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Manga (
Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...
: 漫画 ) are
comics a medium used to express ideas with images, often combined with text or other visual information. It typically the form of a sequence of panels of images. Textual devices such as speech balloons, captions, and onomatopoeia can indicate ...
or
graphic novel A graphic novel is a long-form, fictional work of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comic scholars and industry ...
s originating from
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late
19th century The 19th (nineteenth) century began on 1 January 1801 ( MDCCCI), and ended on 31 December 1900 ( MCM). The 19th century was the ninth century of the 2nd millennium. The 19th century was characterized by vast social upheaval. Slavery was abolis ...
, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier
Japanese art Japanese art covers a wide range of art styles and media, including ancient pottery, sculpture, ink painting and calligraphy on silk and paper, ''ukiyo-e'' paintings and woodblock prints, ceramics, origami, and more recently manga and anime. It ...
. The term ''manga'' is used in Japan to refer to both comics and
cartooning A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in both drawing and writing cartoons (individual images) or comics (sequential images). Cartoonists differ from comics writers or comic book illustrators in that they produce both the literary and ...
. Outside of Japan, the word is typically used to refer to comics originally published in the country. In Japan, people of all ages and walks of life read manga. The medium includes works in a broad range of
genres Genre () is any form or type of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially-agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other for ...
:
action Action may refer to: * Action (narrative), a literary mode * Action fiction, a type of genre fiction * Action game, a genre of video game Film * Action film, a genre of film * ''Action'' (1921 film), a film by John Ford * ''Action'' (1980 fil ...
,
adventure An adventure is an exciting experience or undertaking that is typically bold, sometimes risky. Adventures may be activities with danger such as traveling, exploring, skydiving, mountain climbing, scuba diving, river rafting, or other extreme spo ...
, business and commerce,
comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...
,
detective A detective is an investigator, usually a member of a law enforcement agency. They often collect information to solve crimes by talking to witnesses and informants, collecting physical evidence, or searching records in databases. This leads th ...
,
drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...
,
historical History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...
, horror,
mystery Mystery, The Mystery, Mysteries or The Mysteries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters *Mystery, a cat character in ''Emily the Strange'' Films * ''Mystery'' (2012 film), a 2012 Chinese drama film * ''Mystery'' ( ...
,
romance Romance (from Vulgar Latin , "in the Roman language", i.e., "Latin") may refer to: Common meanings * Romance (love), emotional attraction towards another person and the courtship behaviors undertaken to express the feelings * Romance languages, ...
,
science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...
and
fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy ...
,
erotica Erotica is literature or art that deals substantively with subject matter that is erotic, sexually stimulating or sexually arousing. Some critics regard pornography as a type of erotica, but many consider it to be different. Erotic art may use ...
(''
hentai Hentai is anime and manga pornography. A loanword from Japanese, the original term ( ) does not describe a genre of media, but rather an abnormal sexual desire or act, as an abbreviation of . In addition to anime and manga, hentai works exis ...
'' and ''
ecchi is a slang term in the Japanese language for playfully sexual actions. As an adjective, it is used with the meaning of "sexy", "dirty" or "naughty"; as a verb, means "to have sex", and as a noun, it is used to describe someone of lascivious ...
''),
sports Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, th ...
and games, and suspense, among others. Many manga are translated into other languages. Since the 1950s, manga has become an increasingly major part of the Japanese publishing industry. By 1995, the manga market in Japan was valued at (), with annual sales of 1.9billion manga books and
manga magazines This is a list of manga magazines or published in Japan. The majority of manga magazines are categorized into one of five demographics, which correspond to the age and gender of their readership: * '' Kodomo'' – aimed at young children. * '' ...
in Japan (equivalent to 15issues per person). In 2020 Japan's manga market value hit a new record of ¥612.6 billion due to the fast growth of digital manga sales as well as increase of print sales. Manga have also gained a significant worldwide audience., Beginning with the late 2010s manga started massively outselling American comics. In 2020 the North American manga market was valued at almost $250 million. According to
NPD BookScan The NPD Group, Inc. (NPD; formerly National Purchase Diary Panel Inc. and NPD Research Inc.) is an American market research company founded on September 28, 1966, and based in Port Washington, New York. In 2017, NPD ranked as the 8th largest ma ...
manga made up 76% of overall comics and graphic novel sales in the US in 2021. The fast growth of the North American manga market has been attributed to manga's wide availability on digital reading apps, book retailer chains such as
Barnes & Noble Barnes & Noble Booksellers is an American bookseller. It is a Fortune 1000 company and the bookseller with the largest number of retail outlets in the United States. As of July 7, 2020, the company operates 614 retail stores across all 50 U. ...
and online retailers such as
Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology c ...
as well as the increased streaming of
anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...
. According to Jean-Marie Bouissou, manga represented 38% of the French comics market in 2005. This is equivalent to approximately 3 times that of the United States and was valued at about ($million). In Europe and the Middle East, the market was valued at $250 million in 2012. Manga stories are typically printed in
black-and-white Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white in a continuous spectrum, producing a range of shades of grey. Media The history of various visual media began with black and white, and as technology improved, altered to color. ...
—due to time constraints, artistic reasons (as coloring could lessen the impact of the artwork) and to keep printing costs low—although some full-color manga exist (e.g., '' Colorful''). In Japan, manga are usually serialized in large manga magazines, often containing many stories, each presented in a single episode to be continued in the next issue. Collected chapters are usually republished in ''
tankōbon is the Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or cultur ...
'' volumes, frequently but not exclusively paperback books., A
manga artist A is a comic artist who writes and/or illustrates manga. As of 2006, about 3,000 professional manga artists were working in Japan. Most manga artists study at an art college or manga school or take on an apprenticeship with another artist be ...
(''mangaka'' in Japanese) typically works with a few assistants in a small studio and is associated with a creative editor from a commercial publishing company. If a manga series is popular enough, it may be
animated Animation is a method by which still figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most ani ...
after or during its run. Sometimes, manga are based on previous
live-action Live action (or live-action) is a form of cinematography or videography that uses photography instead of animation. Some works combine live-action with animation to create a live-action animated film. Live-action is used to define film, video ga ...
or animated films. Manga-influenced comics, among original works, exist in other parts of the world, particularly in those places that speak Chinese ("
manhua () are Chinese-language comics produced in China and Taiwan. Whilst Chinese comics and narrated illustrations have existed in China in some shape or form throughout its imperial history, the term first appeared in 1904 in a comic titled ''Cu ...
"), Korean ("
manhwa (; ) is the general Korean language, Korean term for comics and print cartoons. Outside Korea, the term usually refers to South Korea, South Korean comics. is greatly influenced by Japanese Manga comics. Modern Manhwa has extended its rea ...
"), English ("
OEL manga An original English-language manga or OEL manga is a comic book or graphic novel drawn in the style of manga and originally published in English. The term "international manga", as used by the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, encompasses all ...
"), and French (" manfra"), as well as in the nation of Algeria ("DZ-manga").


Etymology

The word "manga" comes from the Japanese word 漫画 (
katakana is a Japanese syllabary, one component of the Japanese writing system along with hiragana, kanji and in some cases the Latin script (known as rōmaji). The word ''katakana'' means "fragmentary kana", as the katakana characters are derived fr ...
: ;
hiragana is a Japanese syllabary, part of the Japanese writing system, along with ''katakana'' as well as ''kanji''. It is a phonetic lettering system. The word ''hiragana'' literally means "flowing" or "simple" kana ("simple" originally as contrast ...
: ), composed of the two
kanji are the logographic Chinese characters taken from the Chinese family of scripts, Chinese script and used in the writing of Japanese language, Japanese. They were made a major part of the Japanese writing system during the time of Old Japanese ...
漫 (man) meaning "whimsical or impromptu" and 画 (ga) meaning "pictures". The same term is the root of the Korean word for comics, ''"
manhwa (; ) is the general Korean language, Korean term for comics and print cartoons. Outside Korea, the term usually refers to South Korea, South Korean comics. is greatly influenced by Japanese Manga comics. Modern Manhwa has extended its rea ...
"'', and the Chinese word ''"
manhua () are Chinese-language comics produced in China and Taiwan. Whilst Chinese comics and narrated illustrations have existed in China in some shape or form throughout its imperial history, the term first appeared in 1904 in a comic titled ''Cu ...
"''. The word first came into common usage in the late 18th century, with the publication of such works as
Santō Kyōden Santō Kyōden (山東 京伝, 13 September 1761 Edo – 27 October 1816) was a Japanese artist, writer, and the owner of a tobacco shop during the Edo period. His real name was Iwase Samuru (岩瀬 醒), and he was also known popularly as Kyō ...
's picturebook ''Shiji no yukikai'' (1798), and in the early 19th century with such works as Aikawa Minwa's ''Manga hyakujo'' (1814) and the celebrated ''
Hokusai Manga The is a collection of sketches of various subjects by the Japanese artist Hokusai. Subjects of the sketches include landscapes, flora and fauna, everyday life and the supernatural. The word ''manga'' in the title does not refer to the contemp ...
'' books (1814–1834) containing assorted drawings from the sketchbooks of the famous
ukiyo-e Ukiyo-e is a genre of Japanese art which flourished from the 17th through 19th centuries. Its artists produced woodblock prints and paintings Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surfac ...
artist
Hokusai , known simply as Hokusai, was a Japanese ukiyo-e artist of the Edo period, active as a painter and printmaker. He is best known for the woodblock printing in Japan, woodblock print series ''Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji'', which includes the ...
.
Rakuten Kitazawa , better known by the pen name , was a Japanese manga artist and ''nihonga'' artist. He drew many editorial cartoons and comic strips during the years from the late Meiji era through the early Shōwa era. He is considered by many historians to ...
(1876–1955) first used the word "manga" in the modern sense. In Japanese, "manga" refers to all kinds of cartooning, comics, and animation. Among English speakers, "manga" has the stricter meaning of "Japanese comics", in parallel to the usage of "
anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...
" in and outside Japan. The term " ani-manga" is used to describe comics produced from animation cels.


History and characteristics

According to art resource Widewalls manga originated from ''
emakimono or is an illustrated horizontal narration system of painted handscrolls that dates back to Nara-period (710–794 CE) Japan. Initially copying their much older Chinese counterparts in style, during the succeeding Heian (794–1185) and Ka ...
'' (scrolls), ''
Chōjū-jinbutsu-giga , commonly shortened to , is a famous set of four picture scrolls, or ''emakimono'', belonging to Kōzan-ji temple in Kyoto, Japan. The ''Chōjū-giga'' scrolls are also referred to as ''Scrolls of Frolicking Animals'' and ''Scrolls of Frol ...
'', dating back to the 12th century. During the
Edo period The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional '' daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was characteriz ...
(1603–1867), a book of drawings titled ''Toba Ehon'' further developed what would later be called manga. The word itself first came into common usage in 1798, with the publication of works such as
Santō Kyōden Santō Kyōden (山東 京伝, 13 September 1761 Edo – 27 October 1816) was a Japanese artist, writer, and the owner of a tobacco shop during the Edo period. His real name was Iwase Samuru (岩瀬 醒), and he was also known popularly as Kyō ...
's picturebook ''Shiji no yukikai'' (1798), and in the early 19th century with such works as Aikawa Minwa's ''Manga hyakujo'' (1814) and the ''
Hokusai Manga The is a collection of sketches of various subjects by the Japanese artist Hokusai. Subjects of the sketches include landscapes, flora and fauna, everyday life and the supernatural. The word ''manga'' in the title does not refer to the contemp ...
'' books (1814–1834). Adam L. Kern has suggested that '' kibyoshi'', picture books from the late 18th century, may have been the world's first
comic book A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...
s. These graphical narratives share with modern manga humorous, satirical, and romantic themes. Some works were mass-produced as serials using
woodblock printing Woodblock printing or block printing is a technique for printing text, images or patterns used widely throughout East Asia and originating in China in antiquity as a method of printing on textiles and later paper. Each page or image is create ...
. however Eastern comics are generally held separate from the evolution of Western comics and Western comic art probably originated in 17th Italy, Writers on manga history have described two broad and complementary processes shaping modern manga. One view represented by other writers such as
Frederik L. Schodt Frederik L. Schodt (born January 22, 1950) is an American translator, interpreter and writer. Biography Schodt's father was in the US foreign service, and he grew up in Norway, Australia, and Japan. The family first went to Japan in 1965 wh ...
, Kinko Ito, and Adam L. Kern, stress continuity of Japanese cultural and aesthetic traditions, including pre-war, Meiji, and pre-Meiji
culture Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups.Tyl ...
and
art Art is a diverse range of human activity, and resulting product, that involves creative or imaginative talent expressive of technical proficiency, beauty, emotional power, or conceptual ideas. There is no generally agreed definition of wha ...
. The other view, emphasizes events occurring during and after the
Allied occupation of Japan Japan was occupied and administered by the victorious Allies of World War II from the 1945 surrender of the Empire of Japan at the end of the war until the Treaty of San Francisco took effect in 1952. The occupation, led by the United States w ...
(1945–1952), and stresses U.S. cultural influences, including U.S. comics (brought to Japan by the
GIs A geographic information system (GIS) is a type of database containing Geographic data and information, geographic data (that is, descriptions of phenomena for which location is relevant), combined with Geographic information system software, sof ...
) and images and themes from U.S. television, film, and cartoons (especially
Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
). Regardless of its source, an explosion of artistic creativity occurred in the post-war period, involving manga artists such as
Osamu Tezuka Osamu Tezuka (, born , ''Tezuka Osamu''; – 9 February 1989) was a Japanese manga artist, cartoonist, and animator. Born in Osaka Prefecture, his prolific output, pioneering techniques, and innovative redefinitions of genres earned him such ...
(''
Astro Boy ''Astro Boy'', known in Japan by its original name , 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 ''tankōbon'' vo ...
'') and
Machiko Hasegawa was a Japanese manga artist and one of the first female manga artists. She started her own comic strip, ''Sazae-san'', in 1946. It reached national circulation via the ''Asahi Shimbun'' in 1949, and ran daily until Hasegawa decided to retire in ...
(''
Sazae-san is a Japanese yonkoma manga series written and illustrated by Machiko Hasegawa. It was first published in Hasegawa's local paper, the , on April 22, 1946. When the ''Asahi Shimbun'' wished to have Hasegawa draw the four-panel comic for thei ...
''). ''Astro Boy'' quickly became (and remains) immensely popular in Japan and elsewhere, and the
anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...
adaptation of ''Sazae-san'' drew more viewers than any other anime on Japanese television in 2011. Tezuka and Hasegawa both made stylistic innovations. In Tezuka's "cinematographic" technique, the panels are like a motion picture that reveals details of action bordering on slow motion as well as rapid zooms from distance to close-up shots. This kind of visual dynamism was widely adopted by later manga artists. Hasegawa's focus on daily life and on women's experience also came to characterize later ''
shōjo manga is an editorial category of Japanese comics targeting an audience of adolescent females and young adult women. It is, along with manga (targeting adolescent boys), manga (targeting young adult and adult men), and manga (targeting adul ...
''. Between 1950 and 1969, an increasingly large readership for manga emerged in Japan with the solidification of its two main marketing genres, ''
shōnen manga is an editorial category of Japanese comics targeting an audience of adolescent boys. It is, along with manga (targeting adolescent girls and young women), manga (targeting young adult and adult men), and manga (targeting adult women), ...
'' aimed at boys and ''
shōjo manga is an editorial category of Japanese comics targeting an audience of adolescent females and young adult women. It is, along with manga (targeting adolescent boys), manga (targeting young adult and adult men), and manga (targeting adul ...
'' aimed at girls. In 1969 a group of female manga artists (later called the ''
Year 24 Group The is a grouping of female manga artists who heavily influenced ''shōjo'' manga (Japanese girls' comics) beginning in the 1970s. While ''shōjo'' manga of the 1950s and 1960s largely consisted of simple stories marketed towards elementary s ...
'', also known as ''Magnificent 24s'') made their ''shōjo'' manga debut ("year 24" comes from the Japanese name for the year 1949, the birth-year of many of these artists). The group included Moto Hagio,
Riyoko Ikeda is a Japanese manga artist and singer. She is included in the Year 24 Group, by some, although her status as one of them has been debated due to a focus more on epic stories than the internal psychology of those mangaka. She was one of the most ...
, Yumiko Ōshima,
Keiko Takemiya is a Japanese manga artist and the former president of Kyoto Seika University. Career Keiko Takemiya (or Takemiya Keiko) is included in the Year 24 Group, a term coined by academics and critics to refer to a group of female authors in the ...
, and
Ryoko Yamagishi is a Japanese manga artist. She is one of the Year 24 Group, a collection of female artists who innovated (girls') manga throughout the 1970s. Her major works include and '' Terpsichora''. Biography Ryoko Yamagishi was born on September 2 ...
. Thereafter, primarily female manga artists would draw ''shōjo'' for a readership of girls and young women. In the following decades (1975–present), ''shōjo'' manga continued to develop stylistically while simultaneously evolving different but overlapping subgenres. Major subgenres include romance, superheroines, and "Ladies Comics" (in Japanese, ''redisu'' , ''redikomi'' , and ''josei'' ). Modern ''shōjo'' manga romance features love as a major theme set into emotionally intense narratives of
self-realization Self-realization is an expression used in Western psychology, philosophy, and spirituality; and in Indian religions. In the Western understanding, it is the "fulfillment by oneself of the possibilities of one's character or personality" (see ...
. With the superheroines, ''shōjo'' manga saw releases such as
Pink Hanamori is a Japanese manga artist known for illustrating the manga ''Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch'' which was written by Michiko Yokote. Michiyo Kikuta (''Mamotte! Lollipop'') once worked under Hanamori as an assistant. Hanamori is a fan of Shōnen ...
's ''
Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch is a ''shōjo'' manga and anime series created by Michiko Yokote, with artwork by Pink Hanamori. The manga was originally published in the monthly shōjo manga anthology ''Nakayoshi''. There are 32 chapters published (including two spec ...
'',
Reiko Yoshida is a Japanese screenwriter. She has written and supervised numerous screenplays for anime series, live-action dramas and films. Her major works include ''Kaleido Star'', ''Aria'', '' Maria-sama ga Miteru'', ''D.Gray-man'', ''K-On!'', ''Bakuman' ...
's ''
Tokyo Mew Mew is a Japanese manga series created and written by Reiko Yoshida and illustrated by Mia Ikumi. It was originally serialized in Kodansha's ''shōjo'' manga magazine ''Nakayoshi'' from September 2000 to February 2003, with its chapters co ...
'', and Naoko Takeuchi's ''
Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Naoko Takeuchi. It was originally serialized in Kodansha's ''shōjo'' manga magazine '' Nakayoshi'' from 1991 to 1997; the 52 individual chapters were published in 18 volumes. The s ...
'', which became internationally popular in both manga and anime formats. Groups (or ''
sentai In Japanese, is a military unit and may be literally translated as " squadron", " task force", " division (of ships)", "group" or "wing". The terms "regiment" and "flotilla", while sometimes used as translations of ''sentai'', are also used t ...
s'') of girls working together have also been popular within this genre. Like Lucia, Hanon, and Rina singing together, and Sailor Moon, Sailor Mercury, Sailor Mars, Sailor Jupiter, and Sailor Venus working together. Manga for male readers sub-divides according to the age of its intended readership: boys up to 18 years old (''shōnen'' manga) and young men 18 to 30 years old (''
seinen is an editorial category of Japanese comics marketed toward young adult men. In Japanese, the word ''seinen'' literally means "youth", but the term "''seinen'' manga" is also used to describe the target audience of magazines like ''Weekly Ma ...
'' manga); as well as by content, including action-adventure often involving male heroes, slapstick humor, themes of honor, and sometimes explicit sex. The Japanese use different kanji for two closely allied meanings of "seinen"— for "youth, young man" and for "adult, majority"—the second referring to pornographic manga aimed at grown men and also called ''seijin'' ("adult" ) manga. ''Shōnen'', ''seinen'', and ''seijin'' manga share a number of features in common. Boys and young men became some of the earliest readers of manga after World War II. From the 1950s on, ''shōnen'' manga focused on topics thought to interest the archetypal boy, including subjects like robots, space-travel, and heroic action-adventure. Popular themes include
science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...
, technology, sports, and supernatural settings. Manga with solitary costumed superheroes like
Superman Superman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, and debuted in the comic book ''Action Comics'' #1 (cover-dated June 1938 and publi ...
,
Batman Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on ...
, and
Spider-Man Spider-Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appeared in the anthology comic book '' Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in the ...
generally did not become as popular. The role of girls and women in manga produced for male readers has evolved considerably over time to include those featuring single pretty girls (''
bishōjo In Japanese popular culture, a , also romanized as ''bishojo'' or ''bishoujo'', is a cute girl character. ''Bishōjo'' characters appear ubiquitously in media including manga, anime, and computer games (especially in the ''bishojo'' game genre) ...
'') such as
Belldandy is a fictional character in the popular anime and manga series '' Oh My Goddess!''. She was created by Kōsuke Fujishima as one of three Goddesses who come to Earth to reside with Keiichi Morisato, and she serves as his love interest. She is ...
from ''
Oh My Goddess! , or ''Ah! My Goddess!'' in some releases, is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Kōsuke Fujishima. It was serialized in Kodansha's Seinen manga, ''seinen'' manga magazine ''Monthly Afternoon'' from September 1988 to ...
'', stories where such girls and women surround the hero, as in ''
Negima ''Negima! Magister Negi Magi'', known in Japan as , is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Ken Akamatsu. It was serialized in Kodansha's ''Weekly Shōnen Magazine'' from February 2003 to March 2012, with its chapters c ...
'' and ''
Hanaukyo Maid Team is a Japanese manga series created by Morishige. ''Hanaukyo Maid Team'' is about a young boy, Taro Hanaukyo, who has inherited a vast family fortune and, more importantly, the hundreds of employees working at the family mansion. While dres ...
'', or groups of heavily armed female warriors (''sentō bishōjo'') With the relaxation of censorship in Japan in the 1990s, an assortment of explicit sexual material appeared in manga intended for male readers, and correspondingly continued into the English translations. In 2010, the
Tokyo Metropolitan Government The is the government of the Tokyo Metropolis. One of the 56 prefectures of Japan, the government consists of a popularly elected governor and assembly. The headquarters building is located in the ward of Shinjuku. The metropolitan government ...
considered a bill to restrict minors' access to such content. The ''
gekiga , literally "dramatic pictures", is a style of Japanese comics aimed at adult audiences and marked by a more cinematic art style and more mature themes. ''Gekiga'' was the predominant style of adult comics in Japan in the 1960s and 1970s. It is ...
'' style of storytelling—thematically somber, adult-oriented, and sometimes deeply violent—focuses on the day-in, day-out grim realities of life, often drawn in a gritty and unvarnished fashion. ''Gekiga'' such as
Sampei Shirato , known by the pen name , was a Japanese manga artist and essayist known for his social criticism as well as the realism of his drawing style and the characters in his scenarios. He was considered a pioneer of the controversial '' gekiga'' genre ...
's 1959–1962 ''Chronicles of a Ninja's Military Accomplishments'' (''Ninja Bugeichō'') arose in the late 1950s and 1960s partly from left-wing student and working-class political activism,, , and partly from the aesthetic dissatisfaction of young manga artists like
Yoshihiro Tatsumi was a Japanese manga artist whose work was first published in his teens, and continued through the rest of his life. He is widely credited with starting the gekiga style of alternative manga in Japan, having allegedly coined the term in 1957. H ...
with existing manga.


Publications and exhibition

In Japan, manga constituted an annual 40.6 billion yen (approximately US$395 million) publication-industry by 2007. In 2006 sales of manga books made up for about 27% of total book-sales, and sale of manga magazines, for 20% of total magazine-sales. The manga industry has expanded worldwide, where distribution companies license and reprint manga into their native languages. Marketeers primarily classify manga by the age and gender of the target readership. In particular, books and magazines sold to boys (''shōnen'') and girls (''shōjo'') have distinctive cover-art, and most bookstores place them on different shelves. Due to cross-readership, consumer response is not limited by demographics. For example, male readers may subscribe to a series intended for female readers, and so on. Japan has manga cafés, or ''manga kissa'' (''kissa'' is an abbreviation of ''
kissaten A , literally a "tea-drinking shop", is a Japanese-style tearoom that is also a coffee shop. They developed in the early 20th century as a distinction from a café, as cafés had become places also serving alcohol with noise and celebration. A ...
''). At a ''manga kissa'', people drink
coffee Coffee is a drink prepared from roasted coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulant, stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content. It is the most popular hot drink in the world. S ...
, read manga and sometimes stay overnight. The
Kyoto International Manga Museum The Kyoto International Manga Museum (京都国際マンガミュージアム, Kyōto Kokusai Manga Myūjiamu) is located in Nakagyō-ku, Kyoto, Japan. The museum's collection includes approximately 300,000 items as of 2016, with 50,000 volumes ...
maintains a very large website listing manga published in Japanese.


Magazines

usually have many series running concurrently with approximately 20–40 pages allocated to each series per issue. Other magazines such as the anime fandom magazine ''
Newtype is a monthly magazine publication originating from Japan, covering anime (and to a lesser extent, tokusatsu, manga, Japanese science fiction, seiyuu, and video games). It was launched by publishing company Kadokawa Shoten on March 8, 1985, with i ...
'' featured single chapters within their monthly periodicals. Other magazines like ''
Nakayoshi is a monthly ''shōjo'' manga magazine published by Kodansha in Japan. First issued in December 1954, it is a long-running magazine with over 60 years of manga publication history. Notable titles serialized in Nakayoshi include ''Princess Knight ...
'' feature many stories written by many different artists; these magazines, or "anthology magazines", as they are also known (colloquially "phone books"), are usually printed on low-quality newsprint and can be anywhere from 200 to more than 850 pages thick. Manga magazines also contain one-shot comics and various four-panel ''
yonkoma , a comic strip format, generally consists of gag comic strips within four panels of equal size ordered from top to bottom. They also sometimes run right-to-left horizontally or use a hybrid 2×2 style, depending on the layout requirements of ...
'' (equivalent to
comic strip A comic strip is a sequence of drawings, often cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions. Traditionally, throughout the 20th and into the 21st ...
s). Manga series can run for many years if they are successful. Popular shonen magazines include ''
Weekly Shōnen Jump is a weekly ''shōnen'' manga anthology published in Japan by Shueisha under the ''Jump'' line of magazines. The manga series within the magazine consist of many action scenes and a fair amount of comedy. The chapters of the series that run ...
'', ''
Weekly Shōnen Magazine is a weekly ''shōnen'' manga anthology published on Wednesdays in Japan by Kodansha, first published on March 17, 1959. The magazine is mainly read by an older audience, with a significant portion of its readership falling under the male high ...
'' and ''
Weekly Shōnen Sunday is a weekly ''shōnen'' manga magazine published in Japan by Shogakukan since March 1959. Contrary to its title, ''Weekly Shōnen Sunday'' issues are released on Wednesdays. ''Weekly Shōnen Sunday'' has sold over 1.8billion copies since 1986, ...
'' - Popular shoujo manga include '' Ciao'', ''
Nakayoshi is a monthly ''shōjo'' manga magazine published by Kodansha in Japan. First issued in December 1954, it is a long-running magazine with over 60 years of manga publication history. Notable titles serialized in Nakayoshi include ''Princess Knight ...
'' and '' Ribon''. Manga artists sometimes start out with a few "one-shot" manga projects just to try to get their name out. If these are successful and receive good reviews, they are continued. Magazines often have a short life.


Collected volumes

After a series has run for a while, publishers often collect the chapters and print them in dedicated book-sized volumes, called ''tankōbon''. These can be hardcover, or more usually softcover books, and are the equivalent of U.S.
trade paperbacks A paperback (softcover, softback) book is one with a thick paper or paperboard cover, and often held together with adhesive, glue rather than stitch (textile arts), stitches or Staple (fastener), staples. In contrast, hardcover (hardback) book ...
or
graphic novel A graphic novel is a long-form, fictional work of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comic scholars and industry ...
s. These volumes often use higher-quality paper, and are useful to those who want to "catch up" with a series so they can follow it in the magazines or if they find the cost of the weeklies or monthlies to be prohibitive. "Deluxe" versions have also been printed as readers have gotten older and the need for something special grew. Old manga have also been reprinted using somewhat lesser quality paper and sold for 100 yen (about $1 U.S. dollar) each to compete with the
used book A used book or secondhand book is a book which has been owned before by an owner other than the publisher or retailer, usually by an individual or library. Used books typically become available on the market when they are sold or given to a sec ...
market.


History

Kanagaki Robun and
Kawanabe Kyōsai was a Japanese artist, in the words of art historian Timothy Clarke, "an individualist and an independent, perhaps the last virtuoso in traditional Japanese painting". Biography Living through the Edo period to the Meiji period, Kyōsai wi ...
created the first manga magazine in 1874: ''Eshinbun Nipponchi''. The magazine was heavily influenced by ''
Japan Punch The ''Japan Punch'' was a satirical comic magazine and journal that was authored, illustrated and published by English painter and cartoonist Charles Wirgman from 1862 to 1887. The publication reflected the social context of Bakumatsu Yokohama an ...
'', founded in 1862 by
Charles Wirgman Charles Wirgman (31 August 1832 - 8 February 1891) was an English artist and cartoonist, the creator of the ''Japan Punch'' and illustrator in China and Meiji period-Japan for the ''Illustrated London News''. Wirgman was the eldest son of Ferdi ...
, a British cartoonist. ''Eshinbun Nipponchi'' had a very simple style of drawings and did not become popular with many people. ''Eshinbun Nipponchi'' ended after three issues. The magazine ''Kisho Shimbun'' in 1875 was inspired by ''Eshinbun Nipponchi'', which was followed by ''Marumaru Chinbun'' in 1877, and then ''Garakuta Chinpo'' in 1879. ''
Shōnen Sekai , is one of the first '' shōnen'' magazines published by Hakubunkan specializing in children's literature, published from 1895 to 1914. ''Shōnen Sekai'' was created as a part of many magazine created by Hakubunkan that would connect with many di ...
'' was the first ''shōnen'' magazine created in 1895 by Iwaya Sazanami, a famous writer of Japanese children's literature back then. ''Shōnen Sekai'' had a strong focus on the
First Sino-Japanese War The First Sino-Japanese War (25 July 1894 – 17 April 1895) was a conflict between China and Japan primarily over influence in Korea. After more than six months of unbroken successes by Japanese land and naval forces and the loss of the po ...
. In 1905 the manga-magazine publishing boom started with the
Russo-Japanese War The Russo-Japanese War ( ja, 日露戦争, Nichiro sensō, Japanese-Russian War; russian: Ру́сско-япóнская войнá, Rússko-yapónskaya voyná) was fought between the Empire of Japan and the Russian Empire during 1904 and 1 ...
, Poten '' Tokyo Pakku'' was created and became a huge hit. Shonen Pakku After ''Tokyo Pakku'' in 1905, a female version of ''Shōnen Sekai'' was created and named '' Shōjo Sekai'', considered the first ''shōjo'' magazine. ''Shōnen Pakku'' was made and is considered the first
children's manga and refer to manga and anime directed towards children. 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 ''Kodomo'' manga started ...
magazine. The children's demographic was in an early stage of development in the
Meiji period The is an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868 to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonization ...
. ''Shōnen Pakku'' was influenced from foreign children's magazines such as ''Puck'' which an employee of Jitsugyō no Nihon (publisher of the magazine) saw and decided to emulate. In 1924, ''Kodomo Pakku'' was launched as another children's manga magazine after ''Shōnen Pakku''. During the boom, ''Poten'' (derived from the French "potin") was published in 1908. All the pages were in full color with influences from ''Tokyo Pakku'' and ''
Osaka Puck was a bimonthly Japanese manga magazine published in Osaka from November 1906 to March 1950. Its publisher when it first launched was Kibunkan, located in the Funeba area in central Osaka, which later changed its name to the Osaka Puck Company. ...
''. It is unknown if there were any more issues besides the first one. ''Kodomo Pakku'' was launched May 1924 by Tokyosha and featured high-quality art by many members of the manga artistry like Takei Takeo, Takehisa Yumeji and Aso Yutaka. Some of the manga featured speech balloons, where other manga from the previous eras did not use speech balloons and were silent. Published from May 1935 to January 1941, ''Manga no Kuni'' coincided with the period of the
Second Sino-Japanese War The Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) or War of Resistance (Chinese term) was a military conflict that was primarily waged between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. The war made up the Chinese theater of the wider Pacific Th ...
(1937–1945). ''Manga no Kuni'' featured information on becoming a
mangaka A is a comic artist who writes and/or illustrates manga. As of 2006, about 3,000 professional manga artists were working in Japan. Most manga artists study at an art college or manga school or take on an apprenticeship with another artist bef ...
and on other comics industries around the world. ''Manga no Kuni'' handed its title to ''Sashie Manga Kenkyū'' in August 1940. Manga no Kuni


''Dōjinshi''

''Dōjinshi'', produced by small publishers outside of the mainstream commercial market, resemble in their publishing
small-press A small press is a publisher with annual sales below a certain level or below a certain number of titles published. The terms "indie publisher" and "independent press" and others are sometimes used interchangeably. Independent press is general ...
independently published
comic book A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...
s in the United States. Comiket, the largest comic book convention in the world with around 500,000 visitors gathering over three days, is devoted to ''dōjinshi''. While they most often contain original stories, many are parodies of or include
characters Character or Characters may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''Character'' (novel), a 1936 Dutch novel by Ferdinand Bordewijk * ''Characters'' (Theophrastus), a classical Greek set of character sketches attributed to The ...
from popular manga and anime series. Some ''dōjinshi'' continue with a series' story or write an entirely new one using its characters, much like
fan fiction Fan fiction or fanfiction (also abbreviated to fan fic, fanfic, fic or FF) is fictional writing written in an amateur capacity by fans, unauthorized by, but based on an existing work of fiction. The author uses copyrighted characters, settin ...
. In 2007, ''dōjinshi'' sales amounted to 27.73 billion yen (US$245 million). In 2006 they represented about a tenth of manga books and magazines sales.


Digital manga

Thanks to the advent of the internet, there have been new ways for aspiring mangaka to upload and sell their manga online. Before, there were two main ways in which a mangaka's work could be published: taking their manga drawn on paper to a publisher themselves, or submitting their work to competitions run by magazines.


Web manga

In recent years, there has been a rise in manga released digitally. Web manga, as it is known in Japan, has seen an increase thanks in part to image hosting websites where anyone can upload pages from their works for free. Although released digitally, almost all web manga sticks to the conventional black-and-white format despite some never getting physical publication.
Pixiv is a Japanese online community for artists. It was first launched as a beta test on September 10, 2007, by Takahiro Kamitani and Takanori Katagiri. Pixiv Inc. is headquartered in Sendagaya, Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan. As of April 2020, the site c ...
is the most popular site where amateur and professional work gets published on the site. It has grown to be the most visited site for artwork in Japan.
Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
has also become a popular place for web manga with many artists releasing pages weekly on their accounts in the hope of their work getting picked up or published professionally. One of the best examples of an amateur work becoming professional is ''
One-Punch Man is a Japanese superhero manga series created by One. It tells the story of Saitama, a superhero who, because he can defeat any opponent with a single punch, grows bored from a lack of challenge. One wrote the original webcomic manga v ...
'' which was released online and later received a professional remake released digitally and an anime adaptation soon thereafter. Many of the big print publishers have also released digital only magazines and websites where web manga get published alongside their serialized magazines.
Shogakukan is a Japanese publisher of dictionaries, literature, comics (manga), non-fiction, DVDs, and other media in Japan. Shogakukan founded Shueisha, which also founded Hakusensha. These are three separate companies, but are together called the Hit ...
for instance has two websites, Sunday Webry and Ura Sunday, that release weekly chapters for web manga and even offer contests for mangaka to submit their work. Both Sunday Webry and Ura Sunday have become one of the top web manga sites in Japan. Some have even released apps that teach how to draw professional manga and learn how to create them. ''
Weekly Shōnen Jump is a weekly ''shōnen'' manga anthology published in Japan by Shueisha under the ''Jump'' line of magazines. The manga series within the magazine consist of many action scenes and a fair amount of comedy. The chapters of the series that run ...
'' released ''Jump Paint'', an app that guides users on how to make their own manga from making storyboards to digitally inking lines. It also offers more than 120 types of pen tips and more than 1,000 screentones for artists to practice.
Kodansha is a Japanese privately-held publishing company headquartered in Bunkyō, Tokyo. Kodansha is the largest Japanese publishing company, and it produces the manga magazines ''Nakayoshi'', ''Afternoon'', ''Evening'', ''Weekly Shōnen Magazine'' an ...
has also used the popularity of web manga to launch more series and also offer better distribution of their officially translated works under
Kodansha Comics Kodansha USA Publishing, LLC is a publishing company based in New York, USA, and a subsidiary of Japan's largest publishing company Kodansha. Established in July 2008, Kodansha USA publishes books relating to Japan, Japanese culture, and manga, ...
thanks in part to the titles being released digitally first before being published physically. The rise web manga has also been credited to smartphones and computers as more and more readers read manga on their phones rather than from a print publication. While paper manga has seen a decrease over time, digital manga have been growing in sales each year. The Research Institute for Publications reports that sales of digital manga books excluding magazines jumped 27.1 percent to ¥146 billion in 2016 from the year before while sales of paper manga saw a record year-on-year decline of 7.4 percent to ¥194.7 billion. They have also said that if the digital and paper keep the same growth and drop rates, web manga would exceed their paper counterparts. In 2020 manga sales topped the ¥600 billion mark for the first time in history, beating the 1995 peak due to a fast growth of the digital manga market which rose by ¥82.7 billion from a previous year, surpassing print manga sales which have also increased.


Webtoons

While
webtoons Webtoons (), are a type of digital comic that originated in South Korea usually meant to be read on smartphones. While webtoons were mostly unknown outside of Korea during their inception, there has been a surge in popularity internationally ...
have caught on in popularity as a new medium for comics in Asia, Japan has been slow to adopt webtoons as the traditional format and print publication still dominate the way manga is created and consumed(although this is beginning to change). Despite this, one of the biggest webtoon publishers in the world, Comico, has had success in the traditional Japanese manga market. Comico was launched by
NHN Japan NHN Japan Corporation is the Japanese subsidiary of NHN Entertainment Corporation. NHN Comico NHN Comico operates Comico, a webtoon portal that is available in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and Thailand. NHN PlayArt NHN PlayArt is video game ...
, the Japanese subsidiary of Korean company,
NHN Entertainment NHN Corp. () is a Korean IT company that started its business as a game company called Hangame in 1999. Currently its main businesses can be categorized as Cloud, Fin-Tech (cross-border e-commerce, payment), Entertainment (game, webtoon, musi ...
. As of now, there are only two webtoon publishers that publish Japanese webtoons: Comico and
Naver Webtoon Webtoon (stylized in all caps) is a South Korean webtoon platform launched in 2004 by Naver Corporation. As the name suggests, it is a platform for posting webtoons, compact digital comics in South Korea. The platform first launched in Korea as ...
(under the name XOY in Japan).
Kakao Kakao ( ko, 카카오) is a South Korean internet company that was established in 2010. It formed as a result of a merger between Daum Communications and the original Kakao Inc. In 2014, the company was renamed Daum Kakao. The company rebrande ...
has also had success by offering licensed manga and translated Korean webtoons with their service
Piccoma Piccoma ( ja, ピッコマ, Pikkoma) is a Japanese webtoon subscription service that is available on smartphones, tablets, and personal computers. It was developed and released by Kakao piccoma Corp., the Japanese subsidiary of Kakao. Service ...
. All three companies credit their success to the webtoon pay model where users can purchase each chapter individually instead of having to buy the whole book while also offering some chapters for free for a period of time allowing anyone to read a whole series for free if they wait long enough. The added benefit of having all of their titles in color and some with special animations and effects have also helped them succeed. Some popular Japanese webtoons have also gotten anime adaptations and print releases, the most notable being ''
ReLIFE is a Japanese manga series in webtoon format written and illustrated by Yayoiso. The individual chapters were released by NHN Japan on the Comico website from October 12, 2013, to March 16, 2018, for a total of 15 compiled ''tankōbon'' ...
'' and ''
Recovery of an MMO Junkie is a Japanese manga series by Rin Kokuyō released as a webtoon on the Comico app. An anime television series adaptation directed by Kazuyoshi Yaginuma and animated by Signal.MD aired from October to December 2017. In June 2018, Comico ende ...
''.


International markets

By 2007, the influence of manga on international comics had grown considerably over the past two decades. "Influence" is used here to refer to effects on the comics markets outside Japan and to
aesthetic Aesthetics, or esthetics, is a branch of philosophy that deals with the nature of beauty and taste, as well as the philosophy of art (its own area of philosophy that comes out of aesthetics). It examines aesthetic values, often expressed th ...
effects on comics artists internationally. Traditionally, manga stories flow from top to bottom and from
right to left In a script (commonly shortened to right to left or abbreviated RTL, RL-TB or R2L), writing starts from the right of the page and continues to the left, proceeding from top to bottom for new lines. Arabic, Hebrew, Persian, Pashto, Urdu, Kashmi ...
. Some publishers of translated manga keep to this original format. Other publishers mirror the pages horizontally before printing the translation, changing the reading direction to a more "Western" left to right, so as not to confuse foreign readers or traditional comics-consumers. This practice is known as "flipping". For the most part, criticism suggests that flipping goes against the original intentions of the creator (for example, if a person wears a shirt that reads "MAY" on it, and gets flipped, then the word is altered to "YAM"), who may be ignorant of how awkward it is to read comics when the eyes must flow through the pages and text in opposite directions, resulting in an experience that's quite distinct from reading something that flows homogeneously. If the translation is not adapted to the flipped artwork carefully enough it is also possible for the text to go against the picture, such as a person referring to something on their left in the text while pointing to their right in the graphic. Characters shown writing with their right hands, the majority of them, would become left-handed when a series is flipped. Flipping may also cause oddities with familiar asymmetrical objects or layouts, such as a car being depicted with the gas pedal on the left and the brake on the right, or a shirt with the buttons on the wrong side, however these issues are minor when compared to the unnatural reading flow, and some of them could be solved with an adaptation work that goes beyond just translation and blind flipping.


Asia

Manga has highly influenced the art styles of
manhwa (; ) is the general Korean language, Korean term for comics and print cartoons. Outside Korea, the term usually refers to South Korea, South Korean comics. is greatly influenced by Japanese Manga comics. Modern Manhwa has extended its rea ...
and
manhua () are Chinese-language comics produced in China and Taiwan. Whilst Chinese comics and narrated illustrations have existed in China in some shape or form throughout its imperial history, the term first appeared in 1904 in a comic titled ''Cu ...
. Manga in Indonesia is published by
Elex Media Komputindo Elex Media Komputindo is a publishing company in Indonesia which publishes books, comics, magazines, novels and other print media. Established on January 15, 1985, Elex Media Komputindo is a subsidiary of Kompas Gramedia Group. Elex is headquart ...
, Level Comic, M&C and
Gramedia Toko Buku Gramedia (''Gramedia Bookstore'') is an Indonesian bookstore owned by Kompas Gramedia. Established in 1970, Gramedia Asri Media has contributed to give inspiration through knowledge, endeavor and direct participation to society for mo ...
. Manga has influenced Indonesia's original comic industry. Manga in the Philippines were imported from the US and were sold only in specialty stores and in limited copies. The first manga in Filipino language is
Doraemon ''Doraemon'' ( ja, ドラえもん ) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Fujiko F. Fujio. The manga was first serialized in December 1969, with List of Doraemon chapters, its 1,345 individual chapters compiled into 45 ' ...
which was published by J-Line Comics and was then followed by
Case Closed ''Case Closed'', also known as , is a Japanese detective manga series written and illustrated by Gosho Aoyama. It has been serialized in Shogakukan's ''shōnen'' manga magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Sunday'' since January 1994, with its ch ...
. In 2015,
Boy's Love ''Yaoi'' (; ja, やおい ), also known by the ''wasei-eigo'' construction and its abbreviation , is a genre of fictional media originating in Japan that features homoerotic relationships between male characters. It is typically created b ...
manga became popular through the introduction of BL manga by printing company BLACKink. Among the first BL titles to be printed were Poster Boy, Tagila, and Sprinters, all were written in
Filipino Filipino may refer to: * Something from or related to the Philippines ** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines. ** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...
. BL manga have become bestsellers in the top three bookstore companies in the Philippines since their introduction in 2015. During the same year,
Boy's Love ''Yaoi'' (; ja, やおい ), also known by the ''wasei-eigo'' construction and its abbreviation , is a genre of fictional media originating in Japan that features homoerotic relationships between male characters. It is typically created b ...
manga have become a popular mainstream with
Thai Thai or THAI may refer to: * Of or from Thailand, a country in Southeast Asia ** Thai people, the dominant ethnic group of Thailand ** Thai language, a Tai-Kadai language spoken mainly in and around Thailand *** Thai script *** Thai (Unicode block ...
consumers, leading to television series adapted from BL manga stories since 2016.


Europe

Manga has influenced European cartooning in a way that is somewhat different from in the U.S. Broadcast anime in France and Italy opened the European market to manga during the 1970s. French art has borrowed from Japan since the 19th century (
Japonism ''Japonisme'' is a French term that refers to the popularity and influence of Japanese art and design among a number of Western European artists in the nineteenth century following the forced reopening of foreign trade with Japan in 1858. Japon ...
) and has its own highly developed tradition of
bande dessinée (singular ; literally 'drawn strips'), abbreviated BDs and also referred to as Franco-Belgian comics (), are comics that are usually originally in French and created for readership in France and Belgium. These countries have a long tradition ...
cartooning. In France, beginning in the mid-1990s, manga has proven very popular to a wide readership, accounting for about one-third of comics sales in France since 2004. By mid-2021, 75 percent of the €300 value of Culture Pass accounts given to French 18 year-olds was spent on manga. According to the Japan External Trade Organization, sales of manga reached $212.6 million within France and Germany alone in 2006. France represents about 50% of the European market and is the second worldwide market, behind Japan. In 2013, there were 41 publishers of manga in France and, together with other Asian comics, manga represented around 40% of new comics releases in the country, surpassing Franco-Belgian comics for the first time. European publishers marketing manga translated into French include Asuka,
Casterman Casterman is a publisher of Franco-Belgian comics, specializing in comic books and children's literature. The company is based in Brussels, Belgium. History The company was founded in 1780 by Donat-Joseph Casterman, an editor and bookseller ...
, Glénat,
Kana The term may refer to a number of syllabaries used to write Japanese phonological units, morae. Such syllabaries include (1) the original kana, or , which were Chinese characters (kanji) used phonetically to transcribe Japanese, the most pr ...
, and
Pika Édition Pika Édition is a French publisher headquartered in Vanves, specializing in manga. Founded as a daughter company of Media System Editions, it was taken over by Hachette Livre in 2007. Distribution ''Pika Édition'' publications are distributed ...
, among others. European publishers also translate manga into Dutch, German, Italian, and other languages. In 2007, about 70% of all comics sold in Germany were manga. Manga publishers based in the United Kingdom include Gollancz and Titan Books. Manga publishers from the United States have a strong marketing presence in the United Kingdom: for example, the Tanoshimi line from
Random House Random House is an American book publisher and the largest general-interest paperback publisher in the world. The company has several independently managed subsidiaries around the world. It is part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by Germ ...
. In 2019
The British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It documen ...
held a mass exhibition dedicated to manga.


United States

Manga made their way only gradually into U.S. markets, first in association with anime and then independently. Some U.S.
fans Fan commonly refers to: * Fan (machine), a machine for producing airflow, often used for cooling ** Hand fan, an implement held and waved by hand to move air for cooling * Fan (person), short for fanatic; an enthusiast or supporter, especially wit ...
became aware of manga in the 1970s and early 1980s.In 1987, "...Japanese comics were more legendary than accessible to American readers", However, anime was initially more accessible than manga to U.S. fans, many of whom were college-age young people who found it easier to obtain, subtitle, and exhibit video tapes of anime than translate, reproduce, and distribute ''tankōbon''-style manga books. One of the first manga translated into English and marketed in the U.S. was
Keiji Nakazawa was a Japanese manga artist and writer. Biography Nakazawa was born March 14, 1939 Naka-ku, Hiroshima, Japan and was in the city when it was destroyed by an atomic bomb in August 1945. Most of his family members who had not evacuated died as ...
's ''
Barefoot Gen is a Japanese historical manga series by Keiji Nakazawa. Loosely based on Nakazawa's own experiences as a Hiroshima survivor, the series begins in 1945 in and around Hiroshima, Japan, where the six-year-old boy Gen Nakaoka liv ...
'', an autobiographical story of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima issued by
Leonard Rifas Leonard Rifas (b. April 16, 1951) is an American cartoonist, critic, editor, and publisher associated with underground comix, comics journalism, left-wing politics, and the anti-nuclear movement. He is notable for his contributions to the form of ...
and Educomics (1980–1982). More manga were translated between the mid-1980s and 1990s, including ''
Golgo 13 is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Takao Saito, published in Shogakukan's ''seinen'' manga magazine ''Big Comic'' since October 1968. The series follows the title character, a professional assassin for hire. ''Golgo ...
'' in 1986, ''
Lone Wolf and Cub is a Japanese manga series created by writer Kazuo Koike and artist Goseki Kojima. First published in 1970, the story was adapted into six films starring Tomisaburo Wakayama, four plays, a television series starring Kinnosuke Yorozuya, and i ...
'' from
First Comics First Comics was an American comic book publisher that was active from 1983 to 1991, known for titles like ''American Flagg!'', ''Grimjack'', ''Nexus'', ''Badger'', ''Dreadstar'', and ''Jon Sable''. Along with competitors like Pacific Comics and ...
in 1987, and '' Kamui'', ''
Area 88 is a Japanese manga series by Kaoru Shintani serialized between 1979 and 1986. The story is about a young pilot named Shin Kazama and his experiences at Area 88, a mercenary air force base secluded in the desert of a war-torn country. Sh ...
'', and '' Mai the Psychic Girl'', also in 1987 and all from
Viz Media VIZ Media LLC is an American manga publisher, anime distributor and entertainment company headquartered in San Francisco, California. It was founded in 1986 as VIZ LLC. In 2005, VIZ LLC and ShoPro Entertainment merged to form the current VIZ M ...
-
Eclipse Comics Eclipse Comics was an American comic book publisher, one of several independent publishers during the 1980s and early 1990s. In 1978, it published the first graphic novel intended for the newly created comic book specialty store market. It was ...
. Others soon followed, including '' Akira'' from
Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...
'
Epic Comics Epic Comics (also known as the Epic Comics Group)Shooter, Jim. "Bullpen Bulletins: The Truth About the Epic Comics Group!" Marvel comics cover-dated November 1982. was an imprint of Marvel Comics from 1982 to 1996. A spin-off of the publisher's ...
imprint, ''
Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind may refer to * Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (manga), ''Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind'' (manga), a manga series by Hayao Miyazaki * Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (film), ''Nausicaä of the Valle ...
'' from Viz Media, and '' Appleseed'' from Eclipse Comics in 1988, and later ''Iczer-1'' (
Antarctic Press Antarctic Press is a San Antonio-based comic book publishing company which publishes "Amerimanga" style comic books. The company also produces "how-to" and "you can" comics, instructing on areas of comic book creation and craft. Beginning in 1 ...
, 1994) and Ippongi Bang's ''F-111 Bandit'' (Antarctic Press, 1995). In the 1980s to the mid-1990s, Japanese animation, like '' Akira'', ''
Dragon Ball is a Japanese media franchise created by Akira Toriyama in 1984. The Dragon Ball (manga), initial manga, written and illustrated by Toriyama, was serialized in ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' from 1984 to 1995, with the 519 individual chapters colle ...
'', ''
Neon Genesis Evangelion , also known simply as ''Evangelion'' or ''Eva'', is a Japanese mecha anime television series produced by Gainax and animated by Tatsunoko, directed by Hideaki Anno and broadcast on TV Tokyo from October 1995 to March 1996. ''Evangelion' ...
'', and ''
Pokémon (an abbreviation for in Japan) is a Japanese media franchise managed by The Pokémon Company, founded by Nintendo, Game Freak, and Creatures (company), Creatures, the owners of the trademark and copyright of the franchise. In terms of ...
'', made a bigger impact on the fan experience and in the market than manga. Matters changed when translator-entrepreneur
Toren Smith Toren V. Smith (April 12, 1960 – March 4, 2013) was a Canadian manga translator and founder of Studio Proteus. Early life Smith learned to read by the age of four, and by the age of 12 had won his first award for writing from the Calgary St ...
founded Studio Proteus in 1986. Smith and Studio Proteus acted as an agent and translator of many Japanese manga, including
Masamune Shirow , better known by his pen name , is a Japanese manga artist. Shirow is best known for the manga '' Ghost in the Shell'', which has since been turned into three theatrical anime films, two anime television series, an anime television movie, an a ...
's ''Appleseed'' and
Kōsuke Fujishima is a Japanese manga artist. He is known for his love of automobiles and motorcycles, and several of his series and their characters reflect this, such as in ''éX-Driver'' and ''Oh My Goddess!''. Early life and career Born in Chiba, Japan, ...
's ''
Oh My Goddess! , or ''Ah! My Goddess!'' in some releases, is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Kōsuke Fujishima. It was serialized in Kodansha's Seinen manga, ''seinen'' manga magazine ''Monthly Afternoon'' from September 1988 to ...
'', for
Dark Horse A dark horse is a previously lesser-known person or thing that emerges to prominence in a situation, especially in a competition involving multiple rivals, or a contestant that on paper should be unlikely to succeed but yet still might. Origin Th ...
and
Eros Comix Fantagraphics (previously Fantagraphics Books) is an American publisher of alternative comics, classic comic strip anthologies, manga, magazines, graphic novels, and the erotic Eros Comix imprint. History Founding Fantagraphics was founde ...
, eliminating the need for these publishers to seek their own contacts in Japan. Simultaneously, the Japanese publisher
Shogakukan is a Japanese publisher of dictionaries, literature, comics (manga), non-fiction, DVDs, and other media in Japan. Shogakukan founded Shueisha, which also founded Hakusensha. These are three separate companies, but are together called the Hit ...
opened a U.S. market initiative with their U.S. subsidiary Viz, enabling Viz to draw directly on Shogakukan's catalogue and translation skills. Japanese publishers began pursuing a U.S. market in the mid-1990s due to a stagnation in the domestic market for manga. The U.S. manga market took an upturn with mid-1990s anime and manga versions of Masamune Shirow's ''
Ghost in the Shell ''Ghost in the Shell'' is a Japanese cyberpunk media franchise based on the seinen manga series of the same name written and illustrated by Masamune Shirow. The manga, first serialized in 1989 under the subtitle of ''The Ghost in the Shell'' ...
'' (translated by
Frederik L. Schodt Frederik L. Schodt (born January 22, 1950) is an American translator, interpreter and writer. Biography Schodt's father was in the US foreign service, and he grew up in Norway, Australia, and Japan. The family first went to Japan in 1965 wh ...
and
Toren Smith Toren V. Smith (April 12, 1960 – March 4, 2013) was a Canadian manga translator and founder of Studio Proteus. Early life Smith learned to read by the age of four, and by the age of 12 had won his first award for writing from the Calgary St ...
) becoming very popular among fans. An extremely successful manga and anime translated and dubbed in English in the mid-1990s was ''
Sailor Moon is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Naoko Takeuchi. It was originally serialized in Kodansha's ''shōjo'' manga magazine ''Nakayoshi'' from 1991 to 1997; the 52 individual chapters were published in 18 volumes. The seri ...
''. By 1995–1998, the ''Sailor Moon'' manga had been exported to over 23 countries, including China, Brazil, Mexico, Australia, North America and most of Europe. In 1997, Mixx Entertainment began publishing ''Sailor Moon'', along with CLAMP's ''
Magic Knight Rayearth is a Japanese manga series created by Clamp. Appearing as a serial in the manga magazine ''Nakayoshi'' from the November 1993 issue to the February 1995 issue, the chapters of ''Magic Knight Rayearth'' were collected into three bound volum ...
'',
Hitoshi Iwaaki is a Japanese manga artist, whose works include the science-fiction/horror series ''Parasyte''. The Mixx editions of ''Parasyte'' romanize his name as "Hitosi Iwaaki", while the Del Rey Manga editions use "Hitoshi Iwaaki". Career During hig ...
's ''
Parasyte is a Japanese science fiction horror manga series written and illustrated by Hitoshi Iwaaki and published in Kodansha's ''Morning Open Zōkan'' and ''Monthly Afternoon'' magazine from 1988 to 1995. The manga was published in North Ame ...
'' and
Tsutomu Takahashi , born on September 20, 1965 in Tokyo, Japan, is a Japanese manga artist, who is well known for his manga '' Jiraishin''. As of March 2006, he is currently married and has one child. His alias is Ichigo Nekota. History He began his involvement i ...
's ''
Ice Blade is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Tsutomu Takahashi. It was serialized in Kodansha's ''seinen'' manga magazine ''Monthly Afternoon'' from 1992 to 1999, with its chapters collected in nineteen ''tankōbon'' volumes. The ...
'' in the monthly manga magazine ''
MixxZine ''Tokyopop magazine'', originally named ''MixxZine'', was a manga anthology published in North America by Tokyopop. History ''MixxZine'' at the start published five manga series, two of which were shōjo (geared towards young or teenaged girl ...
''. Mixx Entertainment, later renamed
Tokyopop Tokyopop (styled TOKYOPOP; formerly known as Mixx Entertainment) is an American distributor, licensor and publisher of anime, manga, manhwa and Western manga-style works. The German publishing division produces German translations of licensed J ...
, also published manga in
trade paperbacks A paperback (softcover, softback) book is one with a thick paper or paperboard cover, and often held together with adhesive, glue rather than stitch (textile arts), stitches or Staple (fastener), staples. In contrast, hardcover (hardback) book ...
and, like Viz, began aggressive marketing of manga to both young male and young female demographics. During this period,
Dark Horse Manga Dark Horse Comics is an American comic book, graphic novel, and manga publisher founded in Milwaukie, Oregon by Mike Richardson in 1986. The company was created using funds earned from Richardson's chain of Portland, Oregon comic book shops known ...
was a major publisher of translated manga. In addition to ''
Oh My Goddess! , or ''Ah! My Goddess!'' in some releases, is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Kōsuke Fujishima. It was serialized in Kodansha's Seinen manga, ''seinen'' manga magazine ''Monthly Afternoon'' from September 1988 to ...
'', the company published '' Akira'', ''
Astro Boy ''Astro Boy'', known in Japan by its original name , 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 ''tankōbon'' vo ...
'', '' Berserk'', ''
Blade of the Immortal is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Hiroaki Samura. The series is set in Japan during the mid- Tokugawa Shogunate period and follows the cursed samurai Manji, who has to kill 1,000 evil men in order to regain his morta ...
'', ''
Ghost in the Shell ''Ghost in the Shell'' is a Japanese cyberpunk media franchise based on the seinen manga series of the same name written and illustrated by Masamune Shirow. The manga, first serialized in 1989 under the subtitle of ''The Ghost in the Shell'' ...
'', ''
Lone Wolf and Cub is a Japanese manga series created by writer Kazuo Koike and artist Goseki Kojima. First published in 1970, the story was adapted into six films starring Tomisaburo Wakayama, four plays, a television series starring Kinnosuke Yorozuya, and i ...
'',
Yasuhiro Nightow is a Japanese manga artist. His major work '' Trigun'' was adapted into an anime series and film. He also designed the characters for the video game and anime series ''Gungrave'', and has been working on the manga '' Blood Blockade Battlefront' ...
's ''
Trigun is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Yasuhiro Nightow. ''Trigun'' was first serialized in Tokuma Shoten's Shōnen manga, ''shōnen'' manga magazine ''Monthly Shōnen Captain'' from April 1995 to January 1997, when the mag ...
'' and ''
Blood Blockade Battlefront is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Yasuhiro Nightow. It revolves around a young photographer named Leonardo Watch, who obtains 'the All Seeing Eyes of the Gods' at the cost of his sister's eyesight. After the incident ...
'', ''
Gantz ''Gantz'' (stylized as ''GANTZ'') is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Hiroya Oku. It was serialized in Shueisha's ''seinen'' manga magazine ''Weekly Young Jump'' from June 2000 to June 2013, with its chapters collected i ...
'',
Kouta Hirano is a Japanese manga artist born in Adachi, Tokyo, Japan, most famous for his manga ''Hellsing'' and ''Drifters''. Career Hirano said he learned how to be a manga artist from reading Akira Toriyama and Akira Sakuma's '' Hetappi Manga Kenkyūjo' ...
's ''
Hellsing ''Hellsing'' (stylized in all caps) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Kouta Hirano. It was serialized in Shōnen Gahōsha's ''seinen'' manga magazine '' Young King OURs'' from May 1997 to September 2008, with its c ...
'' and '' Drifters'', ''
Blood+ Blood is a body fluid in the circulatory system of humans and other vertebrates that delivers necessary substances such as nutrients and oxygen to the cells, and transports metabolic waste products away from those same cells. Blood in the ...
'', '' Multiple Personality Detective Psycho'', ''
FLCL is an original video animation (OVA) anime series created and directed by Kazuya Tsurumaki, written by Yōji Enokido, and produced by the FLCL Production Committee, which consisted of Gainax, Production I.G, and King Records. ''F ...
'', ''
Mob Psycho 100 is a Japanese web manga series written and illustrated by One. It was serialized on Shogakukan's ''Ura Sunday'' website from April 2012 to December 2017. It has been also available online on Shogakukan's mobile app ''MangaONE'' since Decem ...
'', and ''
Oreimo short for is a Japanese light novel series written by Tsukasa Fushimi, with illustrations provided by Hiro Kanzaki. The story depicts high school student Kyosuke Kosaka who discovers that his standoffish younger sister Kirino is actu ...
''. The company received 13
Eisner Award The Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, commonly shortened to the Eisner Awards, are prizes given for creative achievement in American comic books, sometimes referred to as the comics industry's equivalent of the Academy Awards. They are named in ...
nominations for its manga titles, and three of the four manga creators admitted to The Will Eisner Award Hall of Fame
Osamu Tezuka Osamu Tezuka (, born , ''Tezuka Osamu''; – 9 February 1989) was a Japanese manga artist, cartoonist, and animator. Born in Osaka Prefecture, his prolific output, pioneering techniques, and innovative redefinitions of genres earned him such ...
,
Kazuo Koike was a prolific Japanese manga writer ( gensakusha), novelist, screenwriter, lyricist and entrepreneur. He is best known for his violent, artful ''seinen'' manga, notably ''Lone Wolf and Cub'' (with Goseki Kojima, 1970–6), '' Lady Snowblood'' ...
, and
Goseki Kojima was a Japanese manga artist. He is known for his collaborations with manga writer Kazuo Koike, the most famous of them being ''Lone Wolf and Cub''. Biography Kojima was born in Yokkaichi, Mie, on the same day as Osamu Tezuka. After getting out ...
— were published in Dark Horse translations. In the following years, manga became increasingly popular, and new publishers entered the field while the established publishers greatly expanded their catalogues. The ''Pokémon'' manga '' Electric Tale of Pikachu'' issue #1 sold over 1million copies in the United States, making it the best-selling single
comic book A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...
in the United States since 1993. By 2008, the U.S. and Canadian manga market generated $175 million in annual sales. Simultaneously, mainstream U.S. media began to discuss manga, with articles in ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', ''Time'' magazine, ''
The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...
'', and ''
Wired ''Wired'' (stylized as ''WIRED'') is a monthly American magazine, published in print and online editions, that focuses on how emerging technologies affect culture, the economy, and politics. Owned by Condé Nast, it is headquartered in San Fra ...
'' magazine. As of 2017, manga distributor
Viz Media VIZ Media LLC is an American manga publisher, anime distributor and entertainment company headquartered in San Francisco, California. It was founded in 1986 as VIZ LLC. In 2005, VIZ LLC and ShoPro Entertainment merged to form the current VIZ M ...
is the largest publisher of
graphic novel A graphic novel is a long-form, fictional work of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comic scholars and industry ...
s and comic books in the United States, with a 23% share of the market. BookScan sales show that manga is one of the fastest-growing areas of the comic book and narrative fiction markets. From January 2019 to May 2019, the manga market grew 16%, compared to the overall comic book market's 5% growth.
The NPD Group The NPD Group, Inc. (NPD; formerly National Purchase Diary Panel Inc. and NPD Research Inc.) is an American market research company founded on September 28, 1966, and based in Port Washington, New York. In 2017, NPD ranked as the 8th largest mar ...
noted that, compared to other comic book readers, manga readers are younger (76% under 30) and more diverse, including a higher female readership (16% higher than other comic books). As of January 2020 manga is the second largest category in the US comic book and graphic novel market, accounting for 27% of the entire market share. During the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
some stores of the American bookseller
Barnes & Noble Barnes & Noble Booksellers is an American bookseller. It is a Fortune 1000 company and the bookseller with the largest number of retail outlets in the United States. As of July 7, 2020, the company operates 614 retail stores across all 50 U. ...
saw up to a 500% increase in sales from
graphic novel A graphic novel is a long-form, fictional work of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comic scholars and industry ...
and manga sales due to the younger generations showing a high interest in the medium. Sales of print manga titles in the U.S. increased by 3.6 million units in the first quarter of 2021 compared to the same period in 2020. In 2021 24.4 million units of manga were sold in the United States. This is an increase of about 15 million(160%) more sales than in 2020.


Localized manga

A number of artists in the United States have drawn comics and cartoons influenced by manga. As an early example, Vernon Grant drew manga-influenced comics while living in Japan in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Others include
Frank Miller Frank Miller (born January 27, 1957) is an American comic book writer, penciller and inker, novelist, screenwriter, film director, and producer known for his comic book stories and graphic novels such as his run on ''Daredevil'' and subsequen ...
's mid-1980s '' Ronin'', Adam Warren and Toren Smith's 1988 '' The Dirty Pair'',
Ben Dunn Ben Dunn (born April 17, 1964) Miller, John Jackson"Comics Industry Birthdays" ''Comics Buyer's Guide'', June 10, 2005. Accessed February 1, 2011.WebCitation archive/ref> is an American comic book artist and publisher. Biography Dunn was born i ...
's 1987 ''
Ninja High School ''Ninja High School'' (also known as ''NHS'') is a comic book series created, written, and illustrated by Ben Dunn, and published by Antarctic Press (at one point being published by Eternity Comics). On occasion other artists and writers have co ...
'' and ''Manga Shi 2000'' from
Crusade Comics William Tucci is an illustrator, writer, and filmmaker best known for his creator-owned title and character, '' Shi''. Career Tucci founded Crusade Comics in Bayport, New York Its flagship title, '' Shi'', debuted in March 1994. Publisher To ...
(1997). By the 21st century several U.S. manga publishers had begun to produce work by U.S. artists under the broad marketing-label of manga. In 2002 I.C. Entertainment, formerly
Studio Ironcat Studio Ironcat was a small publishing company based in Fredericksburg, Virginia, dedicated to publication of manga and later, Amerimanga. The company is most known for its publication of the first volume of ''Megatokyo'', a prominent webcomic ...
and now out of business, launched a series of manga by U.S. artists called ''
Amerimanga An original English-language manga or OEL manga is a comic book or graphic novel drawn in the style of manga and originally published in English. The term "international manga", as used by the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, encompasses al ...
''. In 2004
eigoMANGA eigoMANGA is a comic book publishing company that produces original Japanese-influenced comics and digital media. eigoMANGA has been underway since its conception in 2000. The company is based in San Francisco, California. History eigoMANGA ...
launched the ''
Rumble Pak The is a removable device from Nintendo which provides force feedback while playing video games. Games that support the Rumble Pak cause it to vibrate in select situations, such as when firing a weapon or receiving damage, to immerse the player ...
'' and ''
Sakura Pakk ''Sakura Pakk'' is an anthology OEL manga series created and published by eigoMANGA. Sakura Pakk highlights original comics stories created for female comic book readers. Sakura Pakk was released in November 2004. Sakura Pakk is a spin-off of eig ...
''
anthology series An anthology series is a radio, television, video game or film series that spans different genres and presents a different story and a different set of characters in each different episode, season, segment, or short. These usually have a differ ...
.
Seven Seas Entertainment Seven Seas Entertainment is an American publishing company located in Los Angeles, California. It was originally dedicated to the publication of original English-language manga, but now publishes licensed manga and light novels from Japan, as w ...
followed suit with '' World Manga''. Simultaneously, TokyoPop introduced
original English-language manga An original English-language manga or OEL manga is a comic book or graphic novel drawn in the style of manga and originally published in English. The term "international manga", as used by the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, encompasses all ...
(OEL manga) later renamed ''Global Manga''. Francophone artists have also developed their own versions of manga ('' manfra''), like
Frédéric Boilet Frédéric Boilet (; born 16 January 1960 in Épinal, France) is a French cartoonist and a manga artist. Biography Frédéric Boilet's debut in comic art was in 1983 with ''La Nuit des Archées''. He created ''Le Rayon vert'' in 1987, followed b ...
's ''
la nouvelle manga Nouvelle Manga (french: La nouvelle manga) is an artistic movement which gathers French and Japanese comic creators together. The expression was first used by Kiyoshi Kusumi, editor of the Japanese manga magazine ''Comickers'', in referring to the ...
''. Boilet has worked in France and in Japan, sometimes collaborating with Japanese artists. ,


Awards

The Japanese manga industry grants a large number of awards, mostly sponsored by publishers, with the winning prize usually including publication of the winning stories in magazines released by the sponsoring publisher. Examples of these awards include: * The
Akatsuka Award The is the name of a semi-annual award presented to mangaka by the Japanese publisher Shueisha. The award has been given since 1974 and it aims to reward new manga artist in the comedy manga category. Its counterpart award, Tezuka Award, awards n ...
for humorous manga * The
Dengeki Comic Grand Prix The is an award handed out semiannually (from 2004–2009) and annually (since 2010) by the Japanese publisher ASCII Media Works (formerly MediaWorks) for original one-shot manga. Between the first and fifth contests held, there were two divis ...
for one-shot manga * The Japan Cartoonists Association Award various categories * The
Kodansha Manga Award is an annual award for serialized manga published in the previous year, the event is sponsored by the publisher Kodansha. It is currently awarded in three categories: '' shōnen'', '' shōjo'', and general. The awards began in 1977, initially w ...
(multiple genre awards) * The
Seiun Award The is a Japanese speculative fiction award given each year for the best science fiction works and achievements during the previous calendar year. Organized and overseen by , the awards are given at the annual Japan Science Fiction Convention. ...
for best science fiction comic of the year * The
Shogakukan Manga Award The is one of Japan's major manga awards, and is sponsored by Shogakukan, Shogakukan Publishing. It has been awarded annually for serialized manga and features candidates from a number of publishers. It is the oldest manga award in Japan, being ...
(multiple genres) * The
Tezuka Award The is a semi-annual manga award offered by the Japanese publisher Shueisha since 1971, under the auspices of its ''Weekly Shonen Jump'' magazine. It awarded new manga artists in the Story Manga category. Its counterpart award, Akatsuka Award, a ...
for best new serial manga * The Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize (multiple genres) The
Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs The is an executive department of the Government of Japan, and is responsible for the country's foreign policy and international relations. The ministry was established by the second term of the third article of the National Government Organi ...
has awarded the
International Manga Award Tarō Asō, the 92nd Prime Minister of Japan is an annual award established to encourage non-Japanese manga artists in 2007. This award was created by Japanese Foreign Minister Tarō Asō, who proposed this award in a policy speech he gave in ...
annually since May 2007.


University education

Kyoto Seika University is a private university in Iwakura, Kyoto, Japan. The school's predecessor was founded in 1968, and it was chartered as a university in 1979. The school is noted for its faculties of manga and anime, and being involved in the teaching and ...
in Japan has offered a highly competitive course in manga since 2000. Then, several established universities and
vocational school A vocational school is a type of educational institution, which, depending on the country, may refer to either secondary or post-secondary education designed to provide vocational education or technical skills required to complete the tasks ...
s (専門学校: ''Semmon gakkou'') established a training curriculum. Shuho Sato, who wrote ''
Umizaru is a manga series by Shūhō Satō which was serialized by Shogakukan in ''Weekly Young Sunday'' from 1998 to 2001. Yōichi Komori is credited with the original idea for the series, and he also did the research to make the series more a ...
'' and ''Say Hello to Black Jack'', has created some controversy on
Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
. Sato says, "Manga school is meaningless because those schools have very low success rates. Then, I could teach novices required skills on the job in three months. Meanwhile, those school students spend several million yen, and four years, yet they are good for nothing." and that, "For instance,
Keiko Takemiya is a Japanese manga artist and the former president of Kyoto Seika University. Career Keiko Takemiya (or Takemiya Keiko) is included in the Year 24 Group, a term coined by academics and critics to refer to a group of female authors in the ...
, the then professor of Seika Univ., remarked in the Government Council that 'A complete novice will be able to understand where is "Tachikiri" (i.e., margin section) during four years.' On the other hand, I would imagine that, It takes about thirty minutes to completely understand that at work."


See also

*
ACG (subculture) ACG ("Animation, Comics, and Games") is a term used in some subcultures of Greater China and Southeast Asia. Because a strong economic and cultural connection exists between anime, manga and games in the Japanese market, ACG is used to describe ...
*
Alternative manga Alternative manga or underground manga is a Western term for Japanese comics that are published outside the more commercial manga market, or which have different art styles, themes, and narratives to those found in the more popular manga magazin ...
*
Anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...
*
Anime and manga fandom Anime and manga fandom (otherwise known as fan community) is a worldwide community of fans of anime and manga. Anime includes animated series, films and videos, while manga includes manga, graphic novels, drawings and related artworks. The anime a ...
*
Cinema of Japan The has a history that spans more than 100 years. Japan has one of the oldest and largest film industries in the world; as of 2021, it was the fourth largest by number of feature films produced. In 2011 Japan produced 411 feature films that e ...
*
Cool Japan refers to the aspects of Japanese culture that non-Japanese people perceive as "cool". The Cool Japan strategy is part of Japan's overall brand strategy, aiming to disseminate Japan's attractiveness and allure to the world. The target of Cool Ja ...
*
Culture of Japan The culture of Japan has changed greatly over the millennia, from the country's prehistoric Jōmon period, to its contemporary modern culture, which absorbs influences from Asia and other regions of the world. Historical overview The ances ...
*
Emakimono or is an illustrated horizontal narration system of painted handscrolls that dates back to Nara-period (710–794 CE) Japan. Initially copying their much older Chinese counterparts in style, during the succeeding Heian (794–1185) and Ka ...
*
E-toki refers to a Japanese Buddhist practice of using an emaki (hand picture, a painted hand scroll) or picture halls (rooms with pictures either painted onto the walls, or containing a series of hanging scrolls) to explain a Buddhist principle. His ...
(horizontal, illustrated narrative form) *
Japanese language is spoken natively by about 128 million people, primarily by Japanese people and primarily in Japan, the only country where it is the national language. Japanese belongs to the Japonic or Japanese- Ryukyuan language family. There have been ma ...
*
Japanese popular culture Japanese popular culture includes Japanese cinema, cuisine, television programs, anime, manga, video games, music, and doujinshi, all of which retain older artistic and literary traditions; many of their themes and styles of presentation can be ...
*
Kamishibai is a form of Japanese street theater and storytelling that was popular during the Great Depression of the 1930s and the post-war period in Japan until the advent of television during the mid-20th century. were performed by a (" narrator") w ...
*
Lianhuanhua ''Lianhuanhua'' () is a type of palm-size picture books of sequential drawings popular in China in the 20th century. It influenced modern manhua.Wong, Wendy Siuyi. 002(2001) Hong Kong Comics: A History of Manhua. Princeton Architectural Press. N ...
(small Chinese picture book) *
Light novel A light novel (, Hepburn: ''raito noberu'') is a style of young adult novel primarily targeting high school and middle school students. The term "light novel" is a ''wasei-eigo'', or a Japanese term formed from words in the English languag ...
* List of best-selling manga *
List of films based on manga This is a list of films based on manga. It includes films that are adaptations of manga, and those films whose characters originated in those comics. See also * List of films based on English-language comics * List of films based on French-lan ...
*
List of licensed manga in English This is a list of notable manga that have been licensed in English, listed by their English title. This list does not cover anime, light novels, dōjinshi, manhwa, manhua, manga-influenced comics, or manga only released in Japan in bilingual Japan ...
*
List of manga distributors This article lists distributors of manga in various markets worldwide. Chinese Traditional Chinese * Daran Comics (defunct) (Taiwan) * Kadokawa Comics Taiwan (Taiwan) *Tong Li Comics (Taiwan) * Ever Glory Publishing (Taiwan) * Sharp Point Publ ...
*
List of manga magazines This is a list of manga magazines or published in Japan. The majority of manga magazines are categorized into one of five demographics, which correspond to the age and gender of their readership: * '' Kodomo'' – aimed at young children. * '' ...
*
List of Japanese manga magazines by circulation The following is a list of Japanese manga magazines by circulation, during the timespan of April 1 to June 30, 2022. These figures have been collected by the Japanese Magazine Publishers Association, which updates every three months. The updates ar ...
*
Manga iconography Japanese manga has developed its own visual language or iconography for expressing emotion and other internal character states. This drawing style has also migrated into anime, as many manga stories are adapted into television shows and films. ...
*
Manga outside Japan Manga, or comics, have appeared in translation in many different languages in different countries. France represents about 40% of the European comic market and in 2011 manga represented 40% of the comics being published in the country. In 2007, ...
* Truyện tranh *
Manhua () are Chinese-language comics produced in China and Taiwan. Whilst Chinese comics and narrated illustrations have existed in China in some shape or form throughout its imperial history, the term first appeared in 1904 in a comic titled ''Cu ...
*
Manhwa (; ) is the general Korean language, Korean term for comics and print cartoons. Outside Korea, the term usually refers to South Korea, South Korean comics. is greatly influenced by Japanese Manga comics. Modern Manhwa has extended its rea ...
* Q-version (cartoonification) *
Ukiyo-e Ukiyo-e is a genre of Japanese art which flourished from the 17th through 19th centuries. Its artists produced woodblock prints and paintings Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surfac ...
*
Visual novel A , often abbreviated as VN, is a form of digital semi-interactive fiction. Visual novels are often associated with and used in the medium of video games, but are not always labeled as such themselves. They combine a textual narrative with sta ...
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Webtoon Webtoons (), are a type of digital comic that originated in South Korea usually meant to be read on smartphones. While webtoons were mostly unknown outside of Korea during their inception, there has been a surge in popularity internationally ...
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Weekly Shōnen Jump is a weekly ''shōnen'' manga anthology published in Japan by Shueisha under the ''Jump'' line of magazines. The manga series within the magazine consist of many action scenes and a fair amount of comedy. The chapters of the series that run ...
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Works cited

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Further reading

* * Hattie Jones, "Manga girls: Sex, love, comedy and crime in recent boy's manga and anime," in Brigitte Steger and Angelika Koch (2013 eds): Manga Girl Seeks Herbivore Boy. Studying Japanese Gender at Cambridge. Lit Publisher, pp. 24–81. * Marcella Zaccagnino and Sebastiano Contrari.
Manga: il Giappone alla conquista del mondo

Archive
'' Limes, rivista italiana di geopolitica''. 31 October 2007. *


External links

* * {{Authority control Anime and manga terminology Comics formats Entertainment in Japan Illustration Japanese culture