Manga vs Manhwa vs Manhua — Battle of the Asian Comics
Most of my articles, or to be exact, more than 90% of my articles on medium are new anime reviews, weekly anime reviews, “best of…” lists and so on. In this article, I will take a slightly different route and delve into non-anime territory instead.
Today I will discuss on some of the differences between manga, manhwa, and manhua. All three have their distinct styles and quirks which make them uniquely enjoyable.
In this article, I will mainly focus on their readability and most of my examples are from action-based works. Before I accidentally trigger anyone, this is also a very general non-professional review which can’t fully cover all the niches between the three.
Without further ado, let’s jump right in.
Manga | 漫画 | マンガ
I believe manga doesn’t really need an introduction. Between manga, manhwa, and manhua, manga has the largest global fanbase and popularity. Most anime shows are also adapted from manga, further fuelling its popularity.
Due to manga’s reputation and popularity, the translation quality for mangas are generally better. It is also easier to find official English translations for manga. Even if there isn’t an official translation, there are also numerous fanbases and unofficial translation teams gladly translating new mangas every day.
In terms of manga’s art styles, most mangas are usually in black and white. There aren’t that many fully coloured manga out there. Coloured panels are usually only used for special editions are to emphasise certain panels.
However, just because manga is black and white doesn’t mean that it looks dull; excellent artists can bring out a level of detail that looks equally, if not even more impressive than a coloured panel. Just look at some examples below.
What manga truly excels at is its sheer variety. There’s literally a manga for everyone, be it comedy, romance, gore, action, adventure, fantasy, sci-fi, history, slice-of-life, reincarnation etc. The length is various too, with some mangas ending within 100 episodes while others are still ongoing at 1000++ episodes with no signs of stopping.
As opposed to manhwa and manhua, manga is best enjoyed in its original printed form. Manga is also read from right to left rather than left to right. You still can read it digitally on your phone, but the text and images can look quite cramped.
Manhwa | 만화 | 漫畵
While not as popular as manga, manhwa is increasing in popularity. There are more and more shows being adapted from manhwa, which helps give it a popularity boost.
The translation for manhwa is generally quite decent due to its more simplistic language style as opposed to Japanese manga. There are not that many nuances in terms of the language as well. While not as numerous as Japanese translators, there are more and more official and non-official Korean translators working on manhwa projects.
As opposed to manga’s black and white art style, modern manhwa is predominantly fully coloured. While manga art might seem more epic, manhwa doesn’t lag behind as well. Most manhwa also emphasise more on the fluidity of actions and its dynamics, which might make occasionally make it harder to follow.
While manhwas themes might not be as varied as manga, what it does really well is the way action scenes are drawn. There’s great emphasis on how each attack executed, the motions involved, and the impact behind each strike. Therefore, there is usually less emphasis on conversation as manhwa artists prefer using the action to do the talking.
Manhwa’s art format is also the best for reading on a mobile device. Rather than scrolling from left to right or right to left, manhwa is generally read scrolling from top to bottom. There usually isn’t that much text within the panels so you don’t need to zoom in that often.
Manhua | 漫画
Perhaps the lesser known of the trio in the Western hemisphere, manhua is generally more popular within China or other Chinese-speaking communities. It does not have much of an appeal elsewhere unfortunately.
Compareed to manga or manhwa, the translation for manhua is usually a hit or miss. Unlike manga and manhwa, almost all manhua has roots in novels. Manhua also uses more Chinese slang terms, proverbs and terminology which might be harder to translate literally. Unfortunately, this means that the translated sentences end up being much more wordy than the original text.
Manhua’s art is also a mix between manga and manhwa. Manhua usually adheres to the panel-like structure of manga, but is also fully coloured like manhwa. However, while the colouring and lines in manhwa are used to emphasise movements, the colouring in manhua is more water-colour like and the lines have a more realistic feel.
Unfortunately, most manhwa (especially those involving cultivation and martial arts) might be quite repetitive. The side characters and minor conflicts can also be annoying as there are easily some of the most easily irritable characters out there. That is not to say all manhua is boring, but you really need to dig for the gems out there.
As to whether manhua reads better on paper or phone, it is really a toss up. Some modern manhua are structured similar to manhwa, where it is read scrolling from top to bottom. On the other hand, some manhua can be quite verbose and you really need to zoom in to read the text. It also greatly helps if you have a basic understanding of the Chinese language and some commonly used terms to truly enjoy manhua.
TL;DR
- If you are into exploring multiple themes, read manga.
- If you prefer more action and fluidity, read manhwa.
- If you prefer colours and visual aesthetics, read manhua.
I hope you enjoy this brief rundown on the differences between manga, manhwa, and manhua.
Happy reading!
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