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Devin Castillo

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The World of Manga

Hello Bulldogs! Welcome to the first story of April, which we are unofficially calling Written Media Month. This month is dedicated towards exploring different forms of written media, how they contribute towards society, and what unique qualities they each have to offer. With that said, our first story is dedicated to the written media of manga!

Some of you might be familiar with manga. Especially if you’re a fan of anime or comics. For those of you who are being newly introduced, manga is defined as “A style of Japanese comic books and graphic novels, typically aimed at adults as well as children” (Oxford Languages). 

Before we go on, I would like to note that manga is not the same as anime. Anime is a specific style of animation that is popular in Japan. While manga is written and drawn comic-like stories. Many anime are the animated adaptations of manga, which is why both anime and manga are frequently mentioned within conversations.

Let’s start with a little history lesson. Manga was said to have officially begun in the year 1814. A Japanese painter and printmaker named Hokusai Katsushika is said to be the first person to create manga. Back then, he created and sold 12 volumes of random drawings that he referred to as manga (Hokusai – Wikipedia). You might be most familiar with Hokusai from his painting “The Great Wave off Kanagawa”:

It wasn’t until 1902 that we started seeing something that resembles the form of manga we are most familiar with today. Kitazawa Rakuten published the first modern manga that followed the style of four panels per page with written dialogue (Canson). He is considered to be the founding father of modern manga since his style and work inspired/influenced future artists and graphic novel artists (Kitazawa Rakuten – Wikipedia).

From then, we were introduced to a variety of different stories and genres through manga. There are 5 main popular genres of manga:

  1. Shonen

The Shonen genre is usually targeted towards young adult/teen boys. They usually explore concepts such as coming-of-age, friendship, adventure, action, and comedy. Some titles that fall into the genre that might sound familiar to you include:

  1. Shoujo

The Shoujo genre usually targets young adult/teen girls. They explore concepts such as coming-of-age, friendship, adventure, love, and drama. Some popular titles that fall into this genre include:

  1. Seinen

The Seinen genre targets adult men (18+) and usually explores concepts such as action, violence, and adult themes. Some popular titles that fall into this genre include:

  1. Josei

The Josei genre targets adult women (18+) and usually explores concepts such as romance, drama, and adult themes. Some popular titles that fall into this genre include:

  1. Kodomomuke:

Finally, we have the Kodomomuke genre which targets young children, but that doesn’t stop adults from enjoying them as well. These stories usually explore concepts such as friendship, adventure, and just overall fun. Many of us probably actually grew up with either the manga or anime version of many popular titles such as:

If you are interested in possibly giving manga a chance, I will give you a warning to research titles before reading them. Although I and many other people love and enjoy manga, some stories include story elements that are admittedly uncomfortable to read. Elements such as violence, adult material (strictly 18+), fetishization, etc. That’s not to say that all manga includes these elements, but some stories do. It’s wise to research certain manga titles, see what summaries and general reviews say about the story’s quality and content, then determine if that story is personally a fit for you.

Also, if you are new to the manga scene and want to start reading, you should know that rather than reading from the left to the right like we do in the United States, manga is instead read from the right to left since this is how books are read in Japan. You might find it a bit odd the first time you read manga, but with practice it becomes more natural.

Here’s a link that could help visually show you how to read manga if you’re interested:

How to Read Manga copy.pdf (walker.co.uk)

Now that you’ve gotten a bit of background as to what manga is and what types of stories it has to offer, I hope that if you are interested you will give manga a chance. Manga offers beautifully drawn illustrations, captivating worlds to get lost in, and loveable characters that you can follow along throughout however many volumes a manga series has to offer. I hope that this article could help you to consider what types of manga you could enjoy and find at least one manga that you enjoy.

As we continue to near the end of this semester, I would like to personally thank you all for reading our stories and for joining us every month. I have personally loved the opportunity to write nerd-related stories for you all, and I hope that you’ve enjoyed them as well. Seeing as to how this will be my last story here at Student Media, I wish you all a wonderful rest of the semester and I wish you all well as you continue on your own walks of life. Go Bulldogs!

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Devin Castillo

Hello! I’m Devin Castillo. I’m a TLU Senior majoring in Communication Studies and minoring in English. This year I hope to create content that embraces the nerd identity and highlights different nerdy interests.

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