what is the fascination with Manga and Anime?

[dogsbody70]

Is it that it is all fantasy and takes you to fictional worlds?


Is it healthy to become obsessed with either?

Does it teach you anything?

I read that many adults read Manga?


Does it cover serious items?

Do other countries publish similar magazines?

[RobinMask]

Originally Posted by dogsbody70

Is it that it is all fantasy and takes you to fictional worlds?


Is it healthy to become obsessed with either?

Does it teach you anything?

I read that many adults read Manga?


Does it cover serious items?

Do other countries publish similar magazines?

That's a lot of questions :/

I think that people enjoy manga and anime for its complexity and plots, although I can't speak for everyone. There are mangas that deal with fantasy, but a lot deal with realism too, so I think it's more to do with how 'real' manga/anime seems than how fantastical. Example Bleach and Naruto are over 40 volumes, and have been going on for ten years, so for fans it's like you grow up with these characters and see them develop over time and evolve, they feel real and it's like you're a part of that. . . Or maybe that's just me and I'm a bit of a geek, lol.

I don't think any obssession is healthy, whether it's stamp collecting or manga. Some manga/anime may teach you things and some won't, they're all so varied I think it's very hard to say 'yes, they teach you x y and z'. Adults do read a lot of manga, I can't speak for those past a certain age range but in the UK many students and those in their twenties read manga, it's the most popular section in our town's bookshop, lol.

Yes they can cover serious subjects (if that's what you mean by items). I've read some that deal with eating disorders, self-harm, sexuality, death etc. It all depends what genre you pick up, same as any other type of book really.

Other countries produce manga magazines, yes. The USA has Shonen Jump in English, but in some countries such as the UK these magazines aren't avaliable, however you can still easily purchase collections of manga chapters in one volume.

Hope that helped a bit, lol.

[Columbine]

Originally Posted by dogsbody70

Does it cover serious items?

Yes. An exceptional few are autobiographical and fully founded in reality; for example, Barefoot Gen, which was penned by a Hiroshima survivor. Others are purely for entertainment.

[dogsbody70]

thanks very much for that. I have only seen some Manga in English when shopping in Borders book shops-- sadly closed now. I was thinking that if I bought some Japanese manga it would help me to learn to read a little Nihongo.

Interesting that some are long term so I can see that readers would want to read the ongoing sagas. A bit like us watchin soap operas maybe.

I guess that some serious subjects can be dealt with and also be educational. I just have one copy of Grave of the fireflies which two children during ww2 and what happened when their mother was killed in an air raid and how the two children survived.

I have a couple of books on that subject-- re a child surviving the terrible devastation of the war in their country.


SO I guess that ANime and Manga plays a part in educating as well as fantasizing etc.

Any idea when it all began?

Do you find them easy to obtain here in UK?

Is Japan the main creator instigator of Anime as it is. With Walt disney cartoons that many of us grew up with which came first?

By the way sorry if I ask too many questions I notice that quite a few members on here are keen on Manga and Anime I wondered what charms it has?

someone told me that when travelling on trains, many japanese people read Manga. I wonder if they are the adult versions.

thanks again very much. Babs in UK

Ps its interesting to know that students enjoy Manga also. Maybe thats why Borders had such a large collection as they cater for students.

I notice there are books to teach you how to learn to draw the characters.

[RobinMask]

Originally Posted by dogsbody70

Do you find them easy to obtain here in UK?

By the way sorry if I ask too many questions

I notice there are books to teach you how to learn to draw the characters.

Yes, they are very easy to obtain. Personally I find Waterstones the best place in the UK to get manga (highstreet wise), there's so many of the stores and they carry a wide selection. If you go to the cities especially there could be two/three Waterstones in a small area, and strangely each oine would stock a different selection of manga, lol. On the highstreet for anime I would say try HMV, they seem to stock quite a few both obscure and popular, but they cost quite a bit, a little more than I'm willing to pay.

I would recomend searching on amazon.co.uk and amazon.com if you are able - both are extremely cheap and have a huge selection for you to choose from, it's where I go for all my anime/manga

Also there's no need to apologise about asking too many questions, lol, it's how we learn after all. I hope you get all the answers you need. That said I'm sorry I can only answer a few this time, but I'm unsure of all the answers, so better informed members will perhaps be more qualified to answer you.

And yes, there are books on how to draw manga - I have an excellent one called 'Draw Great Manga' by I think 'Elvin and Felder'. I recieved it for a birthday gift one year but it's very detailed and interesting. It's just for manga/anime style art though, but there are sites/books to teach you how to draw specific characters, and they have tutorials on this on Youtube too.

[Realism]

Originally Posted by dogsbody70

Does it cover serious items?

Yes, yes, yes, yes.....and yes.....

Most manga and anime cover serious themes....

especially if you read Yakuza/political manga or anime....those are always serious.