Manga will be the Japanese word for comics and cartoons on the net. (Anime, alternatively, is animated cartoon for TV or film). Although manga is essentially a cartoon, manga holds a greater place in Japanese culture than comics do in American society. Manga is highly regarded as both art so when a form of popular literature. In fact, much the the adult population in Mangafreak and several major manga magazines in Japan sell into the millions copies weekly.
This should explain how manga is not just kid's stuff.
What kind of story will you be interested in?
A hard-boiled detective hired to identify a missing girl?
A global dominated by animal-human hybrids as a direct consequence of an apocalyptic war in 2054?
A boy-meets-girl-meets-giant-robot adventure?
A historical play revolving around the shadowy generals of the Genpei War?
An effective journalist who ingests a handsome homeless man like a pet when her fiance leaves her?
You will find hundreds of stories to select from in manga books and there is something that provides everyone's taste. Furthermore, many manga titles combine artful pictures and frames with nuanced stories for very entertaining and addictive reading.
Manga is normally categorized into different genres. Typically the most popular ones include:
- shonen manga for boys and male teens
- shojo manga for women and female teens
- kodomo for kids
- redisu for adult women
- seinen for men
- jidaimono is historical drama
- suiri is crime and murder
- ecchi is erotic fare
So, how to get started with Manga? Easy.
1. Walk into the store. Most large booksellers have a section committed to manga, but to essentially get a range of titles, get one of these comic book store. In any event, manga books normally have covers coloured and maybe the initial pages also, but the remaining story is normally in grayscale.
2. Examine the books, read them a little. Stop whenever you find something like and go on it home.
3. If you're comfortable with surfing the net, read manga online first. Try a search for one of the numerous directories of internet manga sites and scan those sites for titles which are interesting. Most of the sites will actually show the manga book-drawing and text-from its Web site.
Remember that discussion manga, you read the frames from the right to left. Often, once you open up a manga--just as if you would an everyday book--there will often be a page that will let you know how to make out the print.
Give a few manga titles a try to get a feel for what you like. Once you discover a title you prefer, you can look for additional of the same or similar titles your publisher. Try to find the English publisher's Site in the front with the book, then have a look at that site--it will likely contain descriptions of most their books and even perhaps a little sample online.