How to Write a Manga Script: Format, Example & Template

To write a manga script, break your chapter into pages, break each page into numbered panels, and write for every panel one or two lines of what the reader sees plus the dialogue, captions and sound effects. Start from a one-sentence logline, pace the chapter in four beats, and keep each speech bubble to one short sentence.

TL;DR

• Logline first: who wants what, against what, with what at stake
• Pace the chapter in four beats; the third beat turns the story
• Format: Page N → Panel N → description → Name: "line", CAPTION:, SFX:
• 3-6 panels per page, one big panel, a hook in the last panel
• One thought per bubble; split long lines

What is the manga script format?

A manga script is a list of pages, each split into numbered panels. Every panel has a short description of what the reader sees, then the words that appear in it: dialogue with the speaker’s name, captions, and sound effects. There is no single industry-standard layout, but almost every working format has these five parts.

In short: Page heading → numbered panels → what we see → who says what → captions and SFX.

How it differs from a screenplay:

Write descriptions only for what can be drawn. “Aki is nervous” cannot be drawn; “Aki wipes her palm on her uniform” can.

Manga script example (one page)

Here is a complete page from a sports manga chapter, in the format above. It is a four-panel page that follows the setup → development → twist → conclusion rhythm.

Page 3. Layout: 4 panels, panel 1 wide.

Panel 1: Wide. An empty school kendo hall at dusk, orange light through
high windows. AKI (16, short ponytail, taped-up bamboo sword) stands alone
in the middle of the floor.
CAPTION: Three days before the prefectural tournament.

Panel 2: Medium. Aki swings at a practice dummy. Her stance is off-balance.
SFX: SHAK
Aki: "Again."

Panel 3: Over Aki's shoulder: COACH MORI (60s, cane) is standing in the
doorway. He has been watching.
Mori: "You swing like someone trying not to lose."

Panel 4: Close on Aki's face, eyes wide, sweat on her brow. Last panel of
the page: the hook.
Aki: "...How long have you been there?"

What this page does:

• Panel 1 establishes place and time, and the caption carries what the picture cannot.
• Panel 2 repeats the action and shows the problem without a word of explanation.
• Panel 3 is the turn: someone has been watching. It changes what the scene is about.
• Panel 4 ends on a reaction and a question, which pulls the reader to the next page.

How do I write a manga premise and logline?

A logline is one sentence that answers: who wants what, against what, with what at stake. Write it before anything else. If it does not fit in one sentence, you do not yet know what the chapter is about, and the script will wander.

In short: Logline = who + wants + against + stakes, in one sentence.

Who. A specific protagonist with one defining trait. Not “a high schooler”, but “a high schooler who can’t lie”.

Wants. A concrete goal. Not “to be happy”, but “to win the prefectural kendo tournament”.

Against. An obstacle: a rival, a rule, a flaw, a deadline. “Against a coach who thinks she fights scared.”

Stakes. What she loses if she fails. “The sports scholarship that is her only way out of town.”

Test it: say the sentence to a friend. If they can repeat it back without simplifying it, it works.

Example loglines:

• “A retired demon king reincarnated as a bookstore clerk must protect a customer who turns out to be the hero hunting him.” (isekai comedy)
• “A high-school baker enters a pastry contest where every judge was once her late grandmother’s rival.” (drama)
• “A pirate captain who is afraid of water must cross an ocean to recover a map her crew already sold.” (adventure)

Lock your main characters’ looks before you script, so every panel description can name them consistently. Our manga character design with AI guide walks through it.

What is the 4-panel beat?

The 4-panel beat is kishōtenketsu (起承転結): setup (ki), development (shō), twist (ten), conclusion (ketsu). It is the native rhythm of 4-panel yonkoma comedy, and it is a useful way to pace a single page or a whole chapter, because it guarantees a turn in the third beat.

In short: Four beats. The third one turns the situation. Without it, pages read flat.

On one page (4 panels):

Across a 20-page chapter:

• Pages 1-5, setup: the status quo, and the inciting incident by page 5
• Pages 6-12, development: the protagonist tries the obvious solution and it fails
• Pages 13-17, twist: the real problem shows itself
• Pages 18-20, conclusion: a resolution and a hook for the next chapter

Why it suits manga: three-act structure builds by escalating conflict. Kishōtenketsu builds by reframing: the twist does not have to raise the stakes, it changes what the story is about. That is the feeling of a good manga page turn.

Most common mistake: setup → development → development → conclusion. Two development panels in a row read as exposition. The third panel has to surprise, reveal or reframe, even slightly.

For how panel sizes carry these beats, see manga paneling 101 with AI.

How do I plan page layout in a script?

Decide panel count, which panel is the big one, and where the page ends before you write the descriptions. Put it in one line under the page heading (Layout: 4 panels, panel 1 wide) so the artist, or the AI tool, sees your intent.

In short: 3-6 panels per page, one dominant panel, a hook in the last panel.

Rules of thumb:

• One dominant panel per page. An establishing shot, an impact moment or the key emotional beat.
• Supporting panels carry dialogue and small actions.
• The last panel is a hook. A question, a reveal or a reaction that makes the reader turn the page.

Panels per page by genre (typical, not rules):

Reading order:

• Japanese manga: right to left, top to bottom
• Western-published comics: left to right, top to bottom
• Webtoon: one vertical column, different pacing rules; see the webtoon vertical scroll paneling guide

Layout mistakes to avoid:

Equal panels everywhere. Pages turn into talking heads. Vary the size.

No hook at the bottom. The reader reaches the end of the page with no reason to continue.

Dialogue piled on action panels. Give the action room; put the talk in the reaction panel next to it.

Too many panels. Past seven or eight, panels get too small to read on a phone.

How do I write dialogue for manga?

Write one short sentence, or less, per bubble, one thought per bubble, and let the pictures do the explaining. Manga dialogue is terser than screenplay dialogue because every word competes with the art for space.

In short: Short bubbles, stacked. Voice over exposition. Captions for narration.

Five rules:

1. Short bubbles, stacked. If a line runs past one short sentence, split it into two or three bubbles.

2. Voice over exposition. Dialogue shows who a character is. Plot information goes into captions or into what is drawn.

3. One thought per bubble. A new idea gets a new bubble.

4. Fragments are fine. ”…!” and “Huh?” are real lines in manga.

5. Mark the kind of text. Thoughts as Aki (thought): "...", narration as CAPTION:, so the letterer knows which balloon shape to use.

Balloon shapes and what they say:

Tightening a line:

Before:

“I can’t believe you actually thought I’d agree to this after everything that happened last night.”

After (three bubbles):

“You actually thought I’d agree?” “After last night?” “Seriously?”

The split version reads faster and sounds like a person, not a summary.

Manga script template (copy and fill in)

TITLE:
LOGLINE: [who] wants [what] against [obstacle], or else [stakes].
PAGES: [number]

BEATS
Setup (pages 1-5):
Development (pages 6-12):
Twist (pages 13-17):
Conclusion (pages 18-20):

CAST
NAME (age, one visual trait, one personality trait):
NAME (age, one visual trait, one personality trait):

Page 1. Layout: [n] panels, panel [x] large.

Panel 1: [shot]. [What we see, in one or two lines.]
CAPTION: [narration, if any]

Panel 2: [shot]. [What we see.]
NAME: "[line]"
SFX: [sound]

Panel 3: ...

Page 2. Layout: ...

Keep the cast block. When names and one visual trait are fixed up front, every panel can say “Aki” instead of re-describing her, and the artist draws the same person on every page.

How do I use AI to write or draw a manga script?

AI is useful at two points: drafting from a premise, and drawing pages from a finished script. In both cases, structure is what makes the output usable.

In short: Give the model a logline, beats, cast and the format. Then edit the draft yourself.

For a draft, give a text model everything at once:

Write a manga chapter script.
GENRE: [sports / romance / fantasy / horror / comedy]
LOGLINE: [one sentence]
LENGTH: [n] pages, 3-6 panels per page
BEATS: setup / development / twist / conclusion, one line each
CAST: [name, look, voice] for each main character
FORMAT: Page N, Panel N, description, then Name: "line", CAPTION:, SFX:
DIALOGUE: one short sentence per bubble

Then edit in three passes: pacing (does the third panel or beat turn?), voice (does each character sound different?), and bubble length.

For a quick first outline from a premise, try the free manga script generator. It returns a panel-by-panel draft with dialogue and SFX cues that you can rewrite in this format.

For drawing the pages, the Comistitch studio reads a script written in this format: it recognises Page and Panel markers and Name: "line" dialogue, keeps your panel descriptions and lines as you wrote them, and draws each page in a manga style using the characters you saved. You review page by page, and can regenerate a whole page or a single panel. New accounts get 60 free credits with no card, which is enough for two pages.

What comes next

A script is the first of three steps:

1. Thumbnails. Rough boxes for each page, to check the pacing. See manga storyboarding step by step.

2. Characters. One reference for each main character before any pages are drawn. See manga character design with AI.

3. Pages. Panels drawn, lettered and checked for consistency. See manga paneling 101 with AI.

Turn your manga script into pages →