| 1. Introduction | 6. Economy |
| 2. Meaning | 7. Functions |
| 3. History | 8. What the future will show |
| 4. Features | 9. Conclusion |
| 5. Topics |
Introduction
„Comic magazines used to teach us things about our society but not now. They have a great influence on our lifestyle and ways of thinking. The problem is the lack of critcism of modern society in the many comics strips being published. There is no power, no appeal, no satire in them. All you see is sex, violence, sports and particularly love affairs. In the past we sought to study society through comic strips, but today they only help young people to escape from reality. The reason is obvious. All the editors of those comic magazines are only after money and they choose an easy way to attein commercial success." ( Takashiro Nishikawa)
There are many different oppinions on this subject. Certainly there are more critics than supporters. All oppinions should be respected and accepted. Actually everybody has to create his own picture of the ... „Mangaworld", like I did. In my life manga are more important than German comics. They give me the chance to escape into new worlds and the feeling to be implied in the story. But in how far do they influence my life?
In the 16th century comics were originally written for children. So to speak they were the ancestors of the Mangas. They were called Akabon („Red book") based on the constant colour of the layout. Subjects were funny tales which can be compared with ours.
The term manga was determined by the carver Katsushika Hokusai (1760 - 1849) in the 19th centuryfor number of partly supernatural or strange daily life sketches. Word-for-word Manga could be translated „unreliable pictures". That means in the sense of moved, the reality is not given back to hundred per cent. Erroneously Japanese animated Cartoons are called Mangas although they have an own name: Anime. Neither Mangas nor Anime are stipulated on certain contents or classifications.They include a wide spectrum of subjecs. They extend from children stroies, fantasy tales, exciting science fiction and warm-hearted everyday life stories to sanguinary sex stories. Most Mangas are more or less moralizing and emphasize traditional values like loyalty, bravery, strength and religion. Some series refer to certain age or interest groups. The borders are more than running, so that even elderly business man watch the newest episodes of „Sailormoon" with enthusiasm. Like children between 8 and 12 which were originally the target group.
A few years after the appearance of the first American and European comics the first Japanese comic-strip was published in 1902. The series, which were overtaken by the USA and were really famous for decades, were changed by local comic-strips into a similar format. Being funnily painted, the comics were published with 4 until 12 simply chosen pictures with or without text. This kind of comics with a few pictures are called "YonKoma-Mangas". Even today they are very popular. After the Second World War the stories were lengthened and written for adults. When the Japanese economy could record an increase, the number of sold Mangas raised as well. In the 90s there was no sensational innovation visible. But the Mangas had an important influence on the American comic scene and they were even translated and published in English in 1988.
Normally Mangas appear in a black and white format. Only the layout can be created coloured. They are hold simple, on one side because of the production costs and on the other side because of the virtue of the Japanese graphical tradition. There are different forms of publication. Mangas can appear weekly or monthly as magazines which can consist of different series. The pocket-size format contains only one story. They are available at least in numbers of 200 000 editions with enormous sales records.
Japanese comics are much longer than western ones. Hundred or even thousand pages are not unusual. They can have a scope of telephone books. Another difference to our comics is that the Mangas, like the Japanese poetry, appreciate the "unspoken". That means that the picture nearly always carries the story. Everything is expressed by mimic and gestic instead of language. Furthermore certain moods are created in including noises. The Japanese perfectionated the technique of noise-making sound effects. For every situation there is a certain noise, for example "poo" for getting red, for falling leaves "hira hira" and for thinking "...".
The big eyes of the figures are characteristical for Manga and Anime. They should lend a special expression that is to say "Kawaii" (cute). The figures are drawn child likely so that the people love them and that they arise the sympathy of the reader. The big seperate standing eyes, the small nose often only implied by shadows and the relatively small mouth respond to the everywhere known child scheme. The heros mostly have supernatural powers but they are human-like. They are a kind of ideal for the consuming society. The figures often have colourful and crazy hairstyles. With the stilistic faces, the hairstyles are the only possiblility to distinguish the characters effectively. This unnatural representation is an evidence for the ability of the Japanese writers to separate the world of Manga from reality. While reading the consumer feels as a part of the story and leaves the reality to escape into a dream world. This results in diversion of being together and in a solitary life.
Western and eastern comics have nearly the same topics. But in Japan they are treated differently, which seems unusual to the western reader. Here is a selection of the most important subjects:
Samurai
The most important elements were the ethic of Bushido (way of war), the Confucianism, the Buddhism and the Shintoism. Therefore, the sacrifice of oneself for the welfare of the society, the iron discipline, the holding out and the indifference for material goods are put into the foreground. An example for this is the story of "Rouronie Kenshin".
Direct followers of the Samurai comics are Jakuza, sports and work Mangas, Mah Jongg and Salary Men.
The Jakuza comics deal with the Japanese mafia whereas loyality, honour and obligation are pointed out. In sports Mangas, which attend to the Bushido, the reaching for a certain aim is important. They show hard training methods, which are connected with effort, discipline, holding out and the adaption to the team. Some topics are taken out of real Japanese successes, for example the Olympic Games of 1964. In contrast to this work Mangas deal with jobs and the therewith connected problems. This reaching for an aim personificates the Japanese himself, whose personal wish is to strengthen the economical growth. Mah Jongg is the most important leisure preoccupation mentioned in the Mangas. There is a wide spectrum of different stories of murder and detectives over love-stories to porns and comedies. Provision is that a Mah Jongg game must be contained in the Manga. In the Salary Men stories the characters play an average role. On condition of their position at work they have to suffer a lot.
Science Fiction & Cyberpunk
In the first years the progress and the new technical developments were pondered over. But when the first atomatic accidents and the new diseases took place the heros had to fight against criminals who set in new technologies against mankind. Typical elements were the giant robots which were supported by a steady team. In these Mangas the writers create a gloomy picture of the future in which big companies govern the country. The law of the big city jungle with riots and drugs rules. Typical motives are the preservation or the loss of their own humanity under this system and the fight against one or more power-obsessed concerns. An example is the "Vision of Escaflowne".
Fantasy
Everything which is however fanatic is showed in unrealistic pictures. So to say everything not being reality. For example, the fantastic hero stories in which they fight with swords and magic or mysterious powers. Or characters who live on another planet. A very good example is the fantasy comic "Magic Knights Rayearth".
Sex
Today erotic comics are being subjected to strict rules. Although the Japanese do not have an official censorship the distribution, the sale and the display of obscene printing editions is forbidden according the law. That means it is not allowed to publish precise or correct illustration of pubic hair, genitals and sexual intercourse as well as slang. In the 60s they used insinuations instead of direct pictures. Sexual intercourse was presented, for example, as mussel and seal.
Female figures were drawn detailed whereas the male characters looked rather unrealistically. It was even so that demons and extraterrestrians substituted humans. Boundings and rapes were frequently appearing motives in Mangas. In this category you can buy everything from soft porn to hardcore. A very good example is "Bronze".
Violence
Ironically, in the non-erotic comics stricter laws predominated. Even the dialogues were controlled, for example the discrimination of races. They avoided it easily in changing the Mangas into a fantasy comic. It only has to take place on another planet then it is suitable for another category.
The violence in Mangas does not have a bad influence on the youth as they know that this is only an concocted dream world. That is reflected in the fact that Japan shows the lowest crime rate in the world. Actually, it does not serve the violence provocation in the society but the reduction of stress. It creates a place to dream unrestrictedly and later on to express it in a Manga or Anime. An example is "Akira".
Manga and Anime belong to the most important cultural and economical branches in Japan through their own popularity. In 1976 a poll was started. The result was suprisingly positive. It showed that more than a third of the working population deals with comic reading in their leisure time. 15 per cent were high-positioned employees. In 1982 Japanese students have spent an average of 13 per cent of their pocket money for comics. That are 2 to 3 magazines a month. In 1995 2 thousand million Mangas were totally sold. Statistically that would be approximately 60 per household and even 20 per inhabitant.
Popular Mangas are often changed into Anime immediately or vice versa. On the other hand Manga and Anime industry are not only close but also connected with a substantial number of other economical branches, for example the computer and the music industry. The profits of comics are much higher than those of the gigantic steel producing enterprises in the world. Japan consumes more paper for Mangas than for toilet paper.
The publishers use a lot of energy and money to find out the demand on the market. Many polls are being worked out and questionnaires are distributed. So the reader can partly interfere. For example they organise competitions in which the population presents their ideas and proposals. These are realised to some extent. A third of all printed editions and literal production is composed of comics. Furthermore they are marketed through commercials, toys, T-shirts, poster and other diverse articles. In the western countries fan groups are steadily growing but the export is inferior.
Mangas are sold everywhere and are read on every occasion. You can buy them at every corner. They even have machines therefore, mostly containing contents not suitable for young people. Even in waiting rooms, offices and banks they are to be found. Mangas are regarded as a part of a solid general education. They are so omnipresent that they are even daily at university graduations and entering examinations. Mangas are often seen as a reflection of the social and political development of Japan.
| Positive Influences | Negative Influences |
| Leisure time preoccupation | Addiction (psychical dependance) |
| life content (aim for a certain work) | High expenditures fo the consumer |
| Cultural goods (manga as art) | |
| Materials for education (learning the language) | |
| Processing of industries |
There will be new publications with more tolerant and world-open subjects. Mangas will continue to support the economical growth of Japan. What will still happen is written in the future. Nobody knows which real effects do Mangas have for Japan. But we can be sure that they will never disappear from the Japanese market. They have to much influence on the economy. And that will even continue.........
The European will probably not be in the position to see Mangas like a Japanese based on language barriers and missing background information. Until we know more about them, Japanese comics are not more than an exotic toy which we do look at with astonishment but which we do not unterstand.
The Mangas contribute substantially to the economical and cultural character of Japan as the above-mentioned thoughts show. Even for the normal citizen they are not to be omitted from the today's world.
When I started reading a Manga serie I promptly recognised how the story and the figures pulled me into an inexplicable spell. Having read side by side I forgot everything around me. With this I want to express that Mangas have a special power on humans. The stories are so exciting, that you have to become "Manga-addicted". It can be positive or negative for the particular consumer. But I did not have had bad experiences.
Although I read a lot of Mangas, my aims are still standing in the foreground. I follow my obligations which I have towards to society, my family and myself. Nevertheless it is very important to me to escape from reality by Mangas for a few moments.
Fact is:
Without Mangas Japan won´t be what it is today.
© D. Dost/ Bildung und Begabung e.V.
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