book and should not be confused with genre. You can find many genres such as romance, mystery, science fiction as a manga. Manga is always a book; anime is the Japanese term for animated films that use a similar
art style. Many popular manga are converted into anime or novels. Manga in Japan is typically serialised in large manga magazines with many other manga stories each published one chapter at a time and continuing
in the following volumes. If a series is popular it will be published as its own book or series.
Manga is very different from Western comic books. While both contain stories told through sequential art, western comics are in colour, a larger trim size with smaller page count and are more often superhero stories. Manga are approximately the size of a standard trade paperback, in black and white and have many genres.
History of Manga
While the history of manga can be traced back to the history of visual communication, most consider modern manga to have begun just after WWII with the publishing of Osamu Tezuka's Astro Boy and Kimba the White Lion. Heavily influenced by Disney, Osamu Tezuka is considered the 'god' of modern manga. Manga, originally considered to be a format for children, grew in style and popularity with this post-war generation who continued to enjoy the format well into adulthood. As the age of the fan increased so too did the number of topics and genres.
Types of Manga
Manga can be broken down into several types or categories of manga. Shojo (also known as shoujo): manga aimed at a young female audience. Typically written by women, these stories are often romantic comedies or magical girl series (stories that feature young girls with superhuman abilities who save the world). Shonen (also known as shounen): manga aimed at male readers typically action oriented featuring a male main character. Shonen-ai: manga aimed toward women featuring the romantic relationship between two male characters.
Who Reads Manga?
In Japan, manga are widely read by children and adults of all ages enjoying everything from an action adventure to historical drama to comedy to business and commerce. As manga enters more western cultures, teens are the first group to pick it up. The current reader in Australia has an equal chance of being boy or girl and will age anywhere from 10-19. Older fans who are interested in anime, are often also interested in manga.
How to read Manga
Traditional manga from Japan is in the Japanese right to left reading format. To maintain its authenticity and to stay true to the artists’ original creation, most publishers will keep manga in that right to left format. Manga created by a western artist often is drawn in the creators left to right reading format.
Manga is now available in store.
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