RIYADH: Anime and manga enthusiasts gathered in Riyadh on July 16 for the Manga Majlis Community Initiative, where industry professionals offered a behind-the-scenes look at the creative process behind anime production while organizers emphasized accessibility by welcoming members of the Deaf community with dedicated sign language interpretation.
Held at Prince Faisal bin Fahd Arts Hall, the event brought together fans, creators and aspiring artists to explore how anime and manga evolve from an initial idea into finished productions, highlighting Saudi Arabia’s growing interest in Japanese pop culture and its expanding creative industries.
One of the event’s defining features was its commitment to inclusivity. Organizers invited members of the Deaf community to attend and provided sign language interpreters, ensuring they could participate fully in the discussions alongside other attendees.
The panel featured Lamis Al-Suntali, producer and assistant producer at Manga Productions responsible for the Manga Arabia projec; Amani Al-Ruwais, character designer; Riyadh Dosari, director; and Hatem Al-Omari, writer. Together, they shared insights into the collaborative process behind creating anime, from storytelling and scriptwriting to character design and production.
Creating successful Manga
The speakers explained that there is no single formula for producing an anime project. A story may begin as a successful manga, an original concept developed by a writer or an idea proposed by a producer. Regardless of its origin, experimentation, revision and collaboration remain central to the creative process.
“Every project comes with its own challenges, and each one teaches us something new while helping us develop new ways of working. That is why experimentation remains an essential part of the production process,” Al-Suntali said during the panel discussion.
She explained that one of the greatest challenges comes during the planning stage, as production teams cannot always predict how long experimentation and development will take.
“Research takes a significant amount of time because we are committed to gathering as much information as possible before moving into production,” she said. “We continue researching until we find the answers we need, and this is often one of the most time-consuming stages of any project.”
Al-Ruwais explains
According to the panelists, every project begins with a core idea that is developed into a story treatment defining the work’s message and format, whether it is a feature film or a television series. The treatment then becomes a script, which undergoes multiple rounds of revision to ensure consistency before receiving final approval.
Al-Ruwais described how scripts are translated into visual concepts through character and environmental design. She said artists begin by analyzing the story, researching references and collaborating closely with directors to ensure the visual world reflects the narrative and cultural setting.
Dosari emphasized that animation is a highly collaborative medium requiring constant communication between writers, designers, directors and producers, while Al-Omari discussed how stories evolve through repeated drafts before reaching their final form.
The panelists agreed that while every stage of production presents different challenges, overcoming those obstacles ultimately strengthens both the creative process and the finished work.
