Manga, the comics of the Land of the Rising Sun. Its unique cinematic art style and the fact they’re read from right to left really stands out; but regular books in those countries do that too. Today, manga is a large industry that while still large is beginning to fall (like most comic industries).
The Humble Beginnings of Manga
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| Gonna need a good Space Ship to get through this Star System. |
Prior to publishing in picture books, early manga comes from picture scrolls by Buddhist monks. Like many comics, they are a form of satire that poke fun at political situations. The emaki also serve the way for moving picture adaptations in kamishibai. These flourish in Japan pre- and post-WWII. These all in turn serve as the predecessors of manga and anime.
Modern manga starts in the Occupation and Post-Occupation periods after WWII. American soldiers had brought some of their culture during their stays, including comic books. This along with some Meiji Era art influences brings manga to the front. Artists that gained recognition for their works include Sazae-san‘s Machiko Hasegawa and Osamu Tezuka.
Tezuka’s art style comes from Western animation and images including Walt Disney’s pieces; this style in turn served as a model for the big-eyed, minimal detailed faces. Besides the character designs, Tezuka also develops the cinematic style of panel imaging which emphasize action scenes. As for why most Manga is often in black and white; it is mainly to save time and energy for the magazines they are published in. Still this makes the appearances in color look all the more important.
Manga’s Identification
Shojo
Tezuka isn’t the only notable development. Sazae-san by Machiko Hasegawa invents what serves as the model for shojo manga; manga aimed at young girls for focusing on a daily life and for women’s experiences. Shojo manga make a huge impact for a large number of years with themes of love and self-realization; sentai groups were used for several of them. One of the most famous examples are the series by mangaka Yuu Watase; the fantastic adventures in the worlds she creates allow for a deep look into how the characters live. Because of this, the characters feel like real people and not just placeholders. They also tend to have a very distinct soft line art style to reflect their themes.
Shonen
As for Shonen, they serve a majority of the industry with sci-fi, robots, sports, and the supernatural as major themes. These often include tropes following powerful fighters with the theme of Shonen Jump’s formula: Friendship, Hard Work, and Victory. The most famous is easily Dragon Ball and its derivatives as well as the works it inspires. Many readers struggle with the real world; the characters trying their hardest and succeeding despite their initial low points make the most appeal to the demographic. The art styles include more dynamic line work.
However, most series that try to go with this formula usually follow an uninspired hero’s journey that repeat important moments. More recent publications like My Hero Academia however bring new life to this formulaic demographic. By bringing in self-reflection and character development without going crazy on the entire cast allow more interest.
Seinen
It’s older cousin Seinen meanwhile isn’t so much as power fantasies to get through a horrible life; it’s living with life’s numerous pitfalls in those fantastic worlds. In Berserk for example, you have characters who live in a medieval fantasy world. It starts as a standard depiction of Europe before the change into a horrifying D&D world. The most appealing part of this development is because of the complex choices and relationships between the main cast. It does not even have to be just fantastic worlds but grounded realistic ones like in Vagabound. The artwork also tends to be more varied as well. Yet there is a tendency with more shading and more realistic anatomy.
Manga vs US Comics
For once superhero comics are not so much a big thing. But here’s the answer… American Superhero Comics were already at Japan at the time! Well that and superheroes look better on TV with tokusatsu.
Characters and genres differ from American comics; especially girls who are unbelievably beautiful or cute, form harems, and strong warriors. Same sex love is also common for older audiences. Unlike many of their Western counterparts, manga just seem to be open for more experimentation in character.
As you can probably guess, manga unlike other comics is much more organized and specific. Fans like to pick out the small details and categorize them. It’s how sub-genres like Magical Girl and Survival Horror thrive. Whereas most comics are usually adapted in live-action formats, manga goes towards animation. Just look at Attack on Titan, by the time the hit manga is animated it spreads like wild fire.
Manga: A Culture all their Own
Other noticeable differences includes Dojinshi, independent publishings that are often held in big conventions like Comiket. Unfortunately, the categorization has a bad reputation as being solely for erotic slash fiction for popular series and franchises. But its true purpose is as a creative outlet is what made the field so successful. While the parody works are technically illegal, the work still provides real hands on experience for the development of manga. Just don’t do anything that is essentially changing the characters or putting child-aimed characters into very blatant adult situations. Also creating original works is also part of the process. Techni Muyo for example was originally a dojinshi and later develops and evolved into the franchise it is today. Other creators who start in dojinshi include Rumiko Takahashi and CLAMP; now they are some of the most prolific professional mangaka.
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| And this is just Comiket on its first day |
Transcending Boundaries and Language
The manga style is so popular that Original English Language (OEL) manga springs up by English speaking manga enthusiasts. The most notable source of such material is in the publisher Tokyopop. Such work includes Svetlana Chmakova’s Dramacon and Night School. Nowadays the company produces manga style work from all over the world. France meanwhile has two different manga formats called manfra and la nouvelle novel. In my opinion it needs to get a little more digital to get back into shape. I say this because many webcomic artists use the more simple manga styles for their weekly releases. Line Webtoon is full of series like those.
Is Manga Okay or Can it Improve?
Without a doubt manga is a great medium that allows for creators to flourish. From the utterly ridiculous to the bone chilling effects of Junji Ito. Not to mention there is a rhythm when it comes to their releases. This is both something to stay on track of, as well as a wall to deal with. Still deadlines are a normal thing with creative departments. As for readers, it tends to be less intimidating as jumping on points. The simpler art styles even inspire artists to create their own works.
Some creators are now more than ever reaching a broader audience due to the internet. With this comes a new hurdle though. It is whether the manga can appeal to a bigger audience. Translations are a major hurdle, some notable series like Holyland never get releases in certain languages. Other times, manga doesn’t include characters that some fans relate to. For example, there are not many Afro-descent characters in manga.
What About the Domestic Market?
Naturally Japan itself has a problem when it comes to selling their stuff. While larger companies like Shueisha embrace the digital age to combat scanlators; smaller publishers still rely on print. Then of course is the magazine model which while good for showing potential new series, is lagging behind. Unlike digital services like apps or websites, the user has to deal with a big stack for stuff. Most of these smaller companies don’t have the money to support their creators.
A few forward thinking certainly want to think of new innovative ways to reach new audiences. Crowdsourcing certainly sounds fine until that person realizes that they get little payment. Short comics that people take on the go are on the rise as well in Yonkama formats. There are certainly great artists who tell these amazing stories to get where they are too.
All I know for sure is, there are plenty of opportunities to improve. Most comics I read as a kid are manga. Thanks for coming and as always, remember to look between the panels.