Category: Manga

Japanese Mythological Creatures in Anime, Manga and Video Games

Published December 10, 2020

I’ve spoken about Japanese Mythology before but my focus was primarily on the folktales and stories and how that has impacted Japanese storytelling. However, I believe it’s also important to take a look at the various mythological creatures found in Japanese folklore as you’ll find them frequently referred to in the worlds of anime, manga and video games.

Japanese folklore is surprisingly diverse and it’s worth noting that there are literally hundreds upon hundreds of mythological creatures scattered throughout these myths. However, I’m going to be focusing on a few that are commonly found in anime and manga and even some other mediums.

As far as I’m concerned, kitsune are easily the most famous of all Japan’s mythological creatures. Kitsune, often referred to as fox spirits, resemble a red fox but can possess up to nine tails. Beyond their supernatural powers (the ability to shapeshift is commonly associated with them) and their fierce intellect, they’re surprisingly varied with many kitsune considered tricksters who deceive humans while others are considered to be messengers of the kami Inari who help and assist humans.

A statue of a kitsune that serves the kami Inari.

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Two Manga Series Where I Wish The Ending Was Expanded

Published December 3, 2020

The decision of how to end a story can be quite a complex one and plenty of wonderful stories have ended up tainted by an ending that casts an unpleasant experience over the whole series (I’m looking at you Bunny Drop!). However, there are times where an ending hints at something fascinating but, possibly in the interest of concluding the story, decides to leave it unexplored. Therefore, I thought it might interesting to discuss some manga series where I wish that certain aspects of the ending had been expanded.

As you might imagine from the title, this article will contain spoilers for the manga series that I am going to discuss and I am going to try my best to provide a structure so that you can avoid encountering these spoilers for any series that you are interested in reading. Each manga series will be given a title to indicate where the discussion begins and will only end when the next title appears. In order to comply with this structure, I will also be providing a title to the concluding paragraph, something I don’t typically do, in order to differentiate it from the preceding manga discussion.

Girl Friends

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Medal with Purple Ribbon Winners in the Anime/Manga Industry Part 2

Published November 19, 2020

Here is the conclusion of my article that began in “Medal with Purple Ribbon Winners in the Anime/Manga Industry Part 1“.

In 2012, Moto Hagio, one of the legendary Year 24 Group, was honoured with the Medal with Purple Ribbon. I have mentioned the Year 24 Group before for revolutionizing shojo manga with stories discussing gender roles and sexuality and reinterpreting manga paneling with the addition of flowery artwork and softening, sometimes removing, panel borders so that images flow into each other. Moto Hagio is one of the best known members of this group with titles such as The Poe Clan and The Heart of Thomas having a profound impact on the manga medium.

It may surprise you, given his impact on Western anime fandom, but Katsuhiro Otomo only received the Medal with Purple Ribbon in 2013. Easily his most famous series is Akira for which he both wrote the manga series as well as directing the anime adaptation of it. However, something I find fascinating about Katsuhiro Otomo is how much work he has done since Akira. In addition to writing other manga series, he has continued to direct with films such as Steamboy and Combustible as well as two live-action films, World Apartment Horror and Mushish, and writing screenplays for other anime films such as Metropolis and Roujin Z.

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Medal with Purple Ribbon Winners in the Anime/Manga Industry Part 1

Published November 16, 2020

I was perusing Anime News Network recently when I came across an article noting that Rumiko Takahashi had just won the Medal with Purple Ribbon award. I had never heard of this award but, from what I could tell, it was very prestigious and I decided to do some research. What I found proved interesting enough that I decided that it was worth discussing what the Medal with Purple Ribbon award is and, more importantly, the winners that hail from the anime/manga industry.

The Medal with Purple Ribbon award makes up one part of the Medals of Honor awarded by the Japanese government to “those who have excellent deeds in each field of society“. Originally established in 1881, the Japanese Medals of Honor originally consisted of red (for those who risk their lives to save others), green (for morally remarkable individuals) and blue (for those with remarkable achievements in public welfare or public service). Since then, three other categories have been established with yellow in 1887 (for those who become public role models), dark blue in 1919 (for those who make financial contributions for public well-being) and, returning to the topic of the article, purple in 1955 (for those who have made significant contributions in either the fields of academics or the arts).

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What is Kodomo Manga and Why You Should Know About It

Published November 9, 2020

I have spoken before about manga demographics, specifically about josei manga but also touching on other demographics like shonen, shojo and seinen. Interestingly, in my experience, I have found that many Western fans of manga are familiar with these four demographics (to the extent that they understand who they’re targeted at) but many show confusion upon my mentioning of a fifth demographic, kodomo. Taking this into account, I think it’s important that Western manga fans understand and know what kodomo manga is.

Let’s begin with what kodomo manga is. The word kodomo means children in Japanese. Therefore, kodomo manga refers to manga aimed at children. However, to specify further, it specifically refers to a target audience younger than 12 since shonen and shojo titles are aimed at male and female teenagers respectively. However, there can be quite a bit of overlap and it is not uncommon to see some series referred as kodomo and shonen/shojo interchangeably.

The cover of the 40th anniversary issue of CoroCoro Comic.

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The Magical Girl Subgenre

Published November 5, 2020

There are many subgenres when it comes to the mediums of anime and manga and I would argue that one of the more overlooked are magical girls. While certainly not overlooked financially, I feel that many non-otaku (and even some otaku) look down on the magical girl subgenre as inferior, mindless entertainment. While I can understand how this misconception can develop, I also believe that there are many wonderful examples that disprove the stigma.

The history of the magical girl subgenre has an unusual start. Two of the earliest magical girl titles, Sally the Witch and The Secrets of Akko-chan, saw their creators cite American sitcom Bewitched as an inspiration. As you might expect, these early magical girl series were primarily slice of life comedies with little to none of the combat that we have come to expect from modern magical girl franchises.

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The Importance of the Element of Wonder in Storytelling

Published October 22, 2020

Whenever I’m writing these articles, I typically pick a YouTube video to play in the background on loop. I was recently recommended the first opening of Naruto (R★O★C★K★S) and I decided to take YouTube up on their offer. Upon watching it though, I was immediately filled with an unusual feeling. I knew it wasn’t nostalgia as I’m quite familiar with that feeling and, upon a few days reflection, I eventually realised that what I was remembering was a faint memory of the wonder I felt when I first began watching Naruto. That realisation made me consider the importance of the element of wonder in storytelling and inspired me to discuss the topic.

There are many wonderful pieces of media featuring children discovering the world and their sense of wonder for relatively banal aspects of everyday life. However, my focus is going to be on stories of adventure throughout anime, manga and video games and how the element of wonder enhances the storytelling.

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Interesting Manga Related to Western Properties

Published October 15, 2020

Whenever I and many other people think of manga series, we tend to think of titles original to the medium of manga. However, the manga industry does not exist in a vacuum and is influenced by the trends and fads of popular culture. Many Western properties are quite popular in Japan and I think it’s worth discussing the many interesting manga related to these franchises.

If I were to mention Batman, you would probably think of the Christopher Nolan films or perhaps the Arkham video games. However, the peak of Batman’s popularity in Japan was during the time of the 1966-68 Batman TV series starring Adam West. This prompted publisher Shōnen Gahōsha to license the franchise and develop a manga series written by mangaka Jiro Kuwata.

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Examining the Use of Japanese Mythology in Manga

Published October 5, 2020

Mythology has been a critical component of storytelling for millennia across the many cultures of the world. Any country that produces media is bound to be influenced by their myths, whether that be a conscious decision or otherwise. Japan is no exception and, since a lot of mangaka use Japanese mythology as a way to express themselves through their manga, I decided that the topic was worth examining.

The first manga series that I would like to tackle is Naruto, a series very dear to my heart. Set in a Japanese-style fantasy world, Masashi Kishimoto makes frequent use of Japanese mythology to enhance the world he has built. One of the most notable examples is the use of Jiraiya, Tsunade and Orochimaru, referred to in Naruto as The Legendary Sannin, who come from The Tale of the Gallant Jiraiya. Many of the aspects that make the characters stand out such as the trios association with toads, slugs and snakes respectively, Jiraiya’s love for Tsunade and the conflict between Jiraiya and Orochimaru is preserved (although, understandably, Masashi Kishimoto decided to change other aspects of the characters).

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How Big Are Manga Markets in Non-English/Japanese Speaking Countries?

Published September 21, 2020

Whenever I’m discussing manga, I tend to focus on the Japanese and English speaking markets. The reasons for this are that the Japanese market is the original and more likely to have an impact on market trends while the focus on the English speaking market is due the fact that I and most of my readers speak English. However, this can sometimes cause people to underestimate how big the manga markets can be in these non-English/Japanese speaking countries and I think it’s important that I at least discuss them within this article.

Arguably the most notable non-English/Japanese speaking manga market is France. The manga released in France tend to be more varied than those found in the US with an estimated 41 publishers of manga. These cover a wide range of more experimental manga than is typically found in other markets (although mainstream titles remain the bestsellers). Just like many markets, the French manga market originally developed based on the popularity of anime in the 80s and 90s. I always find it interesting (and a little funny) how shocked people are when I explain how the French market is as big as (if not bigger) than the US manga market.

The French cover of Attack on Titan Volume 31.

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