Quote:
Originally Posted by Paul11
Touche! nd you have explained the use of the words to me in another post. But why is it a can of worms. I know it probably means more to you because you have connection through your professions. By why is it a can of worms in the larger sense? It's Manga and Anime, not a serious issue? I think the questions I raised above are still worth considering. So why is a Japanese person's hand so special that only "Japanese comics" or "japanese cartoons" can be considered manga and anime?
Generally, folkore follows the same patterns universally. Trends in art are universally reproducable. Why is manga and anime different?
|
It is a can of worms in that the definition of "manga" and "anime" (manga especially) remains a hot debate among the few that care about stuff like that. Japanophiles like myself do not call anything not written for a Japanese audience in Japanese "manga" where Western fans of the style want to be able to call the comics they make manga, too.
Simply put, I don't think it takes a Japanese "hand" to make Japanese-"style" artwork...obviously not. People from Korea to Oklahoma have spent a long time imitating and perfecting the "style" of manga.
(As an aside, I put "style" in quotes because there is this sense there is a singular manga "style", which couldn't be further from the truth. It would be like saying all American movies are in the same "style". Sure there are a lot of big-budget action movies that get a lot of attention, but the majority of American movies are not big-budget action features, just as the majority of Japanese manga is not big-eyed nymph sprite harems.)
But the artwork is only a part of manga. There is also the story...and the culture that makes that story work. I read manga to get that unadultrated peek into the window of Japanese culture.
Right now I am reading BLACK JACK, and so much of the short stories are dripping in culture. It's about a renegade doctor who actually tells his patients they are going to die. This is normal in the US, but in Japan is a taboo. He is lambasted by other doctors for doing so.
So you can say folklore follows the same universal themes, and that might be true, but I am talking about the details. Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and there is no reason for English-speakers to describe their English comics as "manga" in English.