What is Manga? (An absolute beginner's guide)
Even if you've never heard the word Manga, you'll know all the basics by the time you finish reading this article!
What is Manga?
I talk about Manga very often, and you also see a lot of people, from teens and adults to professional artists and famous commentary channels, talking about it.
So… what is “Manga”? What's all the fuss about? In this article, you will learn everything you need to know about manga! (And from me, who is very passionate about this form of art and aiming to become a manga artist).
Manga are Japanese comics made in– you guessed it: Japan. (Nowadays, there are many non-Japanese manga artists on the rise, as well. More on that later). Manga can be bought as physical books or read on websites and apps by official manga publishing companies like Manga Plus by Shueisha or VIZ.
Manga artists are commonly referred to as “Mangakas”. And they typically work with manga publishers like VIZ Media, or Kodansha to publish their work. (Fun fact: In Japan, people also refer to mangakas as “Sensei” to show respect. Sensei is a word used to show respect to people with many professions, such as teachers, doctors, illustrators, mangakas, etc.)
When a manga becomes a hit, the author gets offers from animation studios, and it can be adapted into an anime. (In case you didn’t know, Japanese animations are called Anime. And most anime are shows and movies adapted from manga).
Now, for a few fun facts!
Osamu Tezuka is an artist and cartoonist who greatly changed manga and animation by introducing a lot of new concepts to tell a story through art. He is known as “The godfather of Manga”. His widely popular manga, Astro Boy, got made into the first animated TV series of Japan by the same name.
Manga is drawn either traditionally or digitally, in black ink. Since most manga publishing companies print in black and white on low-cost paper, the artists can't use flat colours or flat grays. A very popular type of material used by mangakas are Screentones. These are transparent sheets with tons of tiny black dots, which can create the illusion of gray in an art piece. Here's a really good video showing how screentones are used:
Manga is similar to Western comics, but very different at the same time. They both feature panels, dialogue, speech bubbles, and illustrations, but the reading experience is quite different!
How does Japanese manga differ from Western comics?
Western comics are printed fully in color. In contrast, most manga are in Black and White.
The cover of the book is printed in full color. And only a few pages inside the book are printed in color– that too, is only done on special occasions, like if the author is celebrating his manga’s 5th anniversary or when the author hits a milestone by selling a lot of copies.
Manga is typically read from right-to-left, as opposed to how Western comics are read from left-to-right. Yep! That means the whole book is in reverse. It may be odd for us, but it's normal for manga and novels to be written that way in Japan.
From the perspective of someone who has never read a manga, the front cover is on the back, and you start reading from the last page and move towards the first page as the story progresses.
How do Mangakas publish their works?
Each manga artist's workflow is different. Many manga artists work solo, creating the story and illustration by themselves. Many manga artists work as a duo, with one person writing the story and the other person doing the art. Many manga artists work with a team, hiring assistants and chief assistants, and publish their works in manga magazines.
Professional Mangakas in the industry get paired up with an editor. First, the mangaka finishes the storyboard (which is a very rough sketch) for a chapter. Their editor will check the storyboard for errors, point out the areas that need improvement, and tell them if a panel or page needs to be redrawn. (Usually, a storyboard is redrawn 6 times before it gets accepted by the editor). After the editor approves of it, the Mangaka will continue their work and turn the storyboard into a manuscript. Once the editor checks and approves the manuscript, it gets sent to the publishing companies for printing, and the books are distributed to the local bookstores in Japan for sale. (We can buy manga online as well).
There are also manga artists who don't get into the industry and self-publish their works and get paid directly from their readers.
The internet, social media platforms, digital art tools, and software have made it a lot easier for individual manga artists and indie manga studios to self-publish their works and build their reader base.
What is the Weekly Shounen Jump?
One of the most popular and long-running manga magazines is the Weekly Shounen Jump (or SJ for short), run by the publishing company Shueisha.
The Shounen Jump is extremely popular, not only in Japan but among all manga fans and communities across the world.
This magazine is mostly known for awesome action scenes and comedy, and is enjoyed by adults, teens, kids, and everyone else who likes manga.
Shounen Jump manga are published in Tankōbon volumes, which are books with a handful of chapters of the story.
Some of the most popular titles in this magazine are Naruto, Bleach, Dragon Ball, Hunter x Hunter, and One Piece. They are the classics and also a part of the mainstream media, which is where most fans start. (Some newer popular mainstream manga include My Hero Academia, Demon Slayer, Black Clover, Haikyuu, etc).
Bakuman is a shounen manga that portrays the behind-the-scenes of the manga industry, and goes deeper into how the artists work with editors and publishers. It also got an anime adaptation, and it's one of my favourite anime to watch with my family. I highly recommend it for anyone wanting to learn more about manga.
What are Volumes and Chapters?
Aside from One-shots, Manga are sold in Volumes. A volume is a book containing several chapters of a story. There are typically 8-10 chapters in a volume, and 16-60 pages in a chapter, but these numbers can greatly vary, as it depends on the author and the publishers.
What is a One-shot manga?
A “One-shot” manga is a story that begins and ends in a single chapter. Just one book, containing the whole story.
Most professional Mangakas start out by making and publishing one-shots. Mostly, to test the waters. And when one of their one-shots becomes a hit, it's extended into a longer story, and they continue making and publishing more chapters of the same story. (This is called serializing a manga).
But not all one-shots have to get serialized, and many stay as one-shots as well.
The four genres of manga
Manga can be divided into 4 genres: Shounen, Seinen, Shoujo, and Josei.
Shounen manga is made and marketed towards teen boys and young men. It's the most popular category and is enjoyed by everyone, not just its target audience.
Shoujo manga is made for teen girls and young women. Seinen is made for older men. And Josei is made for older women.
There is also another category, Kodomomuke, which are manga made for children.
Although a manga is made with one of these categories in mind, any genre can be enjoyed by anyone if they're old enough to consume the rated content.
Is it really a manga if it's not made in Japan?
One common question that people ask is, “Can people make manga even if they're not Japanese or don't live in Japan?”
That's a good question. Well, back in the day, manga used to be only made in Japan, but in recent years, manga publishing companies started to take in foreigners and started conducting international manga contests. There are many online contests held every month. In contests like the Tezuka Award, the winners also get the opportunity to be paired up with an editor and become a professional mangaka.
Most manga have a similar art style, and the techniques used to draw manga are what sets it apart from other comics and illustrated books.
Manga became its own form of art, rather than just being the comics of a country.
Non-Japanese manga artists
There are many well-known manga artists who are not Japanese.
Such as Tony Valante, who is an artist from France, and one of his notable works, Radiant, has even got an anime adaptation.
Surprisingly, one of the most popular manga authors, Boichi, is actually South Korean, although he lives in Japan. Some of his most popular works are Sun-ken Rock and Dr. Stone. (The anime adaptation of Dr. Stone was awesome).
You can also see many YouTubers getting into manga by entering manga contests nowadays.
Side notes:
I used to watch Kodomomuke shows as a child, not even knowing they were actually anime made in Japan and dubbed in my native language. Now, I watch and read a lot of Shounen anime and manga like Jujutsu Kaisen, and I've also started to like Shoujo anime like Fruits Basket and Kimi ni Todoke.
Manga can also be a collector’s item. Some people enjoy collecting these books as a hobby, or to resell as their value increases over time and they become harder to acquire.
If you’re interested in making your own manga, stay tuned because I have more manga-related articles planned! Meanwhile, you can also join my Discord server for aspiring manga artists through this link (we have supportive members and free art resources): https://discord.gg/TDrygnC3j8
In case you didn't know, I already created and published my first manga, and you can read it for free through this link:
Thank you for reading! I hope you liked reading this article, and I hope it was helpful. Come again next week on Friday for a ✨new post✨
- Harshini
As a beginner, this guide was perfect and clarified so much. Thank you for sharing.
I also have a personal question I wanted to ask, I left it inbox, when you have time please check it out.
Great article :) We can feel your passion between the lines ! ^^