and refer to

manga are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...

and

anime is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...

directed towards

children A child () is a human being between the stages of childbirth, birth and puberty, or between the Development of the human body, developmental period of infancy and puberty. The term may also refer to an unborn human being. In English-speaking ...

. These series are usually moralistic, often educating children about staying in the right path in life. Each chapter is usually a self-contained story

History

Manga aimed at children started in the late 19th century with the production of short manga, approximately 15 pages long, printed in magazines. These short manga were created as a part of the Meiji era's attempt to encourage literacy among Japanese youth. A major milestone in the popularity of anime was the creation of ''

Astro Boy ''Astro Boy'', known in Japan as , is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Osamu Tezuka. It was serialized in Kobunsha's ''Shōnen'' from 1952 to 1968. The 112 chapters were collected into 23 volumes by Akita Shoten. Da ...

'' by

Osamu Tezuka Osamu Tezuka (, born , ''Tezuka Osamu'', – 9 February 1989) was a Japanese manga artist, cartoonist and animator. Considered to be among the greatest and most influential cartoonists of all time, his prolific output, pioneering techniques an ...

, who is often considered the father of anime. Children's anime and manga can be divided into four categories. The first category consists of anime and manga adaptations of Western stories, such as ''

World Masterpiece Theater is a Japanese TV animated series that showcased an animated version of a different classical book or story each year from 19:30 to 20:00 on Sunday on Fuji TV. It aired from 1969 to 1997 and from 2007 to 2009. It is commonly abbreviated to ...

''. Most of them are TV series. Despite being popular, they are less representative of traditional Japanese anime. Instead, they are modeled after classical American or Soviet cartoons. The second category consists of adaptations of Japanese media and original works. They use linguistic gags, contain references to Japanese society, and may be harder to understand for non-Japanese audiences. They are in some ways similar to

American animation American animation is animation created in the United States or by American animators. History * Animation in the United States during the silent era (1900s–1920s) * Golden age of American animation (1920s–1960s) * World War II and America ...

. An example is ''

Doraemon is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Fujiko F. Fujio. First serialized in 1969, the manga's chapters were collected in 45 volumes published by Shogakukan from 1974 to 1996. The story revolves around an earless robotic ...

''. The third category, known as , consists of manga and anime aimed towards young girls, such as '' Hello Kitty''. The fourth category, which is closer to ''shōnen'', has connections with popular

video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...

and toy franchises, and has the greatest commercial success. Manga magazines such as ''

CoroCoro Comic is a Japanese children's manga magazine published by Shogakukan. It was established in 1977 and several of its properties, like ''Doraemon'' and the ''Pokémon'' series of games, have gone on to be cultural phenomena in Japan. The name comes fr ...

'' and ''

Comic BomBom was a monthly Japanese children's manga magazine published by Kodansha and aimed at elementary school boys. It was first published on October 15, 1981, and ceased publication in 2007. A web version of the magazine has been published on Pixiv Com ...

'' primarily target young boys, especially those in elementary school, though some, such as '' Pucchigumi'', target young girls. Popular children's manga is often adapted into anime and accompanied by a plethora of merchandise.

Awards

The annual

Shogakukan Manga Award The is one of Japan's major manga are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is ...

and

Kodansha Manga Award is one of Japan's major manga awards. The event is sponsored by publisher Kodansha. It has been awarded annually for serialized manga in its third iteration since 1977. Categories The award was originally called the until 1968. In 1970, it was ...

each include a category for children's manga. The former first included a category for children's manga in 1981.

References

{{portalbar, Anime and manga Anime and manga terminology

History

Awards

See also

References