[META] The Usenet Manga Glossary ver. 1.3 beta build 5
John C. Watson
modification to the "Outside Japan" section of the manga entry, and Rob
Maxwell's kanji/kana to the entries. I might get to the latter today if I
can install the language kit.
===
Supersedes: <69l8c5$7...@raven.cybercomm.net>
X-Last-Updated: 1998/01/15
From: John C. Watson <jwat...@comcast.net>
Newsgroups: rec.arts.manga,rec.answers,news.answers
Subject: [rec.arts.manga] Frequently Asked Questions
Followup-To: rec.arts.manga
Organization: World Otakunization Project
Keywords: FAQ, manga, glossary
Summary: The Usenet Manga Glossary (Version 1.3) lists important terms
relating to manga and the manga industry. It was compiled as a
bare-minimum reference for Usenet, intended to resolve a large
number of questions and repetitive discussions.
Archive-name: manga/faq/
Posting-Frequency: Monthly
Last-modified: April 2004
Version: 1.3.0
URL: http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Ginza/4996/faq_ram_faq.txt
Copyright: (C) 1995 Iain Sinclair, version 1.3 (C) 2004 John C. Watson.
Maintainer: John C. Watson <jwat...@comcast.net>
Changes for version 1.3 beta build 5:
- Removed catalog of changes.
- Adjusted centering of the "Version" line.
- Added entry for "shoutacon" and changed "lolicon" entry to refer to it.
- Added "manhua" (Chinese comics) and "manhwa" (Korean comics) entries.
- Changed references to "manwha" to "manhua" for Chinese comics.
- Changed reference to TOKYOPOP from "their label TOKYOPOP" to "their
TOKYOPOP label".
- Made "shoutacon" its own entry.
- Added "shoutacon" to Jeanne (mjj)'s contributor credits.
- Added _Dreamland Japan_ to the references list.
- Capitalized "World" and "Comics" in _Manga! Manga!_'s full title.
- Added Mr. Schodt's middle initial "L." to his name in the references list.
- Corrected the publication date of _Manga! Manga!_ from 1982 to 1983, and
added the paperback edition's date (since small revisions were made).
- Converted all E-mail addresses to ROT13 with the exception of the
maintainer's.
- Spelling checked (but not guaranteed).
- Placed "manga-ka" after "manga library" to conform to absolute
alphabetization.
- Changed "number of books" in the "bukyou" entry to "number of series".
- Created entries for "manhua" (Chinese comics) and "manhwa" (Korean
comics).
- Deleted the entry for OAV, as it refers to anime, not manga.
- Added Asamiya Kia to the amecomi fans. (Thanks, Peter!)
- Added "lin-wan-to" using IronMouse's report and wording.
- Added Hong Kong Comics Festival link to "manhua" entry.
- Added "shouta" and "shota" to the "shoutacon" entry.
- Changed "crowquill" to "crow quill".
5parrow is to blame for the following changes ^_^ :
- Added mentions of Watsuki Nobuhiro and Katsura Masakazu's fandom for
amecomi. (Katsura was my addition.)
- Removed redundant ")" in "tankoubon" subsection.
- Added the mention that "many Japanese are not aware of the connection
between 'H' and 'hentai'".
- Made "manhua" the Glossary's word for Chinese comics, since it is the
Hanyu Pinyin transliteration of "manga".
- Added a short explanation of "tanuki" to the manga entry, in the context
of "tanuki-e".
- Updated information on the translated manga industry in South East Asia.
- Added mention of Singaporean manga libraries.
- Added sentence to "otaku" entry.
Changes still to be made:
- The completion of the "yaoi" entry.
- Verification of this statement: "In the world of H-manga, the words
'Lolita' and 'bishoujo' $BBH~>/=w^(J ('pretty girl') are often used
interchangeably."
- The addition of information on the European manga scene to the "Outside
Japan" section of the "manga" entry, as well as for elsewhere in the world
(South America, anyone? How about South, Central or South West Asia, or
Africa? Australasia?).
- More info on the native comics of East Asia.
- Verify that "The alternative sci.lang.japan FAQ briefly deals with
colloquial Japanese used in manga."
=====
The Usenet Manga Glossary
Version 1.3 beta b5 April 2004
Originally compiled by Iain Sinclair (axo...@socs.uts.edu.au) Copyright (C)
1995 Iain Sinclair
Modified by Steve Pearl <fgne...@plorepbzz.arg>
Modified and updated March 2004 by John C. Watson <jwatson8 [at]
comcast.net> Copyright (C) 2004 John C. Watson.
This FAQ, as well as the other anime and manga newsgroup FAQs are available
from the Internet FAQ Archives at
Rob Kelk maintains the Anime-Related FAQ Lists, or The FAQ FAQ at
<http://robkelk.ottawa-anime.org/faqs.html>
This is a monthly list of questions that have been frequently asked in this
newsgroup. This article can be freely distributed for non-commercial use,
as long as all credits and notices remain intact. If this is used in any
publication, including APAs and CD-ROM collections, a copy must be sent to:
John C. Watson
8 Ferry Street
South Hadley, MA 01075-1040
Please send all additions/corrections/comments to:
John C. Watson
8 Ferry Street
South Hadley, MA 01075-1040
<jwatson8 [at] comcast.net>
This glossary lists important terms relating to manga and the manga
industry. It was compiled as a bare-minimum reference for Usenet, intended
to resolve a large number of questions and repetitive discussions. While it
is not by any means an exhaustive reference, those subjects most often
discussed on the net are dealt with in reasonable detail.
Entries are listed in alphabetical order, and JIS code is given for most
Sino-Japanese words. The glossary can be read sequentially, or browsed
randomly. Many entries provide background information and pointers to other
sources.
Note that since the Japanese language makes no distinction between the
singular and plural forms of words, all Japanese terms are rendered without
a pluralizing "-s".
Some good general Internet references for those interested in manga
terminology:
* Jim Breen's Japanese page lists many links to electronic Japanese-language
resources. Jim Breen is the compiler of the on-line Japanese-English
dictionary EDICT and the kanji dictionary KANJIDIC, both of which are
comprehensive, useful, and in the public domain.
<http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/~jwb/japanese.html>
* The alternative sci.lang.japan FAQ briefly deals with colloquial Japanese
used in manga.
<http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/~jwb/afaq/afaq.html>
* A Guide to Japanese Culture for Role Playing Games contains several
introductory articles on subjects that are found often enough in manga:
Japanese mythology, religion, history, traditional weapons, and the yakuza.
<http://www2.kanawa.com/japan/>
* The Internet and Unix Dictionary is a simple reference for computing
terms, which often crop up in manga discussion on the 'net.
<http://www.msg.net/kadow/answers/>
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
amecomi $B@%"%a%3%_^(J
Contraction of "American comics". The term variously describes any comic
originating in the West; the short 20-40 page booklet or "comic book" format
of Western comics; and the styles and graphic devices popularly ascribed to
them. The word "manga" is never used to describe any of these.
Some amecomi are known to the Japanese public, mainly classic titles such as
_Superman_, _Spider-Man_ and _Peanuts_--the Japanese editions of the latter
exceed 100 volumes. Parts of X-Men and Ghost Rider have been translated
into Japanese by Shougakukan Productions and Take Shobou, and manga using
X-Men and Spider-Man characters has been published. Original English
editions of some lesser-known amecomi, such as _Marshal Law_, also enjoy a
very small cult following.
However, despite the limited awareness of some titles, it should be
understood that amecomi are regarded as a very minor cultural curiosity, at
most. The world of manga and American comics has been totally disjunct for
several decades. Japanese audiences regard amecomi as ugly, cliched and
difficult to follow (with manga, the reader is not supposed to take more
than about 15-20 seconds per page). The proportion of manga personalities
who know anything about amecomi, or who want to, is negligible.
One of a handful of exceptions is Ono Kosei, a well-known Japanese critic
and amecomi authority. As a child, Ono read American comics left behind by
the post-WWII US Occupation forces. (Most amecomi fans in Japan were also
exposed to amecomi in this way, and few have appeared since this era.) He
has contributed English-language articles to digests such as _Raw_ and
translated many amecomi titles, including _Fritz the Cat_, _The Fantastic
Four_, _Mighty Thor_, _Incredible Hulk_, _Spider-man_, _Doonesbury_, and
_Maus_. (Ono regarded Yiddish-accented English as a translation challenge.)
Such translations have found only miniscule readerships in Japan; Ono
believes this is because Japanese readers, who are used to the fluid
storytelling of manga, regard amecomi as unreadable.
Others big fans of amecomi include Katsura Masakazu (_Video Girl Ai_) and
Asamiya Kia, who are fanatical about Batman, as well as Watsuki Nobuhiro
(_Rurouni Kenshin_) whose has a particular interest in _Spider-Man_ and
_X-Men_--and his character designs, especially the villains, often reflect
this.
See also:
o The Words & Pictures Museum
<http://www.wordsandpictures.org/>
o American comic sellers in Japan
<http://ueno.cool.ne.jp/toshibo/etc/shop.htm>
anime $B@%"%K%a^(J
Animation. The word "anime", NOT "manga", is now generally used in Japanese
to describe any type of animation. (Before the 70s, the term "TV manga" or
"manga eiga" $BBL!2h1G2h^(J was sometimes used.) In English it refers
exclusively to Japanese animation. Manga (and novels, to a lesser extent)
have traditionally been the source material for nearly all of the Japanese
animation industry's output since the early 70s. Most anime take
considerable liberties with characters and storylines, and often assume some
knowledge of the original manga.
Contrary to the belief of some Western fans, most anime is intended for
children or teenagers, where the marketing dollar lies. The anime industry
has always been more or less a merchandising subsidiary of the manga
industry. A few anime have been been targeted at college-age fans, but by
and large, manga's large adult readership is unconcerned with anime. Anime
seems to have reached the height of its economic viability in the late 80s;
the popularity of manga and anime is now losing ground to video games.
See also:
o The Anime Web Turnpike
<http://www.anipike.com/>
assistant $BB%"%8%9%?%s%H^(J
Generally, manga-ka have a team of one or more assistants to help with the
production of their manga. Assistants are usually responsible for drafting,
inking, screentone, sound effects, cutting and pasting, typesetting dialog,
taking photographs, and doing research.
In the manga industry, potential assistants are frequently asked to submit
their own manga first. Once selected, skills are passed onto the assistant
over a number of years, not unlike the master-apprentice relationship to
traditional Japanese art. After learning the ropes from a pro, many
assistants go on to create their own manga, and their styles often resemble
that of their mentor. However, some assistants of a highly proficient level
present themselves as a "studio", which denotes "consultants" more than
"assistants" or "apprentices".
bangaihen $BHV30JT (B
An extra volume (in a series).
bessatsu $BJL:} (B
"Additional volume" or "supplementary volume"; often found in the titles of
magazines.
book formats
Manga is sold in "tankoubon" format after being serialized in magazines,
with each tankoubon containing around 5-11 installments. Most manga
tankoubon are softcover, of about 200 black and white pages in length, and
sell for around 400 yen. However, there are a large number of semi-standard
formats, generally conforming to Japanese page sizes.
o aizou-ban $B@0&B"HG^(J or aizoku-ban
"Special version". This is a term used to designate deluxe editions of a
series. In general when one speaks about aizou-ban, the volumes are
hardcovers, are printed in a larger format, contain more than the
corresponding normal edition, and are printed on better paper quality.
Sometimes translated by "favorite printing". Around 300-1200 pages, costing
Y600-2000.
o anime-ban $B@%"%K%aHG^(J
Color anime comics. Normal tankoubon size, at about twice the price.
o bunko or bunkobon
Novels are normally published in what Japanese call bunko--these are
paperback volumes and are quite small in size. At the beginning of the 90s
publishers began to reprint manga in bunko format. As of now there are many
series available in this format. The volumes are printed on better paper
than the regular editions and contain more material per volume, but the
format is smaller. If your sight is not very good up close, then you Would
be better not to buy these books--the kanji in here are *very* small.
Although you pay more for a bunko than for a tankoubon, if you calculate the
price per chapter, buying bunko is actually cheaper.
o gouka-ban $BB9k2ZHG^(J
"Deluxe version". Another term for "wide-ban".
o kaizoku-ban $B@3$B1HG^(J
"Pirate" or bootleg version. Same as the original, more or less.
o tankoubon $BBC19TK\^(J
"Separate volume", or book (in a series); "tank" in English slang.
Tankoubon are roughly the equivalent of the trade paperback and are the
standard manga book format. Tankoubon sales account for a large proportion
of a publisher's profits, while magazines barely recover their costs,
especially those with high circulations. However, magazines may
occasionally include short stories or color pages which rarely, if ever,
find their way into tankoubon.
The English word "comics" ("komikkusu") is used interchangeably with
"tankoubon", although "komikkusu" is not usually used to describe Western
comics.
o wide-ban $B@%o%$%IHG^(J
In many cases Japanese publishers tend to republish very popular series in a
somewhat larger format. The books are also thicker--as a rule of thumb one
can say that every wide-ban contains approximately between one and a half
and one and three quarter volumes of the normal edition (tankoubon). The
same remark on price made for bunko is also true here. Physically around
400-1200 pages, costing Y400-1200. (Wide-ban is often just another name for
aizoku-ban.)
Format sizes:
As intimated above, manga books exist in many sizes, with standardized
dimensions. Following is a list of frequently used standard formats.
A4 : 210 x 297 mm
A5 : 148 x 210 mm
A6 (bunko) : 105 x 148 mm
shinsho : 105 x 173 mm
B4 : 257 x 364 mm
B5 : 182 x 257 mm
B6 : 128 x 182 mm
kikuhan : 152 x 218 mm
4-6 : 127 x 188 mm
Note that Japanese B sizes differ slightly from ISO B sizes.
See also:
o Guide to International Paper Sizes
<http://www.twics.com/~eds/paper/papersize.html>
bukyou (wuxia $BBIp6"^(J)
A Chinese word roughly translatable as "chivalrous knight" or "martial
wanderer", describing a genre of adventurous martial arts fiction. The
wuxia genre is relatively unknown in Japan, except indirectly, through some
Chinese classics. But in Taiwan and Hong Kong, the growth of local manhua
(comics) industries has been stimulated by wuxia literature, especially the
work of popular novelists like Jin Yong $BB6bMG^(J and Gu Long $B8EN6 (B .
At least twenty or so wuxia-inspired manhua titles are published weekly, in
40-page "comic books" with spectacular color covers. While the quality
remains generally low, the scene is fiercely competitive, and most titles
have been running for years. At one stage, Jademan Comics were regularly
translating their bestsellers into English. More recently Tony Wong, the
founder of Jademan, made a second attempt with the company Jade Dynasty,
AsiaPac Books of Singapore has brought over a few titles, and ComicsOne is
now also translating a number of series.
Japanese readers have had some limited exposure to the wuxia manga style via
the work of Taiwanese artist Chen Wen $BE"Ld (B (or Uen Cheng; Toushuu
Eiyuuden in Japanese) $B@El<~1QM:EA^(J and Korean artist I Jie-Hak
$BBM{:\U\^(J (Ryuugin Houmei) $BBN66cK1LD^(J, who both drew specifically for
Kodansha. At one time, there was also a possibility that the work of famous
Hong Kong artist Ma Wing-Shing (Tien Ha $BBE72<^(J) would be translated into
Japanese. But generally speaking, Chinese martial arts manhua are usually a
totally different world to their Japanese counterparts, despite the
influence and popularity of Japanese manga-ka such as Hara Tetsuo, Ikegami
Ryouichi and Houjou Tsukasa.
CG
Initialization for "Computer Graphics". In the manga context, it refers to
computer-assisted illustration or animation of any kind. In recent years,
computer-generated halftone patterns and computer painting software have
become almost standard tools for manga-ka. The former technique was
popularized by manga-ka such as Tetsuya Saruwatari and Inoue Noriyoshi,
while pioneers of the latter include Asamiya Kia, Terasawa Buichi and
Tsudzuki Kazuhiko $BBETC[OBI'^(J. Macintoshes seem to be the computer of
choice among manga-ka.
See also:
o Silicon Graphics Galleries
<http://www.sgi.com/fun/>
o ACM SIGGRAPH Artist's Connection
<http://www.siggraph.org/artdesign/publications/bookshelf.html>
circle $BB%5!<%/%k^(J
A group of doujinshi artists or writers. Many circles have been established
for years, and have a large number of loyal readers. A small proportion of
circles do business by mail order, and will send their catalog on request.
For those enquiring from outside Japan, the following should be enclosed to
maximize the chances of a reply:
o at least two International Reply Coupons, or the equivalent in current
Japanese stamps;
o self-addressed envelope or adhesive label;
o a letter written in Japanese.
Comiket $B@%3%_%1%C%H^(J
Short for "Comic Market"; also "Comike" or "CM". Comiket is Japan's largest
market for manga doujinshi, established in December 1975, and held twice per
year (in August and December) over two days. It is a gathering of epic
proportions, now featuring 35,000 doujinshi circles and 350,000 attendees at
each event. Its current character and success has largely been due to the
efforts of Yonezawa Yasuhiro.
The bulk of doujinshi are devoted to whatever manga and anime is popular at
the time, but a vast range of tastes are catered for, with doujinshi devoted
to video games, pop music, animals, machines, novels, movies, RPGs, and much
more. A comprehensive catalog of sellers goes on sale some months before
each event.
Japan has many other comic markets, which are generally tolerated by
publishers because they are thought to increase sales of manga and anime,
not decrease them. But this tolerance is not without limits--in one major
incident, Japan's second biggest comic market, Comic City, was cancelled in
August 1994 after official warnings that Chiba police would check doujinshi
for breaches of censorship laws.
See also:
o The Official Comic Market Site (in Japanese)
<http://www.comiket.co.jp/>
o Tokyo Cool Manga Messe
<http://www.inter-g7.or.jp/g2/manga/home.html>
o The Japan Comic Market FAQ: "The Gaijin's Guide to Comike"
<http://www.benher.org/FAQ_CM.php>
doujinshi $BBF1?M;o^(J
Also shortened to "doujin", "dojin" or "dj" in English. Literally "same
people publication", where "same people" refers to a group of people who are
interested in the same field. The word "doujinshi" came into use among
literary groups that wrote in the style of a particular author or classic
work, and is not specific to the world of anime and manga. A group of
doujinshi artists or writers is called a "circle". In the manga world,
"doujinshi" today refers to any amateur, self-published manga, especially
those based on existing manga or anime.
There is a large fan culture associated with the contemporary doujinshi
scene. Manga doujinshi are advertised and reviewed in some magazines, and
sold en masse at "comic markets". Most manga doujinshi are at the level of
Western fanzines, though a significant proportion are of remarkably high
quality. These sell thousands of copies, and some people can make a living
drawing doujinshi alone. Popular doujinshi artists often go on to become
professional manga-ka (e.g. Sonoda Kenichi, Ozaki Minami). On the other
hand, some professional manga-ka have been known to publish doujinshi,
often under assumed names, parodying their own work (e.g. Hagiwara Kazushi,
Ueshiba Reach).
See also:
o Doujinworld
<http://www.tc.umn.edu/~kane0034/doujin/doujinmenu.htm>
o The Black Moon's Doujinshi Exhibition
<http://www.theblackmoon.com/Doujin/dojin.html>
o The List of Internet Manga Creators (in Japanese)
<http://www.yo.rim.or.jp/~getsu/ListOfIMC/>
G-pen
G-pens are distinctively shaped ink pen nibs, held in wooden shafts. Their
name comes from the small "G"-shaped indentation at the base of the nib.
G-pens are bought by the dozen, since they wear out fairly quickly. They
produce a variety of line widths and effects, and are an essential tool for
most manga artists. Other popular types are kabura pens and maru (crow
quill) pens.
gensaku-sha
Story writer; someone who writes a story or synopsis to be drawn by a
manga-ka. By far the most prolific gensaku-sha is Koike Kazuo, who has
penned stories for hundreds of manga. Royalties are usually split 50/50
between gensaku-sha and manga-ka.
gekiga $BB7`2h^(J
"Drama pictures". As its name implies, gekiga is straight, serious
storytelling much like traditional theater and cinema. It is characterized
by direct, literal narrative, pictorial realism, and uncomplicated character
drawing. Artists such as Shirato Sampei and Saito Takao, the latter
influenced by Kurosawa films, popularized gekiga in the 1960s.
Subsequently, even Tezuka introduced gekiga elements into some of his
stories (e.g. _Eulogy to Kirihito_). However, gekiga is now in decline, and
is regarded as a subset of manga. It hardly ever appears in today's shounen
manga magazines, although the style still sells to readers in their 40s and
above.
H-manga (H, ecchi, hentai) $B@%(%C%A!$JQBV^(J
"Hentai" means "abnormal/perverted" and lately, just "pervert" or "perverted
sex". "H" or "ecchi" is a slang abbreviation for "hentai", and refers to
sexual activity of any kind. (Many Japanese are not aware of the connection
between "H" and "hentai", the latter being a particularly strong word in
this context.) Manga featuring explicit sex or other erotic content are
called "ero-manga", or "H-manga". The degree of sexual perversion in any
manga is sometimes described as its "H-factor".
Pornographic manga account for a staggering 25% of the manga industry's
output. They are as available to the consumer as any other type of manga,
though they are technically age-restricted and are often wrapped in plastic.
They also carry a yellow oval that states "seinen komikksu", or "adult
comics". H-manga boasts a large fandom; there are several sub-genres of
H-manga, and the degree of artistry varies widely. Exceptional H-manga
artists sometimes, but not always, move to mainstream publishers. Many
minor publishers specialize in H-manga and are closely associated with
pornographic game software, CD-ROMs and the doujinshi scene.
See also:
o The 'H does not mean hentai' page. (via the Internet Archive)
<http://web.archive.org/web/20021212041355re_/home.attbi.com/~kagamix2/H_doe
s_not_mean_hentai/>
o Hentai Kitty--Hentai Links and Search
<http://www.hentaikitty.com/>
-hoka
"et al.", "and others" (literally "they"). Used to denote that the author
is a contributor to an anthology.
illust-shuu
"Illustration collection", a deluxe-format book of illustrations by a
particular artist (or on a particular theme); more commonly called an art
book in English. Their price usually ranges between Y1000-Y4000.
See also:
o Stuart's Art Book Reviews
<http://www.jingoro.demon.co.uk/frame.htm>
image album
A CD of "mood music" for a particular manga (or novel, video game, etc.).
Hundreds of image albums are released every year. Image albums based on
manga are also known as "manga CDs" or "drama CDs".
japonisme
A term used to describe the influence of Japanese culture on the West.
Rutgers University hosts the International Center on Japonisme at the
Zimmerli Art Museum in New Brunswick, NJ.
kara-settei $B@%-%c%i@_Dj^(J
"Character design", the construction of personalities for manga, anime,
movies, games or anything else. This usually includes costume design, and
significant physical and psychological traits. The balance or overall
quality of a character sketch is known as "dessin" $BB%G%C%5%s^(J, after the
French for "sketch".
kessakushuu
Masterpiece collection, a collection of (short) works.
ketsuekigata $BB7l1U7?^(J
"Blood type". In Japanese pop culture, blood type is thought to be related
to personality. This belief became popular in the early 80s. Profiles of
manga artists or characters from manga will often include blood type along
with other statistics like age and place of birth. A very rough guide to
blood types:
A nervous, introverted, honest, loyal
B outgoing, optimistic, adventurous
AB proud, diplomatic, discriminating
O workaholic, insecure, emotional
kakioroshi $BB=q$-2<$7^(J
Describes manga which were never serialized on magazines, but instead were
published first in tankoubon form.
kodomo manga $BB;R6!L!2h^(J
Children's manga. The bulk of kodomo manga is simple and unpretentious,
aimed at 6-11 year olds. Stories with robots and fantasy settings are
popular; there can sometimes be unusual levels of violence, by Western
standards. Successful kodomo manga are almost always made into anime and
merchandised to the hilt. The really popular kodomo manga, such as
_Doraemon_, retain readers well into adulthood. Kodomo manga styles and
cliches are sometimes used for comic effect in other manga genres. The two
main monthly magazines are _Korokoro Comic_ and _Comic Bonbon_.
lady's comic/josei $BB=w@-^(J
Manga aimed at the over-20s female market, particularly housewives and OLs
(office ladies). They fulfil a similar role to Western pulp romance novels.
A proportion of lady's comics are fairly racy.
lin-wan-to
"Pictures connected in a line" or simply, "connected pictures". A rather
archaic Chinese term, which is seldom used except in the (Hong Kong)
publishing industry. See "manhua".
lolicon/rorikon $BB%m%j%3%s^(J
Contraction of "Lolita complex". A Lolita complex (named after the
character in Nabokov's novel) is an unhealthy desire for very young girls;
the Japanese word is more slang and less clinical, but means more or less
the same thing. The sub-genre of H-manga featuring young-looking girls is
known as "loli-manga". In the world of H-manga, the words "Lolita" and
"bishoujo" $BBH~>/=w^(J ("pretty girl") are often used interchangeably.
Compare to "shoutacon".
mahjong $BBKc?}^(J (mahjahng)
A whole sub-genre of manga centres around the Chinese tile game of mahjong,
which became popular in Japan about a century ago. Mahjong manga appeared
in the late 70s, and their growth was propelled mainly by the work of
artist Kitano Eimei $B@KLLn1QL@^(J. The readers of mahjong manga are
mostly in the 18-25 age group, and the market currently sustains about four
magazines. One of the most popular mahjong manga of recent times is Naki
no Ryuu $B@S-$-$NN5^(J (by Nojou Jun'ichi $B@G=[j=c0l^(J, serialized on
_Bessatsu Kindai Mahjong_ 1986-91, 9 volumes/Y530).
See also:
o GameFAQs (includes mahjong-based games for a wide variety of systems)
<http://www.gamefaqs.com/>
manga $BBL!2h^(J
Etymology
"Manga" is loosely translatable as "cartoon" or "caricature", or literally,
"involuntary pictures". The term was coined in 1814 by the famous artist
Katsushika Hokusai, who used it to describe a three-volume work of pictures
from myth, history and everyday life, and conveys a sense of free-flowing
composition and quirky style. First applied to scrolls and illustrations,
the word "manga" does not mean "comic" or "comic books" any more than
"karate" (lit. "empty hand") means "boxing". And it does not mean
"sequential art" (for which there are many other words, such as "renga"), or
"graphic novel" (a great deal of manga is neither fictional nor in novel
format).
The "man" character $BBL!^(J in "manga" is composed of the radicals for
"water" and "expansive" $BBRX^(J. It previously meant "flooding", and
later, "inexorably" or "indiscriminately". By association, it came to mean
"involuntary" and "random". Publicity material from Western companies with
"Manga" in their names (who distribute translated anime, not manga) states
that "manga" means "irresponsible pictures"; this is utter, misleading
nonsense. The usage of the term in English is for "comics that were first
published in Japan".
History
A 12th-century drawing, the _Choujuu Giga_ $BBD;=C5:2h^(J ("Birds and Beasts
Frolicking Pictures"), is conventionally regarded as the first work in the
Japanese manga tradition. It was drawn by the Buddhist monk Toba, and
light-heartedly depicts animals behaving like humans. Nowadays, it is
regarded as a cliche and has been frequently satirized.
Related traditions include "zenga" $BBA52h^(J, caricatures of Zen monks used
as aids to enlightenment; "Toba-e", created by Shumboku Ouka (c.1702);
there were "Ootsu-e" $BBBgDE3(^(J, popular comical drawings, named after the
place of their origin; "kyouga" $BB682h^(J ("crazy pictures"), single-panel
scenes of strange events; and explicit, erotic woodblock prints, called
"shunga" $BB=U2h^(J ("spring pictures"). (The latter are well known to the
West, but due to censorship laws, cannot be fully reprinted in the country
of their origin.)
The 19th century saw the re-emergence of ukiyo-e and the appearance of
satirical drawings such as "tanuki-e" ("raccoon dog pictures") and
"namazu-e" $BBrP3(^(J ("catfish pictures"); Japanese folklore depicts tanuki
as mischievous shapeshifters, while the catfish is associated with social
upheaval. The magazine _Punch_ came to be particularly influential, with a
Japanese version appearing in 1862. The word "ponchi-e" subsequently came
to describe European-style caricatures. In the same style, but more local
and innovative, was the _Marumaru Chinbun_ $BBT%T%DAJ9^(J, released in 1877.
It used speech balloons and some Western drawing techniques. The first
4-panel strip, featuring typeset speech, was published in 1902. The
American comics explosion of the 1920s influenced many Japanese cartoonists
and had some impact at the popular level, although most titles had to be
re-drawn for Japanese audiences.
Manga did not enjoy widespread popularity until after WWII, when Tezuka
Osamu began his experiments in the late 1940s. Tezuka drew on many artistic
traditions from Japan and elsewhere, searching for the most effective
techniques. He was particularly interested in cinema, and all his manga
have a highly developed cinematic quality. Tezuka was also interested in
animation, and eventually studied at Disney studios in the late 60s.
(Ironically, Disney's 1994 movie, _The Lion King_, is widely believed to
have copied Tezuka's 1960s manga _Jungle Emperor_.) But rather than
slavishly copying Disney's aesthetic, Tezuka strived to understand the
relationship between character drawing and economical storytelling. His
success led to a new, distinctly Japanese form of graphic narrative, and
paved the way for the rapid growth of the manga industry. Many prominent
artists in the 60s and 70s were former assistants of Tezuka.
Outside Japan
Japanese manga has an established presence throughout East Asia. In Taiwan,
translated Japanese manga and anime have been popular for many years. This
growth was in part made possible by the proliferation of bootleg translated
manga, which were very cheap, widely available and closely resembled the
originals. Their crude translations and correction-fluid censorship did
nothing to dampen buyers' enthusiasm. The 1992 crackdown on manga piracy in
Taiwan (and other Asian countries, where the situation was similar)
catalyzed the pirates into quickly buying translation rights and
"legitimizing" themselves. (The translation quality of the official
versions is said to be variable, but generally better.) Today, manga in
Taiwan is booming, with many dedicated bookstores and libraries. Shoujo
manga, doujinshi and Japanese cult artists (such as CLAMP) have considerable
followings. Seinen manga is said to be less popular because of compulsory
military service. The local manhua scene has produced some accomplished
creators, such as Tsai Chih Chung and Chen Wen, who have both had their work
translated into Japanese; some Taiwanese manhua artists now draw exclusively
for Japanese magazines.
The weekly Hong Kong magazine _Family Comics_, which for years carried
informed manga news, reviews, and translations of several cult titles,
ceased publication in 1993; a mad scrabble for Japanese manga rights ensued.
Today, the price and quality of manga translations has increased markedly,
and manga translation has become big, legitimate business. Shounen manga
such as _Dragonball_ and _Slam Dunk_, which are well-known throughout Asia,
are especially popular in Hong Kong.
Japanese manga and magazines are becoming increasingly widespread in South
Korea. Korean manga pirates have also disappeared recently, with royalties
being paid for all translations of Japanese manga. The Korean market
currently has about twice as many shoujo manga magazines than shounen manga
magazines. Martial arts manga are also popular, and Korean manga-ka I
Jie-Hak $BBM{:\U\^(J was commissioned to draw the wuxia manga _Ryuugin
Houmei_ $BBN66cK1LD^(J for Kodansha.
In Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia, many 60s-era manga have been translated
for local audiences, and many (new) Taiwanese- and Hong Kong-translated
manga are imported into Singapore and Malaysia. Original Japanese and
Chinese-translated manga can be found in all major Malaysian cities.
Several children's manga (e.g. _Doraemon_) have been translated into Malay.
Technically, one cannot obtain manga containing "gratuitous sex and graphic
violence" in Malaysia. However, often if the "objectionable material" is
unobtrusive enough, the authorities either don't notice it or choose not to
notice--as in the partial nude scenes in _I''s_.
The situation in Singapore is similar, but local censorship laws are more
strictly enforced--pages are sometimes torn out of imported Japanese
magazines as part of the compliance. In particular, a firm called Chuang Yi
Publishing does its own translations of manga into Chinese and, more
recently, English. At least one manhwa title has also been translated.
(The English translation is grammatically correct but not significantly
better than Western efforts. It is however less expensive.)
There has been news of companies in Thailand who translate "new" manga
(legitimately), but no further info is available at this time.
Manga has been slowly gaining a readership in many Western countries. In
most cases, Westerners have been introduced to manga via anime, which is now
fairly accessible via mainstream outlets. At the moment, manga are
particularly popular in Spain, Italy and France, where a wide range of
titles have sold well. In the United States, translated manga has been
trickling into comic shops for more than a decade and half, with some
minimal impact until recently. Until the last two years, they have been
largely released in 32-page comic book format, which most Japanese call
"honyaku komikkusu" $BBK]Lu%3%_%C%/%9^(J (translated comics) or "eigo-ban"
$BB1Q8lHG^(J (English version), not "manga". With the advent of Mixx
Entertainment's (under their TOKYOPOP label) "100% Authentic Manga" book
format in mid-2002, the North American manga market has exploded, with most
of the growth taking place in the previously unpenentrated book store
market. This has caused the virtual abandonment of the comic book format by
all translated manga publishing houses in favor of the book format and a few
anthology magazines.
American comic artists such as Adam Warren and Ben Dunn have used anime as
the main inspiration for their work, the former releasing licensed
adaptations of the _Dirty Pair_ and _Bubblegum Crisis_ anime. (Usually,
only titles with an accompanying anime are considered for adaptation.) Some
American fans have drawn anime doujinshi and sold them at Comikets, and a
few superficial, cosmetic aspects of manga art are now being appropriated by
"mainstream" American comics.
See also:
o fj.rec.comics Comic Lists--a hugely useful reference, listing all manga
titles, artists, publishers and prices since 1987. (In Japanese).
<http://www.sm.rim.or.jp/~suzuki/comics/>
o Bookstores in Japan
<http://www.geocities.com/Athens/4824/jp-misc.htm>
o Tezuka's "Jungle King" and Disney's "Lion King"--some images and several
useful articles.
<http://www.cs.indiana.edu/~tanaka/Tezuka_Disney/>
o Mangas and Anime Sites in Japan
<http://hikyaku.com/manga/mangag.html>
o The AFS Manga Gallery--a couple of scans from various manga.
<http://www.cs.mun.ca/~anime/afs/manga.html>
manga library
The first dedicated Japanese manga library, located in Kawakami (Okayama
Prefecture), was opened in May 1988. It boasted about 100,000 manga,
exhibits of original manga, and antique manga magazines.
There are few manga libraries in Japan, where the price and availability of
manga makes them mostly unnecessary. However, manga rental libraries
(formerly common in Japan in the 1950s and 60s) proliferate in Korea, Taiwan
and Hong Kong. A handful have also appeared in some Western countries, as
well as several in Singapore, some of the later in the form of "manga
cafes" which sell drinks and the odd snack. These libraries usually stock
thousands of tankoubon and the latest issues of best-selling magazines,
along with the occasional CD or video collection. Most of these can be
borrowed overnight or read on-site for as little as a few cents, charged by
the hour or by the tankoubon.
manga-ka $BBL!2h^(J$BB2H^(J
Anyone who creates manga; a manga artist. Manga-ka are typically
responsible for layout, pencilling, character design, and supply assistants
with "art direction" information about inking, screentone, sound effects and
other details. In addition, the great majority of manga-ka write their own
stories and dialog. (Those who write stories for manga are called
"gensaku-sha".) The professionalism of a manga-ka is often measured by the
number of manga they have running concurrently.
In Japan, many manga-ka have celebrity status comparable to popular
novelists or film directors in the West. They are often household names,
and can command handsome salaries, especially if their work is animated or
otherwise merchandized. (For example, Akira Toriyama's _Dragon Ball_ was
licensed by over 70 companies for nearly 700 different kinds of products.
Toriyama is reportedly paid 50,000 yen for each page.) Publishers stand to
gain millions of yen if one of their artists' manga becomes a hit--as with
Takeuchi Naoko's _Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon_, which more than doubled the
circulation of _Nakayoshi_ magazine within a few months of its debut. But
until recently, even the most successful manga-ka usually had fairly
informal, trust-based relationships with their publishers. (In 1993,
Shougakukan paid Takahashi Rumiko a 7 million yen "loyalty" fee.)
The most prolific manga-ka of recent years, in terms of numbers of
tankoubon published (including reprints), are: Fujiko Fujio, Mizushima
Shinji, Tezuka Osamu, Ishinomori Shoutarou, Tachihara Ayumi, Yokoyama
Mitsuteru, Chiba Tetsuya, and Yagisawa Kimio.
manhua
The Chinese transliteration (under the Hanyu pinyin system) of "manga"; the
word is written with the same characters as in the Japanese. The spellings
"manhwa", "manwah" and "manwha" are also used in English, but the former
refers to Korean comics, and should be avoided. Manhua is the term used in
the Glossary.
See also:
o Hong Kong Comics Festival
<http://www.hkcomicsfest.com/>
manhwa
The Korean transliteration of "manga"; the word is written with the same
characters as in the Japanese.
See also:
o On the correct spelling of "manhwa"
<http://anime-tourist.com/article.php?sid=541>
mecha $B@%a%+^(J
Contraction of "mechanical(s)". A blanket term for any machinery, robots or
equipment. It particularly refers to "giant robots", probably first used in
the titles of some Godzilla films. Mecha design seems to have reached a
high art for anime productions, but has been less important for the success
of manga. Contemporary manga-ka noted for their mecha designs include Nagai
Gou, Nagano Mamoru, and Shirow Masamune.
See also:
o Mechs & Machinery Gallery
<http://www.cs.mun.ca/~anime/afs/mecha.html>
o rec.games.mecha
<news:rec.games.mecha>
o Mecha & Anime HQ (MAHQ)
<http://www.mahq.net/>
mook $B@%`%C%/^(J
Contraction of "magazine book". Mooks are books whose text is imaginatively
typeset, and lavishly illustrated with photographs (mostly color) and
drawings. "Roman album" is the brand name for anime mooks published by
Tokuma Shoten, prized by fans for their high quality of art and information.
nijikon $BBFs$8%3%s^(J
"2-dimensional complex". Refers to those who are more interested in
two-dimensional (i.e. anime or manga) girls than real people. See also
"otaku".
otaku $B@%*%?%/^(J
"Fanatic". Slang word for hard-core fans of anything, roughly equating to
"geek", "nerd", "fanboy", or "freak". Thus, a manga otaku is someone whose
life revolves around manga to an extreme degree. (In Japan, this would
probably entail reading or buying well in excess of 2000 pages/week; outside
Japan, probably about half that.) The word usually has neutral connotations
within fan culture, but in other contexts, it can carry very negative
connotations. In Japanese, the word "mania" means much the same as "otaku",
but has less extreme connotations.
Literally, "o-taku" $B@$*$?$/^[(J is formal speech for "your house", which
is also a polite, somewhat distant, second-person way of saying "you". The
word came to be applied to those fans or hobbyists who rarely got out and
mingled with the rest of society.
(It is interesting to note that the English "fanatic" derives from the Latin
"fanum", or temple/house--"fanaticus" being a devoted worshipper.)
It has been speculated that the slang usage of "otaku" was coined by Shinda
Mane $B@?7ED??;R^(J, a manga artist active in the early '80s. The term was
popularized by freelance writer Nakamori Akio in an article for the June
1983 issue of _Manga Burikko_. The otaku entered public consciousness in
1989 with the arrest of serial killer Miyazaki Tsutomu, a dedicated manga
and horror movie otaku. It must be noted that certain Japanese fans and
industry people are attempting to "reclaim" the term otaku and wear it as a
badge of pride--most notably GAINAX and Okada Toshio.
See also:
o Anime Otaku: Japanese Animation Fans Outside Japan--a thoughtful
assessment of Western anime otaku.
<http://eserver.org/bs/13/Newitz.html>
o "The Incredibly Strange Mutant Creatures who Rule the Universe of
Alienated Japanese Zombie Computer Nerds", _Wired magazine_, a detailed
but sobering account of otaku culture.
<http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/1.01/otaku.html>
o Are You An Otaku?--a highly romanticized view, from Viz's Trish Ledoux.
<http://web.infinito.it/utenti/a/arimicci/info/>
o Otaku were discussed in Mediamatic Magazine vol. 5, #3 "Otaku: Radical
Boredom".
phonecard $BB%F%l%U%)%s%+!<%I^(J
A cheap, disposable credit card that can be used to make calls from public
telephones, usually about 55mm x 80mm in size. They exist in Japan and
elsewhere, though phone cards of different countries are not normally
compatible. Manga magazines of all kinds often advertise or give away
phonecards decorated with images from their most popular manga. These often
become collectors' items, like stamps or bubblegum cards.
See also:
o Introduction to Telephone Cards
<http://www.funet.fi/pub/doc/phonecards/>
phonebook
Western manga fans' word for thick, cheap manga magazines, which resemble
phonebooks in their size and paper quality.
renga $BBO"2h^(J
"Sequential art/pictures". Another type of printed, graphic storytelling,
differentiated from manga by its liberal use of page space (often only one
panel per page), and sparing use of dialog. Kodansha has been recently
using renga to boost the circulation of its seinen manga magazines. The
word "renga" is not a contraction of the term "rensai manga" $BBO":\L!2h^(J,
which means "serialized manga (published regularly in a magazine)".
sakuhinshuu
Collected works.
scanlation
Also "scanslation". A fan produced translation of a manga or doujinshi--the
equivalent of a fansubbed anime. Scanlations are created by scanning the
pages of the Japanese language original and digitally applying a translation
of the text to the resulting image.
See also:
o Manga Jouhou--a database of scanlationed manga and translators.
<http://www.manganews.net/>
screentone $B@%9%/%j!<%s%H!<%s^(J
Transparent, adhesive plastic film printed with a pattern, usually
mechanical halftone dots or lines. Illustrators and draftspeople cut off
pieces of screentone as a quick, accurate method of shading to artwork.
(Another type of mechanical tint is rub-down tone, or transfer screens,
where the pattern is burnished onto the artwork with a blunt implement.)
There are many hundreds of screentone patterns and colors available. Some
brands of screentone (usually only available in Japan) can have their
printed surface scraped off to create highlights. Retail price is around
500 yen for an A4 sheet.
Most recent how-to-draw-manga books cover the basics of screentone use.
Since the late 80s, many shoujo and shounen manga are increasingly dependent
on screentone as an artistic device. Pioneers in the field of screentone
technique include Asamiya Kia, Hagiwara Kazushi, Katsura Masakazu, Kitagawa
Shou and many others. However, an even newer trend is the use of
computer-generated tone, which can be customized for individual panels.
Screentone is sometimes mistakenly called "letratone", "ziptone",
"zip-a-tone", "IC tone", etc., which are names of individual brands of
screentone.
seijin
"Adult"; synonymous with "seinen" (sense 2).
seinen manga (1) $BB@DG/^(J
"Youth" or "young man". (Manga magazines with "Young" or "Big" in their
title are all seinen manga magazines.) Nearly all seinen manga is aimed
primarily at 18-25-year-old males, though many readers continue to follow
seinen manga into their 30s and 40s.
Compared to shounen manga, which is aimed at a younger, broader audience,
seinen manga features even more graphic sex and violence, but tends to be
less comic or outlandish in its depiction. Shounen manga stories of exams,
sports, and school life give way to stories about the world of salarymen,
university students and drop-outs. Dramas and stories with political or
corporate themes are especially popular, though there are a few
SF/occult/fantasy seinen manga.
Shuueisha offers _Young Jump_, the biggest selling seinen manga magazine;
_Super Jump_, for artists (and ostensibly, readers) who have "graduated"
from _Shuukan Shounen Jump_; and _Business Jump_, whose sex-sex-violence-sex
formula is aimed at salarymen. Shougakukan's seinen manga stable includes
the "Big Comic" series of magazines, such as _Big Comic Spirits_ and _Big
Comic Original_; Futabasha's magazine _Action_ (now entitled _Action
Pizzazz_) has hosted many important seinen manga titles. Kodansha sells
_Young Magazine_, more or less aimed at delinquents, plus _Shuukan Morning_
and _Manga Afternoon_, aimed at salarymen and otaku respectively, and known
for their innovative character.
Accomplished seinen manga artists of recent times include Kawaguchi Kaiji,
Hirokane Kenshi, Egawa Tatsuya and Urasawa Naoki, many of whom were
disciples of the previous generation of seinen manga artists.
seinen manga (2) $BB@.G/^(J
"Adult", i.e., a synonym for H-manga. Warning labels bearing the words
"seinen komikku" were added to H-manga in January 1991, after the
much-publicized stir caused by a housewife who found erotic material being
sold within easy reach of 14-year-olds.
sensei $BB@h@8^(J
Honorific title roughly equivalent to "master", "Dr.", "teacher", bestowed
upon senior, respected professionals of any kind. These days, most manga
artists are addressed as "sensei".
shoujo manga $BB>/=w^(J
"Girls' manga". Shoujo manga is the genre targeted at young female manga
readers between 6 and 18 years of age. The classification is not based on
storytelling style, artistic style, or even content--if a publisher
designates a manga as intended for a young female audience, then it is
shoujo manga. Full stop. (Of course, girls do not limit themselves to
shoujo manga and many are readers of popular boys' weeklies such as _Shuukan
Shounen Jump_.)
A pioneering shoujo manga was Tezuka's _Ribon no Kishi_ $BB%j%\%s$N53;N^(J
(know in the United States as "Princess Knight"; its anime version was
dubbed and broadcast in various syndication markets in the 1970s).
Published in a girls' magazine in the mid '50s, it inspired other artists to
draw for female readers. Many of these were women who thought they knew
their audience better than male manga-ka, and fostered the rapid growth of
the shoujo manga market. Some of the most famous names from this era are
Ikeda Ryouko $B@CSEDM}Be;R^(J, Hagio Moto $B@GkHxK>ET^(J, and Ohshima Yumiko
$B@BgEg5];R^(J. Today, there are many successful female manga-ka, and most
shoujo manga artists are women. Of course, there are also male shoujo manga
artists (e.g. Wada Shinji), just as there are female shounen manga artists
(e.g. Takahashi Rumiko).
Shoujo manga is at least as diverse as any other type of manga, encompassing
a huge variety of styles and genres. In fact, shoujo manga accounts for
about 35% of all manga published in Japan today. Because of this diversity,
it is difficult to talk about general defining characteristics of shoujo
manga. There are always many exceptions to the rule. But as a very rough
guideline, it might be said that the typical shoujo manga:
o emphasizes emotions, atmosphere and mood, rather than action.
o uses less literal ("A then B then C") storytelling, and more impressionism
and montage.
o rarely depicts "ugliness", unless heavily stylized.
o shows considerable attention to details of costume and dress.
o is rarely made into anime. (This is mainly due to marketing reasons;
shoujo manga have less fanatical followings. Those few which have been
animated are mostly targeted at under-10s. There are some exceptions, but
in most of these cases, males were part of the anime's target audience.)
A common misconception about shoujo manga is that the genre is limited to
romance stories only, or that some subject matter is off-limits. This is
wrong--it is true that drama and romance stories are prevalent, but they are
only one part of a broad shoujo manga tradition that also includes fantasy,
SF, "mystery" (thriller), and horror. (Some shoujo manga contain no
romantic or sentimental elements whatsoever.) For example, shoujo horror
manga can be at least as explicit or shocking as anything aimed at a male
audience, and shoujo manga actually dominates the horror manga market.
Another misconception is that certain shoujo manga for pre-teens, such as
_Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon_, _Magic Knight Rayearth_, _Akazukin Chacha_
and _Wedding Peach_ are typical or mainstream shoujo manga titles. In fact,
they are exceptional titles whose cuteness makes them popular among male
otaku.
An increasing number of men are turning to shoujo manga, often after burning
out on years of formulaic shounen manga, or via the influence of female
friends and relatives. ("It was just lying around the house...") While
this may have been slightly stigmatic in the past, it turns no heads these
days. There is also the rise of "unisex" manga magazines such as _Wings_
and _South_, and artists such as CLAMP and Kouga Yun, whose audience is
increasingly less gender-specific.
A few important shoujo manga magazines are: _Nakayoshi_ and _Ribbon_ (for
under-6th graders), _Lala_ and _Hana to Yume_ (for teenagers), _Susperia_
(horror), _Wings_ ("unisex"), and _Margaret_.
NB: The word "shoujo" should be written and spoken with the long "ou", to
avoid confusion with the word "shojo" ($BB=h=w^(J, meaning "virgin").
See also:
o matt-thorn.com
<http://www.matt-thorn.com/>
o Shoujo Arts Society
<http://www.shoujoarts.org/>
o Shoujo Manga Mailing List
<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/shoujo_manga_list/>
o "Girls' Own Comics"
<http://www.lookjapan.com/LBsc/02SeptCF.htm>
shounen $BB>/G/^(J
Boy, or youth. The first manga to achieve mass circulation, and to be
printed in "phonebook" format, were aimed at the shounen audience. Today,
shounen manga still have the largest market share, and most shounen
magazines are weekly "phonebooks". However, quite a few adults and teenage
girls are loyal shounen manga readers.
Some significant shounen manga and their specialties are _Shuukan Shounen
Jump_ (aimed at everyone), _Shounen Sunday_ (inner-city dwellers), _Shounen
Magazine_ (sports-oriented, also the longest running manga magazine
currently in print), _Shounen Champion_ (catering to macho types), and
_Shounen Captain_ (for otaku). Of these, _Shuukan Shounen Jump_ is the
biggest seller. It is a weekly of about 450 pages' length, read by over 3
million people each week, making it the most popular manga magazine in
Japan. Up-to-date Japanese issues of _Shuukan Shounen Jump_ can be even be
found in Chinatowns all over the world. _Shuukan Shounen Jump_'s success is
due to a winning formula of combining action, drama, and sensationalism in
addictive, drawn-out sagas. All its manga contain three essential elements:
"doryoku, yuujou, shouri" $BBEXNO^(J,$BBM'>p^(J,$BB>!Mx^(J (effort,
friendship, triumph). While competitors have tried to emulate the formula
(with limited success), it also has its down side. _Shuukan Shounen Jump_
manga are infamous for dragging on well past their use-by date, and draining
the hardiest manga-ka of their creativity and artistic freedom. However,
_Shuukan Shounen Jump_ has retained its leading position for years, and will
probably stay at the top for years to come.
shoutacon
A contraction of "Shoutaro complex", Shoutaro being a typical Japanese boy's
name. It is sometimes shortened to "shouta" or "shota" in English use, and
is the male counterpart of lolicon, in which preadolescent boys are the
objects sexual fascination.
shuukan
"Weekly"; often found in the titles of magazines.
super-deformed
A style of caricature which stunts the subject's height and simplifies their
facial features, making them seem child-like. Also "SD" or "deformed".
tachiyomi $BBN)$AFI$_^(J
"Browse", literally "read while standing". Many bookstores frown on those
who tachiyomi, and take precautions to stop customers stealing free reads.
There will often be signs forbidding tachiyomi--if ignored, bookstores
often respond by sealing their stock in plastic bags.
tanpenshuu
Short story collection--many manga-ka have the habit of creating from time
to time a separate story not related to their main series. In some cases
the publisher receives a lot of positive feedback on that story and it is
decided to make it into a longer series (e.g. _Video Girl Ai_). These short
stories are collected from time to time in separate volumes. Such short
stories are also often called "yomikiri" (complete shorts).
ukiyo-e $BBIb@$3(^(J
"Floating world pictures", depicting life in Edo-period Japan. The
"floating world" was originally a Buddhist term referring to the transient
nature of life, but later came to mean a hedonistic obsession with living
for the present. Thus, ukiyo-e were pictures of life's ephemeral pleasures.
Moronobu Hishikawa created the first ukiyo-e in the 1670s after discovering
how to make monochrome woodblock prints. (Moronobu is also known for
producing at least 150 illustrated books.) With further improvements in
publishing technology, such prints became very popular in the mid-18th
century. Harunobu Suzuki created full-color nishiki-e $BB6S3(^(J and
Kitagawa Utamaro created ookubi-e with detailed backgrounds, often adorned
with mica. The standard declined as the market became saturated, but in the
19th century, Katsushika Hokusai and Ando Hiroshige reinvented ukiyo-e with
their vibrant, dynamic approach. In the Meiji period, ukiyo-e sometimes
appeared in packing material for goods sent to Europe, and caught the
attention of impressionists such as Degas, Manet and Van Gogh.
Today, ukiyo-e seems to be more appreciated in the West than in Japan.
However, some manga artists, such as Maruo Suehiro, feature a strong ukiyo-e
sensibility in their work. Characteristics of ukiyo-e can also be found in
many mainstream manga, though this is due more to cultural diffusion than
direct influence.
See also:
o Jim Breen's Ukiyo-E Gallery
<http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/~jwb/ukiyoe/ukiyoe.html>
o The Black Moon's Images of Spring (shunga) gallery
<http://www.theblackmoon.com/Hentai/hentai.html>
yaoi $B@$d$*$$^(J
Manga genre about love and sex between men. The word "yaoi" is an
abbreviation for "yama-nashi ochi-nashi imi-nashi", which can be roughly
translated as "no climax, no resolution, no meaning". It began as a fannish
genre using characters from popular anime and later became a fast-growing
manga genre using original characters. Also called BL (boys' love) in Japan
and shounen ai $BB>/G/0&^(J (boys' love) in the west. The yaoi phenomenon
closely parallels the growth of "slash" fan fiction in the West.
Yaoi more or less began in the early '80s, after the publication of the
magazine _June_. (Strictly speaking, June is a "tanbi-kei" $BBC?H~;e^(J
magazine.) Today, there are several yaoi manga magazines, but doujinshi
still account for the greatest proportion of yaoi in print. It is believed
that doujinshi of the shounen soccer manga _Captain Tsubasa_ were largely
responsible for the growth of yaoi. As a result, Comiket is currently
dominated by yaoi doujinshi, although yaoi doujinshi are thought to have
already reached saturation point, according to a chairman of Comiket.
Mainstream publishers are increasingly turning to yaoi anthologies to
compensate for the declining sales of gekiga-based lady's comics.
Nakajima Azusa (AKA Masuyama Norie) is an important novelist and essayist
specialising in the yaoi/shounen ai genre.
See also:
o Aestheticism--especially the glossaries in the
<http://www.aestheticism.com/>
o FAQ - Dmoz/Adult/Arts/Online_Writing/Fiction/Fan_Fiction/Slash
<http://dmoz.org/Adult/Arts/Online_Writing/Fiction/Fan_Fiction/Slash/faq.htm
l>
o Re: Slash FAQ/Questionnaire
<http://groups.google.com/groups?selm=35d8c981.7862823%40news.earthlink.net>
yon-koma (4-koma)
A short manga, AKA "gag strip", usually (but not always) four panels in
length. 4-koma manga are carried in newspapers and most manga magazines.
Panels are arranged vertically, finishing at the bottom of the page. Themes
of 4-koma manga are typically light-hearted and heavily stylized but, like
their Western counterparts, can have serious intent. Many elements of
4-coma manga style have found their way into full-length manga.
In the late 70s, Ishii Hisaichi gained attention for his alternative
approach to 4-koma manga, which soon became the norm. Other important
4-koma manga artists include: Aihara Kouji, Akizuki Risu, Asakura Sekaiichi,
Azuma Kiyohiko, Hori Nobuyuki, Igarashi Mikio, Kikuni Masahiko, Nankin,
Saibara Rieko, Togashi Yasutaka, Yaku Mitsuru, and Yoshida Sensha. There
are 4-koma monthlies (e.g. _Manga Club_) and on occasion, popular 4-coma
manga have been animated (e.g. _Azumanga Daioh_ and _Shonen Ashibe_).
yuri
Used to indicate a story has lesbian content. Literally, yuri means "lily".
The term was first used in print in Japan in 1971, when lesbians were
referred to as the "lily tribe". (Another origin can be traced from the
characters Yuri and Kei of _Dirty Pair_ who were a popular early couple in
doujinshi.) In Western fandom, "yuri" frequently indicates a story with
explicit sex, while "shoujo ai" is used for more romantic stories. In
Japan, a new term, "Girl's Love", is gaining popularity.
o "What Are Yuri and Shoujoai?"
<http://www.yuricon.org/whatisyuri.htm>
o Shoujo Yuri Manga Guide, by Kishiji Bando
<http://www.yuricon.org/symg.htm>
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
The pictures in the HTML version of this document are included for review
purposes. They are left uncaptioned as an "exercise for the reader". (^_^)
Many thanks to the following contributors, who provided information for
various entries (all E-mail addresses are in ROT13 to prevent spamming of
their owners):
Gene Fornario <tr...@argpbz.pbz>--seinen
Christopher Fu <p...@pngg.pvgev.rqh.nh>--manga (Malaysia)
ITO, Takayuki <lh...@vf.f.h-gbxlb.np.wc>--2dc, doujinshi, deformed
Tonghyun Kim <gx...@argpbz.pbz>--manga (Korea)
Chih-Ping Kuo <x...@frnggyrh.rqh>--wuxia
Cynthia Ma <pla...@jncvxb.ncnan.bet.nh>--yaoi
David Mou <qz...@argpbz.pbz>--wuxia, manga (Taiwan)
Miho Nishida <ie...@pf2.pf.bxv.pb.wc>--shoujo
Steve Pearl <fgne...@plorepbzz.arg>--japonisme
Crystal Poon via <FFB...@era.VE.Zvnzv.RQH>--blood type
Kenichiro Tanaka <xg...@naqerj.pzh.rqh>
Alex Wong <nj...@qvnzbaq.ghsgf.rqh>--manga (Hong Kong)
Ishigami Yoshitaka <7411...@pbzchfreir.pbz>
Special thanks to Kunio Muto and Ryo Shiroma, who proofread this glossary,
checked most entries and greatly improved its quality:
Kunio Muto <f924...@fsp.xrvb.np.wc>
Ryo "W2/JH1CUV" Shiroma <EFUV...@qerj.rqh>
Version 1.3 credits:
Peter Van Huffel <ci...@lnubb.pbz>--doujinshi
Erica Friedman <jbeyqfu...@rneguyvax.arg>--yuri
Jeanne (mjj) <onf...@rby.pn>--yaoi and shoutacon
Rob Maxwell <eboh...@rkpvgr.pbz>--bunko-bon and "Ma Wing-Shing"
Special thanks to 5parrow, who made nuberous suggestions:
5parrow <tgt...@znvy.tngrpu.rqh>
References (books and magazines):
Henshall, Kenneth G. _A Guide to Remembering Japanese Characters_. Charles
E. Tuttle & Co., Japan, 1988.
Kobayashi, Tadashi. _Ukiyo-e: Great Japanese Art_. Kodansha, 1983.
_The Concise Oxford Dictionary_. Oxford University Press, 1985.
Schodt, Frederik L. _Manga! Manga! The World of Japanese Comics_.
Kodansha, 1983 (revised paperback edition 1986).
Schodt, Frederik L. _Dreamland Japan: Writings on Modern Manga_. Stone
Bridge Press, 1996.
_Marco Polo Magazine_, May 1993.
_Japan as it is--Nihon tateyoko_. Gakken, 1990.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Copyright (C) 1995, Iain Sinclair and the aforementioned contributors.
Version 1.3 copyright (C) 2004 John C. Watson. Comments and corrections are
welcome, and should be e-mailed to the maintainer. Sale of this FAQ and its
sub-FAQs, or their use in commercial publication, is strictly forbidden
without written consent of the editor. This work may not be reproduced or
redistributed in whole, or in part without permission.