What is so good about manga and anime?
Why do we read it? Why do we watch it? At first glance it seems like an over the top comic book with completely unrealistic characters but once you read a really good manga for the first time, you’ll find yourself hooked in the masterful creations of Japan’s world. Manga is basically a Japanese style comic book while Anime is basically Japanese style animation. Note that this is not a light read.
Common misconceptions:
1. People who read manga only enjoy the fan service (moments meant for adult viewers)
Completely false. In fact, a lot of people who read manga do not enjoy the fan service at all. If we wanted to read manga just for the fan service, we would read something else. However, it seems to be an integral part of most manga out there, even the most popular ones marketed to kids. It’s just a natural part of the manga and some will enjoy it for a moment while others will just flip through it. But don’t lump all readers in together.
2. It’s for nerds, little kids and fat slobs.
When people mention manga or Japanese animation, people often tend to think that the type of people who read and watch that kind of stuff are overweight, unclean, and addicted slobs. It’s true that there are some people out there hardcore enough to pile up loads of cup ramen in their room and collect millions of magical girl figurines, but that’s often not the case. Most who enjoy manga and anime are just everyday, normal people.
Note that there are hardcore people out there, however. Choose your friends wisely.
3. All Asians read manga
Funny, but untrue. Although you will find that most oriental people do read manga and or watch anime, there are people of different ethnic origins that enjoy manga and anime as well.
So what’s good about it?
Manga/Anime is a quick and easy way to relax at the comfort of your home. Because it’s so popular around the world, there are tons of sites that offer free scanned, translated and cleaned up manga. You can pop in and check out the latest manga at any time. It’s as easy as that.
They also offer insight into a multitude of themes. Believe it or not, manga often explores in depth human thoughts and other complex concepts and issues. In the manga itself, you’ll find that the characters question themselves about tons of different things. What’s right? What is a friend? How should I treat other people? What is good, and what is evil? It’s extremely enlightening and manga is sure to give you second thoughts about what you may have thought was previously right before.
Of course, not all manga is enlightening – there are some manga that are created just for jokes, so don’t expect to find any higher level thinking in those types.
There’s all kinds of manga for everyone – which is the best part. While comic books may just include superheroes, manga has a humongous variety of stuff. Why? Because Japan is straight up weird, you’ve got all kinds of manga. There’s crossdressing, romance, gag, fighting, action, political, sports, magical girls, murder, etc. There’s way too much to count. The same accessibility and wide variety of themes in TV shows or American comic books is less available because there’s a certain limit on how far certain themes can be explored (appropriate for the audience).
You could argue that books offer the same amount of weird themes, but manga has it drawn. MANGA. HAS. IT. DRAWN. Japan simply just does not care. They have everything, because manga is able to be enjoyed by all ages. IN VISUAL FORMAT. Don’t ask questions. Your brain will self destruct before knowing the answer.
Now, personally, my favorite reason for enjoying manga and anime is how lost you can get in the world. Anime doesn’t have the same feel as American TV animation. All you see for kids shows is Sponge Bob and… other shows, which I can’t remember. But these shows went straight for laughs. They made the characters look stupid so you could laugh at them, but did they take you on an epic adventure?
They did not. But anime did. I can’t list all the reasons why anime is so awesome and how it brings you into an entirely different world, but these shows can. Pokemon, Digimon, Teen Titans and Avatar the Last Airbender were all American TV shows that many people have watched, and they all have one thing in common. They all combined aspects of anime, whether it be the art, or the thrilling adventure. In Digimon and Pokemon’s case, they just simply dubbed the anime over. If you’ve ever watched any of these shows, you’ll know how much of a smash hit each and every one was. How amazing it was to watch these characters and their struggles. Just look at Pikachu. EVERYONE LOVES PIKACHU.
Now imagine: there are a million other shows out there just like those four shows. It’s just that the characters speak Japanese, which isn’t a problem. Just watch an English sub! The Japanese language isn’t so bad anyways. There may be some really disgusting “cute” moments and ridiculous shouting that we often don’t find in American culture, but in general, I find that Japanese voice actors convey a lot more emotion than English voice actors (although there are some amazing English voice actors on par with them). As long as you read the English, you’ll have no problem enjoying the show.
The manga can leave a similar, less powerful impression but often are further along in the plot than the anime.
So go ahead, get started! If you’re a guy, try a Shonen (for boys) manga or anime like One Piece. If you’re a girl, try a Shojo (for girls) manga like Fruits Basket.
I hope this cleared up some of the stigma concerning manga and anime. Thanks for reading. If you’re still not comfortable, don’t worry. Even I sometimes feel that way reading certain kinds of manga. Still good though. Catch ya later.
Picture Sources:
http://www.dragoart.com/tuts/11348/1/1/how-to-draw-pokemon.htm
http://www.crunchyroll.com/forumtopic-102/favorite-anime-characters?pg=984