What is this... Manga?

     It's finally time for the third part of my "Otaku Series". "What's an 'otaku'," you might ask? I'll get to that later, since I think this one's going to be pretty short. So, onto manga...

Look at 'em all!

     What is manga? Manga is a cross between a comic book and a graphic novel. Plain and simple. However, I find there are several key differences.

- Manga isn't regulated: In America, the Comics Code Authority (CCA for short) has to approve any comics prior to them being put on the market. Japan has no such regulatory counterpart, and thus allows a lot more to be done with manga. True, this allows a lot of terrible and disgusting comics to be drawn and sold, but it also allows for manga artists to have freedom to do as they wish with their stories. As I stated before in my "Anime" post, the Japanese don't have the same reservations about blood and violence that we have here in America, and so a lot of their comics can be incredibly violent and bloody. Even American comics have violence and blood, so they're not too different in that respect. Obviously, this policy of no regulation has many positives and negatives.

Swinging a hammer like that around is obviously going to draw some blood...

- Manga is released differently: Many manga are released through magazines such as the Shonen Jump, Shonen Gangan, or countless other magazines with various demographics (target audiences). These usually contain several different manga chapters from several different artists. I have a couple of the American editions of Shonen Jump, which contain the popular series Naruto and Bleach (among others). Each of these individual comics is considered a chapter, which brings us to...

Shonen Jump: Home to Naruto, Bleach, Death Note... All superb, if I do say so myself...

- Manga seems to be a bit more coherent: This is where manga mirrors graphic novels. Manga are written with an overall story in mind, with a few chapters that can be considered "one-offs". I'm no expert, but American comics seem to be all over the place, and have a lot of "one-off" issues. I don't even know how many times they've killed off their main characters (Superman, Batman, etc.), only to bring them back with the next issue. It's hard to follow. Manga is not like that (most of the time). While many have several story arcs, they all fit together to form a bigger picture. 

Yes, Fullmetal Alchemist again... It's just that good!

     Fullmetal Alchemist is 108 chapters, combined into 27 tankobon ("independently appearing book" or sometimes translated "graphic novel"), and all of it is about the story of two boys trying to get their bodies back after an unfortunate alchemy accident. Sure, they end up fighting to save the world and travel over half of it to do so, but this only comes about because they uncover the evil plot while searching for a means to return to normal. FMA really is one of my favorites, and the story is fantastic. Read it.

     Even Naruto, which is over 500 chapters long (and still going), is still the story of one boy trying to find his friend and bring him back from his evil ways. Even though it's really long, it still sticks to that one story.

Seriously, this was started in 1999, and it doesn't look like it will be ending soon...

- Manga is usually done in black and white: However, this doesn't mean it's not beautiful. Some of the most stunning artwork I've seen is Masashi Kishimoto's Naruto.

Look at all that detail... Naruto is one of the most visually stunning.

     In my opinion, manga is far better than American comics. Although not as colorful, they are very well drawn. Without regulations the artists are able to portray their story as they intend it to be, not how they are told it can be. This lack of regulation does leave a story vulnerable to failure, either from a writer's incompetence or due to a writer's twisted mind. Mangas such as Fullmetal Alchemist and Naruto have sold millions of copies due to their fantastic story and artwork. Whereas many American comics use the same heroes over and over for decades, manga artists can complete a story and move on. But, that's just my opinion. EVERYBODY HAS ONE! Just... Let it slide...

(Thanks to Google for making it easy to find pictures... and then forget where you got them.)