Fantasia IFF 2025 – KCrush Interview with ‘Blank Canvas / Kakukaku Shikajika’ Co-writer and Artist Akiko Higashimura

Award-winning manga author and illustrator Akiko Higashimura is probably one of the very few people to pen their own autobiography, in manga form no less, have that autobiography adapted into a film, and be co-writer of the screenplay and artistic consultant during production.

In July of 2025, Fantasia International Film Festival hosted the North American premiere of Blank Canvas: My So-Called Artist’s Journey / Kakukaku Shikajika -Blank Canvas for short, the feature film live-action adaptation of Akiko’s (Akiko-sensei) award-winning josei series Kakukaku Shikajika, directed by Kazuaki Seki and co-written with Date-san. The autobiographical series which ran from 2011 to 2015 depicts the artist’s aspirations as a young girl reading the popular shonen manga of her childhood in the early 90s, the relatable frustrations of teenage angst, to her years at university as an art student to eventual successful debut as a mangaka.

Blank Canvas begins in 2015 with Akiko, played by Mei Nagano (My Broken Mariko, Cells at Work), running late to accept an award, excited but a bit nervous at the prospect of being formally recognised for her work. As she considers how far she’s come in her career, she reflects back on her childhood in Miyazaki prefecture where she seemed to have an almost idyllic life in the beautiful seaside village.

It’s 1988, and Akiko is obsessed with reading manga or almost any genre and immerses herself in learning everything there is to know about the creative medium. Aspiring to be a writer and illustrator she spends almost every waking moment that she isn’t reading and waiting for the latest issue, drawing, which  she’s effusively praised for by everyone around her. Her parents, teachers, and friends all enthusiastically encourage Akiko to pursue her dreams because she’s sure to be a success and make them proud.

As she grows, Akiko is ever confident that she has what it takes to be a famous manga artist. That is until she meets someone who tells her her talents aren’t quite as impressive as she believes. That someone is Hidaka Kenzo (Yo Oizumi, Dear Family) an art teacher who’s just as passionate about art as Akiko is about mangas, except that he doesn’t know she wants to be a manga artist, and this is where the film’s dramatic tension unexpectedly arises, because Black Canvas isn’t just a funny, endearing film about a young woman finding her path in life. It’s about the burden of a mentor’s expectations on his hopeful protege who believes her dreams aren’t good enough for him, and the mentor being blinded by feelings of his own perceived failure to meet his and society’s expectations.

Running his own independent art school that focuses on classical European painting styles, allows Hidaka who wears his signature sweat suits, jeans and sneakers, to devote time to his students individually to cultivate their talents, but this also causes him to be super strict with them. For he believes that true art can only be realised with brutal honesty and creative pressure. Akiko realising that Hidaka doesn’t value the pop-art styles of manga which is as far from baroque as you can get, keeps her true intentions from him.

Instead of the usual ruler or pencil a teacher would use as an instructional tool, Hidaka brandishes a shinai, the traditional bamboo sword used in kendo as though to challenge his students to dramatic duels when he regularly shouts “Just draw!” To let the art guide them rather than think too much about what it is they want to say through their art, is his philosophy. Unused to this type of tense and demanding atmosphere and tough-love form of encouragement, Akiko struggles to adjust. But she gets there, and their relationship as mentor and mentee is fun to watch.

Nagano is great as a young Akiko who has to learn that though she’s naturally talented, that talent still has to be cultivated and finetuned through constant refinement as much as passion. Though she’s shy, she’s also no pushover when she really wants something. It’s that attitude of confidence that Hidaka does his best to use to his and Akiko’s advantage in order to realise her full potential, but his own stubbornness works like a form of artist’s block in their communication.

The dynamic between Oizumi and Nagano terrifically convey the push and pull dynamic between two people who know what they want but can’t fully express what they’re feeling because they’re not being completely honest with each other and themselves.

The writing by Akiko-sensei and Date-san and direction of Seki jumps into this friction by showing how for many artists the creative process is far from easy or as beautiful and captivating as the work they eventually put on the canvas can be. The process can be physically draining, emotionally fraught, and at times isolating when they become too stuck in their heads. In both Akiko we’re shown the perspective of an artist just taking her first steps to realising her dreams, and with Hidaka man who despite his mature age, is still filled with insecurities and doubts whether the life he’s living is worthy of admiration, even though without his guidance his students wouldn’t be able to grow.

For anyone not familiar with Akiko-sensei’s decades of work, Blank Canvas: My So-Called Artist’s Journey / Kakukaku Shikajika, is a terrific introduction to her back story, creative process, the Japanese manga industry from an intimately familiar viewpoint, and be inspiring for any creative unsure of themselves. As much as the film has its light feel good moments, there are moments when the tone shifts to be more somber as we see Akiko struggling at university to meet expectations she thinks are beyond her capabilities, and the regrets of a woman who thinks she didn’t do enough to show appreciation to the person who drove her to reach past her limits to trust herself and just draw.

In my interview with Akiko-sensei in Montreal, she shared that it was Mei Nagano who approached her about adapting the manga, and spoke about how having formal classical arts training from Hidaka-san and her time at university informs her unique illustrating and storytelling style.

Interpretation for the interview was conducted by Alexe Frédéric Migneault.

 

Carolyn Hinds
Freelance Film Critic, Journalist, Podcaster & YouTuber
African American Film Critics Association Member, Tomatometer-Approved Critic
Host & Producer Carolyn Talks…, and So Here’s What Happened! Podcast
Bylines at Authory.com/CarolynHinds
Twitter & Instagram: @CarrieCnh12

 

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