Reasons To Start Reading Manga
“Manga” is a Japanese term that means whimsical pictures today that can be translated into comics. The modern age of manga started during and after the occupation of Japan in World War II; during this boom of American influence style books, one manga was born, one that will eventually be established as the grandfather of the industry. And here are some reasons to start reading manga.
Reasons to read manga — Astro Boy or as he is known in Japan, the “Mighty Atom” quickly became a cultural icon and it’s grown to be celebrated by many as the “Mickey Mouse” of their culture. Fast forward a few years, manga and anime have become ubiquitous, with shows like Dragon Ball Z, Naruto, Bleach, and, most recently, Attack on Titan infiltrating pop culture. Manga has boomed in the West, with genres ranging from cooking to sports to popular Shōnen style, which leads to the first point, the different genres. If you have a hobby, if you have a passion, whether it’s a particular sport, or you’re a foodie, Manga has the book for you. Take, for example, the popular sports Manga — “Slam Dunk”. In Slam Dunk, Hanamichi Sakuragi is a troubled teen whose athleticism leads him to join the basketball team, equal parts of the rocky story in sports coming of age drama Slam Dunk is well known as a must-read for sports enthusiasts and is known for having some of the greatest art in manga today.
Not a fan of sports, but you love cooking? Well, not come as a surprise to you but over 40% of today’s manga is dedicated to food, the most popular of which is Food Wars centered on Soma Yukihira, this spiky-haired redhead boy who works at his father’s restaurant with his goal being to be the greatest chef ever surpassing his father’s culinary skills. His father eventually enrolls him in the top culinary school in Japan and he must continuously compete against his classmates in food-based trials to maintain his place in the school. Food Wars is extremely popular and for good reasons, the depictions of the food will make your mouth water and they’ll make you instantly want to try either being a chef or going out and trying to buy some of the food that’s shown in this anime.
Let’s say that none of these appeals to you and you’re into something that’s a bit more well darker. Well, Berserk is the manga for you. Centering around the character of guts and his continuous quest for revenge against God’s hand, Berserk features some of the most gruesome creatures ever placed in a medieval setting. Berserk is highly recognized as one of the best manga ever published with the first 13 volumes being regarded as some of the best material that the industry has ever published.
When looking at the manga industry, one of the common complaints that I hear from fans is the series just keeps going and they have no way. I always find this complaint interesting when we know that traditional Western comics like Batman, Spider-man, and Superman will never end because they are key icons of a much bigger machine. This leads me to my next point. Most manga has a definitive ending. For example, the classic dystopian sci-fi manga Akira is only six volumes long and has a solid beginning, middle, and ending. 20th Century Boys is only 22 volumes long with the two epilogue volumes. 21st-century boys closed out the series in a way that left me with tears in my eyes, and the realization of the journey that I had been on. Endings are certainly the hardest thing to do as a writer, but there’s something about the structure of a manga that really lends itself to having a beginning, middle, and an ending and this kind of structure also allow it to be very much accessible to the average person.
Last but not least, I’d like to discuss how much longer you can broaden your horizons. With its roots firmly established in Japan, manga provides an intriguing glimpse into a society that few of us will ever have the opportunity to witness firsthand. It’s easy to gain a sense of everyday life in Japan with so many manga titles set there and sharing ordinary stories of what it’s like to live in that culture. The manga industry is vast and wide and while, to sum up, it may be a bit intimidating, still taking the plunge into these books is well worth the time and investment. You’ll be discovering new worlds, characters, and genres that you never knew about, all while expanding your understanding of culture which most of us have a fondness for and will probably never see.
In the end, the choice is yours. And trust me when I say that if you decide to take the leap, it will be a ride worth taking.