A Short Treatise on Manga
On the back cover of his groundbreaking
book, Mastering Manga, artist Mark
Crilley declares: “There’s more to manga than big, shiny eyes and funky hair.”
Yet many adults still write manga off as ‘junk food’ for the brain. While
children and teenagers frequently play card- and video-games based off of
manga, few appreciate it in its original form. Though most libraries have a
good array of manga, many people in America are still woefully undereducated
about the art form, which is a shame, since, as Eri Izawa writes on his website,
“… Japanese manga come in all types, for all sorts [of] people. Unlike the US, which
generally seems to believe that ‘comics are for kids’… Japanese manga-ka
[authors]… write for everyone… (there is even a category for ex-juvenile
delinquent mothers!)” There is literally a manga for everyone, though most
adults, if they are exposed to it at all, have only seen manga such as Pokémon or Yu-Gi-Oh! that are meant for children. In reality, manga has many
different genres, including action, drama, and historical fiction. If someone
doesn’t like the looks of jagged hair and large, intense eyes, there are lots
of alternate artistic styles. Many manga are educational – some would say even
more educational than many textbooks – simply because they are so engaging.
Authors incorporate detailed art, interesting characters, and intricate
storylines into and art form that anyone can benefit from. Manga is truly too
good to miss!
Since manga is either produced in or
heavily influenced by Japan,
it is filled with foreign terms that make some people shy away. Really, the Japanese terms are not too
difficult to understand. First, manga, pronounced
mäŋ-gə, can be singular or plural. In Japan, manga
can mean
any comic, but generally in the U.S.
it refers to comic books in a distinct Japanese style of art that exaggerates
facial features. Authentic manga often reads right-to-left, which can be
difficult to adjust to! Although it does make Americans work harder, this
preserves the original format far better than the alternative of modifying it
to read the English way. As manga published by Shonen Jump explain on the ‘back’ cover (which would be the front
of a normal book):
Manga is read from right-to-left, meaning
that action, sound effects, and word-balloon order are completely reversed… for
this reason, manga… in the US have sometimes been published ‘flopped’ – that
is, printed in the exact reverse order… many manga creators are… unhappy with
the process, as some feel that the mirror-imaging of their art alters their
original intentions.
Plus,
learning to read the opposite way builds a reader’s character. Someone who
creates manga is called a manga-ka. Manga-ka work incredibly hard to produce
manga for people to enjoy. Even in the Japanese culture, which is notorious for
its hardcore work ethic, manga-ka are exceptionally dedicated. Masashi
Kishimoto, the author of Naruto, goes
through a metal pen nib for every page he draws! (Kishimoto, 178) A good thing
to know is that while manga-ka’s names are usually written in the modern way,
sometimes characters, especially in manga with historical settings, will have
their last name written first. In formal settings, even modern characters say
their last name first, in keeping with Japanese tradition. One final thing that
a novice manga reader should be aware of is that there are several ways that
English publishers treat Japanese sound effects: sometimes the effects are
translated phonetically and printed in English, sometimes the original sound
effects are left in with translations in small print, and sometimes
there are only the Japanese sound effects, with translations in the back of the
book. Japanese sound effects are delightful – an object hitting the floor, for
example, doesn’t make a generic ‘crash’
sound, instead it goes ‘fap!’ Sounds
often ignored in American comics are plentiful in manga, the ‘tak, tak, tak’ of steps and the ‘skf’ of clothing.
There are such an enormous variety of
different styles in manga,based on art, age group, storytelling technique, and,
most of all, target demographic, that examining all of them would be beyond the
scope of this paper. The two styles most often referred to are shōnen
and shōjo. Shōnen, defined by Anime News Network, is a:
[d]emographic indicator for anime and manga
aimed at boys. An obvious and common example of shōnen is "fighting"
anime, where extremely powerful warriors duke it out… with various forms of
martial arts and superpowers… Giant Robots … are a very common form of shōnen
…it has been commented that giant robots are more an extension/extrapolation of
the knight/samurai's armor than an anthropomorphization of tanks/war machines.
Despite a great increase in sophistication through the years, may shōnen anime
remains largely centered on the resolution of conflicts through combat.
Although
most shōnen style manga tend to focus on fighting, I have noticed that in many
high-quality shōnen manga, such as
Naruto, Rurouni Kenshin, and Bleach,
the first volumes are centered mostly on fights, but as the series progresses,
characters and plots gain depth. A
character may be introduced as an ordinary warrior, but as time passes he must
make decisions about his personal creed, as well as facing formidable moral
dilemmas. One of the choices a shōnen
character faces as he grows stronger and must fight tougher enemies is whether
or not he can or should kill the antagonist, and if he isn’t going to kill the
enemy, how can he defeat him? This depth is one thing that sets great shōnen
manga above the merely good material.
While shōnen deals with physical
battles between characters, shōjo, manga aimed at girls, focuses more on
emotional conflicts. Often disputes stem from misunderstandings (usually over a
boy) and are resolved when a heroine and her enemy are finally open with each
other and reach a truce. Sometimes, as Anime News Network reports:
…shōjo is associated with a visual and
storytelling style rather than with a demographic. While it is true that shōjo
anime and manga traditionally tend to have a strong focus on relationships and
character development, it is far too diverse to be pigeonholed so neatly… while
some shōjo can be totally devoid of any true antagonism, other will feature
soul-blithering drama.
Another
important thing to note is that, while shōjo manga tend to be less serious than
shōnen, they have imaginative additions to the plot to make them unique. One
common tool shōjo manga-ka use is the addition of vampire and angel characters,
while other supernatural beings are also popular. Some readers find shōjo manga
harder to follow than shōnen because the plot is less straightforward, but with
practice it becomes easier to read. Shōjo characters usually have more
exaggerated features than their shōnen counterparts, but this is not always the
case. In the world of manga, few rules are set in stone!
No matter how exotic the locale, the
characters are always the most important component in manga. There is a
character in nearly every panel, which means it is easy to recognize and become
attached to characters in a short amount of time. In shōjo, characters are
cute-looking, while in shōnen they usually look more realistic. In his overview
of manga, Eri Izawa states that:
Even in worlds that exist in the far future,
or long ago, the reader is drawn into a three-dimensional character, one who is
far from perfect… and has hopes and dreams that the reader can sympathize with…
I heard recently the characterization that manga and anime are ‘character
oriented.’ The more I think about it, the more I think this is the right
description. Characters aren’t forced into plots, like a foot into a too-tight
shoe, instead, stories grow out of the characters. The heart of manga… is in
the hearts of the characters.
Having
that in mind, it is easy to see why manga-ka go to such lengths to make their
characters as distinct as possible, with scars, accessories, unusual haircuts,
tattoos, and most of all, intricate clothing. A common scenario in manga is
that since the characters attend the same school, they all end up nearly the
same age, with the exception of teachers and parents. Mark Crilley writes,
“Manga stories tend to be dominated by youthful characters in high school, or
fantasy characters that are vaguely teen-aged” (MM, 24). Though this is often the case, most successful manga are
careful to incorporate older ‘mentor’ figures, and even the occasional ‘sage.’ Of course, children and babies are integral
to flashback scenes. One final thing I have noticed about character development
in manga is that as the series progresses, male characters begin to look less
cute and more strong and handsome. Female characters become stronger and more
serious also, but to a lesser degree.
One good example of this is Rurouni
Kenshin; just by looking at the covers, it is very clear how the characters
appearances become more serious over time.
All in all, there are a staggering variety of characters in manga, each with
their own personality and appearance.
There are many, many different genres
in manga, but the two main ones are action and drama, while historical fiction
is interesting also! Action manga are usually shōnen and usually fighting
comics, but as always there are exceptions. Sports manga such as Hikaru no Go do not feature actual
violence but play out matches between characters suspensefully. One example of
action manga is the highly-acclaimed Naruto,
by Masashi Kishimoto. In a plot summary by Anime News Network, the plot of Naruto is condensed into:
When Naruto was born, the spirit of a(n)
evil nine-tailed fox was imprisoned within him, rendering him the hate of the
villagers in the ninja-village of the Leaf who feared the demon in him.
Countering this hate he grew into the role of the clown, trying to attract
attention by making a fool of himself and his teachers. But within him dwells
the dream of becoming Hokage, the strongest warrior of the village. When he
graduates from the academy he’s placed in the same group as Sakura, … the girl
he loves, and Sasuke, the strong, quiet guy and his rival for Sakura. Leader
and teacher of the group [is] Kakashi, the strange …always late … [and)]
powerful ninja.
Since
the main character is a ninja, it is clear that there will probably be quite a
lot of action in this story! However, the thing that makes Naruto popular with such a wide demographic is that the manga
explores not only common ninja themes, such as the path of the warrior, but
also the complex values of friendship, rivalry, and self-sacrifice. Another
good action manga is Psyren, by
Toshiaki Iwashiro. In this story, a
highschooler named Ageha unwittingly becomes part of the
mysterious Psyren Secret Society. He discovers that he, along with his friends,
which include a lethal female sword expert, a lowlife scumbag, and an old
fortuneteller woman, must use his newly awakened psionic powers to save Japan from a
dark future. Psyren showcases the
popular use of psychics in action manga, and skillfully deals with the concept
of time travel. Perhaps the most interesting component in this manga is the use
of very unique and unforgettable characters.
Like action manga, drama is very
diverse. The drama genre usually has a few fighting scenes, just as action
manga can have some romance. In drama,
it is not as easy for manga-ka to formulate unique characters – after all, a
character with scars and tattoos would seem out of place in a shōjo story! To
remedy this, characters in drama often have distinctive outfits that
incorporate bows, cute fabric animal ears, and jewelry. In the manga Fullmoon-wo-Sagashite, by Arina Tanemua, each character has his or
her own individual style, making characters easy to tell apart. The synopsis
provided by Anime News Network tells us:
Twelve-year-old Kouyama Mitsuki was
devastated when she was diagnosed with a malignant tumor of the throat. She had
made a promise to the boy she loves that she would one day become a singer, but
her illness made singing impossible. To make matters even worse, two angels of
death, Takuto and Meroko, appeared to Mitsuki and informed her that she only
had one year left to live. This news provides an even greater motivation for
Mitsuki to fulfill her dreams, and with a little bit of divine intervention,
she begins her quest to become a professional singer so she can be reunited
with Eichi before time runs out.
The
manga-ka makes her drama stand out by incorporating two angels of death who
befriend the girl, along with original songs, and, of course, cute outfits.
Another good example of drama in manga is Dolls,
by Yumiko Kawahara. In a series of occasionally creepy short stories, Kawahara
documents the lives of ‘plant dolls,’ whose only requirements for life are
human love, a cup of milk every day, and a sugar cookie once a week. From this
seemingly simple plot, the manga-ka creates a whole plethora of possibilities;
first off, what would happen if the doll was fed something other than milk…?
Kawahara seems to enjoy drawing elaborate costumes for the dolls, while men in
the stories tend to dress nearly identically in suits. Similar clothing can cause problems in drama.
As Mark Crilley writes, “Knowing how to draw hairstyles is crucial in manga.
With facial features and sometimes school uniforms rendering characters nearly
indistinguishable from each other, the hairstyle may be the reader’s only means
of telling one character from another” (MM,20).
Consequently, characters in drama manga set in a highschool are identified by hair,
jewelry, and style of speech.
Although historical fiction is not as
broad of a genre as action or drama, it is popular nonetheless, and of
particular interest to older, more serious readers. Because most manga is produced in Japan, a lot of
historical fiction manga is Japanese. Yet there is a surprising amount set in
other countries too; Black Butler is
set in England, Brides in Mongolia,
Bizenghast in the USA, and Monster
in Germany. Monster is a great example of the
historical fiction genre. Written by Naoki Urasawa, its plot is summarized by
Anime News Network:
When a Doctor makes the highly controversial
decision to save a boy's life over the mayor's, it leads to the loss of almost
everything he holds dear. His fiancé, his career, his social standing. The only
thing he keeps is his own feeling of self worth, knowing that he did the right thing in saving the boy, who
came in first. Yet even that is threatened when he begins to learn that nothing
is as it originally appeared. A trail of bloodshed pointing to the seemingly
innocent child leaves him questioning even his beliefs. Whether, in the end,
all lives are ever truly equal.
Drawn
in a highly realistic style, this manga takes the reader back to 1995 (perhaps
not especially long ago for some, but other readers weren’t born yet, so it
counts as history) in Germany.
The manga focuses on the ethnic conflicts of the era and country and the lingering
effects of the Soviet Occupation. This
story is definitely for older readers and not for the faint of heart! Another
legendary historical manga is the classic Rurouni
Kenshin, by Nobohiro Watsuki. The plot, according to Manga Updates, is:
140 years ago in Kyoto, with the coming of the American
"Black Ships," there arose a warrior who, felling men with his
bloodstained blade, gained the name Hitokiri, man slayer! His killer blade
helped close the turbulent Bakumatsu era and slashed open the progressive age
known as Meiji. Then he vanished, and with the flow of years, became legend.
Ten years later, a young woman's life is saved when she happens upon a strange
wandering swordsman named Kenshin. The young woman accepts the wanderer into
her dojo, despite his secretive past, and the two become fast friends. As their
relationship grows, they meet and make more friends (as well as enemies), and
they grow accustomed to their life together. However, one man can only run from
his past for so long, and it isn't long before Kenshin is forced to face the
life he thought he'd left behind. Now, together with his friends, he must fight
the ghosts of his past if he wants the people he loves to have any kind of
future.
This
highly-acclaimed manga is very informative about the Meiji era, a time when Japan was
struggling to move into the future while still preserving old traditions. The
manga starts out with simple, shōnen-style action, but as it progresses it
gains a surprising amount of depth. Rurouni
Kenshin is so popular that it has sparked both an animated TV show and a
live-action movie.
Popular manga-ka often give TV
companies permission to turn their stories into anime, which usually follows
the original storyline pretty closely. Anime, pronounced ah-nee-may, is very popular in the US, and most people who read manga
also watch anime occasionally. Though mostly based off of manga, anime can also
be from novels or even reinterpretations of existing TV shows, such as the
American Adventure Time! Anime
usually follows the original creator’s plot and artistic style closely, though
sometimes it branches off into new territory after a few episodes. One
challenge of anime in America,
presented by the Anime News Network, is that:
There
is much controversy as to whether or not the label "anime" can be
extended to non-Japanese animation that looks like Japanese animation. Whether
or not the label can be extended to non-Japanese animation depends largely on
the technical definition of "anime" that one choses to accept: Defined
by origin: Defining "anime" as animation produced in Japan allows
for a fairly black and white application of the label. The only gray area
occurs with co-productions that may have had a portion of their animation,
and/or scripting produced outside of Japan. Defined by style: …this
definition would allow animation produced outside of Japan, but conforming to the
defined "style" to be called "anime." It is difficult to
determine if this "style" should be determined solely on drawing …, if it should include editing
techniques (Japanese animation typically makes more use of "cuts" and
"camera angles" than most non Japanese animation), and whether the
narrative or storytelling style should be included in the definition. Perhaps
the biggest pitfall of this definition is that, due to the wide variety of
Japanese animation, regardless of any style based definition, there will always
be Japanese animation that would not fit the definition, creating a scenario
where some Japanese animation would not be anime.
Obviously this can create
problems, especially since some American companies produce animation that looks
a lot like anime. Disney, for example, created a very authentic looking movie
in Howl's Moving Castle. This is yet
another example of how manga and anime definitions are not set in stone.
Perhaps with further globalization the terms will become more concrete.
In
conclusion, manga, rather than adhering to a simple stereotype, is a whole
universe unto itself. The messages found in manga are often more than just skin
deep. As Izawa states in his essay:
…even children's Japanese comics and
animation deal with things like death. They also show that one's enemies aren't
Just Evil … you can see that the enemies have hopes and dreams of their own,
and do, in fact, have reasons for what they do. They aren't just crazy, or just
plain evil. They're real. Actions have consequences. If the protagonist screws
up, he or she has to deal with those results ... and, if the person is smart,
he or she will remember not to make that mistake again! The characters grow and
change, learn new skills, get better at old skills, mature and gain wisdom.
Both young people and adults
can benefit from the myriad of different topics covered in manga, and there is
such a variety that everyone can find a topic that interests them. Whether you
prefer intense action, tear-jerking drama, or a little historical fiction brain
food, you can find a manga suited to your personal preference.
Bibliography:
“Anime” Anime
News Network.com.web. April 2014
Crilley,
Mark. Mastering Manga. Impact Publishers.
Cincinnati,
2012. First edition.
“Full moon wo Sagashite” Anime News Network.com.web. April 2014
Izawa,
Eri. “What are Manga and Anime?”
Kishimoto,
Masashi. Naruto: the Official Fanbook.
Viz Media, LLC. San Francisco
, 2002. First English edition.
“Monster (manga)” Anime News Network.com.web. April 2014
“Naruto (manga)” Anime News Network.com.web. April 2014
“Rurouni
Kenshin”
“Shōjo” Anime News Network.com.web. April 2014
“Shōnen”
Anime News Network.com.web. April 2014
Shonen
Jump Publishers. “You’re Reading the Wrong
Way!”
Warning
written on back inside cover of all material published by Shonen Jump
Copyright 2014, Cbeppa
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