Manga

So what is manga? Well that’s a simple answer. It’s a form of a comic book.

 Manga is a form of art style that is used mostly in Japan. Historians still argue when the exact date of manga was first created. Some historians believe that the very first manga was created sometime in the 12^th century. Manga did not get famous until after the early 1940’s. This was around the time that the United States was occupying Japan. At the time, Japan had to follow the policies of censorship that prohibited any kind of glory to the Japanese army. It wasn’t until 1951 when the series called “Astro Boy” came out and started to get the worlds attention on manga. This was the time when manga started to get popular. Astro Boy was used as a symbolic character of a changing world of peace. Astro Boy would become one of the most popular anime/manga characters to date.

  During the 1950’s and 60’s there were two very popular types of manga. You had “shonen”, which is a type of manga aimed more to a boy audience (such as “Astro Boy”, Dragon Ball Z”, and “One Piece”). In the shonen genre, you will find that it is more likely that it will have more violence and adventure circle around there storylines. Then the genre known as “shojo” which is more based at a girl audience (such as “Fruits Basket, “Ouran High School Host Club,” and “Vampire Knight”). In the genre of shojo you’ll find that its main plot points are based more about school, and romantic relationships.

Manga has always been popular in Japan. In the United States, the only manga that was translated into English before the 1980’s was Astro Boy. But it still took until 1965 for the first issue of Astro Boy to come out. But during the 1980’s, a company called “Viz Entertainment” decided to start translating manga’s into English. Manga like “Lone Wolf and Cub,” and “Akira.” But the popularity of manga did not come until the mid 1990’s. It wasn’t until 1997 that manga had huge success in the United States.  This was around the time that companies started publishing manga like “Sailor Moon,” “Dragon Ball Z,” “Naruto,” and “One Piece.” This was also during the time of the booming success of anime. But, like anime, the manga industry took a huge drop in popularity after the recession hit the United States. The popularity of manga like One Piece had kept the manga industry opened during the time of the recession. But, during the recession there were many companies closing down. But like the anime industry, the popularity of manga is coming back. There are many publishing companies who are reopening and translating manga in the United States.

Here are a few Manga I recommend:

Berserk by Kentaro Miura

Drifters by Kouta Hirano

One Piece by Eiichiro Oda

Vagabond by Takehiko Inoue

Hunter X Hunter by Yoshihiro Togashi

Doubt by Yoshiki Tonogai

Attack on Titan by Hajime Isayama

King of Wolves by Kentaro Miura

And….. Hellsing by Kouta Hirano

Gundam

Gundam:

            

      Now let’s talk more about a show that I had originally mentioned in my last blog.

The shows name is Gundam. Basically the show is based on the idea that one day in the future there will be places called “Space Colony’s,” which will one day be the places where most of humanity will turn to once we’ve run out of areas for people to live on earth. The show also focuses on the idea of machines called “mecha.” Basically mechas are robots that are designed for humans to pilot, and control them to do specific tasks. In today’s society we are actually getting so advanced that we are starting to see mechas show up more often. One of the first mecha ever created was called “Big Muskie.” Big Muskie was created in 1969 and used until 1991. It was used in the state of Ohio to pick up dirt with its huge bucket and move it from one area to the next. The idea behind “Gundam,” was to create mecha for pilots to use for war purposes.  This thought has actually influenced many countries of the present day to start researching this idea. The first country to actually design a mecha for war was the United States.  Unfortunately, for now; the vehicle is not in mass production. But as of right now, the United States, Russia, and Japan, are all in a race to build the first design of a mecha that is actually influenced by the show “Gundam.”  This race did not start until a year ago when Japan built a statue version of the main mecha in “Gundam” and made it so that it could walk on its own. Now, after having success with this, Japan has confirmed that they will build a real prototype that will be used for military purposes, which has brought a lot of stress on world superpowers to build there own versions.

The politics of the show have also been debated for years. The main story is that there are two factions at war. The first faction is the “Earth Federation,” who is shown in most series’ of the show as the good guys. Basically their standpoint on people moving to space is that they should be governed by the same politicians of earth.  The other faction, the “Zeon,” is seen as the enemy of the world. Their standpoint is that the space colonies should be governed by their own body of government. What makes them the villain in the show is the fact that they want it ruled like a dictatorship. The space colonies would be ruled by the Zabbi family. They are the new leaders of the army of Zeon. They felt that they were the true heirs to govern the newly established society, and wanted to run it their way. Many people debate who is the true villain in this show, due to the earth federation at times, having corrupt government officials who try to use the space colonies to their financial success, by taxing the civilians of the colonies.

If you ever get a chance to watch at least the first series of this show, take the time and do it. It might seem a little strange at first, but the story develops very quickly into more of a political war show.

 - Outside of a Space Colony

- What the inside of a space colony looks like.

 - A mecha in battle.

 Join in next week where I’ll be discussing what manga is!

Anime History.

Now let’s talk more about Anime's History.

                                

When Anime first started, it was actually a short animated piece that was used for commercials in movie theaters. As of right now, the oldest cell frame used that still exists was created in 1907. Its name is Katsuo Shashin and it only lasted 4 seconds.  It shows a small boy in a sailor outfit writing down the Chinese characters “活動写真”, which stands for “Moving Picture.” It wasn’t until 1944 when the first feature length film came out.  This film was called “Momotaro’s Divine Sea Warriors.”  The setting was used in time of war, and was used to show the children of Japan that one day there would be peace. It was also inspired by Walt Disney’s “Fantasia.”

In the late 70’s, Anime finally became world wide. There was a show by the name of “Gundam” that had come out that had many people around the world discussing the politics and machines of the show.

The biggest success of Anime came in the late 80’s to late 90’s.  The boom of the Anime industry took off with the success of shows like: Voltron, Mobile Suit Gundam Zeta, Dragon Ball Z, Naruto, and One Piece.  The success of these shows in Japan made them all go world wide, The United States started to buy the rights to have these shows shown on American televisions, and to be able to put there own dialogue to the show, which is known as “dubbing.” 

When the early 2000’s came and the recession hit, the Anime industry took a huge loss.  Many of the big named companies that had set up operation here in the United States had to leave and go back to Japan to survive. One of those companies was Bandai. Bandai was once known in America to create toys, anime, and video games. Since the recession, Bandai now has to contract a third party company to sell their items in the United States.

As of 2008 the anime industry has picked back up with the success of shows like: Sword Art Online, Attack on Titan, and Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood.  Many fans of the genre are excited to have these shows in here in the United States. 

Based on recent research, I discovered that of all of the anime currently being made, approximately only 10% is being brought here to the United States. This is because the distribution companies are still attempting to figure out which anime series appeal to Americans.

Now, after the recession, we are starting to see many more anime titles being brought to America, but at the same time, we are also seeing more companies coming back to our shores to set up offices to help run their businesses here.  With the computer age, there are many more ways of getting anime and allowing people to view it.  Some ways are legal, and some are not. With the vast availability of anime, there has been an increase in popularity, mostly by teens and young adults. So much so; that there are many more conventions for anime being held across the country.

Tune in next week for another topic.

- One of the first Cel's used in Anime.

Whats What; Things about Otaku and my blog

   Let’s begin by saying that anime and manga have always been apart of my life. It wasn’t until only a few years ago that my brother and I were introduced to the world of Otaku.

Now let me explain what being in the Otaku world means. The word Otaku actually has two meanings.  The first definition, which originated in Japan, simply means “shut-in.”  It’s believed in Japan, that anyone who is described as an Otaku is a very lazy person, who spends most of their time playing video games, watching anime, or reading manga. The American definition strictly defines otaku as a person who reads manga, watches anime, or loves Japanese based video games. In most countries, the American definition is more frequently looked upon to describe an Otaku.  Many people question why that is, especially because the word Otaku did not originate from the United States.  The simple answer to that question is that most people use it as a different form of the word “nerd.”  Just like music, there are actually many different genres of being a “nerd.” You have your “comic” nerds, “sci-fi” nerds, “video game” nerds, and Otaku. To be classified into one of these categories does not exclude you from any of the others; it just simply means you’re into one of those categories more than the others. To me being an Otaku is one of the most interesting things that you can be. Even though the American definition of the word for Otaku is used, many people still have the thought that Otaku’s are people who smell bad, are overweight, live in their parents basement, and are not social at all.  This is actually a falsified stereotype, as many Otaku’s actually live by themselves, have relationships, well paying jobs, and take showers. Most Otakus actually hide the fact that they are Otakus, because they are afraid they’ll be categorized as one of “those” Otaku’s. Most Otakus don’t express themselves until they go to places called conventions, or “cons” for short.  Basically a con is a place where many people go to talk or hangout and meet people who are into the same thing as themselves. One nice thing about being an Otaku is that most other Otakus are very friendly.  Although each Otaku may have their individual favorite anime or manga, there are great conversations about the interests of other Otakus’ favorites.  This type of friendly dialogue, can, in most cases, turn into a really good friendship.

So, as you can see, there is so much more to anime and manga, than just watching and reading. There is an entire world of fans dedicated to these types of entertainment.

Now that I have your interest, come back, because, in the next few weeks, I will be going into more detailed explanation as to what anime and manga are, and the many different genres of them. I am doing this because I believe there are many people out there who would enjoy anime and manga, but don’t know what they are, and I want to help them understand.