Manga is a a form of comic book storytelling that originated in Japan. The word manga itself means "whimsical pictures" and the art form truly reflects this. Although manga had its origins in the late 19th century it has become very popular in the West within the last few decades. Manga once was a niche medium in the West but now boasts its own section in most major bookstores and comic book shops. This art form fascinates readers with memorable characters, twisted humor, action-packed and imaginative backdrops and gut wrenching emotionality.
Instructions
History
1. The beginnings of manga originated in the 19th century Japan with story-based pictures made on woodcuts of heroes and fantastic monsters. However, it was not until the 1950s that manga truly came into its own as a medium through the work of Osamu Tezuka in his classic, "Astro Boy." Astro Boy was one of the few manga works that was responsible for spreading its popularity across the world. Another milestone occurred in 1969 with the advent of "Shojo Manga," or what is referred to as "ladies' comics." Shojo was manga that was created by female artists and writers for a female audience and helped bring more emotional depth to story lines and characters that has expanded manga's appeal from just adolescent boys to girls and young women. This helped manga to reach deeper audiences and eventually lead to more adult stories with an emphasis on drama in works called "Gekiga" or "drama pictures," which arose around the same time as female involvement in manga. Today, manga is everywhere. Stories range from the fantastic to the realistic, and due to the advent of the Internet more and more Western audiences have become exposed to manga, which has allowed the medium to truly flourish.
Geography
2. Manga originates from the island country of Japan. Due to Japan's relatively isolated culture from mainland Asia and the rest of the world manga has been allowed to develop a truly unique style of storytelling. Manga originally served a niche market, due in part to this isolation. It was not until transportation and communication was improved that other parts of the world were exposed to manga.
Significance
3. Manga has made a hugely significant impact on storytelling across the globe. Children who grew up reading manga comics in the West have become comic book artists themselves, and have extended manga style artwork into Western comics. Joe Madureira is one example of the blending of manga with Western comic book art with his work on "X-Men" in the mid- to late- 1990s as manga was coming to peak popularity in the United States. Manga's significance can also be seen in many of today's action movies. "The Matrix," for example, utilizes many elements of anime and manga in the style of of camera angles and action sequences that set it apart from every other action movie of its time and revolutionized the way action movies in the West are shot and conceived.
Types
4. Manga has many subcategories of different types of stories that it produces, such as:
Kodomo: A type of manga aimed exclusively at children.
Shonen: A type of manga aimed at young boys up to the age of 18. It's counter part is known as Shojo, which is aimed at young girls up to the age of 18.
Redikomi: Aimed at adult women.
Seijin: The counterpart of Redikomi and aimed at adult men.
Gekiga: A form of manga that is dramatic and often based on classic literary works.
Features
5. Manga has many features that set it apart from traditional comic book storytelling. Manga features complex characters who often struggle with intense emotional scars. Manga often revolves totally around the characters of the story and has a unique emphasis on character transformation and development. Stylistically manga is also different from traditional comic books. Manga is typically in black and white and printed on low quality paper. This is due to the massive amount of manga read by the average Japanese reader; there is no need to collect the manga as the reader consumes too much to make this practical. Manga also features incredibly detailed backgrounds, machinery and weapons/armor. Careful attention to detail is paid to all the technical elements of drawing, and each gear, nut and bolt appears to be visually represented on the page.
