Mantra, a Tokyo-based company that develops AI technology specialized in manga translation, has announced that it’s co-developing an AI tool to automate the typesetting process in manga together with Square Enix (via PRtimes).
The joint project was launched following Square Enix’s investment in Mantra in 2024. Titled “Mantra Engine,” the tool is designed to assist with text layout and typesetting for manga in Japanese. While it uses image recognition and style estimation technology developed through Mantra’s AI translation tool, the developers emphasize that Mantra Engine only uses what’s already there in a manuscript, with no generation, modification or data training happening.
According to the press release, the process of specifying font type, size and style as well as placement of each line of dialogue in a manga by hand takes over 3,000 hours annually at Square Enix’s editorial department. The Mantra Engine project was launched from the need to streamline this process, as Square Enix executive Katsuyoshi Matsuura comments, “This tool was developed to optimize the workload of editors by combining the ideas of editors on the front lines with our company’s AI expertise cultivated over more than 10 years in the digital entertainment sector, as well as Mantra’s technology. Our goal is not merely to improve efficiency, but to create an environment where editors can focus more on their core duties – supporting authors’ creative activities, by having AI handle routine tasks.”
Square Enix’s manga publishing business primarily revolves around the Monthly Shonen Gangan publication (best known for the Full Metal Alchemist series) and Gangan Online app (Japanese only), with the more recent addition of the global Manga UP! digital platform. The Mantra Engine tool is currently being tested and improved at Square Enix, and after it’s implemented internally, the developers plan to offer it as a service to the entire manga industry.
