EyeOnAnime Forum

Damo · Posted: Thu Jan 18, 2007 9:08 am Post subject: what is "manga" to you

Again brought on by a conversation I had yesterday, what is "manga" to you, does it have to have been drawn and created by the Japanese, typically works by ... say... Rumiko takahashi are manga, but then is things likethe titles that won Tokyopop's rising stars, or are they just in a manga style.

Selfmadehero's have just stated up with manga versions of Shakespere stories, is this manga or western imitation much liek Adam Warren's work on Dirty Pair titles. How do you define manga.
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Toraman · Shinigami Joined: 08 Aug 2006 Posts: 2091 Location: London

Same how I define anime. It generally needs to be from Japan to be considered as manga in my eyes. It's got a certain feel to it which I've yet to find elsewhere.

I still read other material such as Spiderman and X-men so it's not as though I don't enjoy other stuff generally. (everyone needs to read Maus!)

Incidently, in the last week I've been checking out the local talent and have picked up the Mammoth book of Manga and some Sweatdrop stuff. First impressions are pretty good so I'm looking forward to reading these properly!

Damo · Posted: Thu Jan 18, 2007 11:14 am Post subject:

I'm even dubious of the Korean titles "man-wha" they're still not manga, so yeah I guess manga has to be Japanese for me too.

One of he main appeals for me early on when i used to read a fair bit is that manga is pictures with words, while western comics marvel DC ect, are still words with pictures.

For example you never get in manga those descriptive boxes like "batman sits atop a skyscraper contemplating" in a manga they would let the picture tell you that. And the artwork is always massively simpler with a lot of use of negative space.

I find a lot of the western made titles capture the style but not the essence, if that makes sense. :sd:
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Fudce · Posted: Thu Jan 18, 2007 11:33 am Post subject:

I still refer to western graphic novels, in the same art-style as manga, as manga, however I usually add the "OEL" tagline. I wont lower my opinion of it just because it's OEL Manga, but most OEL Manga are of lower quality, because they are trying to emulate a style, and not using a style of their own.
The same goes for Manwha, etc.
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Gawyn · Elite Poster Joined: 09 Aug 2006 Posts: 567

Manga for me is definitely of Japanese origin and no exceptions. I enjoy comics, including manga. I read the likes of 2000AD religiously and am always looking for new comics to read no matter the source. As far as manwha goes I am pretty fond of iDentity and pHD but most of the rest is fairly so-so quality.

IanC · Posted: Thu Jan 18, 2007 6:16 pm Post subject:

I enjoy good comics no matter what orgin, but manga still holds a special hold over me. I wwouldnt say its better story (cus thats untrue) or artwork (equally untrue), its just... something.. if you get me.

But manga = Japanese comics. Manwha is korean, i dont have many of them (only the World of Warcraft one, which despite never playing the game i quite like).

In fact, just like anime do copros count?

Some examples - World of Warcaft, Princess Ai and Batman Child of Dreams.

To me, they may of been based on western ideas, but they have the "feel" of the country they were drown/writen in so tehy count as manga/manwha too. To me anyway.
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Hazel · Settling In Joined: 23 Aug 2006 Posts: 51 Location: London

Manga to me is anything that looks like manga I have read from Japan in the past, that's difficult to define.

Easier to say what is not manga - just because you draw manga eyes on something and come from the west, if you don't watch anime or read manga, your so called 'manga' isn't manga it is something which just has the same kind of eyes, that is what annoys me
about some of the stuff that gets published in the west, such as gomanga publishing chugworth academy when in the artist interview he says:

"Do you have any favorite manga?

DC: Actually no, because I don't read any. Whether or not you consider that irony is up to you."

Just because some western artist watched Akira as a kid doesn't make his art manga. ARGH. It annoys me, by publishing bad so called Western manga it makes manga look ugly (in my eyes). the reason I don't read comics is becuase I prefer the manga faces/style etc.

That is not to say it's impossible for someone in the west to make manga I would consider manga - they just have to read some manga and watch anime at the time they are drawing and use similar art techniques and emotion indicators.

I count manhua and manhwa as manga, i haven't read enough to differentiate between styles (if there are significant differences that is).