My Life is a Manga is an upcoming French animated series created by Nicolas Monteiro and produced by Brain Comet and Blue Spirit. Scheduled to have 52 episodes of 13 minutes each, the series will premiere in Europe in 2026.
Plot The series is about Liya, a fan of Japanese manga, who draws anime-style graphic novels in order to survive school, as well as other situations.
Production The European Broadcasting Union started the co-development financing initiative for the series in 2023, in a joint collaboration between France Télévision and CARTOON.
Monteiro based the series on his childhood experiences and dreams, the latter of which involved hypothetical scenarios that emerged from his family road trips. The global success of Japanese manga and anime motivated him to create a series using anime codes and adapted for the current audiovisual landscape. The series was presented in September 2024 in that year's edition of Cartoon Forum and will employ a mix of 2D and CG animation,FORUM FIVE TO WATCH: My Life is a Manga using 2D animation rendered to 3D, developed by Blue Spirit.CARTOON FORUM 2024: NEWEN STUDIOS SUBSIDIARIES TO HIGHLIGHT NEW ANIMATION "MY LIFE IS A MANGA"
On 2 April 2025, the European Broadcasting Union announced that eleven of its members (France TV (leader of the project), VRT, ARD/SWR, DR, RTVE, YLE, BBC, RTÉ, NRK, RTP and SVT) collectively funded €60,000 (US$64,900), enabling the series to be released by April 2026.The EBU backs My Life is a Manga The series is part of the EBU's Young Audiences Initiative, as part of its animation collaboration unit.YOUNG AUDIENCES INITIATIVE MARCH–APRIL 2025
On 18 September 2025, Cartoon Forum attendees were treated to an updated look at the series, with Monteiro and his team unveiling its development.Ryan’s Reflections: Animals battle and manga takes off at Cartoon Forum
References