About Manga

What is Manga?

Manga are Japanese comics and graphic novels serialized in newspapers and magazines. Manga is now popular all over the world. What distinguishes manga from comics from other countries is its black-and-white expression and storytelling. More than 80 manga magazines are published in Japan, and the number of manga artists is estimated to exceed 10,000. This environment, in which new stories are created every day, is what makes manga unique. Because manga is drawn on a weekly or monthly basis, a unique and artisanal black-and-white style has evolved. In addition, because readers are not limited to children, but include all age groups, a wide variety of stories have been created. With hundreds of genres, from sports to love, and from horror to sexual identity, there is a manga for everyone. Manga doesn’t move or make any sound. Nevertheless, they are more realistic and faster than animation or movies, and you can even hear the sounds.

Blue Giant Supreme, by Ishizuka Shinichi. 2016. © SHINICHI ISHIZUKA/SHOGAKUKAN.INC.

Dai is a member of the basketball club. When he was in junior high school, a friend took him to see a live jazz performance, which struck a chord with him. After that, he began practicing tenor saxophone by himself. This is the story of a boy fascinated by jazz who aspires to become the best jazz player in the world.

How did Manga develop?

The oldest manga date back to the Chōjū-jinbutsu-giga (literally “Animal-person Caricatures”) from around 1200 AD. The word “manga” was used for the first time in the preface to “Shijino-yukikai” published in 1798. as a term for “drawing at will.” Later, with the publication of “Hokusai Manga” by Katsushika Hokusai, the term “manga” became popularized to refer to caricature-style sketches. Japan’s first manga magazine was Japan Punch, which was first published in the spring of 1862. The techniques of expression, such as panel layouts and speech bubbles, which are common in modern manga, began to take root around 1923. Subsequently, with the emergence of charismatic manga artists and other factors, manga became popular not only among children but also adults, and became a representative of Japanese pop culture.

Panel from the first scroll of Chōjū-jinbutsu-giga, a monkey thief runs from animals.

How is manga related to anime?

Anime is a term used to describe Japanese animation works. Most anime are based on manga, and popular manga are often used as the basis for movies and TV dramas as well as anime. In recent years, with the spread of subscription streaming services such as Netflix, anime has become available around the world, drawing attention to the original manga as well.

One of the most popular anime, Attack on Titan, by Hajime Isayama. 2013.

It is a world with many Titans. Humans had built huge walls to prevent the Titans from invading. One day, the wall is destroyed by a super-sized Titan and humans are on the verge of extinction.

How do you read manga?

One of the formal characteristics of manga is that it is read from right to left. It is right-bound, and the panels are read in order from the top right to the bottom left of the page. This is because it is designed to follow the Japanese format. Therefore, you may be confused by the reading order at first, but don’t worry, you will soon get used to it. Also, many manga are now available in e-book format, so you can read them on the device of your choice.

The reading direction in a traditional manga.