An Introduction to Manga

Manga (literally "Irresponsible pictures") is the term used by the Japanese to describe comics. There is often a confusion in the West to describe anime as manga, for example, "manga cartoons", but this is incorrect as manga is basically comics, and nothing more. Although there are differing variations of manga, the most popular is the graphic novel, with each release consisting of 20 plus pages, but the most widely read is a telephone-sized compilation that could have between 300-500 pages. This publication consists of a wide range of genres, aimed at different target readerships, but mainly around a specific group of people. For example, 'Shoujo' publications aimed at girls would mainly feature manga for girls (love, romance etc.), while 'Shounen' publications are aimed at young boys with their wide variety of interests. Boys' comics are published much more regularly than girls' comics, and popular weekly editions sell in excess of 5 million copies per issue. There are also publications for older people, with their differing genres catered for that specific market.

For a little as 270 yen, a reader can catch up on the latest story of their favourite manga titles, as well as reading other interesting titles in these large compilations. Another thing is that these publications are on sale only during their publishing period, and is meant to be dumped when you have finished with it (you can tell by the multi-coloured recycled paper). If you truly loved a title, then you have to buy a "Tankoubon", which is a compilation of all the stories of one title, printed on good quality paper, and meant to be collected.

Manga titles can go on for a long period of time, and it'll take up a lot of bookspace if you collect a lot of them. For example, Ranma ½ has 38 of these "Tankoubon" books (about 200 pages, and B5 in size), while Dragonball is even longer, and if you are a regular collector of these manga books, then you will need a big room to store them in.

As with anime, manga has a large range of genres to choose from; sometimes manga has more variety, as some manga titles could not be animated. But what makes manga better is that they are more accessible; you can take a manga book anywhere with you - read it when travelling by bus or train, or you can now go into one of the new Manga Cafés, where they charge you by the hour, and you can read as much as you want in the shop where hundreds of titles are available. And another example is reading in a manga shop or newsagents, where you just pick up a title, read it all, then put it back without paying for the title. After all, no one is going to stop you. Saves money as well.

While most manga are catered for a specific audience, many readers would read other genres because it may interest them, so girls may read boys' comics and vice versa. After all, a lot of the themes in manga are accessible to both genders, and many boys would like to read romantic love stories like Kimagure Orange Road, while girls may like to read a basketball story like Slam Dunk. Other titles are generally aimed for both, such as Ranma ½, Maison Ikkoku, Aa! Megamisama!, Dragonball etc.

Like in America, comics and graphic novels are not primarily children's entertainment, they are aimed at the older generation as well, and it is not strange to see a suited-up businessman reading manga on the train to work, although you are unlikely to see this picture in the States.