The Beginners Guide to Manga
About TOKYOPOP
TOKYOPOP is hailed as a leading youth-oriented entertainment brand and an innovator of manga creation, with a revolutionary artistic vision that transcends countless platforms. From the introduction of the first-ever extensive manga publishing program in North America, to the development of its manga-originated intellectual properties into film, television, and digital entertainment, TOKYOPOP has changed the way teens experience pop culture. The company’s global reach has expanded to Europe and Asia, with offices in the UK and Germany and upcoming partnerships in Australia and China, in addition to its original Los Angeles and Tokyo operations. With millions of fans logging onto TOKYOPOP.com, reading its books, and watching its DVDs and television programs, TOKYOPOP’s award-winning catalog of licensed and original properties has made the company a visionary in an ever-growing teen entertainment marketplace.
What is Manga
Though manga as we know it probably came into being at the dawn of the 20th century, most aficionados of the genre agree that the modern manga style was invented by Osamu Tezuka — the creator of such classic works as Astro Boy and Kimba the White Lion — in the late 1940s/early 1950s. Since then, the manga industry has grown exponentially, influencing Western comic books with its unique aesthetic, and being infl uenced in turn by countless styles and techniques from outside Japan.
Traditionally rendered in black and white, printed on coarse paper, and designed to be portable, manga is an art form for the masses, accessible to a wide spectrum of people from all walks of life. Manga genres range from horror to romance, science fiction to family dramas, military epics to sports stories. Another notable quality of modern manga is its attention to character. The incredibly targeted and focused visual palette of manga allows its creators to emphasize character development in a manner not commonly found in traditional Western comics.
Glossary
MANGA - Manga is the Japanese word for comic book. Manga is most often drawn in a black-and-white format but occasionally will have color pages inserted in special editions.
ANIME - Anime is the Japanese derivation of the English word “animation.” It is used to describe what is commonly called a cartoon in the United States. However, in the United States, anime is used solely to refer to animation created and produced in Japan. The key difference is its appeal to a broader audience than just children.
CINE-MANGA® - A format created by TOKYOPOP to describe a book composed of screen-captured images with text balloons taken from a film or television show’s original script. A unique combination of manga format and vibrant imagery.
GRAPHIC NOVEL - A fictional story presented in a comic-strip format and published as a book. Manga is a type of graphic novel.
MANGA NOVEL™ - Amazing stories in a novel format featuring unforgettable characters and bonus illustrations. Often the inspiration for or inspired by a manga and written by the manga’s author.
POP FICTION - Pop Fiction embraces diversity to gather the best of teen-focused fiction. With light novels from Japan’s rising stars to original stories created by American talent, readers will be transported to new worlds where one’s imagination is the only limit.
SHOJO - Manga with character-driven stories created primarily for girls.
SHONEN - Manga with strong action-themed stories primarily written for guys.
SHONEN-AI - Love stories involving affection between boy characters, appealing primarily to a female
audience.
YAOI - Stories that feature idealized fantasy relationships between two men and target a primarily female audience, much like shonen-ai but with more erotic or sexual content. Originating in Japan more than 30 years ago, yaoi covers a wide range of genres, from comedy to science fiction.
TOKYOPOP is hailed as a leading youth-oriented entertainment brand and an innovator of manga creation, with a revolutionary artistic vision that transcends countless platforms. From the introduction of the first-ever extensive manga publishing program in North America, to the development of its manga-originated intellectual properties into film, television, and digital entertainment, TOKYOPOP has changed the way teens experience pop culture. The company’s global reach has expanded to Europe and Asia, with offices in the UK and Germany and upcoming partnerships in Australia and China, in addition to its original Los Angeles and Tokyo operations. With millions of fans logging onto TOKYOPOP.com, reading its books, and watching its DVDs and television programs, TOKYOPOP’s award-winning catalog of licensed and original properties has made the company a visionary in an ever-growing teen entertainment marketplace.
What is Manga
Though manga as we know it probably came into being at the dawn of the 20th century, most aficionados of the genre agree that the modern manga style was invented by Osamu Tezuka — the creator of such classic works as Astro Boy and Kimba the White Lion — in the late 1940s/early 1950s. Since then, the manga industry has grown exponentially, influencing Western comic books with its unique aesthetic, and being infl uenced in turn by countless styles and techniques from outside Japan.
Traditionally rendered in black and white, printed on coarse paper, and designed to be portable, manga is an art form for the masses, accessible to a wide spectrum of people from all walks of life. Manga genres range from horror to romance, science fiction to family dramas, military epics to sports stories. Another notable quality of modern manga is its attention to character. The incredibly targeted and focused visual palette of manga allows its creators to emphasize character development in a manner not commonly found in traditional Western comics.
Glossary
MANGA - Manga is the Japanese word for comic book. Manga is most often drawn in a black-and-white format but occasionally will have color pages inserted in special editions.
ANIME - Anime is the Japanese derivation of the English word “animation.” It is used to describe what is commonly called a cartoon in the United States. However, in the United States, anime is used solely to refer to animation created and produced in Japan. The key difference is its appeal to a broader audience than just children.
CINE-MANGA® - A format created by TOKYOPOP to describe a book composed of screen-captured images with text balloons taken from a film or television show’s original script. A unique combination of manga format and vibrant imagery.
GRAPHIC NOVEL - A fictional story presented in a comic-strip format and published as a book. Manga is a type of graphic novel.
MANGA NOVEL™ - Amazing stories in a novel format featuring unforgettable characters and bonus illustrations. Often the inspiration for or inspired by a manga and written by the manga’s author.
POP FICTION - Pop Fiction embraces diversity to gather the best of teen-focused fiction. With light novels from Japan’s rising stars to original stories created by American talent, readers will be transported to new worlds where one’s imagination is the only limit.
SHOJO - Manga with character-driven stories created primarily for girls.
SHONEN - Manga with strong action-themed stories primarily written for guys.
SHONEN-AI - Love stories involving affection between boy characters, appealing primarily to a female
audience.
YAOI - Stories that feature idealized fantasy relationships between two men and target a primarily female audience, much like shonen-ai but with more erotic or sexual content. Originating in Japan more than 30 years ago, yaoi covers a wide range of genres, from comedy to science fiction.
