manga

manga

Manga (漫画) is the Japanese equivalent of comics. The word should be pronounced (Mahn-Gah), where both vowels are spoken as a short "ah."

Literally translated, manga means "irresponsible pictures". Though roughly equivalent to the American comic book, manga hold more importance in Japanese culture than comics do in American culture. Manga is much respected as an art form and its audience is not limited to children.

Most Manga is printed in Manga Magazines, which are large magazines the size of phonebooks printed on cheap paper that come out usually on a weekly basis (although monthly and even bimonthly manga magazines exist). The pages are similar to newsprint, and the comics are usually printed in black and white except for, occasionally, a few pages in color at the beginning. These manga magazines are quite cheap, have wide circulations, and have target audiences ranging from young girls, housewives, to the working man.

Manga Magazines usually have certain series run in them. You get about 30-40 pages of each series in each issue. Manga magazines also have one-shot comics, and various four-panel manga (equivalent to newspaper comics). Manga series can run for many years if they are successful.

When a series has been running for a while, the stories are collected together and printed in book-sized volumes that contain only that series. These volumes use higher-quality paper, and are good for those who want to "catch up" with a series so they can follow what's happening with the series in the magazines.

Manga have been translated into many different languages in different countries including China, France, Italy, and many more. In the USA manga is still a rather small industry, especially when compared to the animated form of manga: anime. The leading manga publisher in America is Viz, the American branch of publisher Shogakukan (小学館). They have many popular titles such as Neon Genesis Evangelion, Dragon Ball Z, Tenchi Muyo and the various works of Rumiko Takahashi.

The style of manga is very distinctive. Emphasis is often placed on line over form, and the storytelling and panel placement differ from those in western comics. While the art can be incredibly realistic or cartoonish, it is often noted that the characters look "American", or have large eyes. Large eyes have become a permanent fixation in manga and anime since the 1960s when Osamu Tezuka, creator of astro boy and considered the god-king of manga, started drawing them that way, mimicking the style of Disney cartoons from America.

Fairly surprising for western readers is that (somewhat like the Jazz approach to melody) Manga artists don't feel that their stories and characters are set in stone. So a set of characters may build relationships, jobs, etc. in one set of stories ("story arc") only to have another story arc run where the same characters do not know each other. The "Tenchi" series in particular is known for this; there are more than thirteen different pretty-much unrelated story arcs based around Tenchi and his friends.

Manga, sometimes even adult manga, seem to often have furigana. (Why is a mystery. Perhaps for foreigners? Juuitchan)

Manga list (Japanese title)

Akira
Battle Angel Alita (GUNNM)
BLACKJACK
Dragon Ball
Dragon Ball Z
Fruits Basket
Gakkou Kaidan
Ghost in the Shell (攻殻機動隊 Kokaku Kidotai)
Hana yori Dango (which triggered a new genre of saccharine pop-idol drama in Taiwan. Also known as Meteor Garden)
Hunter x Hunter
JOJO's Bizarre Adventure
Love Hina
Maison Ikkoku
Neon Genesis Evangelion (新世紀エヴァンゲリオン Shinseiki Evangelion)
Ranma 1/2
Sailor Moon (美少女戦士セーラームーン Bishoujo Senshi Sailormoon)
Slam Dunk
Tenchi Muyo
Trigun
Touch

Mangaka (manga artists)

Ai Yazawa
Hayao Miyazaki
Kaiji Kawaguchi
Katsuhiro Otomo
Ken Akamatsu
Kia Asamiya
Kosuke Fujishima
Masamune Shirow
Riyoko Ikeda
Rumiko Takahashi
Takehiko Inoue
Takumi Nagayasu
Yousuke Takahashi
Yukinobu Hoshino
Yukito Kishiro