While in Japan during WWll , American soldiers were exposed to manga , brought it back to the U . S ., and it ’ s been gaining in popularity ever since .
and “ ga ” meaning “ pictures .” It is a style of comic books and graphic novels where the author , or mangaka , tells stories using dialog and illustration . They are typically read backwards from right to left , and stories are usually serialized and published in book form . Most artists start their careers by self-publishing their work before becoming professional mangaka . While in Japan during WWll , American soldiers were exposed to manga , brought it back to the U . S ., and it ’ s been gaining in popularity ever since . Surprise . It is not some “ new-fangled ” fad .
To gain more insight into the anime / manga world , I spoke with Jen French , a manager of the Comic Book Shop located in Spokane , Washington . She has also served during various years as chair , vice chair , and marketing director for KuroNekoCon , a regional anime convention , and previously assisted with Japan Week .
After inquiring whether she had noticed a spike in interest and when it might have occurred , Jen explained , “ During the pandemic a lot of people were looking for stuff to do , so reading grew in popularity again . A lot of Marvel movies were starting to come out based on the comics , so people were reading those comics prior to the movies coming out . I found they were just looking for new and exciting things . When I was young and getting into anime , there wasn ’ t very much translated into English , but it ’ s becoming a lot more common . Translations are coming a lot faster now . It ’ s
easier to get ahold of , watch , read , and enjoy it . Funimation in Austin , Texas has the largest company for voice actors in the United States . They are able to get things translated very quickly now , so we can get a new anime that has just come out translated within sometimes as soon as a week , depending on how popular the series is .”
While we discussed all the different things that could occupy people ’ s time during the pandemic , the question of the appeal of anime and manga came up . What is the appeal of that particular art form ? “ Anime has something for all ages ,” said Jen . “ They even have genre names referencing different age groups . For example , for manga , josei is supposed to be women in their thirties , shojo and shonen are supposed to be middle school to high school age kids , or younger . Manga is written for all age groups , and animated for all ages . You could be on a train in Japan and see a 70-yearold man reading a manga , a mom with her daughter reading a manga , and her daughter is also reading a manga . They are all reading different things , but they ’ re all graphic novels . Many video games are made overseas , as well , so story lines can reference , or lean toward manga and anime .”
It appears the most popular age group consuming manga is high school age . Jen confirms this and says that is her experience , with college age readers being the next and middle school after that . “ I do , of course , have adults also . Actually , I would probably
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