ANIME & MANGA
Why is it so popular? The role of anime and manga in society.
What is manga?
Manga is a type of graphic novel or comic. Aside from individual book volumes, most mangas are initially released chapter-by-chapter in magazine subscriptions (Ex. Weekly Shonen Jump).
“The comic art includes caricature, cartoon, editorial cartoon, syndicated panel,
daily humor strip, story-manga, and animation.
Manga thus reflects the reality of Japanese society, along with the myths,
beliefs, rituals, traidition, fantasies, and Japanese way of life. Manga also
depicts other social phenomena, such as social order and hierarchy, sexism,
racism, ageism, classism, and so on.”
Ito, Kinko. “A History of Manga in the Context of Japanese Culture and Society.” Journal of Popular Culture 38.3 (2005): 456–475. Web.
https://search.proquest.com/docview/195368472/fulltext/6C874999DD45409DPQ/1?accountid=351
What is anime?
Anime is type of Japanese television - which can include movies or tv shows - intended for both adults and children.
“Anime is a popular cultural form that clearly builds on previous high cultural
traditions.
Not only does the medium show influences from such Japanese traditional
arts as Kabuki and the woodblock print (originally popular culture phenomena
themselves), but it also makes use of worldwide artistic traditions of
twentieth-century cinema and photography.”
Mateja Kovacic. “The Many Faces of Popular Culture and Contemporary Processes: Questioning Identity, Humanity and Culture Through Japanese Anime.” IAFOR Journal of Arts & Humanities 2.1 (2014): 17–35.
https://iafor.org/journal/iafor-journal-of-arts-and-humanities/volume-2-issue-1/article-2/
Why is it so popular?
Anime and manga both act as a written and digital platform to communicate different cultural ideas including:
It is a stylized presentation of media in multiple genres, plots, character types, and scenarios - the variety offers many different avenues for people to explore.
There is a story for everyone!
Anime News Network (https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/)
The search engine is rather extensive and can be sorted by genre, theme, publication years, etc. Results are sorted by rating level.
This search engine has been built up by the public, similar to Wikipedia. While it is somewhat accurate and always up to date, it is still important to think about the quality of the search results.
Resources for Anime and Manga
Many resources online for anime and manga are produced by fans or large production companies, which can make it difficult to find quality, non-biased source material. There are some academic journals and book materials that produce scholarly research and assessments of the impact of anime and manga on popular culture.
Asian Studies 230: Philosophy of Anime (https://libraryguides.stolaf.edu/asian230)
St. Olaf College library guide for the Philosophy of Anime course - books from Catalyst on anime and manga have been linked to each section.
Crunchyroll (https://www.crunchyroll.com/)
A subscription service for anime - some content is provided on a free account, full access available on a paid subscription.
VIZ (https://www.viz.com/)
A source for the latest news and releases.
Timeline JS: History of Anime and Manga
Kyoto International Manga Museum (https://www.kyotomm.jp/en/about/summary/)
Studio Ghibli Museum (http://www.ghibli-museum.jp/en/welcome/)
Millennial Monsters: Japanese Toys and the Global Imagination
Allison, Anne. Millennial Monsters: Japanese Toys and the Global Imagination. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2006. Online Access & Physical Copy.
Anime from Akira to Princess Mononoke: Experiencing Contemporary Japanese Animation
Susan J. Napier. Anime from Akira to Princess Mononoke: Experiencing Contemporary Japanese Animation. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2001. Physical Copy.
Fandom Unbound: Otaku Culture in a Connected World
Itō, Mizuko, Okabe, Daisuke, and Tsuji, Izumi. Fandom Unbound Otaku Culture in a Connected World . New Haven: Yale University Press, 2012. Online Access.
Websites of Interest
Books of Interest
Articles of Interest
Looking into the “Anime Global Popular” and the “Manga Media” Reflections on the Scholarship of a Transnational and Transmedia Industry
Manuel Hernández-Pérez. “Looking into the ‘Anime Global Popular’ and the ‘Manga Media’: Reflections on the Scholarship of a Transnational and Transmedia Industry.” Arts 8.2 (2019): n. pag. Web.
https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0752/8/2/57
The Many Faces of Popular Culture and Contemporary Processes: Questioning identity, Humanity and Culture Through Japanese Anime
Mateja Kovacic. “The Many Faces of Popular Culture and Contemporary Processes: Questioning Identity, Humanity and Culture Through Japanese Anime.” IAFOR Journal of Arts & Humanities 2.1 (2014): 17–35. Web.
https://iafor.org/journal/iafor-journal-of-arts-and-humanities/volume-2-issue-1/article-2/
A History of Manga in the Context of Japanese Culture and Society
Ito, Kinko. “A History of Manga in the Context of Japanese Culture and Society.” Journal of Popular Culture 38.3 (2005): 456–475. Web.
https://search.proquest.com/docview/195368472/fulltext/6C874999DD45409DPQ/1?accountid=351
Copyright infringement as user innovation
Arai, Yasuhiro, and Kinukawa, Shinya. “Copyright Infringement as User Innovation.” Journal of Cultural Economics 38.2 (2014): 131–144. Web.
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