Get to know MANGA

By Jenn and Tiffany Ostrowski

I don't have much time so explain this quickly! What's manga?
Japanese comics.

Okay, that was too quick.
"Manga" roughly means "comics" in Japanese. A single manga volume is around the size of a paperback novel and a couple hundred pages long. A single manga series can have dozens of volumes.

Dozens of volumes?
Manga stories can take many volumes to tell which makes them more like novels. Some common plot themes include giant robots, apocalyptic worlds, vampires, and magical lands. No men in capes and tights here.

What? No tights?
Unlike in American comics, there are no tights, x-ray vision, or beefed-up superheroes (at least not usually) in manga. Instead, a typical manga hero is the skinny young prodigy, especially in shojo and shonen manga.

Shojo and shonen?
"Shojo" means "girl" in Japanese and "shonen" means "boy", so "shojo manga" are manga geared primarily toward girls and "shonen manga" are manga geared toward boys. Although they're aimed at boys and girls up to age 18 they can also appeal towards an older audience.

So what's hentai manga?
Hentai manga contain sexually explicit content aimed at an adult crowd. If you're looking for hentai you'll have to go elsewhere. We stick to shonen and shojo on this site.

Then what are manwha and manhua?
While manga are Japanese comics, "manwha" are Korean comics and "manhua" are Chinese comics, both of which are similar to manga. We have info and reviews on this site covering manwha and manhua but focus mostly to manga because it's more common.

Anything else I should know?
The Japanese read right to left so manga are read right to left. Most companies who translate and publish manga in the US leave the manga in this "authentic" format while other companies will "flip" the manga so that it reads left to right.

You mean a manga is read backwards?
Reading a manga backwards can be strange at first but it gets easier the more you do it.

Are manga rated?
Like with video games, manga are rated for what age audience they're appropriate. The five ratings are All Ages, Youth (age 10+), Teens (age 13+), Older Teens (age 16+), and Mature (age 18+). Different publishers have different ideas of how to rate manga so it's a good idea to check a manga out before buying.

Okay, I know what manga is now, but what's anime?
"Anime" is Japanese animation and manga's animated counterpart. Usually a manga series is made first then an anime series is made off of the original manga series. If you find a manga series you like, check around and see if it's been turned into an anime.

Are you done yet?
Yep, all done. That's the basics of manga. Go get a manga and start reading--you're on your way to manga fandom!