Manga or Comic books aren’t just loved by traditional Americans. All men, women, and children of all ages, worldwide. American super heroes are ever-popular, but it should come as no surprise that nearly every culture has its own approach to telling stories through pictures.
One of the most unique and prolific of these styles of comics is Japanese manga. Never heard of it? Want to try reading it, but don’t know where to start? Simply interested in an aspect of Japanese culture?
Then read on!
What is Manga?
Manga are, simply put, Japanese comics. They are often adapted into Japanese animation. This type of cartoon is popularly known as anime.
Manga usually has a very distinct style of animation that features large eyes, exaggerated emotional responses, fine features, strangely-colored hair, and other character features that will become familiar over time as one reads manga.
Types of Manga
There are five types of manga that are written for men, women, and children.
Seinen – men’s manga
Josei – women’s manga
Shôjo – girl’s manga
Shônen – boy’s manga
Kodomo – children’s manga
How to read manga?
Like novels, there are dozens of genres of manga as well. These range from fantasy and science fiction to slice of life and mecha. Often, these genres have blurred lines that allow for very imaginative stories and plot points.
If you’re new to manga, it can be a little confusing figuring out where to start reading. Traditional manga, translated or otherwise, reads right to left. In some cases the cartoonist/writer, or mangaka as they are known in Japan, will design their manga to read from left to right. This is a rare situation, however.
This image shows the proper order and direction to read manga. Start in the upper-right corner of the upper-right panel and then read from right to left. Repeat this process until you’re done with all of the panels in a section, and then move down to the next section of panels and repeat the right to left process.
Don’t forget to take time to look at the artwork, though! Since the text boxes are often short bits of dialogue, it’s easy to blast through an entire page of manga without actually looking at the artist’s work. Most of the beauty contained within a volume of manga isn’t the story line, but the art. Indeed, the art is complimented by the story, not the other way around, as the art tells a majority of the story through careful, beautiful emotions and distinct actions.
One of the most unique and prolific of these styles of comics is Japanese manga. Never heard of it? Want to try reading it, but don’t know where to start? Simply interested in an aspect of Japanese culture?
Then read on!
What is Manga?
Manga are, simply put, Japanese comics. They are often adapted into Japanese animation. This type of cartoon is popularly known as anime.
Manga usually has a very distinct style of animation that features large eyes, exaggerated emotional responses, fine features, strangely-colored hair, and other character features that will become familiar over time as one reads manga.
Types of Manga
There are five types of manga that are written for men, women, and children.
Seinen – men’s manga
Josei – women’s manga
Shôjo – girl’s manga
Shônen – boy’s manga
Kodomo – children’s manga
How to read manga?
Like novels, there are dozens of genres of manga as well. These range from fantasy and science fiction to slice of life and mecha. Often, these genres have blurred lines that allow for very imaginative stories and plot points.
If you’re new to manga, it can be a little confusing figuring out where to start reading. Traditional manga, translated or otherwise, reads right to left. In some cases the cartoonist/writer, or mangaka as they are known in Japan, will design their manga to read from left to right. This is a rare situation, however.
This image shows the proper order and direction to read manga. Start in the upper-right corner of the upper-right panel and then read from right to left. Repeat this process until you’re done with all of the panels in a section, and then move down to the next section of panels and repeat the right to left process.
Don’t forget to take time to look at the artwork, though! Since the text boxes are often short bits of dialogue, it’s easy to blast through an entire page of manga without actually looking at the artist’s work. Most of the beauty contained within a volume of manga isn’t the story line, but the art. Indeed, the art is complimented by the story, not the other way around, as the art tells a majority of the story through careful, beautiful emotions and distinct actions.