Manga: 60 Years of Japanese Comics 
asked by radar on October 30, 2006 1:14 AM
Japan's output of manga is massive, accounting for a staggering forty percent of everything published each year in the country.Outside Japan, there has been a global boom in sales, with the manga aesthetic spreading from comics into all areas of Western youth culture through film, computer games, advertising, and design.
Manga: Sixty Years of Japanese Comics presents an accessible, entertaining, and highly-illustrated introduction to the development and diversity of Japanese comics from 1945 to the present. Featuring striking graphics and extracts from a wide range of manga, the book covers such themes as the specific attributes of manga in contrast to American and European comics; the life and career of Osamu Tezuka, creator of Astro Boy and originator of story manga; boys' comics from the 1960s to the present; the genres and genders of girls' and women's comics; the darker, more realistic themes of gekiga -- violent samurai, disturbing horror and apocalyptic science fiction; issues of censorship and protest; and manga's role as a major Japanese export and global influence.
Reviews
0%
0%
In terms of English language academic works on the subject of Japanese manga, this book is easily in the top five titles in quality, exceeded only by Frederick Schodt's Manga! Manga! Few comprehensive references on manga have ever been produced, and this is something of an update to Schodt's work, which dates from the early 1980s. It is an excellent academic and artistic source--however, this academic nature is what has given the book some of its controversy.
In the United States, the prevalent judgement by parents and many people outside of comic and manga fandom communities is that comics of all kinds are predominantly targeted to young children. In Japan, however, manga is targeted for a diverse audience, from young children, to adults, with genres driven towards female readers of diverse age ranges, which is relatively rare in the US. There are categories of manga directed towards sophisticated adult readers, as well as categories delivering explicitly pornographic or challenging sexual content, or stories written for gay and lesbian interests. Though Japan is somewhat more socially liberal on allowing some access by younger kids to sexual content, these categories are distinctly targeted to different age groups, genders and interests.
Of course, to ignore any single aspect of manga is to sacrifice the broad scope that the art form has manifested itself. Gravett casts a wide observation over as many different categories and examples of manga as he could deliver in a reasonably sized format. Examining the book shows that it is clearly targeted for at least a late-teenage readership if not higher, as Gravett presents historical and business information as a backdrop to the artistic content of the Japanese manga industry. Even despite the sexual content, this is far from a children's oriented book in text content and reading level alone.
As far as the sexual content goes, there are less than twenty pages with sexually explicit content on them, which is only about eight percent of the overall 176 page book. Some readers would naturally find the content objectionable, but the amount and contexts are hardly excessive--and in some cases, such as the work of Maruo Suehiro, the work is of very fine quality of value to students of Japanese comic art. The work may not be to everyone's taste, but it is far from artistically irrelevant.
(Besides which--having seen some wide examples of even harsher sexual material--Gravett's selections are far from the worst ones available).
As a result of the sexual content in this book, it was removed from the libraries of San Bernadino (California) County's Public Library system. Both sides make compelling and passionate arguments, but this has given the book an unfortunate notoriety apart from the excellent academic content. Many of the press remarks (which are available on the author's website) seem to refer to the book as excessively pornographic or x-rated, when much of it is compartmentalized in the two or three chapters dealing with adult-oriented manga in the latter half of the book. Obviously, interested readers would be encouraged to examine the book for themselves before drawing their own conclusions as to whether the book exceeds their own personal tastes or not, but they should also be aware that much of the press coverage seems to have overemphasized the book's sexual content.
It is important to know that for readers interested in an objective, comprehensive source on Japanese manga done with high academic standards, this book is a must. Unfortunately, there do not seem to be many books targeted towards a young readership that are a general reference on Japanese manga, but much of the published content in manga is oriented towards a pre-teen readership, including most of the "how to draw" manga books, Shonen Jump, Shojo Beat and Newtype magazines, and much of the publishing lines of Viz, Tokyopop, ADV and others. There is a wealth of manga content available for kids outside of material which parents would find sexually objectionable.
In short, this book is in no way targeted for children, though of course as a comprehensive examination of manga it includes some content which, on its own, is accessible to a children's audience. With any luck, this book will continue to recieve attention for the quality academic work it offers instead of controversy.
In the United States, the prevalent judgement by parents and many people outside of comic and manga fandom communities is that comics of all kinds are predominantly targeted to young children. In Japan, however, manga is targeted for a diverse audience, from young children, to adults, with genres driven towards female readers of diverse age ranges, which is relatively rare in the US. There are categories of manga directed towards sophisticated adult readers, as well as categories delivering explicitly pornographic or challenging sexual content, or stories written for gay and lesbian interests. Though Japan is somewhat more socially liberal on allowing some access by younger kids to sexual content, these categories are distinctly targeted to different age groups, genders and interests.
Of course, to ignore any single aspect of manga is to sacrifice the broad scope that the art form has manifested itself. Gravett casts a wide observation over as many different categories and examples of manga as he could deliver in a reasonably sized format. Examining the book shows that it is clearly targeted for at least a late-teenage readership if not higher, as Gravett presents historical and business information as a backdrop to the artistic content of the Japanese manga industry. Even despite the sexual content, this is far from a children's oriented book in text content and reading level alone.
As far as the sexual content goes, there are less than twenty pages with sexually explicit content on them, which is only about eight percent of the overall 176 page book. Some readers would naturally find the content objectionable, but the amount and contexts are hardly excessive--and in some cases, such as the work of Maruo Suehiro, the work is of very fine quality of value to students of Japanese comic art. The work may not be to everyone's taste, but it is far from artistically irrelevant.
(Besides which--having seen some wide examples of even harsher sexual material--Gravett's selections are far from the worst ones available).
As a result of the sexual content in this book, it was removed from the libraries of San Bernadino (California) County's Public Library system. Both sides make compelling and passionate arguments, but this has given the book an unfortunate notoriety apart from the excellent academic content. Many of the press remarks (which are available on the author's website) seem to refer to the book as excessively pornographic or x-rated, when much of it is compartmentalized in the two or three chapters dealing with adult-oriented manga in the latter half of the book. Obviously, interested readers would be encouraged to examine the book for themselves before drawing their own conclusions as to whether the book exceeds their own personal tastes or not, but they should also be aware that much of the press coverage seems to have overemphasized the book's sexual content.
It is important to know that for readers interested in an objective, comprehensive source on Japanese manga done with high academic standards, this book is a must. Unfortunately, there do not seem to be many books targeted towards a young readership that are a general reference on Japanese manga, but much of the published content in manga is oriented towards a pre-teen readership, including most of the "how to draw" manga books, Shonen Jump, Shojo Beat and Newtype magazines, and much of the publishing lines of Viz, Tokyopop, ADV and others. There is a wealth of manga content available for kids outside of material which parents would find sexually objectionable.
In short, this book is in no way targeted for children, though of course as a comprehensive examination of manga it includes some content which, on its own, is accessible to a children's audience. With any luck, this book will continue to recieve attention for the quality academic work it offers instead of controversy.
reviewed by steelers on November 5, 2006 5:48 AM
0%
0%
This has resolved a lot of my curiosities about manga - a beautifully designed book, and a satisfying and valuable guide to many subsequent purchases, though, beware of instances where striking page design can oversell a particular manga - Utatane's dragon and virgin for example. And the section on Euro/Japa crossover is a nice bonus.
reviewed by geri1956 on November 29, 2006 7:16 PM