History of Manga

Author: Kaiji Tang

Manga

What's there left to say about the world's first comic book, dating back to the scrolls and wood blocks of ancient Japan where pictures of little people in funny hats eviscerate each other for people's amusement? Let me get this straight and out of the way here and now. This isn't going to be a blog about the history of Manga or its effect on our culture, no. As interesting as that is, you don't want to hear that. And by God, I'm not putting myself through the ten minutes to look it up on Wikipedia to tell you. If you're reading this, I'm positive youalready have at least a basic understanding of what Manga is and why you should pursue it like the vaccine to the T-Virus.

Obligatory Background

I'll be honest. Manga ruined comic books for me. I used to collect Spiderman, Superman, Batman...shamefully I even had a brief stint with the Wonderwoman series before the drugs wore off. And then one day I walked into a book store and, lo and behold, there were these novel sized comics in black and white, fitting in an entire month's worth of comic stories in one issue. Quality AND quantity? Why, yes! I thought. This was even before I knew what the Hell Anime was. Back then I was still wearing my Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles backpack and Transformers ( The Irony ) was the best damn thing to have happened to animation since I was born. And yet here before me was this magical book with so much story and depth in one single issue that I had to have more! The crazy drawing style of bulging muscles and insane hair drew me in like flies toward the remains of the day. And the violence. Oh the violence! This made Batman getting his spine broken by Bane look tame in comparison!

Needless to say, Dragonball was my first Manga. Moving on.

I'm now older, more experienced and wiser ( Though there are those who would argue that. Eric Sherman of Bang, Zoom for instance ). I'm doing what I love for a living. Watching cartoons. Namely Anime. However I have never forgotten my love for Manga, the all inclusive origin of Anime as I know it. And that my friends, is what I want to share with you. No history lessons, no anthropological views on what it is and what it will be. Just what's good and not good. What's wonderful and what's terrible. What you should avoid like the plague and what you should be at the store right now buying instead of reading this blog. Though I'm obligated by my tyrant rulers at Manga.com to every once in awhile give a cheap pop to the site that hosts me. That's right, the same Manga.com that caters to your every Manga need! Now I feel dirty. Let's talk about something else.

The Manga is so much better...

You've heard it before. I know you have. You're going on about your newest Anime obsession and some dirt bag next to you, while thumbing his greasy hands through the latest Masamune Shirow calender, says the following: "The Manga was so much better than the Anime." I don't know about you, but every time I hear that I want to put the Asuka figure I was molesting back on the shelf and strangle the son of a bitch with whatever novelty item that was closest, whether it be a Hidden Leaf Village headband with a gash in it or a State Alchemist dog tag. I hate these people not because they speak blasphemy, but because deep down I know they're right and agreeing with them just makes me not want to read the Manga. Chances are that I WAS going to read it, pal! But now my enjoyment is forever sullied with the image of you and Shirow's inked women staring back at me. Not that I mind the second part, mind you. All right, maybe I'm being too harsh. After all, he does raise an interesting point. Why the Hell is the Manga always so much better?

First and foremost is my favorite reason: You don't have to wait for them to power up for six episodes before something finally happens. Yes I know I'm generalizing a little bit, but you get the idea. You've seen those Animes where practically nothing happens for three nights in a row before something relevant finally occurs...only to be following by three more nights of trash talking. This is where Manga shines in my opinion. There's no needless filler you have to suffer through, like the down time in between hits for a meth addict. And even if there is, you can always skip to the next chapter. You decide how quickly or how slowly you want to experience the Manga. Anime is decided for you.

It's colorless. It leaves the decision up to you. How do you want to picture your favorite characters? What colors do you think they're wearing? What do you think their world looks like? I swear to you that if you spend a good amount of time with the Manga before you ever see the Anime, your first reaction to seeing an episode would be, "THAT'S what they used for the color scheme? Huh. It seems wrong to me." That's because you were the one who decided what they looked like before they went and animated it for you, taking the decision out of your hands. This isn't a knock at Anime in any means, by the way. I make my bread and butter off this stuff. That and I think Johnny Yong Bosch will personally show up at my house if I smack talk Bleach one more time. Reading Manga is an exercise in imagination, something we all need to get out and stretch every once in awhile. On that ending note, I'm just going to off handedly mention my hatred of Manga in color. I won't touch it. I think it's horrible and wrong and if we read colored Manga, God kills a kitten. I'll leave it at that, but more than likely that sentiment will sneak its way back in somewhere down the line.

I could go on and on about why I prefer Manga over the Anime. It's the author's gift directly to you. He writes it, he characterizes your favorite heroes and villains and he hands it over on a piping hot plate while in Anime it's been hacked up, processed and directed by someone who's NOT the author, edited again and handed over to you in a pre-sealed package. It's like eating at the Sushi bar with the chef personally making my Mackerel as opposed to going to the grocery store and buying those questionable pre-made boxes with the little California rolls inside. It's just not the same. So in the end, that bastard with the Shirow calendar is right. Manga is usually better than Anime. It'll help levy the guilty sting when I'm put on trial for the eventual manslaughter charge.

Till Next Time

Listen. We all have better things to do with our time than sit around and read what some schmuck thinks about Manga. However if you do decide to spend the time to read my stuff, then God Bless. I have fun writing it and in a perfect world, you get a bit of a kick out of reading it while you wait for your next ill begotten fan sub to load on Youtube ( Which I heavily endorse against by the way. It's what's killing the industry ). Manga and Anime are important to me. It's like a touch of childhood every time I pick up a new volume or sit down to a good night of newly licensed shows. And I'm fortunate enough that I've been able to meet some of my idols and have been able to interact with the business from the inside. However that doesn't mean I'm not still what I've always been: A fan. That is what's most important to me and what drives me to pursue this Manga/Anime review scam for as long as they'll let me. It doesn't suck. In the end, it's what's good that matters most. And I'm here to bring you what I, at least, think is the good. Also since I love hate mail dearly, I'll mention what I hate like poison. So unless Mr. Bosch slays me before this hits the net, I'll see you next time.

source :manga.com