Today, I will be explaining what manga is, the origin of the word and different meanings. We will analyse different websites explanations of the word, and conclude with my very own defintion.
If you don't understand anything at the end of the post, please comment below.I will also recommend manga to read at the end of the post, so please make sure to check that out aswell. I'd love to hear feedback on what I can improve on!
https://www.slideshare.net/KatieEnglishTutoring/english-manga-anime-lesson (Where I got the image from) has a simple, efficient way of explaining the word manga. There is the kanji form too. Lets go over the topic!
This information is correct. The japanese word for comics is indeed manga. It usually covers a plot,characters and story by using an "artistic storytelling style". And it does have many categories for all ages.
For people who'd like to know what the kanji of the word 'manga' looks like, here is an example reference from the Wikipedia;
There are often exaggerated proportion bodies. Examples are Esdeath from Akame Ga Kill! and Meiko Shiraki from Prison School have very big breasts [Graphic Content below??]
Male examples include Bulat from Akame Ga Kill! (However, in this sense, it emphasises his extraordinary strengths) and lots of male characters of the Jojo's Bizzare Adventure series.
Although most of these are anime examples, here are some manga examples too [Guess the Mangas! In comments below, no cheating x)]:
Lots of manga characters are actually accurate though.But most do take after the classic anime style:
- Large body proportions (. Slim legs. Thin waist, wider hips.Mostly soft round and curved (For girls). (Boy manga characters mostly have broad shoulders,hips are usually more narrow than their shoulders and distinctively more angular)
- Large eyes (Usually this is for girls but can also be for boys. This is usually because large eyes make the character seem innocent,young and overall cute...Just look at the cute Misuzu Kamio from Air!)
- Exaggerated Hair (Like Goku's hair for example, from Dragon Ball z, look him up!)
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| Misuzu Kamio (Air) |
Lets look at another source of the art style;
Take a look at this very well drawn manga cover made by Jack Katz from
The First Kingdom.
Very creatively and detailed, this is one of the examples of an accurate drawing of humans and alien species. I haven't read the manga myself so PLEASE do not post any spoilers down in the comments!
One of the ways of instantly recognising a manga is that you have to read left to right instead of right to left. This is one of the mangas where this is the case, as with most other mangas.
"But anime is a cartoon!"
I hear you, but it actually isn't. Neither is it a comic. The difference of a manga to a cartoon is first of all that manga usually has to be created in Japan to be even considered a proper manga. Say if you made a series in the anime art style but published it and created it in England, it would be considered a cartoon or comic; not a manga. A manga is distinctively Japanese (Correct me on what I say next, if needed) but its also to do with age and the detail of art. Manga is for all ages, from the time you read and up and simplistic style of art is considered more cartoon.
This may come to a surprise to you, common examples of this is
Pokemon! and
Yu-Gi-Oh! are clear examples of what is called cartoon and anime. I've always considered Pokemon as a cartoon my whole life, whereas when only I looked into it, it came as a surprise to me that it was actually a type of anime.
The reason I thought this was because lots of cartoons I had watched has simple colours and not-as-detailed animations. E.g. Ben 10 and Adventure Time.
I seriously don't know what brings me to this piece. I think its the contrast of the beautifulness and ugliness that attracts me to it. Hey, they say opposites attract!
