Manga is Manga
If you are someone who loves to read manga (Yes, I am), you should have read a series of classic manga, such as Slam Dunk, Black Jack, Dragon Ball, Digimon, Yu-Gi-Oh, Kamen Rider and other stories of manga. Recently, there are a few latest series of manga have gained massive attention from their fans, such as Naruto, Fullmetal Alchemist, Bleach, One Piece, Kuroko’s Basketball and other latest stories of manga.
Especially Naruto and Dragon Ball, they are my favourite manga all the time. They are also the best topic to start a conversation with my close friends who have the same passion. However, I feel annoyed and upset because many people think that manga are similar to Marvel comic books.
Manga is not only a term for Japanese Comic, it is also arisen culture to differentiate from Marvel and other American comic books. There are a few differences between Manga and Americans comic books.
- The definition of Superheroes between Manga and Marvel
Superhero is defined as “a benevolent fictional character with superhuman power, such as Superman” as per the Oxford dictionary. This definition is closed to the concept of being a superhero by Stan Lee (who had created many superheroes during his time at Marvel Comics). But the definition of superheroes in the world of manga is more than that. Some people think that the concept of Manga’s superheroes have influenced by American superheroes.
Well, it is true. Before the development of manga has popularized during the 1970s, Toei Animation Company bought the right from Marvel studios. They used the character of Spiderman to create a new story of a superhero which is different from Marvel version. Even though its story is different, the concept of superhero still sticks with the American definition.
As the influence of the concept of American Superheroes, it is common to see that the superheroes in the manga productions (such as Dragon Ball, Digimon, Inuyasha, Kamen Rider and other manga series) have used the superheroes’ concept from Stan Lee to structure the characteristics of superheroes. For example, the Dragon Ball’s superhero is Goku which is created by Akira Toriyama; he is a man who possesses a unique power that normal people do not have on earth. As he grew up on earth, he uses his power to protect his home (earth) and his friends and family.
Besides that, Kamen Rider is another example of superhero manga created by Shotaro Ishinomori. It is about a man who possesses the power of transformation to be a Kamen Rider with a unique belt. As he has received the power of it, he uses the power to defeat evil and save the world. So, it is obviously to see how the concept of Japanese Superheroes has influenced by Marvel’s idea of being a superhero.
However, more recently there are a few examples of manga have shown that there are some differences between American and Japanese Superheroes.
- Mobile Suit Gundam Destiny. (created by Yoshiyuki Tomino, Chiaki Morosawa, and Hajime Yatate)
If you are one of the fans who loves to read and watch Gundam Destiny, you should know that the superhero in this story does not talk about how a man who possesses supernatural power. It is about a few teenagers who are talented in piloting the powerful Gundams and they decided to fight for peace with their Gundams. In this sense, the superheroes in this manga are structured by the Gundam and the pilot. The definition of superheroes is not restricted on the western concept anymore; this manga has presented how a superhero can be a combination of machine and man.
- Naruto (created by Masashi Kishimoto).
If you have watched the whole series of Naruto manga and anime or you are one of its fans, you know that Naruto is a superhero not by his superpowers. He can be a superhero, because he spends his life tolerating the voice of hatred from the village and try hard to prove that he is not a monster but a hero without giving up from what he had suffered from. Also, he has an amazing love to give opportunities to the bad guys and change to be a good guy patiently no matter what they did to the village. Again, this manga shows that being a superhero does not need to rely on the superpower. The main thing about a superhero is “be patient and love”.
Besides these two examples, there are many manga and anime have presented the meaning of superheroes in different ways rather than following the concept of superheores from the Marvel. Therefore, this is how Japanese comic writers have created a new angle to explain what superheroes are.
The Genre of Manga
Compared Manga with American Comic Books, Manga has provided more diverse genres to target different audiences to read Manga. During the history of American Comic Books, the genres of Comic Books only include romance, crime, drugs, violence, politics, comedy and superheroes. In contrast, the genres of Manga have included more than 20 genres- such as, action, mystery, adult, psychological, adventure, romance, comedy, school life, Doujinshi, Sci-fi, Drama, Seinen, Fantasy, and other genres. Therefore, manga can target many different audiences (no matter their age, including senior adults and young adults) to choose what manga and anime they are interested in.
The Design of Manga and Marvel
The design of the Marvel Comic books is different from Manga. The outlook of it is like a magazine. It is published in color and with good quality paper.
But the outlook of manga is different. It is published in black and white and always design in a small book. Sometimes, you can also see some of the manga have published on the daily or monthly journal and magazine. Hence, the price of buying manga is cheaper than Marvel or other American Comic Books.
Even though I had already identified how is Manga different from American Comic Books, there are still some arguments that talk about how the globalization has pushed the American popular cultures to influence Anime & Manga culture negatively (such as Disney Cartoon movies, McDonalds, Starbucks, Hollywood etc).
It is true, I believe that the creation of manga is because of the trends of globalization. In fact, manga was majorly influenced by American Popular Culture. For example, the Japanese anime- Kimba the White Lion, was definitely looks like the Disney cartoon film- The Lion King.
But time changes things. Currently, Manga has its own features that uniquely represent their cultures and symbols. Also, it is possible for people to identify that they are Japanese production, not American. It is a production that can present the national identity through the drawing styles and patterns. Through the evolution of manga from the past to present, it shows that Japanese comic artists are not trying to follow Americans style. The reason is because they do not want to live in the shadow of America as the influence of western cultural imperialism.
“Cultural Imperialism is a theory to explain how the Western capitalist entrepreneurs market and promote their cultural commodities to the global audiences by shaping popular consciousness.”
Also, Anime and Manga culture have significantly influence American Popular Culture. The Peter Docter, who is the director of Pixer film,- Up, noted that this cartoon movie was insptred by the Howl’s Moving Castle.
Therefore, the history of manga demonstrates that how manga has created a new concept of defining a superhero which is different from Marvel and other American Comics, and also how manga has risen up as a popular subculture that may more influential than American popular cultures.
Originally published at The Isthmus.
