Dōnyū (Introduction)
What is manga and anime? Some would probably say, “mang-what?” and “anime? Aren’t they just cartoons from Japan?” In Understanding Manga and Anime by Robin Brenner, she describes the evolution of manga and how it has come about. Hokusai Katsuhika (1760-1849) was the first person to actually coin the term “manga”which meant whimsical pictures or sketches. His most famous artwork was the woodblock print called The Great Wave off Konnagawa. "Around Osaka at the turn of the eighteenth century, bound books of twenty to thirty cartoons appeared, dubbed Toba-e after the legendary Chōju Giga creator, and sold by the thousands.”(Brenner, 3) In 1853, western culture rose up in Japan. Commodore Matthew Perry arrived in Japan and forced the already damaged government to trade with the West by opening its ports. From
then on, Japanese society lived in a state of turmoil. Civil war raged on
between those who wanted to keep Japanese traditions and those who wanted to embrace the new culture. From this, epic stories arose which would later be the inspiration for many historical as well as fantasy manga.
After World War 2, manga appeared in a form of a small red book. These were cheap and though not of the best quality, they did restructure the form and style of pre-war manga. This allowed for new artists to emerge, those with bright ideas with what they could do with different types of media. One of the most famous red book writers, Tezuka Osamu, is considered the grandfather of Japanese comics for his use of cinema for his inspiration in creating his stories. His use of camera angles, pans, zooms, and jump cuts created a movie-like manga that helped the
audience take in its visual appeal. Because of his cinematic inspirations, in
the 1960s, Tezuka revolutionized manga into the form known as anime. “He first adapted his own work, Astro Boy, and after its 1963 release, it became one of the most popular television shows in Japan” (Brenner, 7). Since then, anime and manga have increased both in Japan, the United States, and also in other parts of the world but it hasn’t been until recently that female audience members have also amplified as well.
For the most part, manga was created by men, for men. Meaning there was a lot of action and fighting with hardly any romance. The male characters were based off of what men thought they saw themselves as
while the female characters were based from their fantasies. Female characters were rarely seen and played very minor roles, even to more minor male characters in the story line. However, once the production of
Astro Boy came about, manga and anime changed and a new way of looking at manga and anime, especially the role women play within them,
arose.
Our rationale is that manga and anime may not be important to some, but it is crucial to its ever increasing fan base. It is important to know who the women are that the readers are idolizing because these women that are portrayed on the screen and in a manga will have an influence on their audience. They can shape how women view others as well as themselves and represent not only women in general, but how people still view women. Manga and anime has a way of changing the traditions of modern society and depending on what character an audience member looks up to can change her perspective of herself and the way she sees the world.
then on, Japanese society lived in a state of turmoil. Civil war raged on
between those who wanted to keep Japanese traditions and those who wanted to embrace the new culture. From this, epic stories arose which would later be the inspiration for many historical as well as fantasy manga.
After World War 2, manga appeared in a form of a small red book. These were cheap and though not of the best quality, they did restructure the form and style of pre-war manga. This allowed for new artists to emerge, those with bright ideas with what they could do with different types of media. One of the most famous red book writers, Tezuka Osamu, is considered the grandfather of Japanese comics for his use of cinema for his inspiration in creating his stories. His use of camera angles, pans, zooms, and jump cuts created a movie-like manga that helped the
audience take in its visual appeal. Because of his cinematic inspirations, in
the 1960s, Tezuka revolutionized manga into the form known as anime. “He first adapted his own work, Astro Boy, and after its 1963 release, it became one of the most popular television shows in Japan” (Brenner, 7). Since then, anime and manga have increased both in Japan, the United States, and also in other parts of the world but it hasn’t been until recently that female audience members have also amplified as well.
For the most part, manga was created by men, for men. Meaning there was a lot of action and fighting with hardly any romance. The male characters were based off of what men thought they saw themselves as
while the female characters were based from their fantasies. Female characters were rarely seen and played very minor roles, even to more minor male characters in the story line. However, once the production of
Astro Boy came about, manga and anime changed and a new way of looking at manga and anime, especially the role women play within them,
arose.
Our rationale is that manga and anime may not be important to some, but it is crucial to its ever increasing fan base. It is important to know who the women are that the readers are idolizing because these women that are portrayed on the screen and in a manga will have an influence on their audience. They can shape how women view others as well as themselves and represent not only women in general, but how people still view women. Manga and anime has a way of changing the traditions of modern society and depending on what character an audience member looks up to can change her perspective of herself and the way she sees the world.
Go to Manga for Women
*Note: Megan's research is in purple and Angel's research is in green. Our combined research is in red.