Manga! Manga!

[HelenofTroy]

First of all take a look at my first anime painting I have ever done, I recall at that time I didnt much like anime so much I thought it looked boring and hmmm homogenous or what could be good word, but then I came accross this one and liked the painterly feel of it, looked like real art to me, another emasement was to me how I could able to render so nicely even that I have never drawn anime before

therefore I concluded anime is like pizza, even when its not so good its still good

http://www.deviantart.com/view/7096358/

What I actually wanted to talk about here (if nobody even reads these texts anyhow...
was about this book I bought called Manga! Manga! The World of Japanese Comics by Frederick L. Schodt and Osamu Tezuka =Manga no Kamisama=The God of Comics

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...glance&s=books


I came accross this booklet or hmm thick magasine when I was going to get some other books from the bookshop, luckily, the next time there was only one remaining and I had to quickly grab it then lol!

Im happy with the book, recently I have been wanting to read as little as possible but this was interesting !!!

It's basicly very good introduction to comic world in Japan and talking about those things that are interesting and then bringing some associations that would not other vice come to ones mind but that after all are quite obvious and fun to know.

Like I use to wonder about the statistics of comic printing industry in Japan, if I were to think why would comic reading be so popular I would have thought that it's because of the hectic stressful working life, so the people would want something light and easily digestible -like instant noodles entertainment

You can eat as much as you like and consume the rest at coffee break or something, but this is what the book was talking about, why are anime and manga comics so popular in Japan !!!

One thing is that its very natural way of transition from some novel book to comics because the written text in Japan is ideogramical, instead of using alphabets Japanese uses signs or like small drawings for a word, so comics seems like the next step in evolution of telling stories from the old galligraphic method of writing

This book is from 1984 and all things from that time but I dont mind its all new to me anyways and interesting

It is said that that time over 5 billion books and magasines were produced in Japan and that in fact Japan uses more paper for comics than for it's toilet paper loool!

At that time you could buy a boy's comic magazine that has 350 pages in it with less than a dollar !

The writer Mr Shodt likes to compare the Japanes comics to American comics. Personally the first impression is that American way prefers Quality over Quantity, an american pro comic artist will spend long time with meticulous perfect details, yet I see different artistical beauty in the Japanese method of drawing

I feel like quoting the writer himself because its about what I would say myself I quote: They ahve learned to make the page flow, to build tension and to invoke moods by varying the number of frames used to depict a sequence, to use cinematic tecniques of fade-out, fade-in, mntage and superimposition.

Japanese comics seems to also rely more on the pictures and painting moods are important as well as symbolism

Then something interesting I have always wanted to experiment myself are extreme contrast such as: have a serious plot and then draw it in cartoony funny manner or have carivature unrealistic looking character set in a very realistic background

The economical use of line and using such simple and maybe even naive lookng creatures and yet be able to create adult entertainment is quite hmmm interesting or achivement at least, like maybe I myself like the american meticulous way of rendering a page or the slow pace if you will anyhow the Japanese way can be nice to express quick emotions and I anyhow like the drawing style of Akira Toryama because it looks unpredictable, at first I was thinking that its for children and the drawings looked so naive to me, but then I found these "hook" or something, kind of like little flashes of little masterpieces on its way, so his drawing style is so lively and as if he is constantly thinking a lot and all the time in a humoristic mood (prob using some dope then)

so then I quickly learned to appreciate his own personal drawing style and got soaked in to his own mood and world and learned to recongnise and appreciate his "economic use of line"

It's totally a culture of itself and you need a little verbal introduction to it, before you can learn to appreciate it, however crappy and badly done drawings are still crappy and badly done drawings no matter how much you talk and explain, nobody is an idiot and when the comic is like this in anime form, the entertainment is more important, simply if Im not entertained, I dont read it anymore, I dont buy the next book of Dragon ball Z anymore

Comics for women are entirely different style of their own, to quote: They stress more passive inner world of dreams and endless musings about human relationship

Lot of time is been spent on the details of the dresses and most distinctive part of the women comics style is are the big soulful eyes of the females characters that shines and sparkles and reflects girly joy or deep sorrow and sadness very well, requiring only very modest use of lines in the mouth anymore

Well women knows best what other women want, I also learned that women in Japan has very strong culture of their own where they invent their own dialegue to speak and such and even have their own theater where only women can come, so the women will be acting as men, this could add as nice mysteriousness about women as if they are covered with halo anyhow hmm Im rambling now

I love the nonlinear way of illustrating, putting more emphases on the mood and I love how innocent and joyful moodsa re been captured so efficiently I then feel like that mood jumps from the page of the comic to inside me and fills me with that emotion as well (and my own eyes start to sparkle too LOOOL!) and then of course I love love stories in general !!!!!!

Coming back to compare America's and Japanese comic cultures, in America a comic is been build with a team work, where no single person get's more credit from the other (in order to keep working morals high?) but a hero is then celebrated in the product itself, like Batman or some universal heroes etc, While in Japan a single comic artist is independent and remains all the rights to his own works, and ARE RICH AND FAMOUS ALMOST LIKE SOME NATIONAL HEROES !!!

But then again the negative thing is that a single person also has more preassure and more work load alone to carry as well
To quote The American comic book industry is rife with tales of famous works that have earned millions for the Publisher and nothing for the aging, impoverished and unknown artist, popular artists in Japan are millionaired and household words

My suggestion ! LOOOL! as american, if you have talent and personality to tell nice stories of your own-move to Japan and become BIG IN JAPAN

Akira Toryama (DRagon Ball Z) for instanve had income in the year 1981 the whooping $ 2.4 million american dollars out of Dr. Slump and he was then only 27 years old !!!!

There was then already also emerging new product called ANIMEKOMIKKUSU= animation comics full-colour comic paperbacks that are created not from the original comic artwork but from a print of an animated film LOL! Kind of like suck everything out of the one single product then LOOOL!

I wish I could go to Japan one day

Interesting Facts

- It takes a japanese reader an average of 20 minutes to read 320 page comic -that means 3.75 seconds spent per page

-many educated experts has found that comics can transmit important information more effectively than text alone (something all artist has knows since they were born ) that they develope in readers an ability to quickly perceive the essence of a problem without relying on linear logic

-Japanese comics ahve some own funny sound effects as words in the comics:
suru suru = a sound that represents noodles ben slurped

fu= a ninja warrior assassin vanishes in mid air

biin= penis suddenly stands erect

shiiin= the sound of no sound at all /HIHI)

suron= sound of milk being added to coffee (HILARIOUS)

-During Edo period (1600-1867) Japan was ruled by a feudal dictatorship that tired to freeze social change in order to preserve itself: political dissent including art was banned, unlicensed intercourse with foreign nations was prohibited on penalty of death

-Frank Miller (famous comic artist/writer of daredevil and wonlverine) comic style in Comics Journal 1982: "They approach comics as a pure form more than American comics artists do"

-After Pearl Harbor in December 1941 the comics all around japan were used to serve purpose of political propaganda that was eff
iciently reaching the illitrate people as well

-One of the most popular plastic surgery operation in Japan is the type that makes the eye look bigger and rounder like the heroines in the comic books for women

- A comic creator in Japan that is been looked up to is titled as Sensei-which means teacher, master, one born before, to give him the proper honour. Osamu Tezuka who is a pioneer of comics in Japan (and another author of this book talk of dog lifting its own tail ) has as the only person in japan given the ultimate title: Manga no kamisama, which means "The God of Comics"

-The amount of comics that a Japanese reader consumes is so huge that it's not useful or maybe its even impossible to save all the comics he or she has ever read, therefor its usual that the readers buy their favourite comic magasines later in paperback or hardback editions

MORE MONEY FOR THE COMIC CREATOR

[Popninja]

Wow. That is very interesting stuff you've written there. I couldn't read all of it because of time, but I'll check back and read it later.

[ZenMonkey]

-One of the most popular plastic surgery operation in Japan is the type that makes the eye look bigger and rounder like the heroines in the comic books for women

thats just plain creepy

you should post this in the right forum. i mean, sure you posted some art, but all this other stuff ...its kinda annoying.

[penciljack]

Seriously, when you post a piece of artwork and then post a virtual novel on another topic, you're essentially bringing your own post off topic. Please consider the spirit of these Studio forums and use them only for posting and receiving comics on the artwork. I know this has been discussed with you before, even in your ... previous incarnation. Please don't resort to that.

[dfbovey]

Anyone got the Cliffnotes version of this post?

[xadrian]

Originally posted by dfbovey
Anyone got the Cliffnotes version of this post?

Japan's comics are kicking America's comics' ass.

[jacon]

Originally posted by HelenofTroy
What I actually wanted to talk about here...

why didn't you start a thread in general discussion then?

oh and i must say that i liked your other style better than this anime/manga stuff. glad you moved away from it

[IndieRockPete]

You're too nice, Terry.

[cabralsoth]

Originally posted by HelenofTroy
biin= penis suddenly stands erect

lol.... i will put that in my useless trivia book... how long did it take you to write all of this??? and i would stay away from the manga , i like your other stuff much better !!!

[[TLG]_Spider-Wal]

Originally posted by cabralsoth
...and i would stay away .... PERIOD

for if it be virginie...you never know...

[-Spider-]