Ever since the late 19th century, there have been attempts to expose the west to many aspects of Japanese culture such as theater, architecture, tea ceremony and visual art. Manga, translated as "comics" or "comic book", is the name given by American English Speaker for modern comic books, drawn by Japanese comic artist, that tell stories. But in America, comic books are generally dismissed as kid's stuff. Manga has been considered as a kind of publication, which is unhealthy, or unfit, for children. American government has been tried to prevent manga from entering America for years. But recently, several popular and well-styled modern manga series, like Sailor Moon, Pokemon, made their way across the sea and caught numbers of kids and teenagers, even some adults' interest.

Many were amazed by the speed which popularity of manga grows in America. But beyond what they can imagine, manga makes up forty percent of all publications in Japan. In the article on shoujo manga written by Mr. Matt Thorn for bilingual journal EPIC WORLD, published in issues 9 and 10 of 1995, he wrote "Check out the top-selling magazines in Japan and you'll have to look pretty far down the list before you find a non-manga magazine. And the range of subject matter and styles is as broad as the sales are high. Whether your tastes tend towards sci-fi, slapstick, history, baseball, romance, government cooking or S and M, there's a manga for you. In fact, there are many, and they're all competing for your yen."

When we discuss the fascinating history of manga, we have to mention the artist Osamo Tezuka, who is known as the father of manga in early 1960's. Tezuka is the creator of Mighty Atom (Astro Boy) and Jungle Emperor (Kimba the White Lion). Not long after Tezuka's work was published, a group of young, talented artists eager to match the man who is well know both in Japan and even across the Atlantic. After the manga boom in the late sixties, a generation continued to read manga well into adulthood.

Americans are easier to mistake manga as "all the same" kind. In fact, though they are similar, most manga are classified into category. Following are few Examples.

Girl's manga "shoujo manga". Just like Mr. Thorn defined, shoujo manga are manga that "written by women for women". Shoujo manga tend to focus on human relationships and real lives. Example: Cherry Project

 

Boy's manga "shounen manga". Shounen manga are written to fit boy's character. Shounen manga mainly focus on action and adventure. Example: Dragon Ball

 

Kid's manga. Manga that is written especially for little kids. Most of time contains educational meaning. Example: Pokemon

 

Adventure Manga. Adventure manga tell story with less connection. They are group by stories which have a beginning and an end. But series are a whole and usually adventures are lead by a single goal. Example: Inuyasha

More information of about reading and understanding manga is here in :

Done by Sonia Xie

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