Japanese manga artists use nothing but pens and blank paper to create majestic dramas that attract ardent fans all over the world. They are said to follow unique creative processes, but they’ve rarely allowed anyone to see how they work. In ‘MangaLab’, celebrated manga artist Naoki Urasawa peels away the secrecy. He takes a TV camera into the private offices of some of the manga world’s biggest names, using an advanced video system to document the moments when pieces of manga come into existence. And he offers the unique benefit of an insider’s perspective. Writing manga is akin to creating a movie singlehandedly. The artist starts by creating the plot. He then blocks each scene, works out the lighting, creates costumes, and adds sound effects. Then he ‘directs’ the characters using his own imagination. Manga artists hate to be photographed at work; they have long kept their offices off limits to outsiders. Once the guest artist has been filmed at work, they each watched their footage with Urasawa and discussed it with him on camera. The discussions highlight stylistic techniques that only experts would notice.