Japanese comics are manga. What is and what are interesting for readers?

It is believed that the cartoons are created, mainly for children. However, in the Land of the Rising Sun, animation, namely anime, shot on manga, are popular not only in children, but also in adults.

Manga - as part of Japanese culture

Japanese comics, manga is part of the national Japanese culture. They are not limited to any genres and graphics ("big eyes"), but they are based on characteristic bright animated works.

The most developed culture of animation in the world is the Japanese animation, which includes anime and, of course, manga.

What is manga, and what is the difference between it and anime? Few people ask this question, and yet it is essential and lies in the very nature of these two concepts. They are an integral part of Japanese culture. Manga is the original source, the ancestor of anime. In fact, without it and anime would not exist , because only the most popular Japanese comics in the future multiply and come to life. Therefore it's right to say that manga is Japanese comics, and anime is animation.

A short excursion into the origin of the "Stories in Pictures"

Manga previously wore a short and understandable name of "History in Pictures". The first mention of painted stories archeologists found in the first centuries of the existence of Japan. Researchers have found drawings that resemble structurally modern comics in the tombs of ancient rulers, also called kurgan kofuns.

The distribution of comics was hampered by the ambiguity and complexity of Japanese writing. Therefore, the manga in Japanese is read from right to left, and not from left to right, illustrated with a lot of black and white drawings, graphic special effects and a minimum of text.

The first Japanese comic is Choujuugiga ("Funny pictures of animal life"). They date from the 12th century and belong to the pen of the Buddhist priest and artist Toba (another name is Kakuyu). Choujuugiga is made in the form of 4 paper scrolls. However, in the days of Kakuya, the work he created was not a modern name.

Hokusai Katsushika strange and funny pictures, characterized by grotesque images, gave a single name - manga.

What is manga and doujinshi?

Strangely enough, the seemingly independent Japanese animation has learned a lot from European cartoons and American comic books. This merger occurred in the second half of the 19th century. And already in the beginning of the 20th century, Japanese comics acquired their own niche in Japanese culture. Manga was funded and encouraged by the government. However, comics that went against the interests of the state were banned. It was then that the first fantastic manga hero appeared - a giant robot that confronted the hated US (1943).

The real revolution took place in the post-war years thanks to Tezuk Osam. Manga was formed as the mainstream of the mass culture of Japan and acquired the features characteristic for it today: black and white illustrations on the stripes, color cover, rare pictures on the pages, standard expression of emotions with signs, strokes.

Those who paint and create manga are called "mangaki". However, in the Japanese market there is not only a professional manga, but also an amateur one. It was with "doujinshi" that many modern mangaks started.

What is interesting for the readers of the manga?

What is manga? This is a synthesis of cartoon effects, comics, exciting stories. These are unrealized dreams of cinematographers about cheap but beautiful and high-quality special effects that attract attention and make viewers watch every step and action of the characters. This is the depth and variety of subjects.

Interesting, exciting events unfolding on the pages of the manga, soon became a refuge for many completely unrealized in the cinema genres: science fiction, mysticism and others.

Mange available cinematographic techniques for less money: drawing actions from different angles, large, medium plans, detailing, demonstrating the movement in stages, visuality.

It should also be noted the characteristic for the heroes of the manga transmission of emotions. It is large-scale, grotesque, but never superfluous. The Japanese themselves in life do not use the facial transmission of feelings, they simply say: "I'm sad, I'm having fun." But the manga and anime characters are the exact opposite of their creators. The transmission of emotions is concentrated and realized through poses, costumes, dances, words, through everything that surrounds the character.

Looking through the Japanese comics, you can meet sparks escaping from your eyes, a whirlwind over your head. To European readers this designation is sometimes not completely understood, but readers from the Land of the Rising Sun know this "language" very well. After all, the basic templates of character emotions were developed by O. Tezuka.

It is believed that the more a hero experiences, the more schematic becomes his image, the more his appearance changes from realistic to grotesque. European fans are attracted by this transformation: it gives dynamism, lightness and expressiveness of the manga.

What is unusual in the symbolic language of Japanese comics? Very often, specific designations, known even to a small Japanese, will be a novelty for an unprepared reader, and therefore will be incomprehensible.

For example, the traditional manifestation of anger in the pages of the manga is the cross wrinkle on the forehead, and the flow of blood from the hero's nose is a sign of lust and lust, fainting is neither fear nor manifestation of poor health, but a sign of surprise.

Proceeding from this, before you study the manga bands, you should first study its "conditional language", and it, by the way, is no easier than Japanese hieroglyphs.