Departments
MANGA
漫画
Japanese comics
Comics are extremely popular in Japan, and they are not just for children. Manga represent a major portion of the publishing sector. More than ¥500 billion worth of these comics are sold each year.
Categories of Manga
The variety of Japanese manga is vast, and publications tend to target specific demographic groups. Some, like Shonen Jump, target young males between the ages of 10 and 12. Shonen Jump debuted in 1968 as a weekly magazine, and now has a circulation of 3 million. Other manga, such as Sailor Moon, are written for young girls.
A few subcategories of manga contain graphic violent and/or sexual content, and are written for a mature male audience. These manga do not explicitly depict genitalia, but they often contain scenarios involving rape, bondage, and other dark themes. This group of publications is perhaps best thought of as an offshoot of Japan’s porn industry.
Some manga contain sophisticated storylines and complex characters. An example in this category is the Kachō Shima Kōsaku series, by Kensei Hirokane. The main character of this series, Shima Kōsaku, is a thirtysomething middle manager in a large Japanese electronics firm. Shima’s adventures include corporate power struggles, marital turmoil, and parent-child conflicts. Shima also enjoys a wider array of sexual partners than most middle-aged corporate types can likely claim; but the series is more cerebral than sensational.
Manga in the West
Much of any comic’s storyline is conveyed graphically, and can be understood just by following the illustrations. Therefore, many foreign students of the Japanese language enjoy using manga as learning aids. During the 1990s, there was even a magazine based on this premise. Published in the United States from 1990 to 1997, Mangajin offered frame-by-frame breakdowns of Japanese manga, and included extensive language notes. Back issues of Mangajin are still popular among Japanese language students.
Manga have also taken hold of some Western readers who don’t necessarily aspire to learn Japanese. In recent years, translated English-language versions of Japanese manga have found a wide audience in the United States and elsewhere.