The Functions of Panels (koma) in Manga: An essay by Natsume Fusanosuke

Translated by jon holt and teppei fukuda.

Jon Holt , Portland State University [ About | Email ]

Teppei Fukuda, Portland State University [ About | Email ]

Volume 21, Issue 2 (Translation 2 in 2021). First published in ejcjs on 16 August 2021.

Natsume Fusanosuke presents in this essay the core ideas of his formal ‘theory of expression’ (manga hyōgen-ron) that focuses on three basic elements of manga: words, pictures, and frames. In the 1990s, Natsume emerged as a seminal scholar of Manga Studies, whose influential works include Manga no yomikata (coauthored, 1995) and Manga wa naze omoshiroi no ka: sono hyōgen to bunpō (1997), where the present essay is found. Here, Natsume describes the central aspects of panel constructions in manga: creating a sense of order for the reader by segmenting time; shaping the reader’s mental perceptions by panel compression (asshuku) and release (kaihō); and, making a symbolic space within the frame. For Natsume, manga artists in the 1960s, most notably Ishinomori Shōtarō, pioneered these techniques during this seminal and creative period of manga, effectively establishing the techniques that all manga artists have used since then. In this culminating chapter from his groundbreaking 1997 work, Natsume describes how these artists made manga more ‘interesting’ (omoshiroi) by transforming and leveraging the formal aspects of the manga page and the layout of panels in order to both generate new psychological effects and greater reader involvement with the story’s characters and its mood.

Keywords : manga, pop culture, panel constructions, asshuku, kaihō, Ishinomori Shōtarō, Bon Bon, manga techniques, Natsume Fusanosuke

1. Translator's Introduction

Natsume Fusanosuke (1950- ), a leader in manga studies since the 1990s, really needs no introduction for scholars of contemporary Japanese culture. Author, comic-book artist, columnist, critic, scholar, educator, television personality—he is well known by all of these titles—not to mention that he is also the grandson of Natsume Sōseki (1867-1916), the great Meiji novelist. Beginning with cartoons and comics for magazines like the Weekly Asahi in the 1970s, by the 1990s Natsume went from making manga to writing about manga. From his early experiments in manga criticism, such as his idiosyncratic but very enjoyable Mangagaku (Yamato Shobō, 1985), Natsume went on to trailblaze a new approach to manga scholarship with Manga no yomikata ([How to Read Manga], Takarajima-sha, 1995), a co-authored work but one that largely consists of Natsume’s ground-breaking contributions. Within a year after that, he developed those ideas further for the NHK education television show Ningen daikgaku (Human University), which was broadcast from July 4 to September 23, 1996. His twelve-episode weekly series, Manga wa naze omoshiroi no ka: sono bunpō to hyōgen (Why Is Manga So Interesting?: Its Grammar and Expression), was accompanied by a reader’s guide, which he later expanded and re-published in the following year under the same title (NHK Library, 1997). The present essay is the tenth chapter of part one of that book. Although widely acknowledged in Japanese- and English-language Comic Studies for his central role in the field, it is surprising how few of Natsume’s works or essays appear in English, given how often Natsume’s works are cited but under-used in manga scholarship. Our translation seeks to amend that. Our effort here is just one of many translations and discussions of Natsume’s work that have appeared recently in those fields [ 1 ].   This essay is the culminating chapter, Chapter 10, in Manga wa naze omoshiroi no ka, where he states the three principal functions of panels in manga: (1) to create a sense of order for the reader by segmenting time; (2) to shape the reader’s mental perceptions by panel compression and release; (3) to create a symbolic space within the frame, often conveying information about the pictures within them.   One finds a parallel in this essay to the most important discussion in Scott McCloud’s Understanding Comics (1993), his third chapter on panel closure (‘Blood in the Gutter’), where McCloud categorised ‘six types of panel transitions’ and then used those categories to characterise the different types of comic books produced in America, Europe, and Japan, suggesting that we can use the categories to index cultural trends in comic book storytelling (70-79). Although their approaches to panel analysis are completely different, both writers are extremely influential in their domains of comics and manga studies. McCloud’s Understanding Comics has been widely translated into multiple languages (in Japanese, twice: 1998 and 2020), yet Natsume’s full ‘theory of expression’ (hyōgen-ron) perspective on manga panels as a Japanese creator and reader has been unavailable in English until now. Natsume’s view of manga has greatly expanded over time, but to understand the arc of his theory, one should start with his own place of departure, which has advantages because of its immediate accessibility. Although the ideas in this chapter essay can be found in the precursor text, Manga no yomikata (168-183), we disagree with Ingulsrud and Allen, who argued that the Manga wa naze omoshiroi no ka ‘fall[s] short of replacing the analytical breadth of Manga no yomikata’ (53). On the contrary, the form of the present essay has a more robust and straightforward discussion of the same ideas.   Students in our manga classes at Portland State University have greatly appreciated and skillfully deployed Natsume’s ‘theory of expression’ approach in their page and panel analyses; they have often favoured Natsume’s way of panel interpretation over McCloud’s approach, which is de rigueur —or in some cases, moribund—in Comics Studies. Neil Cohn, for example, offers an alternative to McCloud’s and one more closely related to Natsume’s approach. ‘Instead of looking at the limited range of one panel’s immediate linear juxtapositions, panels can combine to form larger structures in hierarchic embeddings,’ or the manga ‘grammar’ of what Cohn calls ‘Japanese Visual Language’ (2010, 196; see also 2013, 153-171). As seen in the present essay, Natsume uses a whole-page or even a double-page spread view in his analysis. Masami Toku argues, ‘Natsume’s greatest achievement is his method of analysing manga as visual components that he calls the grammar of manga’ (Toku 134). McCloud himself calls his own categorisation of panel transitions ‘the grammar of comics,’ but scholars like Cohn and Toku seek a larger and more rigorous analysis model for visual study of manga, which leads us back to Natsume. Regardless of the viability of McCloud’s ‘six types’ of panel transitions for analysis for comics universally, Natsume’s approach with its three principal functions is one developed by a member of the target culture and a manga cognoscenti, and that is why it has much to offer scholars and students of Japanese comics. In their analyses of manga both classic (those of Tezuka Osamu, Mizuki Shigeru, Hagio Moto) and contemporary (those of Noda Satoru, Oshimi Shūzō, Yoshinaga Fumi), our students greatly gravitated to Natsume’s twin principle of ‘compression’ (asshuku) and ‘release’ (kaihō), especially as it aids in seeing the story across the full two-page (mi-hiraki) spread.   Although one sees contemporary American comics increasingly published today with less advertisements and more two-page spreads, in domestic comics before the early 1990s—and thus many of the comics McCloud was using for comparators—advertisements or in-house announcements would occupy part of or a whole page within two-page spreads. Thus panel-to-panel closure by comprehension in McCloud’s units of two panels on a single page may have been more dominant than the kind of closure across the full two-page spread, which Natsume describes, in the Japanese case. Natsume’s description of Japanese reading expectations—driven by manga artists’ compositional innovations from the 1960s onward—provide a more appropriate cultural match for Japanese manga than McCloud’s reading model. It should be noted that in the subsequent chapter on shōjo manga, Natsume describes a rejection of these classical forms of sequential panels in favour of a ‘layered,’ or non-sequential, approach that stresses the feelings, or interiority, of the girls’ comics protagonists. Yet the rejection of these classic techniques does not invalidate them nor the method of analysis in the present essay. On the contrary, it is all the more important to grasp the basic principles of panel functions that Natsume discovered in order to understand how girls’ comics artists in the 1970s and later more contemporary manga artists deformed the classic style and innovated their approaches to constructing manga panels in stories we see today.   Even though more sophisticated forms of analysis have been developed since the 1990s—and thus since McCloud’s and Natsume’s initial analytical forays—to measure and interpret comic narrative elements, Natsume’s early work here demands our attention. Not only does this translation of this essay provide a foundation for authentic analysis of target culture by a member of that culture, but Natsume’s essay is a keystone in the history of manga studies from the 1990s—given its development for NHK television, one can say it was the most visible example of manga scholarship for that time. Although Natsume himself felt the need to later contextualise and further frame his early efforts, he acknowledges that his 1990s writing, like this early essay, created a pivot in the ‘transformation’ of manga studies by 2001 (2004b, 365). ‘The development period,’ he wrote in 2004, ‘for my true manga criticism (honkaku-teki na manga hihyō katsudō)’ dates from his 1992 work Tezuka Osamu wa doko ni iru (Where Is Tezuka Osamu?) through Manga no yomikata and Manga wa naze omoshiori no ka until 1998 with the publication of Tezuka Osamu no bōken (The Adventures of Tezuka Osamu) (2004a, 221) [ 2 ].   Natsume’s approach to manga analysis in Why Is Manga So Interesting? is what he calls a ‘theory of expression’ that looks at three basic elements of manga: words, pictures, and frames. Natsume and other manga critics in the 1990s, Jaqueline Berndt writes, ‘pioneered this movement… [by] conceiv[ing the manga creator] as a talented craftsman who conveys meaning through drawing and through guiding the reader’s gaze via panel arrangements’ (304). Our translations of other chapters from this book include the author’s ‘theory of expression’ discussion of words (‘The Characteristics of Japanese Manga’), words as pictures (‘The Power of Onomatopoeia in Manga’), and panels (the present essay) [ 3 ]. Of those chapters, the first for the later Natsume is the most problematic. Less than a decade later, Natsume considered that some of his theoretical underpinnings in How to Read Manga and Why Is Manga So Interesting? had veered too closely to the ‘dangers’ (kikinsei) of cultural essentialism and nationalism, so he began to re-address those ideas at least by 2000 [ 4 ]. He elsewhere noted he was ‘inaccurate,’ [ 5 ] but more importantly Natsume worried that his argument about the origins of the manga panel would inadvertently promote a Japan-first ethnocentrism, which he did not intend. If one did assert the manga panel could be traced back at least to the Edo-period kibyōshi (yellow-cover booklets), how could one then reconcile influence on Japanese artists from the early cartoons imported from the West during the Meiji period? [ 6 ] And while Natsume did change his views on the origins of Japanese manga, he did not feel compelled to revise the basic functions of manga panel that he outlines in the present essay. In other words, although the cultural context of his theory in the 1990s seemed problematic, the principles of formal manga ‘expression’ he asserted then in this essay still hold currency in his theory today.   As Natsume continued to expand his theory of manga from the late 1990s, he maintained his foundational ‘theory of expression’ while adding larger elements such as reader reception and publisher-artist relationships. In the ‘Afterword’ of his 2004 collection of ‘manga columns’ (manga korumu), he argued that these more recent essays reflected an ‘expansion of [theoretical] space’ (ryōiki kakudai) and a ‘development of his awareness of [theorical] problems’ (mondai ishiki no hatten) but that they of course still maintained a ‘retrenchment of [my] expression theory’ (hyōgenron-shinka) (2004b, 365). Another aspect of his 1990s approach that has remained constant in Natsume’s work is his insistence on feeling ‘interested’ or enjoying the 'interesting' (omoshiroi) aspects of manga, which is, after all, a form of mass-media entertainment (2004b, 366). If one of the sins of 1990s manga scholars, like Natsume, was to over-emphasise the formal ‘mechanisms of reading manga,’ and ‘turn manga criticism into a reassuring, rather than a disturbing, area of discourse,’ as Jaqueline Berndt argues, which ultimately ‘veered away from discussing manga in terms of content or politically sensitive issues’ (304-305), then it seems Natsume himself has repented, noting the ‘lack of responsibility’ (musekininsa) in his causal approach to writing about manga, even while insisting that manga critics should still be allowed to follow what they find is ‘interesting’ (omoshiroi) (2004b, 366). Without the latter, he writes, it might be impossible for scholars to overcome the increasingly strict bounds imposed by academia if they were to try pursuing their bold, new hypotheses. For Natsume, the casual, ‘interesting’ essay-like approach affords writers an opportunity to go beyond the limits of academic writing and to test their bold hypotheses, but he insists that such writers still can be criticized. When we discuss manga, we should acquire both of these academic and casual approaches to try to be responsible but also ‘fun’ (omoshiroi). Writing this in 2004, Natsume published in the same year a companion study of manga, Mangagaku e no chosen (Challenges to the Study of Manga), which shows that he could be fully engaged in more responsible academic study at the same time he wrote ‘irresponsible’ manga criticism columns. ‘This book contains the theory (gainen) and I wrote it as I was compiling in the same year my Manga no fukayomi, otona-yomi, which is a corresponding application text (ōyōhen) for the theory in this book’ (2004a, 223). We believe that the present essay, with its sometimes ‘irresponsible’ emphasis on the ‘interesting’ ‘expression’ of manga, will nonetheless help readers appreciate the origins of Natsume’s theory of manga as he trailblazed a path of manga studies from the late 1990s, one which he later refined and bifurcated as he met the challenges of the more complex field after 2001.   The translators wish to thank Natsume-sensei for his permission to translate and publish his work in English. We also greatly appreciate the generosity of the manga artists and publishers who fully granted use of their images.

The Functions of Panels (Koma) in Manga.

Skillful panel construction in ishinomori’s manga: how to lead the reader’s eye.

A great way to think about the functions of manga panels is to look at the Ishinomori Shōtarō’s 1965-1968 series, Bon Bon (Figure 1). It is a comic story from over thirty years ago. The title character Bon Bon is a weird, psychic kid who came from somewhere unknown and lives in the backyard of a very rich boy named Gonta. Each story usually develops with a series of nonsense gags between the two boys. For a quite a while Ishinomori had been drawing these funny comics with his dry sense of humour. Ishinomori thus preceded the gag-manga craze in Japan.   More importantly, when you look at his works, from the point of his panel constructions, it is obviously the work of a master. Bon Bon has the touch of a textbook model of panel composition. In this two-page spread example, Gonta has been abducted by a gang of spirits and ensconced in a Western-style mansion. We begin the scene with Bon Bon coming up on the place as he tracks down Gonta. Let us take a look at Ishinomori’s panel sequences.

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Figure 1. A splendid example of panel construction in a two-page spread (mi-hiraki). (Ishinomori Shōtarō, Bon Bon, 1965-1968 Manga-ō)     First, the reader would come to this two-page spread from the previous page. His eye begins in the top right of the right page. This is exactly at the moment when there has been a scene shift. We are at this moment when Bon Bon, our psychically-powered protagonist, gazes at the stage where our next event will play out. The artist uses a relatively large square panel here and so it is a trick to make the reader’s eye come to an unconscious halt.   Within that first page, the reader’s eye first goes to the back of our protagonist. Within about the same time, the reader scans his word bubble. His speech hints at the upcoming event as well as the location of where the event will play out, so as the reader progresses from right to left over the speech balloons, the reader will end up naturally gazing over the entire building (Figure 2).

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Figure 2. The effects of panel compression and release.     The reader both looks at the picture of the protagonist and reads the words he says. In doing so, the reader psychologically gets closer to our protagonist in an unconscious way. In other words, we read Bon Bon, joining in with him along the way. The shift we feel getting closer to his psychology happens naturally as we are carried along, getting pulled into the close-up panel on Bon Bon’s face in that next small square on the top left of that page. It really compels us to grow closer to him—to what he is feeling. Bon Bon says, ‘Whaa?’ and he intuits that something is happening to his friend Gonta. As a result, at the same time we as readers, too, expect that something is happening.   When the reader’s eye moves from Panel One to Panel Two like this, there is a one-quarter reduction in the size of these square panels and so it is expected that reader feels something is closing down on our vision all the sudden. This sense of compression (asshuku) compels us psychologically to enter into the mind of the protagonist. At the same time, the scenery disappears. The reader’s line of sight thus gets turned around so we are facing the protagonist and what follows is a slight change in feeling. The artist takes us from a psychological sense of distance (actually viewing things from afar) and then he gives us a small preview, allowing the reader to think, ‘Okay, now we're going to understand what’s happening inside that house.’   In the third panel we have yet another square shape just like in our second panel. This time we get an even tighter close-up on Bon Bon’s ear and some lines of speech that describe the event happening in the mansion that Bon Bon can somehow hear. The two panels are the same shape, but in this third one we approach Bon Bon’s ear, so the reader is pulled inside the picture. And we feel a kind of empathy with the protagonist. We feel his hunch, knowing that something terrible is happening to Gonta.   The middle row of panels, where we pick up with Panel Four, shows our protagonist from the waist up. He will be in close-up again in the fifth panel. Judging from the text in that fourth panel, the reader understands that our psychic Bon Bon’s eye sees something with his expanded consciousness and is mentally focusing on something.   Here again we have a group of panels that all are the same size, all lined up in a row. After a slight change with Panel Two, Ishinomori has drawn the same character throughout all these panels. There is no background here. The reader gets effectively sucked into the character, but Ishinomori does it so smoothly not to make the reader feel any gap or contrast. The reader will feel a similar consistent pattern of time that runs throughout those square panels. The effect of lining up similar square panels is done in order to emphasise the time it takes naturally to pull (hikiyose) the reader’s gaze into his character with the regularity of these square shapes.   However, even though the panels have the exact same size, right before the row ends, we have a sudden switch to another character in the sixth [square] panel as the artist swaps one close-up of Bon Bon with that of Gonta who is located inside the mansion. Given that the reader had started to grow closer to Bon Bon in a natural way, this has to feel like a sudden betrayal. Plus, the audience realises all the sudden they are stuck in the mansion now, too.   The sequence of Panels Five and Six involves a scene change, but without creating a gap by changing the size of the panels. The artist intentionally uses the same size and shape panel here in the sixth panel. By doing so, Ishinomori does not make us feel a sudden break like you experience if you had turned the previous page and come to our page’s Panel One here. Instead, we have a shift happening that moves along at a nice pace where the separation of time is done in neat, uniform beats. And yet, it is the same level of psychological approximation that we felt with Bon Bon up to this point, so the reader must feel like he is suddenly thrown into Gonta’s mind since we are immediately seeing him in close-up.   In other words, this happens because the space (ma 間) of the moment’s swift change is created by lining up this row of similarly sized panels, further giving the impression to the reader of a sudden shift in the scene, and accelerating the sense of time in the reader’s mind. Making these spatial beats (ma) like this in his panel composition shows just how superb an artist Ishinomori was.   The speeding up of the events for this part then becomes faster when we drop down to the page’s bottom panel. With Panel Seven, we finally receive a complete transformation in the shape of the panel. The reader’s field of vision vastly opens up on both the right and left sides as the frame stretches horizontally. The reader cannot help but feel a sudden openness or liberation (kaihō). The character in the panel is drawn small, which accentuates that horizontal sense of release (kaihō).   The average manga artist might change the size and shape of the panel with a scene pivoting at the fifth panel. If you did that, the transformation of the panel and the scene shift would have the same tone, and I expect that you would not get what you have here with Ishinomori. Namely, the reader would feel neither a rush of time shifting nor a sudden halt with a feeling of liberation after this long, extended compression. Because there is that one-panel gap between the scene change [Panels Five to Six] and the release [Panel Seven], readers feel the full impact of Ishinomori’s ‘pooling’ (tame) momentum in those moments right before he suddenly releases them from that tension in Panel Seven.   The bottom panel gives off a sense of release, which spreads horizontally. And yet, with its lateral expansion, the feeling one has going down vertically from the top panels to the bottom is compression (asshuku). We feel both compression and release because, for one thing, the bottom panel is a long rectangular shape and also because it is located at the bottom of the page. In other words, even the reader’s gaze can only be freed to a half extent. The answer to why that is so will be made clear as one gazes over to the opposing page.   On the left page, all of the sudden the panels are arranged in vertical shapes. The artist gives a drastic vertical release to the reader’s gaze, which previously was hemmed in by the previous constraints of top-to-bottom compression. Such an incredible sense of release like this synchronises with the unfolding of events sensed by Bon Bon’s psychic powers as he preternaturally envisions the event of the jets appearing in sky over Gonta’s head. This open sense of vertical liberation is the feeling of ascension the reader also feels; it gives off a feeling of elation; Ishinomori totally creates the exquisite pleasure you can only find in manga with a two-page spread (mi-hiraki) here like this.   The three shorter panels that make up the left-hand side of the left page then invite the reader closely to examine in the more detail the event of the right-hand panel, which has the feeling of vertical release. The artist tricks the reader into associating that specific order: first aeroplanes, then the bombs, then an explosion! The direction of the reader’s top-to-bottom scanning matches the flow of the story (the dropping of the bombs).  There are no words of narration or dialogue and that is why our reading speeds up like the accelerating speed of the falling bombs. Ishinomori thus guides the reader through the construction of panels like this. As readers we feel no resistance. Rather, we marvel at how well it all flows.

How Panel Changes Create the Compression-and-Release Effect

Of course, not everyone reads manga in this analytical way, so we can say that people absorb manga as a whole rather unconsciously. Even manga creators plan things out only half-consciously knowing what they are doing. It is just that when we describe it in words, it sounds convoluted. And yet, if we compare Ishinomori’s to any manga from the prewar period, it is fairly obvious that a high level of panel organisation had finally become possible here, putting works like his far above those of his predecessors. That is also why we should expect any reader now to be able easily to master reading a highly dense work like Bon Bon. Certainly, the achievements by 1960s artists in their panel constructions carried over to the next generation, who developed manga even further.   We can thus abstract from the above analysis one of the most fundamental functions of panel organisation. There are two elements here: compression (asshuku) and release (kaihō). When you have differences in panel size, panel shape, and panel changes, they can create a contrast, namely, compression and release, and then you see the real fruit of manga—that is when manga gets so interesting (omoshirosa).   I will take it a step further and say that that Ishinomori’s right hand page—with its upper to lower compression sense—and his left-hand page—with its release to the page top—work in tandem, corresponding with each other across the whole two-page spread (Figure 3). For any story manga, which can accumulate a great number of pages, the artist will draw it by calculating the compression and release effects in terms of them happening both per one-page unit and per two-page-spread unit.  

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Figure 3. The compression-release effect over a two-page unit. Compression increases towards the bottom of the right page and the release happens with the rise to the top of the left page. Originally published in Manga no yomikata (Takarajima-sha, 1995).

Panels and Their Function to Guide the Reader’s Thinking

Even so, in order to reach that goal of compression and release, the panels have to work according to a very large premise. Based on the arrangements of the panels, the reader will proceed following their temporal order. In other words, panels have the function of segmenting time. Without time, there is no compression-and-release effect possible. If we take our two-page spread’s panels, and line them up in a straight row (Figure 4: right to left) following their temporal order, you can easily understand the contrasts in time we have discussed up to this point. When we line up and compare the sizes and height of the panels from the page, they start look like a bar graph.  

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Figure 4. Transformations in the panels as they follow the flow of time. [Additional notes: Introduction, Development, Turn, and Conclusion (Ki-shō-ten-ketsu). A time lag (zure) between the picture’s visual accent beat and the story’s accent beat (the explosion).]     Our time segmentation is arranged according to the way Japanese move forward with their reading by working from right to left. Long ago, when we had manga where the reading order was not completely determined, the artist and publisher would have to number each and every panel to aid reader progress (Figure 5). Such numbering became obsolete sometime around 1969 with magazines like Weekly Shōnen Magazine.  

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Figure 5. Panels numbered to establish reading order. (Sugiura Shigeru, Apple Jam-kun [Appuru Jamu-kun], 1950-1954, Omoshiro Book.)     By the way, I know that comics in Korea, America, and Europe are read the opposite way [from left to right], but comics in Hong Kong and Taiwan are read in the same way as manga is read in Japan, starting with the right top panel flowing down to bottom left one. Thus, people read comics according to the way they read text in their cultures. That is why in the manga first translated in the West, you would have right-handed pitchers flipped around, becoming left-handed ones (Figure 6).  

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Figure 6. A pirate copy (left) from Thailand of Ōshima Yasuichi’s Batsu & Terī (Bats and Terry, 1987) next to its Japanese original (right). Because Thais read from left to right, the manga has been flipped. In the Thai version, our right-handed pitcher now becomes left-handed; plus, the screen-tone words also end up reversed. (Ōshima Yasuichi, Batsu & Terii, 1987 Copyright Ōshima Yasuichi and Ōshima Productions.)     When you think about it, this difference can be quite important. For example, consider our original scene (Figure 1): the protagonist, as he grows more aware of the unfolding scene, is facing left in all the panels. He does this because manga established a complicit agreement with his reader, knowing the reader will read to the left as it is the direction to move forward, but one will always move to the right either to go backward or to return. And that is also why manga are drawn with the protagonists generally facing left when they are going towards an event in the future.   Now, I can only say that is true of Japanese manga here, but when it comes to Korean or Western comics I do not know if the opposite logic exists. Based on what I have seen thus far, I do not really know.   But take for example what the great abstract painter Kandinsky once wrote in his art treatise, Point and Line to Plane (1947; translated by Nishida Hideho, Bijutsu Shuppan 1959). He stressed that the picture plane fundamentally must have a sense of direction to it.

Left always indicates the far distance. Right always indicates one’s home [ 7 ].

   In other words, it is the same as it is in Japanese manga. Furthermore, in her book, Introduction to Jungian Psychology (Science-sha, 1982), Akiyama Satoko explains in her chapter ‘The Way of Seeing Spatial Expressions’ how she interprets her patients' free-hand drawings and miniature-garden [sandbox] play: ‘In pictures where a character faces left, they tend to focus on the inner, unconscious realm; in one where things face right, there is a focus on the outside, on an outer reality.’ Speaking of inner meaning in manga, it is common to have it break down like this: when you have situations where the focus is on inner meaning, the artists usually have the characters face right. So, when the characters deal with external reality, the artist tends to have them facing left. Even so, Akiyama’s logic makes sense when we take the world of manga as an imaginary world, and the opposite is the world of our reality.   Whatever the case may be, I do not think we can fully understand what the meaning of direction is in comic-book panels and art. Maybe the Japanese have their own. Maybe each culture has its own approach. Or, maybe it is something we share in common across all of our cultures. But we will not fully understand things without comparing and contrasting Japanese comics and foreign comics with greater care, and bringing in the lessons from the research of other fields.   I think it is safe to say that if meaning is related to the upper and lower zones of space [in a picture] then that can be something universal. Kandinsky wrote that the upper areas of the picture plane make us feel ‘something light in weight’ or ‘free’ or ‘loose’ and that the areas at the bottom of the picture plane would make us feel ‘constrained, something thick, something heavy.’ When we look at the vertically stretched panel in Figure 1, we notice that the artist utilises in this manga this opposing contrast in feeling of upper zone to lower zone. In one, a fighter jet appears in the top of the panel creating a light, open feeling; in its bottom portion, there is a darkly shaded mass of monsters and we feel like we are heavily tied down. In these long vertical panels, the artist brings out a certain feeling of tension as well as a kind of feeling of elation that occurs between the top and the bottom. In the three panels, where we see the scene of the bombing, Ishinomori gives us a feeling of elation and then follows it with a sense of falling—a total contrast. That is why he lined up these vertical panels the way he did.   So, the shape and the style of any artist’s panels will be affected by that person’s cultural codes with regards to the space in the left, the right, the top, and the bottom of the comic page. Again, we do not know if this could be something that we all share together as humans, or, perhaps we cannot say that. It might be cultural, and so panel meanings are distinct from region to region. But we can confidently say that these cultural codes play a pivotal role in manga expression as our unconscious spatial expression. This cultural code works at the individual panel level, but it also works at a higher level—the page itself—and then an even higher level, the two-page spread (mi-hiraki).   In conclusion then we can say this. The construction of manga panels has a function for pictures inside them and panels also have a function to segment those pictures. There are three functions of panel construction we have seen thus far:

(1) panels function to segment time and thereby create a sense of order for the reader; (2) panels also have a compression and release function that shapes the reader’s mental perceptions; (3) panels limit the picture by their frames, creating a symbolic space that can provide additional meaning for the picture.

  If I say that is all panels do, it seems like I have dispensed with things too easily, but Japanese manga panel constructions actually can be very diverse and quite complicated [ 8] .

1 For example, a ten-page summary of Natsume’s “grammar” approach to manga was published in Manga!: Visual Pop-Culture in ARTS Education, a volume of collected essays edited by Masami Toku and Hiromi Tsuchiya Dollase (INSEA Publications, 2020), pp. 1-10.

2 Excerpts in English of Tezuka Osamu wa doko ni iru can be found in Mechademia (2013), pp. 89-107.

3 Other translations of Natsume’s chapters can be found in the International Journal of Comic Art (forthcoming) and U.S. Japan-Women’s Journal (forthcoming).

4 Natsume published his self-critical essay in English in the March 2000 The Japan Foundation Newsletter, which he later published again in Japanese together with a detailed supplemental ‘Long Footnote’ (‘Nagai jichū’), collected in Manga no fuka-yomi, otona-yomi (2004).

5 See Natsume’s introduction to the selected chapter translations of ‘Where Is Tezuka?: A Theory of Manga Expression’ in Mechademia (volume 1 no 8; p. 91).

6 Natsume, Manga no fuka-yomi, otona-yomi, pp. 359-361. Natsume’s problematic discussion the Japan-first origins of panels is found in “Characteristics of Japanese Manga,” soon to be published in English in IJOCA (forthcoming), and in our Translators’ Introduction there, we further contextualise Natsume’s later doubts about his essay’s Japan-centric manga stance.

7 [Translators’ Note] In the English translation (originally published in 1947 by the Guggenheim Foundation), it reads: ‘The one to the “left”—going outside—is movement into the distance…The one to the “right”—centered inwardly—is a movement toward home’ (emphasis in the original). Kandinsky, Point and Line to Plane, p. 121.

8 [Translator’s Note] Natsume next discusses alternative approaches to panel layout and panel functions in the succeeding essay (Chapter 11), ‘Panel Configurations of Shōjo Manga,’ the translation of which will soon be published in U.S.-Japan’s Women’s Journal (forthcoming).

Berndt, Jaqueline. 2005. ‘Considering Manga Discourse: Location, Ambiguity, Historicity.’ In MacWilliams, ed. Japanese Visual Culture: Explorations in the World of Manga and Anime. Armonk: M.E. Sharpe, pp. 295-310.

Cohn, Neil. 2013. The Visual Language of Comics: Introduction to the Structure of Cognition of Sequential Images. New York: Bloomsbury. 

———2010. ‘Japanese Visual Language: the Structure of Manga.’ In Johnson-Woods, ed. Manga: An Anthology of Global and Cultural Perspectives. New York: Continuum Books, pp. 187-203.   Ingulsrud, John and Kate Allen. 2009. Reading Japan Cool: Patterns of Manga Literacy and Discourse. Lanham: Lexington Books.   Kandinsky, Wassily. 2013. Point and Line to Plane. Mansfield Centre: Martino Publishing.   McCloud, Scott. 1993. Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art. Northampton: Tundra Publishing.   Natsume Fusanosuke. 2020. ‘The Grammar of Manga: Manga’s Inherent Hyōgen Stylistics.’ In Toku and Dollase, eds. Manga! Visual Pop-Culture in ARTS Education, trans. Judit Kroo. Viseu, Portugal: INSEA Publications, pp. 1-10.   ———2013. ‘Where Is Tezuka?: A Theory of Manga Expression.’ Trans. Matthew Young. Mechademia 1 no 8, pp. 89-107.

———2004a. Mangagaku e no chōsen. Tokyo: NTT Shuppan.   ———2004b. Manga no fukayomi, otona yomi. Tokyo: Chie-no-Mori Bunko.   ———1997. Manga wa naze omoshiroi no ka: Sono hyōgen to bunpō. Tokyo: NHK Raiburarī.   ———1985. Natsume Fusanosuke no mangagaku. T okyo: Yamato Shobō.   Natsume Fusanosuke, et al. 1995. Manga no yomikata. Tokyo: Takarajima-sha.   Toku, Masami, ed. 2015. International Perspectives on Shojo and Shojo Manga: The Influence of Girl Culture. New York: Routledge.   Toku, Masami and Hiromi Tsuchiya Dollase, eds. 2020. Manga!: Visual Pop-Culture in ARTS Education. Viseu, Portugal: INSEA Publications.

About the Author

Natsume Fusanosuke  is Emeritus Professor in the Gakushūin University Graduate Program of Cultural Studies in Corporeal and Visual Representation. He has published around twenty books on manga and manga scholarship, including  Why Is Manga So Interesting? Its Expression and Grammar (Manga wa naze omoshiroi no ka: sono hyōgen to bunpō, 1997),  Where Is Tezuka Osamu? (Tezuka Osamu wa doko ni iru, 1992), and  New Challenges for Manga Studies (Mangagaku e no chosen, 2004). He is also a manga artist, manga columnist, and host of Japanese public television (NHK) programs on comics. He has written books about his grandfather, the famous author Natsume Sōseki (1867–1916). In 1999, he received the prestigious Tezuka Osamu Culture Award.

Jon Holt is a Professor of Japanese at Portland State University. His research interests include modern Japanese poetry, Japanese Buddhism, and manga. Recent publications include ‘Ishii Takashi, Beyond 1979: Ero Gekiga Godfather, GARO Inheritor, or Shōjo Manga Artist’ (International Journal of Comic Art, 2019), ‘X-Rated and Excessively Long: Ji-Amari in Hayashi Amari’s Tanka’ ( U.S.-Japan Women’s Journal, 2018), and ‘Chocolate Revolutionary: Tawara Machi’s Rule-Breaking Tanka Verses’ (Japanese Language and Literature, 2018). He has published translations of the poetry of Hayashi Amari (Asymptote Web journal, 2015), Yamanokuchi Baku, and Mabuni Chōshin (Islands of Resistance: Japanese Literature from Okinawa, 2016).

Teppei Fukuda earned a M.A. in Japanese from Portland State University in 2020 (Master’s thesis: Moonlit Nights and Seasons of Romance: Yosano Akiko’s Use of the Moon in Tangled Hair). He is currently a study-abroad coordinator at Portland State University. His research interests include Japanese poetry, manga, and the aesthetics of seasons in modern Japan.

Email the author—Jon Holt

Email the author—Teppei Fukuda

Article copyright Jon Holt and Teppei Fukuda.

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10 Anime Essay Topic Ideas

People often ask me for help with choosing topics for essays and thesis assignments. Anime gives us many, many topics to write about. Sometimes too many. So here is a list of ideas and links to articles I’ve written that have sources you may find useful.

rosario-classroom

1. Manga and American Comics

Contrast the different themes found in Manga and American Comics. Manga features heroes who overcome their challenges with help from friends. American comics have heroes who overcome challenges through their personal grit and ability. Discuss this difference.

You can also compare art styles: the muscles of American heroes and impossible poses against manga styled bodies. Compare the fixation of bust size in American female heroes and manga. Speaking of bust size this may help.  Anime Breasts looks at the relationship of breast size and character personalities.

2. Goku vs. Superman

Look at the cultural differences between these two iconic heroes. Compare how each represents the ideals of their respective societies. This will let you write about Japanese Confucian ideals and American Judaeo-Christian ideals. For an idea, check out my article about this topic.

3. Anime and Homosexual/Transgender Concerns.

Look at how anime explores homosexuality and transgender concerns. Anime often features transgender and ambiguously gendered characters. Look into how these characters hurt and/or help homosexual and transgender identity.

These articles will help:

  • The Evangelion of Shojo: Revolutionary Girl Utena
  • Homosexuality in Japan
  • Pots, Cats and Lilies, but Nothing Changes?

4. Manga as literature

I wrote a thesis on this in grad school where I argued how manga helps readers explore issues in their lives, develop literacy skills,  and explore sexual identities. Literature does all this and more. You can write a similar argument.  You may read the paper, What has Cat ears, homework and a love for bishie?   to give you an idea of this topic and see my 21 sources.

5. The Influence of Disney on Anime

The work of Walt Disney impacted Astro Boy and other anime/manga. Explain this impact and compare and contrast the art styles. See:

  • Might Atom and Tezuka’s Production System
  • Anime: A Brief History

6. The Influence of Anime on Disney

In recent years, Disney has begun producing works that resemble anime more than classic Disney. Examine this trend. Sorry, I don’t have any articles here on JP about this topic, yet.

7. Explain Anime’s Visual Language

Anime’s visual language works….when you understand it. Explain the symbols anime uses to express character emotions. Contrast the methods with how Disney characters express those same emotions. Argue for how anime is more effective (or not!).  See my article about Anime’s Visual Language for ideas on emotions you can write about.

8. Objectifying Women in Anime

Kill la Kill was a great anime that caused a stir about objectification of women in media. The anime doesn’t. In fact, it satirizes fan service and other objectification. Kill la Kill provides a good case study of the problem. Look at how women are objectified in anime and use  Kill la Kill  to point these problems out. See these articles to help you:

  • Kill la Kill: A Feminist Anime or a Fanservice Feast?
  • Kill la Kill – Exploring our Relationships with Clothing?
  • Objectification of Women in Anime
  • Is Otaku Culture Sexist?

9. Explore the Folklore of Tanuki

essay about manga

10. Explore the Folklore of Kitsune

essay about manga

I hope these essay ideas help. The links I post should help you get started with your own research. Anime and manga are as legitimate a story telling medium as movies and literature. It is fine to write about them. Manga and anime draw from old Japanese traditions in literature and art. They are also international mediums that pull from Disney. So don’t worry about exploring these art forms. It is identical to writing about Beowulf and Toy Story.

24 thoughts on “ 10 Anime Essay Topic Ideas ”

My son would like to do a research paper about anime. He has been creating anime character for his friends and clients. But don’t know how to start the research paper and what would be the best topic to discuss. Maybe you can help.

Kindly share the link of your topics about anime.

What are the requirements for the research paper?

Hi! I’m thinking of doing an informative essay about the anime “Monster” about the theme and philosophy of the characters and why it is still a cult classic and a critically revered tale, even in today’s day. But I’m still struggling with the title for it. Do y’all have suggestions? 🙂

“Beyond Entertainment: the Philosophy of the Manga Monster”

“Manga for the Mature, Diving into the Philosophy of Monster”

I’m starting to do a research paper on “Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood”. I will be analysising the theme and characters and why people love the anime and also one of the top anime for about a decade. But I am confused the title of my research. Any suggestions?

Hmm. How about “Beyond Equivalent Exchange: Why the Themes of Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood Appeal to Fans.” or “Alchemic Alacrity: How the Themes and Characters of Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood Inspire Fans.”

Which of these topic questions do you think has more depth to write about “To what extent has anime influenced western culture and does it reinforce or break down stereotypes about the Japanese” or “To what extent has anime impacted western culture and what can the west learn from it”. If possible can you suggest something else. Thank you.

They both have good depth to them. The first allows you to do more research, comparing and contrasting Japanese stereotypes and anime. The second strikes me as more interesting, however. And it is more difficult. You will have to pin exact aspects of Western culture anime has influenced and illustrate how. Pokemon springs to my mind as a good example.

You can look into how manga has influence American comic designs or examine how anime’s portrayal of men contrasts against Western portrayals.

Good luck with the essay!

Thanks. I’ll also talk about how anime has impacted western cinema like how cinemas are now screening anime. Also how the west can learn from anime by adding depth to their characters instead if using the same tropes.

Sounds like a fun topic! Anime has influenced many directors in the film industry, such as James Cameron admiration for Ghost in the Shell.

That sounds really intresting, I will start doing my important assignment in upper secondary school now, and I know that I want to write about Anime or Manga. But I have trouble finding sources!

Good luck with your assignment!

this helped me soooooo much when i was making an essay for school THANXXXXXX

I’m glad the ideas helped!

I’m going to use your first idea of manga vs American comics for my English 101 essay, thank you very much!

did you now there is titty day on the 22nd of april

Do you know what prefecture or city the festival appears? I can’t find any information about it, but I suspect it is linked to motherhood celebrations.

lol I’m gonna do manga is literature

This is the only list of anime essay ideas that has substance and makes sense on the whole interwebnet, I swear. Thanks!

I’m glad you found them helpful. I also wrote a recent version.

thanks for some Ideas

You’re welcome. You can also use many of my other articles for ideas too. Anime is a vast topic.

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essay about manga

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Popular culture: manga.

Manga is one of the most popular forms of Japanese entertainment media. Phenomenally popular among both adults and children, some manga are read weekly, while others circulate widely as serials in national daily newspapers. The fact that the annual sales of manga books and magazines reach between thirty-five and forty percent of all publications in Japan shows the extent and range of audiences who relate to these materials. Manga is a powerful vehicle of influence in the youth subculture, and serves as significant cultural entertainment.

In fact, Japanese manga has a long history; it originated in the 1900s with an artist named Kitazawa Rakuten, who was first inspired by comic strips in early American newspapers. But the present popular form is a postwar phenomenon, dating from the second half of the twentieth century.

Wide marketing of weeklies and explosive circulation date back to the 1960s. Talented artists like Tezuka Osamu (the Walt Disney of Japan, and author of classics like Astro Boy, the Lion King, Fire Bird etc.), Chiba Tetsuya, and Ishinomori Shōtarō were instrumental in the early development of mass circulation manga. Many of their works remain classics today.

Tezuka's masterpieces were important in pioneering the cinematic techniques used to show emotion and action. Romance manga dominated the girls' market, and it often depicted sublimated female fantasies, and the fulfillment of romantic yearnings.

In the 1980s, manga became increasingly popular as a medium for practical education and instruction. A well-known example of so-called study manga (benkyō manga; jitsumu manga) is Ishinomori Shōtarō's Introduction to Japanese Economics (known by its translated English title: Japan Inc.), which sold one million copies. Ishinomori was a prolific artist, and produced about two hundred to three hundred pages a month. Study manga can explain almost anything, from legal problems to diseases, office etiquette, computers, travel, math, physics, history, investment, stock market, political party policies and more. In the 1990s, even political manga, espousing various ideological positions, became widely available for young adults.

So, manga encompass an enormous variety. They are funny, creative, inspirational, philosophical, artistic, trashy, and even edifying. They illustrate many themes, from romance and work to sports in schools, homes, kitchens, offices and even parliament. They depict a wide range of emotions, virtues, and vices like konjō (strong-spiritedness), success by hard work, self-denial, dedication, persistence, manliness, pluck, or unrequited love.

That manga today receives high social recognition may be surprising especially because of its beginning as children's entertainment. But it is now a literary form worthy of serious critical evaluation. There are annual literary prizes offered by major publishers like Kōdansha and Bungei shunjō« just as there are for novels and nonfiction. There are several thousand manga artists in Japan. The best and most successful are popular as celebrities and artists. They have become rich and famous, and also appear on TV variety shows and talk shows, as panelists, moderators, commentators, and even role models.

How to write a good Anime and Manga Essay with comic topics

Anime and Manga

Anime and Manga are some of the most popular forms of entertainment in the world. In fact, they are the deconstructed form of almost all other media. Anime and Manga are the ones that give rise to other forms of art and entertainment like photoshoots, fanfiction, and comic books. 

There are many different genres in anime and manga which make it great for essay topics for students. However, the problem is writing anime and manga research from scratches. Do not worry because this article will dig into details on how to write anime and manga essays.

Need Help with your Homework or Essays?

What is anime and manga.

Anime and manga are Japanese styles of animation and comics. Japanese comics and animation have a long history, and they have exerted a major cultural impact around the world.

essay about manga

The word ‘manga’ comes from the Japanese ‘manga’ which means ‘whimsical pictures’ or ‘fantasy pictures’.

This word, “Manga” (pronounced MAHN-gah) comes from the word, comic.

So, to be more specific, manga refers to Japanese-style comics, and it’s also referred to as “Japanese comics”, and “comics from Japan”.

The term originally referred to those Japanese picture books from the 18th century that were printed with woodblocks and painted with watercolours. 

On the other hand, the word ‘anime’ comes from the French ‘animation’, which means ‘to bring to life’. It is therefore a word that comes from the word, an image or picture and is pronounced ‘AH-nee-may’. This word was first used to describe Japanese animation in the early 20th century.

So, to be more specific, Anime refers to Japanese style hand-drawn and computer animation or Japanese styles of art and storytelling. Manga refers to comics, and anime refers to animation or cartoons.

How to Write Anime and Manga Essays

Anime and Manga essay is the expression of the writer’s opinion about anime and manga. It is usually written in a formal style. But in order to make it more attractive and interesting, the writer must use the most effective and the most suitable words and phrases.

He or she also needs to do research on anime and manga. This way, the writer will be able to give the most accurate description of the anime or manga. 

The topic of such an essay can be anime or manga. It can also be an anime or manga adaptation or the relations between the characters. Additionally, the writer can also talk about the art style in the anime or manga, the style of the animation, or the storyline itself.

You can write about the characters or their personalities, the dialogues, the setting, the costume, the hair, the body, the voice, the history, the style, the message, etc.

Here, we look at how to write such an essay when it is anime or manga itself.

Step 1: Story Synopsis

The first step is to know where your story is going before you develop it; the synopsis. What is your goal? Write a one-paragraph summary of your entire story, omitting details and character specifics. Then, condense that paragraph into a single statement.

For example, A gang of friends combat odd enemies to protect the Earth, which might be the plot of “Dragon Ball Z”. This is not entirely what there is about Ithe Dragon Ball Z, but it gives a good idea of where the plot will go.

Step 2: Create Character

Create Character

You ought to establish who your characters are in order to construct your plot.

How and where did they originate? Do your characters have any morals or values, or do they have none at all?

Is there a romantic interest? Is he your best friend or your worst enemy? What is it that makes them tick?

Develop a full, detailed profile of your guy or girl like you’re telling somebody about him or her.

Define their qualities and shortcomings, as these will be useful as you build your tale.

Step 3: Write your Story

Don’t think about layouts or problems right now. Simply compose your tale. So, what follows next? Who is it that this happens to? Why did she go, and then why did he return?

Will he ever regain his abilities? Why did he lose them, to begin with? First, write down all of your queries. After that, it’s time to develop your story.

Step 4: Layout your Storyboard

The term “storyboard” refers to the arrangement of your manga or comic. Each panel contains your artwork as well as a set quantity of information. Don’t stress about the illustration for the time being (unless you can draw ).

Concentrate on the text. Who tells whom what? Which action scenes are you planning to include? What kind of information are they going to provide? Divide your story into sections that can be separated into individual panels.

Step 5: Bring everything together

It’s time to put the finishing touches on your story with the artwork. Find a talented anime artist or, if you’re feeling brave, take your hand at sketching your own characters.

There are some excellent drawing books available, as well as a few useful internet resources. Use numerous facial expressions and the words you wrote in the storyboard to bring each character to life.

Get a Comical Essay done for you!

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Good Topics for Anime and Manga Research Paper

A topic for your anime and manga research paper can come from a variety of places. There are plenty of sources online that provide you with the information you need to write a good anime and manga research paper.

Anime and Manga topics

If you have a subject, you can also search for books related to your subject.

The bibliography in your paper should include all the books you consulted while writing your research paper.

A good anime and manga research paper will also include references to other sources, like websites and magazines.

Below are some anime and manga research topics.

  • Anime Is Not a Cartoon
  • Why Is Japanese Anime so Popular Worldwide?
  • Anime vs Cartoons
  • Realistic Romance in Anime
  • The Effect of Anime Essay
  • Hayao Miyazaki’s Spirited Away and Japaneseness
  • Anime Addiction

Tips to Write a Good Comic Essay on Anime and Manga

Anime and Manga essay is the type of topic that is very fascinating for the readers because it is one of the best types of entertainment in the world. Many types of people watch anime and manga in their spare time since they are similar to movies and comics.

Therefore, your essay has to be as entertaining as the Anime and manga art itself. To make your essay good, consider the below tips.

  • Begin reading or watching some Fan Fiction if you’re experiencing problems.  Here, the characters have already been established; all you have to do now is to ask yourself a “what if?” question to come up with a new tale.
  • Examine some of your favourite anime series and mangas and try to determine why you enjoy them. Is it because of the action? What about the characters? What makes it so exceptional?
  • Make sure you don’t rush your creation. Great ideas can strike at any time, so don’t be discouraged if the design process takes more time than you anticipated.
  • Try to use the best vocabulary possible.
  • Stay away from slang.
  • Try to use your own words. Avoid using words just to show that you know them.
  • Write it in 3rd person .
  • Write it down in a cohesive manner.
  • Have fun with it.

Josh Jasen working

Josh Jasen or JJ as we fondly call him, is a senior academic editor at Grade Bees in charge of the writing department. When not managing complex essays and academic writing tasks, Josh is busy advising students on how to pass assignments. In his spare time, he loves playing football or walking with his dog around the park.

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Book cover

Tōjisha Manga pp 77–109 Cite as

Essay Manga: Japan’s Autobiographical Comics

  • Yoshiko Okuyama 2  
  • First Online: 31 August 2022

122 Accesses

This chapter explores the topic of essay manga, a genre of autobiographical comics in Japan. Its discussion first focuses on the rise of this genre in the 1980s and its development in both the 1900s and the millennium. The chapter then examines the characteristics and strengths of representative autobiographical comics, especially ones that portray the author’s lived experience of a psychological or neurological condition. As a background of the tōjisha manga, the chapter presents what other manga studies specialists and academics discern as the common features and benefits of such autobiographical comics. It also provides examples of analysis, using Azuma Hideo’s and Komame Daruma’s manga . It also explores the role of humor in tōjisha narratives because it is also an inseparable element of tōjisha manga.

  • Essay manga
  • Tōjisha manga
  • Autobiographical comics
  • shōjo manga
  • deforume (deformation)
  • tsukkomi (provocative gibes)

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This statement appeared on the home page of Media Arts Current Contents, a website that posts essays and interviews about media arts including manga written by recognized experts.

It is important to clarify that these scholars examined autobiographical manga published in Japan. The Four Students Manga , a Japanese language comic Henry Kiyama self-published in San Francisco in 1931, may be the first autobiographical manga overseas. Similarly, Barefoot Gen , Nakazawa Keiji’s manga, which was serialized from 1973 to 1987, is probably the best-known autobiographical comic of Japan in the West.

Pixiv Essay runs a contest called “Pixiv Essay Rookie of the Year Award” with KADOKAWA, which serves as a gateway to manga career success. The contest’s winners receive a monetary award and a contract for both online and print publications.

Sakura Momoko died from breast cancer in 2019 at the young age of fifty-three.

MOE ( https://www.moe-web.jp/ ) is a Japanese monthly magazine published by Hakusensha for the fans of graphic novels, including children’s picture books, illustrated essays, and manga. In this 2011 article, the name of the writer (or multiple writers) was not disclosed.

As MOE ’s writer mentioned, traveling was one of the most popular essay manga topics at the genre’s developmental stage in the late 1980s. Chu and Coffey ( 2015 ), the only English-language academic paper I could find that studied this genre, offer two case studies of traveling essay manga using Hitoritabi ichinensei (Rookie Lone Traveler) by Japanese illustrator Takagi Naoko in 2006 and Merhaba! My Turkey Journey by Taiwanese geography teacher Peiyu Chang in 2009. (The latter title is reminiscent of Takahashi Yukari’s 1991 essay comic, My Turkey Memoir .) Chu and Coffey claim that “since the mid-2000s, there has been a growing number of autobiographical travel graphic novels depicting independent women artists/travelers” (145). However, if MOE’s ( 2011 ) analysis is accurate, it seems that female travelers’ essay manga actually began in the late 1980s, as represented in Saibara’s and Takahashi’s works. Regardless, Chu and Coffey’s study is promising as the authors attempt some semiotic discussions using such topics as color symbolism and multimodal text analysis via multiple semiotic elements. Especially due to the aforementioned absence of research on essay manga, I hope more researchers will explore essay manga titles using semiotic analysis.

Self-narrative was part of postmodernism characteristics developed in the 1960 and 1970s not just in novels but also in movies in Japan. In the field of literature, the very first shishōsetsu (I-novels) are believed to be Shimazaki Tōson’s Hakai ( The Broken Commandment ) in 1906 and Tayama Katai’s Futon ( Bedquilt ) in 1907. It is also important to point out that the autobiographical form is not unique to comics in Japan.

From a gender studies perspective, we should recognize this unique timing and investigate the role that gender played in the development of essay manga. Thus, as I urged before, more comic studies scholars should investigate the genre of essay manga.

However, it is important to note that heavy use of background texts might just be characteristic of My Darling , not of all essay manga. For example, in My Darling , cross-cultural footnotes are needed in the narration to explain the characters’ remarks as an interracial couple. In fact, heavy use of handwritten text in some essay manga like Ikeda Kyoko’s What’s Up with New Depression? might tire readers, after wading through lots of text in crowded panels. In contrast, essay manga titles like Fuzuki Fu’s Mama is a Schizophrenia present only limited handwritten text. Therefore, some of Narioka’s findings may not be applicable to the whole genre.

I should mention that some manga artists switch their drawing styles according to the genre they choose to present. For example, Oguri’s drawing style changed between her shōjo manga titled Kanayako and her essay manga My Darling . In Kanayako , Oguri drew characters with more complex features typical of the shōjo manga style. Another example is Arakawa Hiromu, a female manga artist known for Fullmetal Alchemist ( Harigane no renkin-shi ) and Silver Spoon ( Gin no saji ), popular works of shōnen manga (comics targeting young male readers). As mentioned in this chapter, for a comic series Farmer Nobles ( Hyakushō kizoku ), Arakawa adopted essay manga’s humorous simplicity and created amusing stories narrated by a comical, bespectacled bovine character representing herself. Each episode was produced based on Arakawa’s experience as a farmhand in her homeland of Hokkaido, illustrating the ins and outs of real farming life with humor, while also revealing serious issues such as the wasteful practice of surplus milk disposal.

A clever visualization of the heroine’s unspoken feelings and inner voices is demonstrated in fictional shōjo manga stories like The Star of Cottonland ( Wata on Kunihoshi ) by Oshima Yumiko, one of the twenty-four nen-gumi (a group of popular female mangaka to whom the shōjo manga ’s rapid development in the 1980s is credited). Thus, this characteristic was not invented for the josē manga genre per se.

Regarding anthropomorphism, a study by Sakamoto et al. ( 2002 ) offers intriguing findings relevant to the characteristics of this genre although it is a study about essay manga. Using a “ComicDiary,” a digital comic diary project, college students were required to report their real-life conference participation as a class assignment. For their diary, the students digitally created a character as a narrator/reporter to represent themselves and conceptualized it as a jibun no bunshin (the alter ego), or their own avatar, so to speak. For example, one student drew a “kettle” character (a stubby kettle body with tiny arms and legs) as a self-portrait in his comic diary, in which the kettle man speaks in front of his audience or listens to and comments on someone’s talk. Moreover, the students reported that, as they created their comic story, they presented only a digest of their experience to ensure that their report would be approachable and fun to read. In addition, students stated that they purposefully exaggerated their feelings and reactions to make them more noticeable to the reader. In the case of the kettle man, in response to the audience’s flattering comments, the character is drawn with a big grin on his face and a full head of steam coming out of his lid, looking like an overheated kettle. Sakamoto et al. found that amplification of emotional expressions was also intended for entertainment: the students desired to make their comic diaries memorable and worth reading by overdramatizing some scenes as ochi (punch lines). These findings have an uncanny resemblance to what was reported by the analysts of essay manga, implying that today’s consumers of manga like these college students might have already emulated essay comic strategies and applied them in crafting their own diaries.

Although Hosokawa and Nakamura are caregiver tōjisha, Kodaira and Ito include their names in their “manga by tōjisha” list. As mentioned in chapter “Tōjisha”, graphic memoirs drawn by family caregiver tōjisha are typically juxtaposed with those of works by tōjisha honnin (individuals who are diagnosed with the condition).

I would like to mention two additional titles in association with their recommendations. First, Ōhara Yukiko’s 2006 essay manga The Husband of the Ōhara Family ( Ōhara-san chi no danna san ) is where the aforementioned Ōhara Kōki appears as the title character. In their 2009 paper, Kodaira and Ito comment that this manga uniquely depicts her challenging life married to Kōki who has panic attacks and other neurotic disorders. Due to individual artistic differences, Kōki in Yukiko’s manga is rendered differently than Fujiomi’s image, even though both figures represent the same person and share common essay manga features such as the plainly drawn character with a disproportionately large head in the comically deformed character style of santō-shin . In 2013, Fujiomi Shūko published another essay manga, My Bipolar ( Sōutsu nan desu, watashi ), based on her Bipolar II condition.

As I will show in the case study chapters, the authors of tōjisha manga cleverly utilize their penname as mangaka (e.g., Okita Bakka) as well as their avatar character’s name (e.g., Bakka-chan) like a double-sided shield which helps reduce the potential harm to the author. The identity of their family members, especially those with lived experience of mental health problems, is more likely protected with the use of pseudonyms in tōjisha manga .

Insertion of a third-party observer is not uncommon in comics. Chute ( 2017 ) explains the technique of “double-trackedness” used in Justin Green’s autobiographical comic, Binky Brown Meets the Holy Virgin Mary. In this comic, Green, who has OCD, depicts the character Binky’s urge to be obsessed with something, while the author’s rational voice criticizes how absurd the act is. For example, in the scene where the adolescent “Binky,” a young version of the author, is running down the street, the author’s retrospective narration also appears above the panel. Green himself called this technique the “double vision” (him-now and him-then), explaining that it enabled him to portray the most private moments from his life. Chute ( 2017 ) calls it the double-trackedness, the author’s commentary in text boxes paired with the action of the scene upfolding, and aptly explains that this technique creates a tension between the author’s retrospective voice and the young self’s voice/thought.

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The Structure of Expressions in Manga

Natsume Fusanosuke | October 12, 2023

“Hyōgen no kōzō”

Chapter 6 from Manga wa naze omoshiroi no ka: sono hyōgen to bunpō ( Why Is Manga So Interesting? Its Expression and Grammar , NHK Library, 1997), pp. 80-96.

essay about manga

Translators’ Introduction

This essay by Natsume Fusanosuke is a translation of the sixth chapter from a 1997 book titled after a 12-episode NHK television program Natsume hosted the year prior: Why Is Manga So Interesting? Its Expression and Grammar ( Manga wa naze omoshiroi no ka: sono hyōgen to bunpō ). Originally published in pamphlet form to accompany the show, this chapter (among others) highlights Natsume’s “manga expression theory” ( manga hyōgen-ron ). Departing from the previous generation of manga critics and scholars, Natsume helped pioneer a style of writing about manga in the 1990s based on three constituent elements: words, pictures and panels. For NHK’s television viewers (and, later, readers of the full book version), Natsume offered a reminder of how manga could be so interesting and pleasurable. Like others in the new wave of 1990s manga scholars (including Yomota Inuhiko, Ōtsuka Eiji, Takekuma Kentarō and others), Natsume downplays discussion theme or plot in favor of visual elements: “I feel that manga is interesting depending upon what kind of line is used, what kind of pictures are drawn, and in what ways the panels are laid out. We find it has ‘something interesting’ if the manga uses expressions that are manga-esque ( manga ga manga-tarashimeru shikumi no naka de ‘omoshirosa’ o kanjite iru no da ).” 1

In this chapter, Natsume delves into how manga artists often make use of the “line” ( sen ) to depict the invisible as visible. There is a tacit assumption shared by manga artists and readers that often we get more visual information from the page than what we can observe in nature. Building on earlier portions of the book, where he discussed nonsense and gag manga artists Tanioka Yasuji and Sugiura Shigeru, here Natsume focuses on the “rules” and “conventions” of what manga artists can expect their readers to tacitly accept, often so that the former can add more enjoyment and entertainment for the latter. In addition, he explores the rich range of symbols available to Japanese artists, including those ubiquitous marks of sweat, steam, tears and more, used freely on the most realistically drawn character as much as the most cartoony one. There is no contradiction, no need to be compliant to one uniform drawing register, as in so many American comics. Japanese artists freely use their line to both depict and loosely symbolize the worlds and feelings of their comic characters. Interested readers are advised that the Tiger Tateishi comics Natsume discusses have just been collected in a first-ever western edition by Philadelphia's 50 Watts Books.

Finally, it is worth noting that Natsume, as a former manga artist, deploys his own drawings in his explanations. In this chapter, we see his typical cartoony style supplementing his written argument. The images of emoting light bulbs (Figures 3 to 7) proved so iconic they were used for the cover of the 2012 Chinese-language edition of Why Is Manga So Interesting? In all, Natsume crafts an important statement about the power and flexibility of the Japanese manga line. Alongside an earlier mixed-author essay collection How to Read Manga ( Manga no yomikata ; Takarajima, 1995), which Natsume co-edited in addition to his numerous writing contributions, Why Is Manga So Interesting? is an important early volume in Manga Studies from the period of the 1990s. The translators thank Natsume-sensei for his permission to translate this chapter/essay; we hope it will help expand awareness of manga in the field of Comics Studies.

-Jon Holt & Teppei Fukuda

Nonsense Manga that Overturn All the Rules of Manga

Let’s take a look at something before we really get started (Figure 1). It is a work called Cheat Sheets ( Tora no maki , 2 1982) by Taigā [Tiger] Tateishi, and it is a nonsense manga that has become quite rare these days in Japan. Cheat Sheets actually reads from left to right, like American and European comics do.

essay about manga

What we see here are two characters swinging a jump rope, but at some point the rope becomes a pea pod. Then, in another flash, from that pea pod jumps forth a human-like pea person. It has become almost impossible to see such a pure form of nonsense manga in Japan these days. The mainstream of manga now is in the form of long-running story comics. Personally, I wish we could see more short gag manga like Cheat Sheets . Some people might say, “Ok Natsume, then why don’t you draw them yourself?!” I hear you, but let me excuse myself - drawing this kind of stuff is really tough. Plus, it doesn’t sell either.

What we see in the beginning is a simple line ( sen ) that signifies the jump rope. Then, the line becomes more complicated, transforming into a bunch of lines that indicate motion, as the artist is showing the two people swinging it around repeatedly. The flexible shape looks a lot like a pea pod, and, from this similarity, the idea for this joke is born. The key to the joke is that Tiger draws a single line to illustrate the rope; and, to express the movement of it, he uses multiple lines. This idea is executed though a particular feature of lines: that they can have multiple roles and meanings, like we saw in the previous chapter.

First of all, the artist can only do this if we allow that one can take a rope, which is a real thing with a real thickness to it, and abstract it down to the level of just one line. However, if the rope remained as just one line, Tiger could not make it resemble a pea pod. That is exactly where he utilizes the act of drawing multiple lines, which express motion within the conventions of manga, into an image that makes those lines then resemble the pea pod. The idea comes from the fact that lines can indicate something in motion, in addition to a single line that alone can depict a thing.

The line starts out as a rope, then shows motion, and then becomes a pea pod. Such a transformation is only possible once an artist like Tiger decides to turn the tables on the very conventions that constitute manga cartooning.

Here is the point that differentiates Tiger Tateishi from Tanioka Yasuji and Sugiura Shigeru, whom I introduced in the previous chapter as two artists who illustrate the primitively polymorphous properties of lines. 3 In Tiger’s case, he intentionally leverages the very rules of manga against itself, and then he produces this nonsense joke from the commonsense awareness that, normally, lines which can express so many things in manga, in actuality are just lines. That is why one often gets a very theoretical feeling from his works.

essay about manga

I have one more example from Tiger; it shows a mountain growing beyond the horizon line, and then getting cut off and carried away by that very line of the horizon (Figure 2). The artist creates the horizon with just one simple line, but then he gets the idea that even such a line could betray the silent conventions between manga and its readers. It is a kind of trompe l'œil that is split into panels. Normally, if a mountain were to grow into some high peak, then the horizon line would become lost behind the foreground, yet Tiger draws the horizon slicing the mountain in half. When he does that, the horizon is no longer just a horizon, and the reader will see the aspect of it being just an abstract line.

It is safe to say that such an artist is one that has a particular theoretical view of what lines and forms that are drawn with those lines are. Because he makes manga like this, he betrays the line’s relationship to its illustrated object or landscape. And by turning the convention upside down, he helps us become more aware of a basic convention in manga.

The convention I am talking about here is the unstated rule that when lines are used to embody shapes within such reciprocal relationships, those simple lines become a certain thing—be it a swinging jump rope or the horizon line—and you must stick with what you drew with those lines, and they must not go beyond what they have depicted.

Manga Expression: A Series of Rules and Conventions

By their very nature, line drawings embody these set conventions; for example, if you add two dots inside a circle, you get a face. It's just one of those tacit agreements to pictures. What I mean is that humans are imprinted with such understandings - in a bit of fishy way, though, as if it is a human instinct. Simplified pictures used to mark men’s or women’s bathrooms would be a good example of this kind of axiom. Because of this rule, when people see those images, they will know that one is a man, that the other is a woman. They also use codes like a necktie or a skirt for male or female, so we cannot say that this is something innately human; we should call this cultural coding.

In the previous chapter, I gave two examples of word balloons where one was sharply exploding and communicating a sense of urgency, and the other was round and communicating a sense of calm. We saw how those feelings strike us naturally through the way we, as humans, see the shapes of those lines. On the other hand, there is artifice in how the manga expressions of those balloons make us automatically think, “If there are words inside balloons like those, then they must be lines of dialogue uttered by some character.” Ultimately, most manga expressions are like that. There are many more and many different kinds of tacitly accepted rules that govern the expressions of manga.

The manga expression of “sweat” is a perfect example. In manga, a character’s sweat will start to trickle when he is surprised, when he feels a bit of pressure, or when he feels some kind of anxiety. If you think about it, in reality the chances of you seeing a live human being breaking into a sweat when he gets surprised are pretty rare, but it is just a form of hyperbole often used in manga. However, when a manga character starts to have a bead of sweat form on his cheek, we know that it means something like, “Ah, he’s starting to feel a little pressure.” These kinds of “sweat” are really just signs of “worry” or “panic,” and, over time, such “sweat” has come to function as a kind of modifier that works independently from the other pictures in the frame.

essay about manga

Let’s consider these signs with other examples, this time variations of a picture of a simple light bulb (Figure 3). Now, just by adding a couple of beads of sweat to it, we will suddenly start seeing our light bulb breaking into a panic or showing some kind of worry (Figure 4). Similarly, there are many other kinds of manga signs that one could use to depict other emotions. I can draw a fearful, trembling light bulb (Figure 5), a light bulb flushed with embarrassment (Figure 6), and so on.

To tell the truth, the sweat from Figure 4 can look like it is just wet; the fearful form [Figure 5] can look like it is just trembling in a slightly vibrating, slightly fluttering kind of motion; and the embarrassed [Figure 6] can look like it is just glittering. When I add on some eyes and a nose to our light bulb, it really takes on something resembling human emotion (Figure 7). These manga-like signs have their meanings determined by their reciprocal relationships with other elements in the pictures, much in the same way that words function within their parent sentence.

In Figure 4, if one sees those beads not as sweat but as water drops, then the image is primarily one where its line is showing something that actually could exist in reality. For other types of pictures, like Figures 5 and 6, where we see the light bulbs as wavering or bursting with light, then those images must be drawn in an abstract way to use their lines as a kind of code for lines that no one could really ever see. When such droplets, shaking or flashes seem to us like human psychology or emotional feelings, then it must be because such abstractions are another layer of abstraction on top of the expressions that have already become a part of the many coded conventions in manga.

The Keiyu “Shape Metaphor”: Abstractions Taken to the Next Level

Once we say that pictures, panels and even words can be a type of code, we can also then say everything in manga consists of code. In order to describe independently coded elements that often operate within any manga, often at secondary or tertiary levels of abstraction, I use the invented term keiyu [shape metaphors]. 4 I use this term because what’s happening is the artist is using the form of the line itself to allude to some other meaning. There are so many different types of keiyu . Besides the drops of sweat or flashes of light, there could be lines that indicate the movement of things; there could be bubbles floating around a person’s head when he is drunk; there could be messy clouds of smoke from a person being either confused or utterly disappointed; veins that pop out when a person is super-stimulated or very angry; band-aids that appear to show a person’s wound. In Figure 8, I try to show some examples, but that group is just the tip of the iceberg.

essay about manga

Now, please look at Figure 8 and imagine what would happen if I erased all the keiyu markers from that scene. As you can see from the resulting Figure 9, all the movement in the picture stops. More than half of the picture’s interesting content disappears. And, more importantly, what really disappears are the psychological aspects of the picture, as well as the feeling of time flowing sequentially. Manga has so many expressions that can exist because of these keiyu or codes that are independent [from other elements in the panel].

essay about manga

For example, it is easy to find examples in manga where “sweat” somehow appears in a word balloon or in a person’s hair (Figure 10). Since there is no way that sweat would manifest in such places, we have to assume these sweat beads are metaphors for the character’s psychological state, like a feeling of impatience or of confusion. Phenomenon like these suggest that “sweat” has come to have its own kind of coded function in manga, and we can understand that it acts the way a modifying clause works in a sentence. The sweat inside the speech balloon particularly is used equally with ellipses, which mean silence. (Those dots, by the way, are another standard trick used in manga that hint at thoughts or words that go unsaid.)

essay about manga

In manga, while we have coded expressions like the “shape metaphors” ( keiyu ) that work with their own independent expressions, there are also manga codes that do not function at the same level. For example, if you look at Figure 11, we can all agree that this is clearly a scene at night. Similarly, we have, by contrast, Figure 12, which is very clearly an afternoon scene. In Figure 11, it is night due to the way the artist blackens the sky with ink ( beta ). I suppose that the ground, the wall and the tree show up because of the brightness of the moon, but in reality our scene here should be one of utter darkness, where shadows run deep. Since the trees have the moon in the background, one might say that they should be in silhouette, but the artist has rendered them to stand out clearly.

When a character is rendered in this scene, he will be drawn so we can clearly make out his form, of course. He might be moving under the cover of night and perhaps out of sight, but the artist has to use this trick to allow the reader to fully see him. In kabuki theatre, there is a type of scene called a “danmari,” where characters move in the darkness by only groping around. Of course, even in kabuki “danmari” scenes, the stage is not actually dark. The audience can clearly see what is happening on the stage. Our manga example here by Yokoyama [Mitsuteru] represents a similar convention in manga. We can say that this is a very straightforward kind of coded expression found in manga.

essay about manga

In Figure 12, Yokoyama’s daytime scene has the same round celestial object like the moon in Figure 11, but its coded keiyu lines of light make it easily understood as the sun. These kinds of things probably slip past us readers without our being conscious of them, but all those lines, all the ink and all the pictures - they all work reciprocally to create meaning for us, even though we are unconscious of their functions.

Manga then can be understood as a kind of system where there are all types of pictures that have various visual functions. If that is true, then it is also possible to think about how manga is a system of codes that have certain designated functions which can also often transform, much like words do. This just might be my impression, but I think it is difficult to find other forms of comics that have all these various keiyu that create ways of expressions in the manner of Japanese manga.

The Similarities between Japanese Language and Manga Language

At this juncture it might be a bit rash on my part, but I would like to compare the structure of manga expression to the Japanese language. Because the types of expression in our language and the types of expression in our manga have utterly different means of communication, it would probably be better not to attempt an easy comparison like I am about to do, but I think I should give it a try because it can help me make my discussion of manga much easier to comprehend.

I had touched on this earlier, 5 but the kind of expression that we today call manga basically consist of three main elements: pictures, panels, and words. As for the picture element, just like I was discussing previously, this is something we know is a system of agreed upon conventions that are semiotic in nature. The same is true for the element of words. You could say the same thing about the panel element, and I will talk more about this in an upcoming chapter, 6 but all three elements function according to certain rules. Of course, all three are mutually connected to each other; plus, any one element (words, panels and pictures) will possess expressive aspects that share boundaries with the other two elements of the three.

For example, when it comes to word balloons, which have various shapes and forms, they have a role to modify the meaning of words but also to exist as a kind of picture. In other words, these balloons cross over into the territories of both words and pictures. What about onomatopoeia; for example, giongo [sound mimetics], gitaigo [mental-state mimetic expressions], etc.? 7 They often give an auditory image that will mimic some sound, and they do so through the hand-drawn line that renders them. They can be drawn to show an explosion with explosive shaping; the sound of silence can be felt from a quiet-looking form (Figure 13). Although these expressions are clearly words, when drawn in this pictorial way their functions become all the more apparent. In other words, they are located somewhere between language and pictures.

essay about manga

In addition, manga panels ( koma ) appear to the reader’s eye as frames, but they also abstractly segment the manga, acting with temporal and spatial functions. They work almost in the same way that sentence structure does for language. When you think about it, manga then has three main elements: pictures with their symbolic functions; words with their functions; and panels, which have larger syntactical functions.

Before going any further, let us take note of how Japanese is roughly half made up of kanji (C. hanzi ), those Chinese characters that were imported to our language long ago. Originally, kanji often took the shape of the things they represented: hi , the character for sun or day, took the shape of the sun ( taiyō ); tsuki , for either the moon or month, took the shape of the moon. Kanji thus possess pictorial qualities (Figures 14a and 14b). And then, as the character for sun/day ( hi ) came in turn to mean “shining” ( hikaru ), there came be another kanji for “bright” ( mei ; akira ), which is a combination of the sun ( hi ) and moon ( tsuki ) characters.

essay about manga

Following a regular method, from very complicated characters to more basic characters, which originally seemed very much like simple pictures, Chinese people combined and made their characters. I think we can almost say that this aspect of kanji is very similar to the kind of symbolic construction of manga.

A [written] Japanese sentence consists of both kanji and "readings" ( yomi ). These characters clearly reveal the way they are read and sounded out. Kanji words may preserve a kind of original Chinese reading (the on-yomi way), or those words might have a Japanese way to read them ( kun-yomi ). Regardless, as structure, visual elements and aural elements are segmented, and they together will form our written Japanese sentence as they are located to overlap with each other. From when we first imported kanji and started using letters to today, we have kanji and their readings in our heads, whether we are writing a sentence or if we use our mouths to express ourselves.

According to the anatomist Yōrō Takeshi, those very visual kanji characters are dealt with in a special part of the brain that focuses on the visual part of language; likewise, our kana scripts of hiragana and katakana , which are auditory, are dealt with in a separate part of the brain where mainly auditory aspects of language are processed. Then they seem to be merged again in another part of the brain (Figure 15). Because of that, when people have a disorder in one of these two areas of the brain, those people might have symptoms such as they cannot read specifically kanji , or they cannot read kana characters.

essay about manga

If it is possible for us to equate pictures with kanji , words with kana (particularly where lines of dialogue are only long lines of kana ), and panels with sentence structure, then we can also say that manga expression itself begins to seem be structured a lot like the Japanese language. I might be making a very crude comparison here, but if we allow the assumption that Japanese manga are constructed in much more complex ways than those of Europe and America, then it might be possible to establish the idea that the Japanese language itself with its particular characteristics might play a role in that complexity of our manga expressions. This is something already suggested by Yōrō. And yet, if one goes too far in trying to assert that hypothesis, then we end up with nothing but an ethnocentric view of Japanese culture. “It is because Japanese are unique, some might say, that their manga is superior.” The idea then I just introduced can easily be connected to a short-sighted view like that. This hypothesis is interesting, but very hard to prove, and one would need to take very careful steps to do so.

In Tori Miki’s The Back Hip Circle of Love ( Ai no sakaagari , 1985-1986), he has the following funny scene (Figure 16). A character (a double for the author) appears on stage with a guitar in hand. In his word balloon, there is the sound of him crooning out “Ha-a-a-a-a-a,” and so it is natural for us to think, “Oh, he must be singing a song.” And, it is also natural for us to also sense in our heads that those sounds are like the opening of some folky tune. There are symbols to indicate musical notes that help us to feel that way. However, as we turn the page, his “ha-a-a” gets connected to the rest of a Japanese word “-yai mono de,” and we then realize that this guy is first saying something [if in English] like “Time go-o-o-oh-“ and then “…o-o-es so fast…”

essay about manga

Here is what the scene would look like if we transcribe this kind of gag in a few sentences:

-Here I go standing at the microphone with my guitar in hand as I start to sing. “Time go-o-o-oh…” -After stretching out that vowel sound for ten beats, I suddenly break into a story. “…o-o-oes so fast, once I end this long sequence, I—” -Somebody from the audience then throws an empty can at me, hitting my head.

Should the reader imagine this scene from a vaudeville-like ( yose ) stage, there is no way this manga could be funny. My textual rendition is totally different from the manga, because in the manga’s picture, when you see the character getting up to do a rambling talk with his guitar, you know that this scene is very much related to its sounds.

The point of the humor here resides in the way the artist momentarily fills the gap between “hayai” [with kana ] “hayai” [with kanji ]: that is, the gap between the auditory characteristic of the kana characters and the kanji that has the same sound as the one indicated with these kana characters, by using the pictures and panels. I think we can say that this is a joke with a “beat” ( ma ). It is a joke that relies on turning the manga grammar upside down by skillfully applying pictures, words and panels.

  • Natsume Fusanosuke, Manga wa naze omoshiroi no ka: Sono hyōgen to bunpō (Tokyo: NHK Library, 1997), 3.
  • [ Translators’ Note ] Cheat Sheets is the English title used by 50 Watts Books for their recent edition of the Tiger Tateishi collection Natsume references. Its Japanese title, "Tora no maki," is a phrase referring to an official practitioner's resource or text, and has also been translated as "Tiger's Scroll."
  • [ Translators’ Note ] In the preceding chapter of Why Is Manga So Interesting? Natsume had concluded that Japanese artists like Sugiura and Tanioka often exploit the ambiguity of the line in their comics: “Most manga work on the premise that the story must have a ‘verisimilitude of reality’ ( genjitsu-rashisa ). What those artists are doing is suppressing the naturally existing ambiguity of lines with their drafting techniques, because they aim to stabilize the verisimilitude of reality in their drawings. What these truly superior nonsense ( nansensu ) manga artists do, though, is to cut through all of that reality and present to us the origins from which the line came.” (Natsume, “Sen no omoshirosa: Tanioka Yasuji to Sugiura Shigeru” in Manga wa naze omoshiroi no ka , 79 [full translation forthcoming on this site]).
  • [ Translators’ Note ] As we mentioned in the Introduction, a year prior to Natsume writing this essay, the author co-edited, with Takekuma Kentarō, How to Read Manga ( Manga no yomikata , [Takarajima, 1995]). In an essay for that seminal Manga Studies book, Takekuma wrote a robust essay about these “shape metaphors” ( keiyu ). For his discussion and catalog of 120 examples of emanata, see Takekuma Kentarō, “Hitome de wakaru ‘keiyu’ zukan,” Manga no yomikata , 78-105.
  • [ Translators’ Note ] Natsume initially lays out the premises of his manga hyōgen-ron (manga-expression theory) in Chapters Three and Four of Why Is Manga So Interesting? , recently translated into English. Natsume Fusanosuke, “A Wide Range of Possible Expression from Tezuka’s Manga to Gekiga , from Azuma Hideo to Doraemon ,” INKS 7:2 (Summer 2023): 174-195.
  • [ Translators’ Note ] In fact, Chapters 9 and 10 of Why Is Manga So Interesting? have also been translated: Natsume Fusanosuke, “The Construction of Panels ( koma ) in Manga” ImageTexT 12:2 (2021); and Natsume, “The Functions of Panels ( koma ) in Manga,” Electronic Journal of Contemporary Japanese Studies 21:2 (2021).
  • [ Translators’ Note ] For more on this topic, see: Natsume Fusanosuke, “The Power of Onomatopoeia in Manga,” Japanese Language and Literature 56:1 (April 2022): 157-184.

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Manga: “Naruto” by Masashi Kishimoto Essay (Book Review)

Manga is not just a reading for pleasure, it is a deeply philosophical piece of writing which should be considered in detail. It is impossible to read manga without thinking about its deep meaning.

Each manga is a collection of simple stories about simple people and some magical creations with superpowers, but in most cases these superpowers and simple people are the reflections of the everyday problems people face and have to cope with. Naruto is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Masashi Kishimoto. Conducting a review of this manga, it is important to state that not only the heroes but the whole world may be the reflection of the real situation.

Therefore, the main idea of this review is to discuss the plot of the manga and dwell upon the situations considered there. Naruto (2003) by Masashi Kishimoto has a lot of volumes and parts.

We want to consider the first part of the story where the main character is just a boy who wants to reach the main purpose of his life, to become a Hokage, the leader of the village and the strongest man who has the magic powers and is able to use it for protecting the citizens of his village.

However, the situation is not that simple as Naruto Uzumaki, the adolescent who wants to become the Hokage, possesses a great power and he cannot even imagine how strong that power is.

The plot of the situation is as follows, imaginary people live in the imaginary world. The imaginary world is divided into particular villages and which of them is run by a Hokage. People in those villages perform different functions, but it seems that all of the villages are military ones.

People who live in the villages are ninjas and they are trained to conduct different military services, however, they also deal the every day services in the village. The village where the situation takes place is run by a Hokage, who is the main person and possesses some power.

It is important to know that each adolescent who wants to become a powerful ninja should learn and train much to understand which powers are in them. However, Naruto is not that simple as others may think, he possesses the power which is comprised in him. Additionally, he is not aware of that power as well.

The situation occurs in the imaginary world, where the whole world is divided into villages. If one takes a closer look at the situation, he/she may notice that the imaginary world in manga looks like the Japan with its feudalism. Additionally, the social-political structure is really the same as the in Japan. What is the similarity? The country exists, however, it is divided into smaller parts.

The country and its villages seem rater developed from the technical point of view, however, it becomes obvious that their technological development is considered just in several aspects. Thus, having cameras and other innovative items, the military structure is not developed at all. Ninjas use the weapon made with their own hands.

It seems like a great contrast and maybe the author wanted to say that the war with the help of the innovative types of the weapon in the modern world may lead to destroy of the civilization. Why do people who have some innovative items do not use their knowledge in producing other specific subjects. Why do people who possess the superpowers are to live in villages and perform some work which may be done by means of machinery?

However, having weak development of the military sources, the citizens possess some particular powers. Using those they are able to have the domination over the others. Naruto possesses this power due to the circumstances which occurred in his childhood, however, he is not aware f that. He is to study hard to learn the magical powers.

The main idea of the story is to show the long and difficult way of Naruto from the simple students to the powerful ninja who is able to run the nation. The stories perform different difficulties and complicated tasks which were to be completed by Naruto.

The first part of this story dwells upon the situation when Naruto is just a student. Being rejected and believed to possess some evil powers, he had to prove that he deserved to live in the society. Studying he found many friends who were able to notice his good heart and the desire to help people.

Therefore, it may be stated that Naruto is the manga which shows the feudal Japan with its specific social-political structure and tells a story of a boy who being accused unfairly wants to show that he is able to study hard and help others. There are a lot of symbols in the manga as being the reflection of the reality, Naruto wants to show that to achieve something one should study hard.

Reference List

Kishimoto, M. (2003). Naruto: The tests of the Ninja . New York: Viz.

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Writing Explained

Anime vs. Manga – What’s the Difference?

Home » Anime vs. Manga – What’s the Difference?

Anime and manga have become immensely popular in the English-speaking world, and for good reason. These Japanese storytelling media convey rich stories filled with dynamic characters and vibrant settings that are enjoyable for both children and adults.

You would not be alone, though, if you wondered what the difference is between anime and manga . Both forms originated in Japan, and they have similar visual styles. But, there is an important difference between these genres.

Continue reading to learn whether the popular new series you keep hearing about is manga or anime .

What is the Difference Between Anime and Manga?

In this post, I will compare anime vs. manga , and I will try to avoid offending the sensibilities of fans of these styles. I will use each of these words in example sentences.

I will also give you a helpful memory tool that will allow you to distinguish between manga and anime in the future.

When to Use Anime

anime versus manga

Today, media in the style of anime are created all over the world. Some people only categorize Japanese productions as anime, while others refer to any animations that use this visual style as anime, regardless of where they were produced.

The word anime has an interesting backstory. The Japanese animēshiyon is a loanword from the English animation , which eventually made its way back to English as anime . Essentially, Japanese borrowed a word from English, and then English borrowed it back.

Here are some examples of anime in a sentence,

  • Sailor Moon is a popular anime among teenage girls.
  • The anime Howl’s Moving Castle , directed by Hayao Miyazaki, is widely regarded as a hallmark of the genre.
  • Gao, a 27-year-old cosmetician in Wenzhou, has watched Japanese animation, or anime, since she was a teenager. – The Wall Street Journal

When to Use Manga

Definition of manga definition and definition of anime definition

For example,

  • Ashley flipped through the pages of her new manga while riding the bus.
  • Students in dorms debate the merits of various manga series well into the early hours of the morning.
  • Hidden amid the manga stores and costume shops in a labyrinthine subculture shopping complex is Bar Zingaro, a cafe that fuses Norwegian exports — midcentury Scandinavian furnishings, Fuglen coffee — with the colorful art of Takashi Murakami. – The New York Times

The word manga originated in Japanese, from man- , meaning aimless , and -ga , meaning pictures .

Trick to Remember the Difference

Define manga and define anime

The two media share a unique visual style, and many manga serve as the basis for anime. Still, most manga are never made into anime series, and not anime series are based on manga.

Since the word anime is so closely related to the English animation , you will always be able to remember that anime means animated shows or films .

Is it anime or manga? Anime and manga are two visual media that originated in Japan and share a unique visual style.

  • Anime refers to animated shows or movies.
  • Manga refers to comic books or graphic novels.

Both storytelling media use hand- or computer-drawn images that reflect similar visual sensibilities.

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Essay Samples on Anime

Anime has become a popular form of entertainment, not just in Japan but worldwide. As a result, it’s no surprise that anime has become a popular topic for college essays. There are a variety of anime essay topics that students can choose from. Some students may choose to write about the history of anime, while others may choose to write about their favorite anime series or characters. Some students may even choose to write about the cultural impact of anime.

One reason why anime is such a popular topic is that it’s a rich source of inspiration for academic analysis. For example, students can analyze the themes and symbols used in anime and how they relate to the larger context of society and culture. Additionally, students can explore the cultural significance of anime and how it reflects Japanese culture and society.

When writing a college essay about anime, students should make sure to provide specific examples from the anime they are discussing. They should also ensure that their essay has a clear structure and is well-researched. With the right approach, a college essay about anime can be an engaging and thought-provoking piece of writing.

There are many anime essay examples available at WritingBros, which can provide inspiration for students struggling to come up with a topic. By reading these examples, students can get an idea of the types of essays they can write about anime and the approach they should take to make their essay stand out.

Examining the Hype and Discussion Around "Oshi no Ko" in 2023

Oshi no Ko, a well-received ongoing manga series crafted by the ingenious Aka Akasaka, has become a subject of fervent discussions and eager anticipation within the anime/manga community. As the year 2023 approaches, with the imminent release of its anime adaptation and the manga reaching...

Summary Of Hayao Miyazaki's Anime Movie "Princess Mononoke"

Princess Mononoke is a Japanese film released in 1997, Hayao Miyazaki’s 8th venture as a writer and director. It set a record for Japan’s highest grossing film of all-time until Titanic was later released that same year. We are first introduced to Ashitaka at the...

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Analysis Of The Filmography Of Hayao Miyazaki, The Walt Disney Of Japan

Arguably the greatest living director of animation movies and even a legend of animation – Hayao Miyazaki can undoubtedly be referred to as the Walt Disney of Japan. Born in Tokyo, this legendary director is also known to be the 'Master of Ma,’ and has...

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The Variety of Pokemon Card Games Inspired by the Series

Anime has been an integral part of the lives of the older generation, specifically the millennials and generation x. Kids in the olden days rush home to catch their favorite anime. They ask their parents to buy them collectibles and boast their collections to their...

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Analysis of Subtext and Characters from the Anime Movie Spirited Away

The subtext of Spirited Away is when Hayao Miyazaki said that the inspiration for the story came from meeting the sullen 10-year-old daughter of a friend and his desire to make a film that would give her some useful lessons. These lessons provide us with...

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Hayao Miyazaki: Life and Filmography of the Brilliant Anime Film Maker

Hayao Miyazaki is a celebrated Japanese anime film maker, animator and screen writer who has directed and drawn several famous movies over his life. He is regarded as the godfather of anime and a skillful storyteller and is a self proclaimed pacifist. Miyazaki also co-founded...

The Relationship between Japanese Anime and Globalization

Japanese anime in todays time is known and watched by many people worldwide. However, this wasn’t always the case. Japanese Anime was once only popular in Japan. Some people may believe the reason for its popularity is because of country’s like the United States of...

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History of Japan Anime Culture and the Main Types of Anime

The anime industry is hugh, but it wasn't always. Anime didn't start till the early 1900’s, and it didn't become “popular” until the 1980’s. Dragon Ball is the most well known anime but is often called a cartoon. Now anime is a lot more popular...

The History of Anime and Why I Came to Love It

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The Transnationalization of Japanese Anime and Manga

Japanese popular culture comprises of the modern popular culture in Japan. This includes various aspects of Japan like their cinema, cuisine, television programs, anime, manga and music. In particular, Japanese anime and manga have always fascinated me. Looking back, I was first introduced to the...

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Spirited Away: The Beautiful Messages in the Picture

“Spirited Away” is an animated movie produced by Studio Ghibli in Japan. The movie itself is a masterpiece of story and imagery, and has a wonderful lesson for people of all ages watching it. The film centers around a young girl named Chihiro who loses...

Application of Phyconanilitic Theory in Spirited Away

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Bad Monsters and Good Sprites in the Spirited Away

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Sexualization in Japanese Anime as Its Most Peculiar Feature

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Anime: History and Artistic Analysis

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Best topics on Anime

1. Examining the Hype and Discussion Around “Oshi no Ko” in 2023

2. Summary Of Hayao Miyazaki’s Anime Movie “Princess Mononoke”

3. Analysis Of The Filmography Of Hayao Miyazaki, The Walt Disney Of Japan

4. The Variety of Pokemon Card Games Inspired by the Series

5. Analysis of Subtext and Characters from the Anime Movie Spirited Away

6. Hayao Miyazaki: Life and Filmography of the Brilliant Anime Film Maker

7. The Relationship between Japanese Anime and Globalization

8. History of Japan Anime Culture and the Main Types of Anime

9. The History of Anime and Why I Came to Love It

10. The Transnationalization of Japanese Anime and Manga

11. Spirited Away: The Beautiful Messages in the Picture

12. Application of Phyconanilitic Theory in Spirited Away

13. Bad Monsters and Good Sprites in the Spirited Away

14. Sexualization in Japanese Anime as Its Most Peculiar Feature

15. Anime: History and Artistic Analysis

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Proper Essay Example About Manga – Japanese Comics With Worldwide Appeal

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Introduction

Japan is known as a leading nation in the production of comic books, graphic narrations and video games. There are numerous categories of such publications and productions available on the market. This presentation will examine Manga, which involve a set of comics that conforms to a style of comics which became popular in Japan in the late 19th Century. This is a period known as the Meiji period where the Japanese were defining their self-expression and formulating a culture that could be used to preserve their national identity and also tell their stories in different forms. This presentation will examine the nature, features and publications in the general sense. It will culminate in discussions relating to the application of manga within the context of modern contemporary society both in Asia and in other developed countries around the world.

Origins and Cultural Evolution

The term “manga” is usually defined as a Japanese style of graphic novels being somewhat similar to both ordinary comic strips and anime. Manga comes from two Japanese words “man” which means impromptu or whimsical and “-ga” which means pictures. This goes to explain the fact that it is a form of art and comics that are based on rough sketches which gradually became a popular genre of comic books that were commercialized. However, in the past, it was just a set of comics that were presented by people who just did rough sketches that told a story. Manga has already become a worldwide trend originated initially in Japan and impacting markets in the United States, Europe, Asian countries, and the Middle East. The popularity of this kind of graphic novels is all about the versatility of themes directed to both children and adults. Therefore, manga as a Japanese graphic novel represents the cultural wealth associated with this country making everyone excited of its content, development of themes, concepts, and characters. It is vital to note that manga is primordially referred to the Japanese readership. It is characterized by specific terms, heroes, and events associated with Japan. One of the peculiarities of its modern development is that manga appeared to be popular with Japanese readers in the postwar period after tragic events in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. However, in the aftermath, the variety of topics has been enriched significantly. Astro Boy and Sailor Moon are among the most recognizable manga novels being interesting to modern readers as well. On the other hand, manga is usually in black and white making a reader imagine appropriate colors pursuant to a particular event in the story. It is a wonderful trip into the author’s design of the story supported by expressive and impressive visual aids.

Internationalization of the Manga – the Asian Context

Manga is popular due to its particular similarity to the graphic novels produced in different countries. Its nature is such that a writer and a comic book creator can easily define a theme and use that theme to form characters and other parties in the story. Through this, the production could commence and this would be done within the dominant culture and traditions of the society or community within which it is being produced. Also, it has to meet the unique needs, desires and expectations of the targeted consumers. This has made it something that can be easily internationalized and presented into other cultures through various forms of adjustments and modifications of storylines, themes and content. Japan is a developed country with its unique culture and arts. Thus, western people are likely to delve into Manga because it gives them the chance to express their unique views of daily life and other activities through storytelling and pictures. By contrast, readers from China, South Korea, and other Asian countries tend to search for more cultural expression seen in each and every manga. Anime is more about cartooning, while manga refers to literature. This makes it a dual-purpose thing – in Asia, it could be seen as a continuation of an Asian identity whilst in the west, it manga could give room for the creation of a completely new framework for presenting literature and cultural practices in a different context that fit the local conditions and circumstances.

Application of Manga in the Global Context

In the United States, manga novels are popular because of their different topics, plot development, and associated visual aids in black and white. Americans seem to have a taste for diversity. However, certain things in the United States become too popular and too mundane. Manga gives the average American an escape from the dominant literature and television shows that are seen all over the media. This makes manga a positive tool that can be used as a means of showing ingenuity and novelty in the American public. Manga gives an opportunity to also extend aspects of American culture through a different perspective and approach. This is because manga incorporates the richness and difference of the Japanese style included in graphic novels. Moreover, manga are also associated with dark, highly emotional, and violent gekiga novels. Movies by Quentin Tarantino are all about this genre. For instance, Kill Bill and Kill Bill 2 are based on gekiga as a ‘radical’ form of manga. On the other hand, manga may include sexually explicit content related to the so-called hentai novels. In this respect, it is becoming popular with the adult audience of readers, especially for those who want to mix anime cartoons with the textual materials of the same kind and originally created in Japan. With the liberation of media supported by significant sociopolitical changes in the late 20th century, manga has become a source of passion for the audience of readers living in the West. It is a way of sharing diversity within the society. It is also a medium to unite individuals going to school, studying in college, or working together. Manga incorporates Japanese vision and description of characters along with their emotions, intentions, and way of thinking in a peculiar way. It is exactly what makes it popular today. Therefore, manga as a Japanese graphic novel represents the cultural wealth associated with this country making everyone excited of its content, development of themes, concepts, and characters. To date, there are many anime cartoons and even movies representing the style of manga. Plot development, specific characters, events, and uncensored visual aids make manga novels popular among readers worldwide. It is a different medium for them to get and further share their emotions and impressions.

Manga is an art-form that was popular and known only in Japan. It brings out the unprepared and unpruned form of an artist’s expressions and desires. Since it was developed in the late 19th Century, manga has been a form of self-expression for the Japanese culture. This research has identified that the Manga system could be preserved in Japan and the Asian context as a way of telling the story of the local culture within a framework that locals can understand and appreciate. This could help to build and reinforce a Pan-Asian culture and identity. On the other hand, Manga provides an opportunity for people in other developed countries to get new ways of telling their stories and expressing their various art forms. And this includes the United States which has a culture that is based on some dominant approaches and methods. Manga could be an opportunity to get the average American to move out of the normal mold of the media. It could also create an opportunity for American themes to be adapted to the Manga culture and this will help to make Manga a popular method and approach for the presentation of information and entertainment to various parties in the United States and other developed countries.

Dahl, R. (2015). Roger Dahl's Comic Japan: Best of Zero Gravity Cartoons from The Japan Times. North Clarendon, VT: Tuttle Publishing. Toku, M. (2015). International Perspectives on Shojo and Shojo Manga. New York: Routledge. Webb, M. (2006, May 28). Manga by any other name is . . . Retrieved from Japan Times: http://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2006/05/28/life/manga-by-any-other-name-is/#.V8asw5grLIU

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  • National Report
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Manga & Anime

The Asahi Shimbun

Culture agency studying ways to preserve original manga drawings

By TAKUJI HIRAGA/ Staff Writer

February 3, 2024 at 08:00 JST

Photo/Illutration

The Agency for Cultural Affairs will study methods for preserving original manga drawings of precious cultural value to prevent them from being lost or dispersed overseas.

To accumulate expertise on preservation techniques, the agency will enlist the help of Tetsuya Chiba, the 85-year-old artist famed for boxing manga “Tomorrow’s Joe.”

Agency officials said Jan. 18 the project would be entrusted to a private business recruited through an open competition.

The government-affiliated National Museum of Art, operator of the National Art Center, Tokyo, and the National Museum of Western Art, will also cooperate, the officials said.

The project will involve cataloging around 48,000 manga-related interim items in Chiba’s possession, including original drawings and storyboards, and determining an appropriate state of preservation.

It will also study digitization techniques for several dozen manga pieces and check their rights status for possible future use, the officials added.

Japanese anime and manga have become extremely popular overseas, and enthusiasts are also showing a strong interest in interim products, such as animation cels.

Original drawings by famous manga artists, such as Osamu Tezuka (1928-1989), have fetched high prices at auctions abroad.

Some critics feel such cultural resources are being drained from Japan.

In addition, memorabilia of deceased manga artists have often been stored in poor preservation environments.

Calls have grown for government involvement in systematic management and digital archiving of the cultural artwork.

About 34 million yen ($230,000) was earmarked in the fiscal 2023 budget for the study program. Officials plan to publish the results of the study by the end of fiscal 2024.

An additional 190 million yen was included in the draft of the fiscal 2024 budget for a program to preserve and use anime and manga materials.

Agency officials said they also plan to study materials of manga artists other than Chiba.

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ScreenRant

10 Manga With The Best Art

  • Manga relies heavily on visually appealing artwork to capture readers' attention and appreciation.
  • The top-ranked manga series are known for their stunning and captivating artwork.
  • Each manga mentioned in the article showcases unique and impressive art styles that enhance the storytelling experience.

From breathtaking landscapes to intricately designed characters, manga is a canvas where talented artists bring their visions to life. Some manga will be forever remembered simply for their breathtaking art styles . It's safe to say that no matter how good the plot is, no one will care about a manga series if the art isn't appealing in one way or another.

Trailblazers like Takehiko Inoue and Tsutomu Nihei are famous for their captivating art, although they are fantastic writers too. One of the most important aspects of a successful manga is how appealing the panels are, and it is easy to observe that every manga in the top ranking is visually appealing.

Related: 10 Best Manga You Can Read Right Now

Ajin: Demi Human

Written and illustrated by gamon sakurai.

Kei is a hardworking student who aspires to be a doctor, but his dreams are shattered when he discovers that he's an Ajin, an immortal human with the ability to recover from any injury upon death and summon a black ghost, which are mechanically similar to the Stands in Jojo's Bizarre Adventure . Ajins are a rare minority in the world and are often hunted down by governments and used for experimental purposes. Nagai is faced with a dilemma of choosing between siding with Ajins who fight for their rights or living with the consequences of their actions, which could be considered terrorism. This manga is packed with action and is enhanced by the stunning artwork, which at times explodes in quality in various manga panels.

Buy Now On Kodansha

Written and Illustrated by Yasuhisa Hara

The Kingdom manga has a lot going for it: the plot, which is set during one of the most interesting points in Chinese history, the rich and diverse characters, and Shin's incredible and inspiring journey as he gives it his all for his dreams. The story follows Shin, an orphan who joins the army in order to become a Great General after his friend is killed. What truly sets Kingdom apart from other manga series is that it accurately depicts war as the evil and bloody thing it is, and uses incredible and often disturbing art that's impossible to look away from, no matter how uncomfortable it makes readers.

Kingdom has not been licensed for an English publication, with only the Japanese and French versions available.

Written by Muneyuki Kaneshiro and Illustrated by Kensuke Nishida

Jagaaan is an incredibly underrated manga that has been improving its art quality at a rapid pace. It's a dark shonen series that is written and illustrated by an unknown author. The story is set in a world where tiny aliens possess humans and go on a rampage. Each alien's abilities manifest differently according to its host. The main character, Shinatarou, has an alien that possesses his hand and gives him the power of a gun. Unfortunately, he is forced to kill his girlfriend after she is possessed by an alien. The only way to revive her is to kill all the other aliens. Thus, he embarks on a brutal and gory path to bring back the one he loves.

Vinland Saga

Written and illustrated by makoto yukimura.

The manga that gave birth to one of the best anime in decades, Vinland Saga once again got attention after a successful anime adaptation. Alongside Kingdom , the manga is a pioneer in the historical genre, beautifully balancing historical accuracy and creative freedom. Revolving around Thorfinn Karlsefni, the first European to set foot in North America, Vinland Saga follows his journey but also focuses on his path from a bloodthirsty avenger getting revenge for his father's death to a pacifist who tries to atone for his sins and all the suffering he's caused.

Buy on Kodansha

Naruto Shippuden

Written and Illustrated by Masashi Kishimoto

Although the Naruto manga featured breathtaking art , Kishimoto's brilliance really shined when he started working on the story's timeskip. It picks up right where Naruto left off, as he is trying to get stronger to bring back his best friend Sasuke and defend himself from the villainous Akatsuki who seeks to harness the power of the Nine-Tails that is inside of him. Naruto' s art style isn't as realistic but is just as gorgeous and detailed, and the fact that the series was consistent for 700 chapters is even more astonishing.

Read on Manga Plus

One-Punch Man

Written ONE and Illustrated by Yusuke Murata

It's a running joke within the One-Punch Man fandom that whichever studio will handle the animation of future chapters will be overwhelmed, and as humorous as it is, there's some truth to it. Coming close to the photo-realistic art of Yusuke Murata, and doing hundreds of frames is impossible, and the manga's art will always manage to one-up the animation team. One-Punch Man 's action-packed story is elevated by the expressive and realistic art that is burned into your memory just by how gorgeous it is.

Read Now On Viz

Written and Illustrated by Kentaro Miura

Kentaro Miura's contribution to the manga industry through his dark fantasy series, Berserk , will forever be remembered as a remarkable work of art. His magnum opus takes readers on an emotional rollercoaster, especially when focusing on the main protagonist, Guts. The story plunges this warrior into unimaginable horrors that leave him with a life that is nothing short of tragic. The artist's use of dynamic and ultra-detailed art vividly captures Guts' emotions, making the panels memorable for their mind-blowing art. Berserk is an incredible work of art that leaves an unforgettable impression on its readers.

Buy Now On Dark Horse

Written and Illustrated by Hiroya Oku

Most manga usually have better art as the chapters go on, but Gantz is an exception. From the beginning, the quality of the art was one to behold. This sci-fi thriller follows Kei Kurono, who is killed in a train accident and is summoned to a room alongside others who also died. They are forced to take part in deadly missions against aliens to accumulate points, and when they reach 100 points, they'll be fully revived and freed from the missions. Aiding them in the missions are suits and other futuristic weapons. Gantz is a dream come true for sci-fi fanatics and will surely jump to the top of your favorite manga.

The author has said that he uses 3-D models to assist the drawing process.

Oyasumi PunPun

Written and illustrated by inio asano.

In the manga Oyasumi PunPun , the story revolves around a young boy who is portrayed as a bird and his journey through life. While the initial premise may not sound as thrilling as other popular shonen and seinen manga , it would be a grave mistake for fans to pass over this masterpiece. The artwork in the manga is not the only realistic aspect: Punpun's life, and the challenges he faces, are depicted so realistically that it sometimes feels like an actual biography. The emotional weight and rawness of the story are palpable, making it a truly unforgettable read.

Written and Illustrated by Takehiko Inoue

Takehiki Inoue has always been an incredible artist and storyteller, but his greatest work, Vagabond , elevated his name to great heights. The series is a dramatized biography of Masashi Miyamoto, a Japanese swordsman and philosopher from the 15th century. The story follows the path of a troubled and violent man to an enlightened and kind philosopher as he battles other swordsmen to become the strongest under the sun. Art that seems surreal and out of the ordinary has the power to convey strong emotions and meaning, even in the absence of any written or spoken words.

10 Manga With The Best Art

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