Everything you need to know about Manga
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With a long history deeply rooted in rich Japanese art, manga is one of the most fascinating phenomena in Japan and the world. As part of the 'otaku' ('nerd') culture, these Japanese comics have played an important role in the countrys publishing industry, creating a solid market, reaching millions of readers of all ages and influencing a number of creations. of comics in many other countries.
From history and adolescent romance to futuristic science fiction and deep life themes, manga has become an important, almost inevitable, part of Japans identity and has helped raise awareness and understanding of culture in Japan. all the planet.
Focusing on creating unique aesthetics and engaging narratives, they often evolve into anime and even cosplay, consistently remaining popular with their growing community and collectors.
WHAT IS A MANGA?
Manga is a generic term for a wide variety of comic books and illustrated novels originally produced and published in Japan. Unlike European comics, which are generally printed in color, Japanese manga is almost always in black and white. Color prints are often only used for special releases.
Japanese manga is read from right to left instead of left to right. It can be hard to get used to if you have only read English posts, as you often feel like you are 'reading backwards', but hardly notice once you do.
In Japan, many manga are published on a monthly or weekly basis, chapter by chapter, through manga magazines such as Weekly Shonen Jump, which has been in circulation since 1968. If a series is popular enough, its chapters are collected and published. in volumes called tankobon, which generally include some chapters of the general history.
There are different types of manga intended for different audiences:
Shonen Manga: Manga intended for tweens and teens like Dragon Ball or Naruto.
Shojo Manga: Manga for Tweens and Teens like Sailor Moon
Seinen Manga: Manga intended for adult men (18+) like Berserk.
Josei Manga: Manga intended for adult women (18+) like Loveless.
Kodomomuke Manga: Toddler Manga as Pokémon
ORIGINS OF MANGA
Although modern manga originated in a context of expansion of artistic creativity during the American occupation of Japan during World War II between 1945 and 1952, its origins date back several centuries. Many believed that the first manga in Japan appeared in the 12th and 13th centuries, in a series of designs such as frogs and rabbits titled Choju-giga (Frolicking Animal Scrolls) produced by various artists. In fact, his technique of drawing a characters legs to simulate running has been adopted by many manga-ka (manga creators and comic book designers) working today.
During the Edo period (1603-1867) another picture book, Toba Ehon, incorporated the concept of manga, but the term itself was first used in 1798 to describe Santos Shiji no Yukikai (Four Seasons) picture book. Kyoden. In 1814, it reappeared as the title of Manga hyakujo by Aikawa Mina and the famous drawing books Hokusai Manga by the famous ukiyo-e artist Hokusai.
WHY ARE MANGAS SO POPULAR?
Whether you find them in comics, monthly magazines, or picture novels, manga has something to satisfy everyone, as we can see from the number of genres. People of all ages spend billions of dollars on comics each year in order to enjoy often complex stories and great emotional depth.
The long series, which can range from two to twenty volumes, are meant to grab readers attention and make them want to return to them, which they have been doing successfully for decades. In Japan and many other countries, people seem to be fascinated by the peculiar style of manga, by the exaggerated emotions, by the sharp lines in pen and ink, in the style of Japanese calligraphy and painting.
Children are given manga at a young age, both for fun and education, and out of habit they continue to read comics from various categories as they get older. In a way, manga helps to mold them as human beings and influence their characters, through intelligent and well-crafted stories about business, politics, history, relationships and life in general, stories that very often carry spiritual or philosophical messages. .
THE EXPANSION OF MANGA AROUND THE WORLD
Since the late 1980s, Japanese manga has taken over the world. Mangas influence on the comic book market has grown dramatically over the past two decades, but it has also had an aesthetic effect on comic book designers around the world.
Due to the dIn the current development of manga and anime around the world, cultural scholars suggest that Japan could be considered another center of globalization. The influence of manga on Southeast Asian societies can be attributed to cultural proximity, but the progression of manga in Europe and North America is interesting to study.
THE ARRIVAL OF MANGA TO EUROPE
The European market opened its doors to manga in the 1970s. With their own comic book culture, countries like France, Germany, Spain, the Netherlands, and Italy were relatively open to outside cultural influences.
The largest European market for manga is undoubtedly France, which has a 50% share of the manga market on the continent and whose manga comics account for 40% of all comics published in the country. The country has a particularly strong and diverse manga market, launching many genres of manga, such as adult drama, experimental and avant-garde works that are not as famous outside of Japan. This French manga love story began in the late 1970s with the production of Franco-Japanese series such as Ulysse 31, Jayce and the Conquerors of Light or The Mysterious Cities of Gold.
Since the 1990s, the diffusion of anime has mainly exploited genres such as shonen, shojo and seinen and paper versions of these series have naturally followed. Since Akira, the first manga published in France, the genre has become very popular with a large audience. Among the most requested manga published in French are Hiroyuki Okiuras Jin-Roh, Hayao Miyazakis Princess Mononoke, and U-Jins famous Shin Angel, but there are also plenty of cartoons like Naruto, Initial D, Great Teacher Onizuka, and Blue.
So far in the new millennium, great works have appeared that have not only reaffirmed the popularity of manga but have also become a cult for many fans who gather in various spaces such as San Diego Comic-Con and Tokyo Comic. Among the most outstanding works of the late 20th and early 21st centuries are: One Piece (1997) by Eiichiro Oda, Naruto (1999) by Masashi Kishimoto, Bleach (2001) by Tite Kubo, Fullmetal Alchemist (2001) by Hiromu Arakawa, Death Note (2003) by Tsugumi Oba and Fairy Tail (2006) by Hiro Mashima, among others.
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