Informative speech

Introduction

Girls and young women having sex with the beetle, dragon, octopus and a good boy in junior high turning into a rat when hugged by females are some of the characters making up the huge world of Japanese manga. Manga is the Japanese comic books. It refers to the style of the cartoons originating in Japan. In this speech, I discuss the history of manga, characteristics of Manga art, types of manga, examples of some famous manga, the relationship between Manga and anime, and the manga industry focusing on the Japanese economy, and manga in the US and other parts of the world.

History of Manga

Manga thought to have started centuries ago with Chojugiga drew by Kakuyu (1053-1140), but it did start to develop as full narrative form until the work of Hokusai Katsushika (1760-1849). It's real boom started after the end of World War II (Brenner, 2007). There are many theories of the origin of Manga. There is the argument that manga come from the human desire of wanting to express and record; thus, referring its origin as being that as fundamental as scribbles and doddles. The great master of Manga Osamu Tezuka recorded having stated that manga starts from scribbles. Based on this theory, one can argue that the origin of manga stem as far back as the Stone Age scribbled on cave walls (Brenner, 2007). There are other theories claiming the scroll paintings as being the origin of manga. It serves the function of telling a story as a viewer is casting their eye through the scroll. An influential pre-manga Japanese artwork includes the prints of yokai or the mythical Japanese monsters. Tsukioka Yoshitoshi did create several prints featuring yokai and also scenes of ghosts, warriors, committing seppuku, and true crime stories (Garcia, 2013). The scenes of graphic violence made him popular with contemporary art collectors, and he influenced modern horror manga monsters such as Maruo Suehiro and Shigeru Mizuki.

Characteristics of manga art

The manga drawings are done in ink and pen and are black and while with the emphasis on clean lines. Apart from the highly realistic series, most of the characters have large, almond-shaped eyes, and the body parts are humorously out of proportion (Garcia, 2013). The hair can be long for heroines and heroes, but with shorter hair, it has a spiky appearance.  In most stories, the characters tend to show their emotions clearly, and the artists may manipulate the character’s facial expression through including special devices to make feelings more pronounced. The exclamation point on the head may translate to surprise, shock, or being dumbfounded. Manga has in-depth, complex, and emotional plots that usually attract readers through the drama.  The way characters dress, and accessories’ represent what and who they are (Brenner, 2007). For instance, a character of spiritual nature will wear a cloak or piece of cloth that float so as to represent the spiritual plane. Spears, swords, and other weapons normally represent warrior characters.

Types and examples of manga

There are different types of Manga all suited for different age groups. Kodomo is a type of manga targeted to the young children. These mangas did not contain a lot of text and targeted at children who are just starting to read (Thompson & Atsuhisa 2007). A good example is Doraemon and Hamtaro. Shonen is another type of manga normally targeted at male teenagers. In this type of manga, there is a lot of action and also sports stories. A good example is the Full Metal Panic, Dragon Ball Z, and Ranma ½ (Morimoto, 2008). The third type is Shojo targeted at the teenage girls. The stories in the manga usually deal with the romance where the main female character set in the romantic scenery with bubbles and flowers. However, the story may incorporate any examples. An excellent example of shojo is Sailor Moon. Seinen is a type of manga targeting young male emerging from teenage years. The manga does not focus on high school but the adult life. A good example of Seinen manga is Chobits, Berserk, and Cowboy Bebop. Josei/Redikomi is for adult women, which is a mature version of shojo (Morimoto, 2008). It normally deals with the lives of the Japanese women. Examples include Tramps like us, Gokusen, and Paradise Kiss.

 Relationship between Manga and Anime

Anime is animation style that originated in Japan and manga is Japanese for comics. Anime and manga tend to share many characteristics that include exaggerating the physical features, in which the reader should pay most attention, speed lines and onomatopoeic, dramatically shaped speech bubbles, and exclamatory typography (Brenner, 2007). Manga and anime tend to have close ties with one another because of its similar art styles and their origin. as a way to make it easy to understand, anime is the animated form of manga. According to Lent (2004), in some manga, there is a small amount of total output adapted into anime, which is normal with the collaboration of the original author.

Manga and Japanese economy and the US

Manga is a very important part of Japanese culture. Commercially, it is a major part of Japanese publication industry. Manga industry has been of great help to Japanese culture.  Based on a report covering the book sales from December 2013 to December 2014, the manga book volume rose to 281.51 billion yen (Anime News Network 2015). In the US, people normally think of comics and cartoons as something for children; thus, it is outside a devoted fan base. However, in Japan, they are very popular with females and males of all ages.  The amount of money that the industry spends on manga, every year is equal to billions. It is an indication of how manga is performing in the country. Manga is not only in Japan but also in other parts of the world including the US. In the past years, manga has been traveling well and is now a worldwide phenomenon. In US manga is huge. In 2006, the sales of manga in the US topped $200 million which was 233% increase from $60 million in 2002 (Kelts, 2006). The Japanese comics account for 9% of comic sales in the US. The US is the biggest overseas market, with three US manga publishers; Dark Horse, Tokyopop, and Viz, issue hundreds of titles every year for the retail market.

Conclusion

Due to the increasing recognition and also the use by educational and societal institutions, the manga is now a status of culture in Japan, and it is serving as an essential dispense of knowledge and entertainment while also turning profits. Based on the discussion, manga tends to have many characteristics regarding genres, size, sales, audience, and also artistic styles, which set manga apart from the comic books anywhere else around the world.

Reference

Anime News Network (2015). The Japanese manga book market rises to record 282 Billion Yen 

Brenner, R (2007). Understanding manga and anime. Greenwood Publishing Group

Garcia, H (2013). A geek in Japan. Tuttle Publishing

Kelts, R (2006). Japanamerica: How Japanese Pop Culture Has Invaded the U.S. New York: Palgrave Macmillan

Sherry Roberts is the author of this paper. A senior editor at MeldaResearch.Com in research paper services if you need a similar paper you can place your order for professional research proposal writing services.