What is Manga?

Literally translated, the Japanese word "manga" means "whimsical pictures". However, most people know manga as Japanese comics and its popularity is at an all-time high. From America to Europe and, of course, manga's home in Japan, there are devotees of all ages and cultures. Within the last decade, the once hard-to-find titles are now taking over shelves in Western comic shops. Despite its seemingly overnight success outside of Japan, however, manga has been around since the 19^th century.

The history of manga is sometimes traced back to "whimsical" Japanese paintings produced as long ago as the 12^th century. However, the medium that is more familiar to today's readers began in the late 19^th century when magazines and newspapers started to be distributed more widely. Manga has always been primarily published as serial comic pages in newspapers in magazines. Only in more recent years has manga been compiled into book format and it is almost never written specifically for book format first.

The first prominent manga writer and illustrator was Osamu Tezuka, now referred to as the Walt Disney of Japan and/or the father of manga. Although he has been dead since 1989, Tezuka's influence is still felt throughout the manga and anime community. His manga interpretation of Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island was released in 1947 and was an instant hit. This was the first widely read manga title, as well as Tezuka's first success as an artist. He is responsible for countless creations, including the internationally known Japanese superhero, Astro Boy.

Tezuka helped to create a manga boom and it was in the late 1940's and early 1950's that his own brand of manga style was perfected. Most Western readers will quickly note the unique characteristics of manga artwork. Not only is true manga printed to be read from right to left (just as the Japanese would read it), there is a very stylized approach to the illustrations. For instance, a person in a manga story who is surprised by something may appear to have fallen onto the floor. This isn't to be taken literally, of course, but is instead supposed to represent the person's astonishment.

In addition to unique artwork and layout, manga has its own kind of narration. Most manga stories unfold slowly and intricately, which is referred to as "decompression". Manga's modern form of storytelling isn't all attributed to Osamu Tezuka, however. He too was greatly influenced by a trend known as "geki-ga" in the 1960's. The geki-ga style of manga began with Yoshihiro Tatsumi, an artist who took the medium very seriously. With geki-ga came a more adult and thoughtful approach to manga narrative. Many people use the example of "comic books versus graphic novels" when discussing geki-ga's influence on the manga community. With geki-ga came more adult manga readers, particularly college students, who suddenly found manga to be a respected literary format.