Manga is a visual medium just like photography, television, film etc. I’ve compared the use of manga paneling to cinematography before but the comparisons between manga and cinematography go even further. Today, I’ve decided to take a look at the use of cinematic techniques within manga and why I find them so interesting.
Looking at some of the earliest manga such as The Four Immigrants or The Mysterious Underground Men, you’ll notice that cinematography seems quite restrictive with the imagery looking more like watching a play. However, early manga artists like Osamu Tezuka were heavily influenced by Disney films as well as live-action films in general. They sought to introduce a cinematic look and feel to their manga by borrowing several techniques.
One of the most famous and interesting early examples of cinematic techniques within manga would be Osamu Tezuka’s New Treasure Island from 1947. These panels depict the main character, Pete, driving to the docks and, while basic by today’s manga standards, the illusion of a camera pulling back from the scene adds a sense of drama and style that was absent from many manga series at the time.
All too often, artists working in the field of manga and, particularly, Western comics rely on long shots and, occasionally, medium shots. However, in my opinion, manga adopted a more dynamic cinematic style more quickly than Western comics where close-ups and shots with low or high angles became commonplace. Looking at this image from Lone Wolf and Cub which was originally published between 1970 and 1976, we can see an excellent close-up of Daigoro to the bottom right which displays his pain and distress. You will also notice on the previous page a high-angle shot of Daigoro holding a spear which shows the reader how vulnerable Daigoro really is.
It’s also worth taking a look at the use of lighting within this scene. The way the men turn into silhouettes as they walk away helps to convey the limited vision that Daigoro has within his surroundings, something which can be quite hard to convey in visual mediums as you must keep subjects visible. The way the darkness seems to encroach on Daigoro as soon as he has driven off these men helps to supplement the high angle in portraying Daigoro’s vulnerability.
Finally, for a more unusual cinematic technique, I direct you to the shot of Biomega below. As Kozlov enters the room, we are treated to a panel that emulates the effect of using a wide-angle lens. This distortion not only allows more of the room to be visible but can also be quite discomforting to the reader, raising tension as the image contrasts so sharply with the many other images that make up the title. While absolutely fascinating, this cinematic technique seems relatively uncommon, presumably for a myriad of factors such as time constraints and the complexity of the artwork involved.
Looking at these cinematic techniques has helped me to understand one of the aspects that has made manga so appealing to me. While it’s worth noting that I do think that Western comics are catching up to manga when it comes to this aspect, I still believe that manga as a whole remains quite a bit ahead. Let me know your thoughts on interesting cinematic techniques within manga, whether you’ve noticed any other cinematic techniques within any of the manga you have read, whether you agree or disagree with my statement that manga is more masterful than Western comics when it comes to these techniques and any additional information you might have on the topic.
Hopefully you have found this article interesting and informative and, if you wish to seek any of the works I mentioned, don’t hesitate to use amazon.co.uk or amazon.com for all of your needs!