Writing About the Graphic Novel/Comics

"Manga" — the Japanese word for comics, comic strips and caricature — is derived from the Chinese ideograms "Man" (involuntary) and "Ga" (pictures). It can be translated in several ways, including "whimsical sketches," "sketches made out of sudden inspiration," "lighthearted or derisory pictures," "pictures unbound" or "pictures run riot" (Serchay, 2010, p. 55; Bouissou, 2010, p. 22; Rousmaniere, 2019, p.22). While manga in its current form grew out of the US occupation of Japan following WWII and the concurrent importation of American comic books and animation into the country, its roots lie in a rich history of sequential narrative art and dramatic storytelling tropes reaching back centuries.

Many types of manga exist for various audiences.

• The komodo manga, a comic book for children similar to Pokemon and Doraemon.

• The shonen manga, addressed to teenagers, presents the adventures of an orphaned hero and his battles, as in Naruto or Dragon Ball.

• The shojo manga, mainly for young girls, focuses on love and friendship stories of schoolgirls such as Nana.

• The seinen manga, reserved for students or young adults, covers more realistic subjects of various themes such as Death Note or The Attack of the Titans.

• The josei manga, the feminine version of the seinen. Among these we can mention Citrus.

• The hentai, forbidden under 18 years old, we let you guess the reason why... 🔞