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December 2008
When you look at manga the basic breakdown way of describing it as an art form is simply: pictures with words that make a story. It is comics, just from a different country. Yeah, we've discussed this, so in looking at manga and comic books their differences and similarities are obvious. In particular though I also discussed last time what makes manga so popular in Japan, and least in my opinion. This time though I want to spend some time looking at subjects related to all these ideas, but not simply rehashes these ideas. For instance, why is manga so popular in Japan?
The simple argument that manga started in Japan does not work as a reason. Jazz started in America, but that doesn't mean it is our most popular musical form. Plus, the idea of putting pictures and words together to tell a sequential story did not start in Japan . . . far from it. The idea though took hold in Japan with a passion unheard of and manga because a cultural phenomenon, a form of publishing as successful or more successful then novels depending on the month or year! Why? Well there are several potential theories, though they all sound like the classis "why do you like something" and most times people have to be honest and say it is a gut reaction . . . they just do. So when it comes to manga, the Japanese just like it, it's just how they "roll" (all hip and clever dialogue will disappear from here . . . )
However, if you need reasons think about the following.
First, the Japanese are a very visual people in terms of language and culture. Their writing systems, hiragana, katakana, and kanji, are very visually oriented, to the point that most foreigners refer to them as "picture writing" (if they are being polite . . . ). This visual tendency makes sense as it translates to storytelling. After all if your language is very "pictographic" then telling stories with additional pictures and words . . . makes some kind of weird ironic sense. Again this is a theory . . . just like my next two ideas.
Second, the Japanese language is . . . well difficult. Even the Japanese, if you get them alone without other Japanese around will usually confess about this, but this is seen as a sign of national pride. Part of the Japanese identity (and yes there is literature on this) is that being Japanese is unique, and therefore special. It's why a foreigner, a gaijin, cannot become Japanese. Someone from Japan can become American, but to the Japanese you must be born Japanese, live in Japan, and have family going back a couple of generations at least to truly be Japanese. So the complex nature of the language is part of the "uniqueness", the special part, of being Japanese, so no matter how hard it is they won't get rid of it. So how does this tie to manga? Well there is a great advantage to having pictures and words together (ask any anime or manga fan who is watching/reading something in the original format without knowing any Japanese) and that is the simple fact that at least if there are pictures you have some idea what is going on, even if you don't understand the words. So what am I saying? Well sometimes the main reason the Japanese prefer manga is that . . . they can't always read their own language . . .
True story time folks, so listen with rapt attention. I have had many Japanese friends, but one in particular who stood out was a Japanese girl who a friend of mine was dating. She was an exchange student here in the states and she was being daring and dating a gaijin (it does happen . . . ). Anyway, her Japanese was flawless and she could obviously talk rings around me back in my early days of Japanese studies, and probably still could. A native of Japan, Tokyo no less, she had come to Idaho (yes I went to college in Idaho) to study English. Now the interesting detail of this was that her English was very good and easy to understand. So one afternoon she and her boyfriend and some other friends were in my old mess of an apartment (as opposed to my now mess of a house) hanging out. The other friends were involved in what most people who used to come to my apartment were involved in . . . checking out my huge collection of stuff. All my friends who loved manga and anime would flock to my place to look at or borrow things that you just couldn't find anywhere else (same went for comics too, not to brag). So while the others are looking at stuff I caught this Japanese girl reading one of my favorite books Maison Ikkoku, a cute story about a bumbling college student who falls head over heels in love with his apartment manager who he finds out is a widower, still in love with her husband. It is one of the most romantic manga ever done (by the great manga-ka Rumiko Takahashi, creator of Ranma ½ and Inu-Yasha), and so I was curious of all the manga in Japanese I have she would be reading that. She was just looking through it and she was on a page I remembered having trouble understanding so I asked her about what a certain sentence meant, and she looked at me, her beautiful Japanese beaming and told me "I have no idea, Melton-san".
I was confused. She didn't understand her own language? So I asked why, and she told me that there were kanji in that sentence which she didn't know or just couldn't remember. This piqued everyone's attention, and her boyfriend even started to ask "huh?" So she clarified to explain that in a language of over 2000 characters needed for "basic" reading skills it was very easy to forget one or two kanji needed to read one word or several words.
The basic question remained though . . . "So you can't read it?" I asked.
"No," in a mouse-like voice was all she could offer, but with another clarification. "I can understand what is going on, but I can't tell you word for word what they are saying right there, plus the pictures help . . . "
I smiled, understanding the concept, but very intrigued by the concept. In English, this concept is possible, but unlikely, but can be seen as why kids, those who are still learning the language, love comic books . . . the visuals reinforce the verbal part. It's a simple concept that I believe also explains why the Japanese love manga.
The final idea behind the appeal of manga to the Japanese that I thought of also ties to language, but also origami. Again, hitting upon the idea of the Japanese being so visual and picture oriented can be seen by the large number of artists in Japanese society. Now this is not to say that every Japanese person can draw, but many can, and quite well! This theory has been examined by many studying Japanese culture and seems to stem from many factors, two of which I have witnessed first hand. First, the already mentioned the use of kanji seems to add to artistic nature. "Writing" with pictures goes a long way to helping a person's ability to draw. In addition creating with origami, bending paper around to make shapes, seems to enhance drawing ability. It's a very odd coincidence, but it gives another piece of the puzzle toward explaining the Japanese love of manga.
All these elements go a long way to explaining, or beginning to piece together, the love and appreciation of manga. These are the weird elements that combine to make and create the fascinating complex beast that is manga. Again, I hope you sample richly of its depths and as a final thought, if you have manga questions please e-mail and ask away!
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