They would cheer for idols in Japanese and even perform wotagei dances, just like Japanese otaku. It felt exactly the same!
KN: Please correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe your debut as a manga live painter happened quite instantaneously at Design Festa. You hadn’t done large-scale wall manga before that. What inspired you to take that leap into manga live painting, especially since it’s such a rare and unique path?
SU: As you said, I started doing giant manga live drawings suddenly at an event called Design Festa, held annually in Tokyo. I had been drawing manga for a long time that would never be published, as I aspired to become a manga artist. I began live drawing because I wanted many people to see my manga. I didn’t have any particular thoughts about the size.
KN: Do you feel that your art style has evolved since your debut manga Mindjack?
SU: I think my approach hasn’t really changed much since then.
KN: What are some of the key differences between drawing on a large wall and working on traditional manga pages, in terms of storytelling, presentation, or technical aspects?
SU: In regular manga, the story is more important than the art, but in live drawing, clarity and impact are key, so I focus more on making the artwork look cool. Also, for live drawing, I remove dialogue entirely and compose the piece using only sound effects.
KN: You’ve said before that your live painting content often draws from personal experiences. For example, turning your former company and the Coronavirus into enemy characters. When you travel to a new country, do you find yourself incorporating that country’s culture or your experiences there into your art?
SU: In Japan, for live drawing, like at Design Festa, I usually draw myself as the main character. However, at overseas events, I sometimes create manga featuring that event’s mascot character as the protagonist. Since many overseas events also focus on introducing Japanese culture, I sometimes draw manga with Japan-themed elements like Mt. Fuji or Shinto shrines.
KN: Do you have any habits or rituals that help you get into the flow before or during your performance? For example, do you listen to your favourite playlist of songs, or maybe use the same pen every time?
SU: I don’t do anything special to boost my concentration. I just suddenly started drawing!
KN: When you create a large-scale manga at an event, you usually draw it over the course of several days. For example, two days at ChibiCon. That means some people might only attend the first day and never get to see the finished work. How do you make sure that even the unfinished piece feels satisfying for those who don’t get to see the final result?
SU: I structure the work so that I first draw the main, large character. I used to draw the eyes of the main character last, but I realised that most people would only see the unfinished version without eyes. So recently, I completed the main character first before moving on to the next panel.
KN: As someone who’s come a long way as both an illustrator and a storyteller, have you ever thought about returning to the role of a regular mangaka, especially now with your refined skills and established name? Or at least self-publishing a short series on Twitter or Instagram?
SU: Honestly, I always want to draw manga, but my pen doesn’t move as often as I’d like. Rather than publishing online, I’d like to self-publish in print. Still, I have a dream of doing a commercial publication with a barcode someday.
KN: Your live paintings often feature intense action scenes. Is there a particular action sequence from anime or manga that’s your favourite?
SU: For manga, I’d say the battle scene between Cho-san and Ecchan at the climax of Katsuhiro Otomo’s Domu.
KN: Your works are usually set in cyberpunk worlds, and you’ve mentioned many times that some of your inspirations are Ghost in the Shell, Patlabor, and especially Akira by your idol Katsuhiro Otomo, all of which are set in cyberpunk settings. What is it about cyberpunk that fascinates you?
SU: I’m drawn to cracked walls, wired machines, and nostalgic scenery reminiscent of Tokyo’s old neighbourhoods.
KN: Have you ever experimented with different settings in your art, beyond the cyberpunk environments, such as a dark medieval fantasy from Game of Thrones or a post-apocalyptic wasteland from Nausicaa?
SU: I haven’t tried it yet, but from time to time, I end up creating illustrations that blend cyber and fantasy elements, probably influenced by Magic Knight Rayearth.
KN: Aside from you and the late Kim Jung-Gi, I honestly don’t know any other manga live painters. Are there any artists in this space you admire or would like to give a shoutout to?
SU: In Japan, Katsuya Terada is famous for live drawing, and I respect him greatly. He was also acquainted with Kim Jung Gi.
KN: Last question, would you be interested in coming back to Indonesia in the future? We would love to have you back!
SU: ChibiCon in Jakarta was filled with love for Japan and was an absolutely wonderful event! I would love to visit Indonesia again!
The Indonesian Anime Times | Interview by Rakha Putra Alif Rinaldi | Article by Dany Muhammad
