This page will contain wikis about manga, as they become available.

Manga

A page from the Marmalade Boy manga, volume 1 (Japanese version)

Manga (漫画) is the Japanese word for comics and/or cartoons it usually refers specifically to Japanese comics. Manga developed from a mixture of ukiyo-e and Western styles of drawing, and took its current form shortly after World War II. It comes mainly in black and white, except for the covers and maybe the first few pages.

A small amount of the total Manga output of Japan is adapted into anime, which is usually created afterwards, once a market interest has been established. Stories are often modified to appeal to a more mainstream market.

Origins

2nd English edition of InuYasha Vol. 1 graphic novel.

Literally translated, manga means "random (or whimsical) pictures". The word first came into common usage after the publication of the 19th century Hokusai manga, containing assorted drawings from the sketchbook of the famous ukiyo-e artist Hokusai. However, gi-ga (literally "funny pictures") drawn in the 12th century by various artists contain many manga-like qualities such as emphasis on story and simple, artistic lines.

Manga developed from a mixture of ukiyo-e and Western art movements. When the United States began trading with Japan, Japan tried to modernise itself and catch up with the rest of the world. Thus, they imported Western artists to teach their students things such as line, form and colour (things which were never concentrated on in ukiyo-e as the idea behind the picture was normally considered more important). Manga at this period was known as Ponchi-e (Punch-picture) and, like its British counterpart Punch magazine, mainly depicted humour and political satire in short 1 or 4 picture format.

Manga as people know it in the 20th and 21st centuries only really came into being after Dr. Osamu Tezuka, widely acknowledged to be the father of story-based manga, became popular. In 1945, Tezuka who was studying medicine, saw a war propaganda animation film called "Momotarou Uminokaihei" whose style was largely copied from Disney's Fantasia. Though a war propaganda film, it was also a children's film, so the main theme of the film was peace and hope in the time of darkness. Tezuka was greatly inspired by the film and later decided to become a comic artist, which at the time (and somewhat even now) was an unthinkable choice for someone who qualified as a medical doctor and Ph.D in medicine. He later commented that a part of reason he went to medical school was to avoid conscription and he actually didn't like seeing blood.

Before Tezuka, most Japanese comics were drawn on one or four picture format dealing with social or political satire or humour. Tezuka introduced film like story telling and character in comic format in which each short-film like episode is part of larger story arch. And just like film, the only text in Tezuka's comic was character's spoken line. Moreover, each of the pictures in pages flow from top right to bottom left so that people could see and read comic in speed reading manner (note that vertical Japanese is written in top-right down to bottom left order). Tezuka also adopted Disney like facial feature where eyes, mouth, eyebrows or nose are drawn in a very exagerated manner to add more distinct characterisation with fewer lines which made his prolific output possible. This somewhat revived the old ukiyo-e like tradition where the picture is a projection of an idea rather than actual physical reality.

Initially, his comic was published in a children's magazine. Soon, it became a specialised weekly or monthly comic magazine, which is now the foundation of the Japanese comic industry. Tezuka adopted his comic to almost all film genres at the time. His manga series cover from action adventure (eg. Kimba the White Lion (Jungle Emperor Leo)) to serious drama (eg. Black Jack) to science fiction (eg. Astro Boy), horror (eg. Dororo, Mitumega Tooru.). It is often commented that any manga genre which Tezuka did not create was done by someone who was desperately trying to find something Tezuka wasn't doing. Though he is known in the West as a creator of the children's animation Astro Boy, many of his comics had some very mature and sometimes dark undertones. Most of his comics' central characters had a tragic background. Atom (Astro Boy) was created by a grieving scientist trying to create an imitation of his dead son, who then later abandoned the boy. Kimba's father was killed by human hunters and the theme of conflict between man and nature was a reccuring theme for the comic. Hyakkimaru in Dororo was born severly crippled because his father offered 48 parts of Dororo's infant body to 48 demons. Some criticise Tezuka's somewhat excessive use of tragic dramatisation in his stories. As the manga generation of children grew up, the market for comics expanded accordingly and manga soon become a major cultural force of Japan. Tezuka also contributed to the social acceptace of manga. His qualification as a medical doctor as well as his serious story lines were used to deflect criticism that manga was vulgar and undesirable for children. He also mentored a number of important comic artists, such as Fujiko Fujio (creator of Doraemon), Akatuka Fujio and Shotaro Ishinomori.

Another important trend in manga was gekiga. Between the 1960s and the 1970s, there were two forms of comic serialisation. One, the manga format, was based on sales of comic magazine. The other, gekiga, was based on a rental format, much in the same line as the modern movie rental systems. Manga was based on weekly or biweekly magazine publications so the demand for prompt production and deadline was paramount. Consequently, most manga artist adopted Tezuka-style drawing where characters are drawn in a simpler but exagerated manner - most typified by large round eyes which is regarded as a defining feature of Japanese comic in the west.

Gekiga on the other hand did not have any deadline so the artist could use much more detailed drawing and more realistic portraial of character with a greatly complex and mature story line. For this reason, gekiga was considered to be much more artistically superior. However, gekiga's rental business model eventually died out in the 1970s, while comic artists in manga format significantly improved their graphic quality and story. Eventually, gekiga was absorbed into manga and now are used to describe manga style which does not use cartoonish drawing. The most famous gekiga style manga in the West is Akira.

Though roughly equivalent to the American comic book, manga holds more importance in Japanese culture than comics do in American culture. In economic terms, a weekly sales of comics in Japan outsell entire annual output of the American comic industry. Several major manga magazines sell several million copies each per week. Manga is well respected both as an art form and as a form of popular literature though it has not reached acceptance of "higher" art genre like film or music. Like its American counterpart, some manga has been criticized for being violent and sexual. For example, a number of film adaptation of manga such as Ichi the Killer or Old Boys were rated Restricted or Mature in the west. However, there have been no official inquiries or laws trying to limit what can be drawn in manga, except for vague decency laws applying to all published materials, stating that "overly indecent materials should not be sold." This freedom has allowed artists to draw manga for every age group and for about every topic.

The manga style

The popular and recognizable style of manga is very distinctive. Emphasis is often placed on line over form, and the storytelling and panel placement differs from those in Western comics. Panels and pages are typically read from right to left, consistent with traditional Japanese writing. While the art can be incredibly realistic or cartoonish, it is often noted that the characters look "Western", or have large eyes. Large eyes have become a permanent fixture in manga and anime since the 1960s when Osamu Tezuka(see above) started drawing them in this way, mimicking the style of Disney cartoons from the United States. Being a very diverse artform, however, not all manga artists adhere to the conventions most popularized in the west through anime such as Akira, Sailor Moon, Dragon Ball Z, and Ranma ½.

A fair number of manga artists do not feel that their stories and characters are set in stone. So a set of characters may build relationships, jobs, etc. in one set of stories ("story arc") only to have another story arc run where the same characters do not know each other. The Tenchi series in particular is known for this; there are more than thirteen different unrelated story arcs based around Tenchi and his friends.

Manga format

Manga magazines usually have many series running concurrently with approximately 20–40 pages allocated to each series per issue. These manga magazines, or "anthology magazines", as they are also known (colloquially "phone books"), are usually printed on low-quality newsprint and can be anywhere from 200 to more than 850 pages long. Manga magazines also contain one-shot comics and various four-panel yonkoma (equivalent to comic strips). Manga series can run for many years if they are successful. Manga artists sometimes start out with a few "one-shot" manga projects just to try to get their name out. If these are successful and receive good reviews, they are continued.

When a series has been running for a while, the stories are usually collected together and printed in dedicated book-sized volumes, called tankōbon. These volumes use higher-quality paper, and are useful to those who want to "catch up" with a series so they can follow it in the magazines or if they find the cost of the weeklies or monthlies to be prohibitive. Recently, "deluxe" versions have also been printed as readers have gotten older and the need for something special grew. Old manga have also been reprinted using somewhat lesser quality paper and sold for 100 yen each to compete with the used book market.

Manga are primarily classified by the age and gender of the target audience. In particular, books and magazines sold to boys (shōnen) and girls (shōjo) have distinctive cover art and are placed on different shelves in most bookstores.

Japan also has manga cafés, or manga kissaten. At a manga kissaten, people drink coffee and read manga.

Many things appear in manga format, including wanted posters for criminals.

Traditionally, manga are written from right to left. Some publishers of translated manga keep that format, but some switch the direction to left to right, so as not to confuse Western readers.

Dōjinshi

Some manga artists will produce extra, sometimes unrelated material, which are known as omake (lit. "bonus" or "extra"). They might also publish their unfinished drawings or sketches, known as oekaki (lit. "sketches").

Dōjinshi is produced by small amateur publishers outside of the mainstream commercial market in a similar fashion to small-press independently published comic books in the United States. Comiket, the largest comic book convention in the world with over 400,000 gathering in 3 days, is devoted to dōjinshi.

Unofficial fan made comics are also called dōjinshi. Some dōjinshi continue with a series' story or write an entirely new one using its characters, much like fan fiction.

Types of manga

Many of these genres apply equally well to anime (which very often includes adaptations of manga) and Japanese computer games (some of which are also adaptations of manga).

By target audience

  • Josei (or redikomi) women
  • Kodomo children
  • Seinen men
  • Shōjo young and teenage girls
  • Shōnen young and teenage boys

Genres

  • Alternative (See also: Garo)
    • Gekiga (dramatic pictures)
    • La nouvelle manga (Franco-Belgian/Japanese artistic movement)
    • Semi-alternative (popular publication individualistic style)
  • Battling companion (not an official name)
  • Dōjinshi Fan-art or self-published manga
  • Magical girl (mahō shōjo)
  • Mecha (giant robots)
  • Moé (also mahō kanojo or magical girlfriend)
  • Shōjo-ai (or Yuri, lesbian romance)
  • Shōnen-ai (or Yaoi, gay romance)

Popular shōnen manga series

  • Bleach (Action/Adventure/Fantasy)
  • Fullmetal Alchemist (Action/Adventure/Comedy)
  • Naruto (Fantasy/Ninja)
  • Samurai Deeper Kyo (Samurai Epic)
  • One Piece (Pirate Action/Comedy)
  • Dragon Ball (Super-Powered Martial Arts)
  • Great Teacher Onizuka (High School Comedy/Action)
  • Negima (Harem/Magic/Comedy)
  • Rurouni Kenshin (Historical Fiction/Romantic Comedy/Action)
  • Saint Seiya (Mythological/Adventure/Action)
  • Inuyasha (action/adventure/comedy)

Popular shōjo manga series

  • Nana (Drama/Romance)
  • Ceres, Celestial Legend (Ayashi no Ceres) (Paranormal/Romance)
  • Boys Over Flowers (Hana Yori Dango) (Drama/Romance)
  • Fruits Basket (Comedy/Romance/Paranormal)
  • Hana-Kimi (Hanazakari no Kimi-tachi e) (Comedy/Romance/Drama)
  • Kare Kano (His and Her Circumstances a.k.a. Kareshi Kanojo no Jijō) (Comedy/Romance/Drama)
  • Marmalade Boy (Comedy/Romance/Drama)
  • Please Save My Earth (Sci-fi/Drama)
  • Revolutionary Girl Utena (Action/Drama)
  • X/1999 (Paranormal)
  • Cardcaptor Sakura(Action/Fantasy)
  • Bishoujo Senshi Sailormoon (fantasy/romance/action)

Popular seinen manga series

Oh My Goddess! (manga) cover
  • 3x3 Eyes (Mythology/Comedy/Horror)
  • Akira (Sci-Fi)
  • Oh My Goddess! (Fantasy/Action)
  • Angel Densetsu (Drama)
  • Berserk (Medieval/Fantasy)
  • Blade of the Immortal (Samurai Drama)
  • Ghost in the Shell (Sci-Fi)
  • Lone Wolf and Cub (Samurai Drama)
  • MONSTER (Horror/Drama)
  • Densha Otoko (Comedy/Drama)

International influence

Demo by Brian Wood (story) and Becky Cloonan (art) is an example of an American comic that is influenced by manga

Manga has long had an influence on international comics and animation the world over. American alternative comics artists such as Frank Miller and Scott McCloud were somewhat influenced by manga in a few of their works.

Other artists such as Americans Brian Wood and Becky Cloonan (Demo) and Canadian Bryan Lee O'Malley (Lost At Sea) are heavily influenced by the mainstream manga style and have received acclaim for their work outside of anime/manga fan circles. These artists have many other influences that make their work more palatable to non-manga readers. These artists have their roots in the anime/manga subculture of their particular regions.

American artist Paul Pope worked in Japan for Kodansha on the manga anthology Afternoon. Before he was fired (due to an editorial change at Kodansha) he was developing many ideas for the anthology that he would later publish in the U.S. as Heavy Liquid. As a result his work features a strong influence from manga without influences from international otaku culture.

In France there is a "Nouvelle Manga" movement started by Frédéric Boilet which seeks to combine mature sophisticated daily life manga with the artistic style of traditional Franco-Belgian comics. While the movement also involves Japanese artists, a handful of French cartoonists other than Boilet have decided to embrace its ideal.

In addition, there are many amateur artists who are influenced exclusively by the manga style. Many of these have their own small publishing houses, and some webcomics and webmanga in this style have become very popular (see Megatokyo). For the most part, these artists are not yet recognized outside of the anime and manga fan community. Many people outside of those circles view those works as being too focused on the American anime subculture, and not focused enough on telling stories that resonate with a wider audience.

Manga outside Japan

Language notes

  • Because nouns in Japanese do not have a plural form, manga is the form for both plural and singular. It is also commonly called コミック(komikku, from comic) in Japanese.
  • Mangaka (漫画家) Literally "Manga professional" is a Japanese term for a manga author/artist.

This page about manga includes information from a Wikipedia article.
Additional articles about manga
News stories about manga
External links for manga
Videos for manga
Wikis about manga
Discussion Groups about manga
Blogs about manga
Images of manga

Many people outside of those circles view those works as being too focused on the American anime subculture, and not focused enough on telling stories that resonate with a wider audience. According to the Free Kaneko website, he warned not to share illegal material using the software. For the most part, these artists are not yet recognized outside of the anime and manga fan community. They also state that the claims of Kaneko's intent by his critics are unprovable (some go as to it being outright false), as Kaneko's noted statements are too vague to be interpreted as having the intent claimed by critics. Many of these have their own small publishing houses, and some webcomics and webmanga in this style have become very popular (see Megatokyo). Others have said that Kaneko's action shouldn't constitute a crime, since he didn't infringe copyright himself, but that he just created software that could be used for that purpose. In addition, there are many amateur artists who are influenced exclusively by the manga style. Critics claim that this is one evidence of Kaneko's malicious intent, as that "47" was advising users not to share copyrighted material on beta 8.1 because it was not anonymous and infringing users could be traced.

While the movement also involves Japanese artists, a handful of French cartoonists other than Boilet have decided to embrace its ideal. Don't exchange illegal files [with it].' 2. In France there is a "Nouvelle Manga" movement started by Frédéric Boilet which seeks to combine mature sophisticated daily life manga with the artistic style of traditional Franco-Belgian comics. beta 8.1 [of Winny] has a security hole and is not anonymous. As a result his work features a strong influence from manga without influences from international otaku culture. In one of the posts in 2ch Download Software board, "47" had pointed out that '.. as Heavy Liquid. These critics also claim that 2ch's Download Software board, where the software was first announced, is a haven for copyright violators, and that Kaneko himself had said that the aim of development of Winny is to push the tide towards a world filled with copyright infringement, quoting several posts from 2ch.

Before he was fired (due to an editorial change at Kodansha) he was developing many ideas for the anthology that he would later publish in the U.S. Critics of Kaneko have stated that the main purpose of Winny is to violate copyright law, unlike Freenet, another peer-to-peer system that Winny is often compared to, which claims to protect freedom of speech. American artist Paul Pope worked in Japan for Kodansha on the manga anthology Afternoon. Finally, they confirmed that they could indeed download the copyrighted file from the user who stated (on his thread) that he was sharing it. These artists have their roots in the anime/manga subculture of their particular regions. They then configured their firewall to only allow connections to them from the thread owner's IP address. These artists have many other influences that make their work more palatable to non-manga readers. The Kyoto Police first looked for a thread where its originator was posting the file names of copyrighted material he was sharing, and recorded his IP address.

Other artists such as Americans Brian Wood and Becky Cloonan (Demo) and Canadian Bryan Lee O'Malley (Lost At Sea) are heavily influenced by the mainstream manga style and have received acclaim for their work outside of anime/manga fan circles. Users accessing threads were able to determine the IP address of the originator of the thread. American alternative comics artists such as Frank Miller and Scott McCloud were somewhat influenced by manga in a few of their works. Unlike its file sharing feature, the forum feature of Winny provided anonymity for users who accessed message threads, but not for creators of threads. Manga has long had an influence on international comics and animation the world over. After failing to crack Winny's encrypted communications used in its file sharing feature, the Kyoto Police switched to a different method, namely tracking users via Winny's integrated forum feature. Many of these genres apply equally well to anime (which very often includes adaptations of manga) and Japanese computer games (some of which are also adaptations of manga). It later turns out, as the details of the method used was disclosed at Kaneko's first day of trial, that this statement was not entirely accurate — It was areas where Winny did not provide anonymity that the Police used to track users down.

Some dōjinshi continue with a series' story or write an entirely new one using its characters, much like fan fiction. At the time of the two users' arrests, the Kyoto Police claimed to have "analyzed Winny's anonymity features" to track the users down, but did not disclose the exact method used. Unofficial fan made comics are also called dōjinshi. . Comiket, the largest comic book convention in the world with over 400,000 gathering in 3 days, is devoted to dōjinshi. After Winny's development was stopped, Share was started by an anonymous Japanese engineer to pick up where Winny left off. Dōjinshi is produced by small amateur publishers outside of the mainstream commercial market in a similar fashion to small-press independently published comic books in the United States. The court hearings started in September 2004 at Kyoto district court.

"sketches"). Kaneko was released on bail on June 1, 2004. They might also publish their unfinished drawings or sketches, known as oekaki (lit. A website set up to raise money for the defense of Kaneko has raised over 11 million yen (about 97,000 US$ on May 23, 2004) within two weeks. "bonus" or "extra"). Kaneko's arrest caused an uproar in communities on the Internet, including 2ch, citing it as an unjust arrest. Some manga artists will produce extra, sometimes unrelated material, which are known as omake (lit. On May 10, 2004, Kaneko was arrested for suspected conspiracy to commit copyright violation by the High-tech Crime Taskforce of the Kyoto Prefectural Police.

Some publishers of translated manga keep that format, but some switch the direction to left to right, so as not to confuse Western readers. Shortly following the two users' arrests, Kaneko also had his home searched and had the source code of Winny confiscated by the Kyoto Police. Traditionally, manga are written from right to left. They were accused of sharing copyrighted material via Winny and admitted to their crimes. Many things appear in manga format, including wanted posters for criminals. On November 28, 2003, two Japanese users of Winny, Yoshihiro Inoue1, a 41 year-old self-employed businessman from Takasaki, Gunma Prefecture and an unemployed 19-year-old from Matsuyama, were arrested by the Kyoto Prefectural Police. At a manga kissaten, people drink coffee and read manga. 47" ("47-Shi", or 47氏 in Japanese), or just "47".

Japan also has manga cafés, or manga kissaten. Since 2ch users often refer to anonymous users by their post numbers, Kaneko came to be known as "Mr. In particular, books and magazines sold to boys (shōnen) and girls (shōjo) have distinctive cover art and are placed on different shelves in most bookstores. Kaneko originally anonymously announced his intent of developing the software on the Download Software board (which was a board filled with copyright infringers) of the popular 2channel (2ch for short) Japanese bulletin board site. Manga are primarily classified by the age and gender of the target audience. He was also once a researcher at the Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute. Old manga have also been reprinted using somewhat lesser quality paper and sold for 100 yen each to compete with the used book market. The software was developed by Isamu Kaneko, who is a research assistant in graduate course of computer engineering at the University of Tokyo in Japan.

Recently, "deluxe" versions have also been printed as readers have gotten older and the need for something special grew. According to P2Pnet, it was the most popular file-sharing program in Japan, with WinMX in second place. These volumes use higher-quality paper, and are useful to those who want to "catch up" with a series so they can follow it in the magazines or if they find the cost of the weeklies or monthlies to be prohibitive. As of September 2003, there were 250,000 users of the program according to the Tokyo-based Association of Copyright for Computer Software. When a series has been running for a while, the stories are usually collected together and printed in dedicated book-sized volumes, called tankōbon. The software takes its name from WinMX, where the M and the X are raised one letter in the Latin alphabet, to N and Y. If these are successful and receive good reviews, they are continued. While Freenet was implemented in Java, Winny was implemented as a Windows C++ application.

Manga artists sometimes start out with a few "one-shot" manga projects just to try to get their name out. Winny (also known as WinNY) is a Japanese peer-to-peer (P2P) file-sharing program that claims to be loosely inspired by the design principles behind the Freenet network and that also claimed to keep user identities untraceable. Manga series can run for many years if they are successful. ISBN 4-756-14548-5. (Japanese). Manga magazines also contain one-shot comics and various four-panel yonkoma (equivalent to comic strips). The Technology of Winny, 201, ASCII. These manga magazines, or "anthology magazines", as they are also known (colloquially "phone books"), are usually printed on low-quality newsprint and can be anywhere from 200 to more than 850 pages long. Kaneko Isamu (2005).

Manga magazines usually have many series running concurrently with approximately 20–40 pages allocated to each series per issue. b7.26 is the version to which a hacker called lark hexedited in some new features, it is widely unused. The Tenchi series in particular is known for this; there are more than thirteen different unrelated story arcs based around Tenchi and his friends. The final version of Winny released by Kaneko himself is 2.0b7.1. in one set of stories ("story arc") only to have another story arc run where the same characters do not know each other. Quote was translated from the original Japanese, which can be found at http://winny.info/2ch/main/1021057195.html#526. So a set of characters may build relationships, jobs, etc. Inoue himself claims to have been using the Kimoto name regularly.

A fair number of manga artists do not feel that their stories and characters are set in stone. Police later found out that the name was an alias. Being a very diverse artform, however, not all manga artists adhere to the conventions most popularized in the west through anime such as Akira, Sailor Moon, Dragon Ball Z, and Ranma ½. The Police and the media initially used this name, as the man used it to identify himself, and the claim could not be verified. Large eyes have become a permanent fixture in manga and anime since the 1960s when Osamu Tezuka(see above) started drawing them in this way, mimicking the style of Disney cartoons from the United States. Earlier versions of this article had stated the name of the 41-year-old man as "Katsuhiko Kimoto". While the art can be incredibly realistic or cartoonish, it is often noted that the characters look "Western", or have large eyes.

Panels and pages are typically read from right to left, consistent with traditional Japanese writing. Emphasis is often placed on line over form, and the storytelling and panel placement differs from those in Western comics. The popular and recognizable style of manga is very distinctive. However, there have been no official inquiries or laws trying to limit what can be drawn in manga, except for vague decency laws applying to all published materials, stating that "overly indecent materials should not be sold." This freedom has allowed artists to draw manga for every age group and for about every topic.

For example, a number of film adaptation of manga such as Ichi the Killer or Old Boys were rated Restricted or Mature in the west. Like its American counterpart, some manga has been criticized for being violent and sexual. Manga is well respected both as an art form and as a form of popular literature though it has not reached acceptance of "higher" art genre like film or music. Several major manga magazines sell several million copies each per week.

In economic terms, a weekly sales of comics in Japan outsell entire annual output of the American comic industry. Though roughly equivalent to the American comic book, manga holds more importance in Japanese culture than comics do in American culture. The most famous gekiga style manga in the West is Akira. Eventually, gekiga was absorbed into manga and now are used to describe manga style which does not use cartoonish drawing.

However, gekiga's rental business model eventually died out in the 1970s, while comic artists in manga format significantly improved their graphic quality and story. For this reason, gekiga was considered to be much more artistically superior. Gekiga on the other hand did not have any deadline so the artist could use much more detailed drawing and more realistic portraial of character with a greatly complex and mature story line. Consequently, most manga artist adopted Tezuka-style drawing where characters are drawn in a simpler but exagerated manner - most typified by large round eyes which is regarded as a defining feature of Japanese comic in the west.

Manga was based on weekly or biweekly magazine publications so the demand for prompt production and deadline was paramount. The other, gekiga, was based on a rental format, much in the same line as the modern movie rental systems. One, the manga format, was based on sales of comic magazine. Between the 1960s and the 1970s, there were two forms of comic serialisation.

Another important trend in manga was gekiga. He also mentored a number of important comic artists, such as Fujiko Fujio (creator of Doraemon), Akatuka Fujio and Shotaro Ishinomori. His qualification as a medical doctor as well as his serious story lines were used to deflect criticism that manga was vulgar and undesirable for children. Tezuka also contributed to the social acceptace of manga.

As the manga generation of children grew up, the market for comics expanded accordingly and manga soon become a major cultural force of Japan. Some criticise Tezuka's somewhat excessive use of tragic dramatisation in his stories. Hyakkimaru in Dororo was born severly crippled because his father offered 48 parts of Dororo's infant body to 48 demons. Kimba's father was killed by human hunters and the theme of conflict between man and nature was a reccuring theme for the comic.

Atom (Astro Boy) was created by a grieving scientist trying to create an imitation of his dead son, who then later abandoned the boy. Most of his comics' central characters had a tragic background. Though he is known in the West as a creator of the children's animation Astro Boy, many of his comics had some very mature and sometimes dark undertones. It is often commented that any manga genre which Tezuka did not create was done by someone who was desperately trying to find something Tezuka wasn't doing.

Dororo, Mitumega Tooru.). Astro Boy), horror (eg. Black Jack) to science fiction (eg. Kimba the White Lion (Jungle Emperor Leo)) to serious drama (eg.

His manga series cover from action adventure (eg. Tezuka adopted his comic to almost all film genres at the time. Soon, it became a specialised weekly or monthly comic magazine, which is now the foundation of the Japanese comic industry. Initially, his comic was published in a children's magazine.

This somewhat revived the old ukiyo-e like tradition where the picture is a projection of an idea rather than actual physical reality. Tezuka also adopted Disney like facial feature where eyes, mouth, eyebrows or nose are drawn in a very exagerated manner to add more distinct characterisation with fewer lines which made his prolific output possible. Moreover, each of the pictures in pages flow from top right to bottom left so that people could see and read comic in speed reading manner (note that vertical Japanese is written in top-right down to bottom left order). And just like film, the only text in Tezuka's comic was character's spoken line.

Tezuka introduced film like story telling and character in comic format in which each short-film like episode is part of larger story arch. Before Tezuka, most Japanese comics were drawn on one or four picture format dealing with social or political satire or humour. He later commented that a part of reason he went to medical school was to avoid conscription and he actually didn't like seeing blood. Tezuka was greatly inspired by the film and later decided to become a comic artist, which at the time (and somewhat even now) was an unthinkable choice for someone who qualified as a medical doctor and Ph.D in medicine.

Though a war propaganda film, it was also a children's film, so the main theme of the film was peace and hope in the time of darkness. In 1945, Tezuka who was studying medicine, saw a war propaganda animation film called "Momotarou Uminokaihei" whose style was largely copied from Disney's Fantasia. Osamu Tezuka, widely acknowledged to be the father of story-based manga, became popular. Manga as people know it in the 20th and 21st centuries only really came into being after Dr.

Manga at this period was known as Ponchi-e (Punch-picture) and, like its British counterpart Punch magazine, mainly depicted humour and political satire in short 1 or 4 picture format. Thus, they imported Western artists to teach their students things such as line, form and colour (things which were never concentrated on in ukiyo-e as the idea behind the picture was normally considered more important). When the United States began trading with Japan, Japan tried to modernise itself and catch up with the rest of the world. Manga developed from a mixture of ukiyo-e and Western art movements.

However, gi-ga (literally "funny pictures") drawn in the 12th century by various artists contain many manga-like qualities such as emphasis on story and simple, artistic lines. The word first came into common usage after the publication of the 19th century Hokusai manga, containing assorted drawings from the sketchbook of the famous ukiyo-e artist Hokusai. Literally translated, manga means "random (or whimsical) pictures". .

Stories are often modified to appeal to a more mainstream market. A small amount of the total Manga output of Japan is adapted into anime, which is usually created afterwards, once a market interest has been established. It comes mainly in black and white, except for the covers and maybe the first few pages. Manga developed from a mixture of ukiyo-e and Western styles of drawing, and took its current form shortly after World War II.

Manga (漫画) is the Japanese word for comics and/or cartoons it usually refers specifically to Japanese comics. Mangaka (漫画家) Literally "Manga professional" is a Japanese term for a manga author/artist. It is also commonly called コミック(komikku, from comic) in Japanese. Because nouns in Japanese do not have a plural form, manga is the form for both plural and singular.

Densha Otoko (Comedy/Drama). MONSTER (Horror/Drama). Lone Wolf and Cub (Samurai Drama). Ghost in the Shell (Sci-Fi).

Blade of the Immortal (Samurai Drama). Berserk (Medieval/Fantasy). Angel Densetsu (Drama). Oh My Goddess! (Fantasy/Action).

Akira (Sci-Fi). 3x3 Eyes (Mythology/Comedy/Horror). Bishoujo Senshi Sailormoon (fantasy/romance/action). Cardcaptor Sakura(Action/Fantasy).

X/1999 (Paranormal). Revolutionary Girl Utena (Action/Drama). Please Save My Earth (Sci-fi/Drama). Marmalade Boy (Comedy/Romance/Drama).

Kareshi Kanojo no Jijō) (Comedy/Romance/Drama). Kare Kano (His and Her Circumstances a.k.a. Hana-Kimi (Hanazakari no Kimi-tachi e) (Comedy/Romance/Drama). Fruits Basket (Comedy/Romance/Paranormal).

Boys Over Flowers (Hana Yori Dango) (Drama/Romance). Ceres, Celestial Legend (Ayashi no Ceres) (Paranormal/Romance). Nana (Drama/Romance). Inuyasha (action/adventure/comedy).

Saint Seiya (Mythological/Adventure/Action). Rurouni Kenshin (Historical Fiction/Romantic Comedy/Action). Negima (Harem/Magic/Comedy). Great Teacher Onizuka (High School Comedy/Action).

Dragon Ball (Super-Powered Martial Arts). One Piece (Pirate Action/Comedy). Samurai Deeper Kyo (Samurai Epic). Naruto (Fantasy/Ninja).

Fullmetal Alchemist (Action/Adventure/Comedy). Bleach (Action/Adventure/Fantasy). Shōnen-ai (or Yaoi, gay romance). Shōjo-ai (or Yuri, lesbian romance).

Moé (also mahō kanojo or magical girlfriend). Mecha (giant robots). Magical girl (mahō shōjo). Dōjinshi Fan-art or self-published manga.

Battling companion (not an official name). Semi-alternative (popular publication individualistic style). La nouvelle manga (Franco-Belgian/Japanese artistic movement). Gekiga (dramatic pictures).

Alternative (See also: Garo)

    . Shōnen young and teenage boys. Shōjo young and teenage girls. Seinen men.

    Kodomo children. Josei (or redikomi) women.