Manga, Anime, and Graphic Novels- Learning the Basics

What is Manga? ● According to wikipedia: ● Comics and print cartoons in the Japanese language. Means “whimsical pictures” ● Many subjects: ● action-adventure, romance, sports and games, historical drama, comedy, science fiction and fantasy, mystery, horror, sexuality, and business and commerce ● Typically printed in black and white, although some full- color exist ● Manga is published in “single- episode” format in large collections, and if popular, collected chapters are republished in a book format called tank ō bon.

Manga ● In Japan, people of all ages read manga ● Popular world-wide (Taiwan, South Korea, China, France, and the US) ● Modern manga began in 1950's Japan ● Main leaders: Osamu Tezuka- “Astro Boy” and Machiko Hasegawa- “Sazae-san” ● Two main marketing genres: sh ō nen manga- boys and sh ō jo manga- girls

Sh ō jo Manga ● Major topics: ● Romance ● superheroines ● “Ladies Comics” ● love ● self-realization ● girls working together

Sh ō nen Manga ● Two groups: ● Boys to 18 years: robots, space travel, heroic action-adventure, sports ● years (seinen manga): slapstick humor, themes of honor, explicit sexuality

Layout ● Reading direction of traditional manga: top to bottom, right to left ● Some publishers practice “flipping” but this can cause confusion- backwards words, gas pedals on opposite side of car

What is anime? ● According to wikipedia: ● Anime is Japanese animation ● Began around two-minute clip of samurai trying to test a new sword on a target and suffering defeat ● Released on television, video, video games and online ● Hand-drawn and computer animated ● Influenced by Disney's Snow White and the success of manga

Anime characteristics ● Styles vary from artist to artist ● Commonly accepted characteristics: ● exaggerated physical features (large eyes) ● big hair ● elongated limbs ● dramatically-shaped speech bubbles ● speed lines ● exclamatory typography ● linear qualities

Anime characteristics (cont.) ● Proportions- similar to standard human height (7-8 human heads tall) ● Eye styles- large, coloring to show depth, gleams (sometimes smaller eyes, or just black dots) ● Facial expressions- often exaggerated (shocked or surprised), vein or stress mark, male characters get bloody nose around female love interest, embarassed= sweat drop or red blush/squiggle under eyes

What is a graphic novel? ● According to wikipedia: ● A narrative work in which a story is conveyed using comics form ● Bound in longer and more durable formats than comic magazines ● Story must have a beginning, middle, and end, instead of being produced in a series ● Can include manga, but often refers to genres outside of comic books or with more mature themes

Graphic Novels (cont.) ● Often the theme of graphic novels is dark or heavy, like film-noir style, but it doesn't have to be. ● Illustrations tend to be more realistic ● Modern examples include “Sin City” “The Spirit” and “Watchmen”

Progression of the graphic novel

Examples of “film noir” style of framing