I want to live in Japan, but I know no one there.. I want to teach English and gain citizenship and then find a few people I could work with as a manga-ka...

Am I shooting too high?

do you know japanese...? and i hope you know the life of a mangaka and their assistants is hectic- you would have time to teach and work with a mangaka. personally i'd just-- get rid of the mangaka idea because thats aiming a bit too high (if you include the teaching job with it) but if you learn japanese and stuff and major/minor in college or smth i think you could do it.....?
if you go to japan though, you need a steady job. you can reside in japan for like a year or so without citizenship but then if you don't have work for time after that, you'll be deported basically.
living in japan isn't like an anime or manga though so you gotta keep that in mind. you might not even be happy in japan. you need to keep lots of factors in mind before taking a huge step like that.

1. Be fluent in Japanese.
2. Be knowledgeable in Japanese customs.
3. Do not assume that Japan is anything like your anime/manga series.
4. Be prepared to be treated like either a second-class citizen or a sideshow freak because you're not a Japan-born Japanese citizen. Even American-born Japanese are treated differently. They are a rather xenophobic culture. There is an even stronger stigma towards the Chinese and the Koreans.

Further reading: A Cracked article from 2012 about being a white person living in Japan.

Japan is still a pretty nice place to visit of course. Living there takes a lot of adjustment, perseverance, and patience.

My girlfriend has a friend that moved there last year; English teacher too if I recall. Everyone wants to be an English teacher in Japan apparently. They don't talk that much though the first couple months were filled with anxiety attacks and complaints. She seems somewhat well-adjusted now.

>>1 I want to do the same only I don't want to be a mangaka.

shoot me an email at kazu.dollars@gmail.com

Maybe we can help each other lol

oops just noticed a typo -- it should be "you would NOT have time to teach and work with a mangaka"
¯\_(ツ)_/¯

If you want to travel, go to Germany, they are currently hugely welcoming qualified foreigners.

Or anyway, would you like to find a job and live abroad, getting a good diploma (engineering, doctorate,...) will significantly help you.

And don't be too proud of your country abroad, and don't compare everything. That bothers people and often shows you still can't adapt to their culture and way to do.

Thank you all for the advice.

Don't worry, I have a lot of time to learn the language still. I've been studying for a year and am still in high school. (meaning I still have time to think this through)

I'll get a dollars email and see about emailing you sometime Kazu

Yes, you are shooting too high, but well,your dream is also my goal so hope to see you in Japan teaching in the same school/ high school as me ^A^

I'll add to >>2
The manga industry is reaaaaaaaally competetive you know.
Unless you're exceptionally good or have lots of connection in the publishing department, they're just gonna skim over your manuscript. Look at all the aspiring mangakas who only managed to get their works at comikets.

Teaching is good, though. If you can bear with the (slightly?) low salaries, then go for it.