I think I should stop making my titles into questions, but this is quite an issue we are talking about. While surfing the web for some manga news, Lori Henderson from Manga Xanadu posted an editorial that ranted on the School Library Journal’s choice for “Best Books for 2009″ (though Henderson pointed out that the list’s title was actually “Best Comics and Manga for 2009“). Somehow the discussion in the rant led to a concern for children reading comics over books. For some reason when it comes to the comparison of novels to comics, there is some biased agreement that novels are a “superior” form of reading to comics. I’m sure this isn’t new to anyone, especially those who read comics or manga. However, this biased thinking really needs to stop.

Novels and comics are two different mediums. Just because reading is the main interaction readers have with the two doesn’t meaning comparing one to the other is fine. No one would compare a film to a television show just based on the fact people watch what’s happening (if you do, you really shouldn’t). All the mentioned mediums execute their stories in a different structure from the other. Focusing back on novels and comics, one uses only words to move the reader through the story while the other uses a juxtaposition of pictures and words to progress the story. But as said before, because reading is the main sense people use for both mediums, the two are automatically compared and placed under a ranking or status. And we know who is ranked where.

There is only one reason why I think people still view comics as an “inferior” reading material to novels…

There’s Pictures

*Insert Sarcasm* Novels don’t need pictures to move a story. The pictures are visualized in the mind, “painted” by beautiful sentence structures and details. There is no need for pictures when words will do just fine. *End Sarcasm*

Pictures somehow degrade comics into a lower reading status, somewhere behind children’s books. It’s seen as elementary, something meant for kids. People still think this way even though the medium appeals to adult audiences as well. But pictures, or artworks as it is more appropriately called, are used with words to move a story. It’s an art form that specializes in this type of juxtaposition, one a novel cannot do.

There could be other reasons to the degrade comics gets, like terrible storylines or writing (which I’m sure novels have as well), but the picture issue seems to be the main one. If others want to add their take, comment as well. Would like to hear from you.

It’s been awhile since I wrote another for the blog. But I’m curious to know one thing. When you read a manga and there are numerous cliches in the story, is it okay? You’ve heard my take on the subject of walking cliches, but I wonder about other people’s opinions.

For those who don’t know what a cliche is (shame on you), here is the definition from Wiki:

A cliché is a saying, expression, idea, or element of an artistic work which has been overused to the point of losing its original meaning or effect rendering it a stereotype, especially when at some earlier time it was considered meaningful or novel.

Now if you need an example, just read a few manga titles and find some common element within each manga. The “good” guy character, rain equals sick person, love, etc. I don’t really consider “fan service” as a cliche, but it is a well known technique used in many manga titles.

Personally if the story is strong or the character develops into something more, then it isn’t such a problem. But it becomes bothersome when the cliche doesn’t go away. But I’m more interested in others opinions of the subject.

We’ve all done it before. When we don’t want to solve that impossible math problem, when we don’t want to remember all those Latin-based biology terms, when we don’t want to write that stupid essay due tomorrow, we do something else that is more fun. Video games, television, and the internet are some of the big helpers that create the procrastinating effect. But how about manga, or even anime? Sure manga is not as interactive as video games or the internet, but it does take away your valuable time from what you could be doing. Like a novel, it needs the reader to help unfold the story right before our very eyes. It consumes us, and our time.

Using me as an example, I am starting to see my grades slide a bit. But if you ask me what has been keeping me from doing my homework properly, I’ll just list them:

(1) Video games – I am just rediscovering why video games are so awesome.

(2) Internet – I just need to check my emails, and my site, and other people’s sites, and movie news, and new games, and things that are on sale, and…

(3) TV shows – I’ve been trying to catch up on a lot of shows I’ve missed. And they are so good.

(4) Manga

Some of you understand the power of the first three, but the last one doesn’t seem like a big factor. Well it is. Recently I was reading Katekyo Hitman Reborn! just so I can get through the first lame story arc. Well I got through it, but when I moved on to the second story arc things got a little interesting. The third story arc got my attention and the fourth story arc completely got me hooked. As you can see reading three story arcs grabbed and held my full attention through these days. I continued to read the manga until I finally caught up. Geez. I sacrificed valuable homework time just to start following the manga’s storyline. Because of this I’m sure the quality of my two paged essays went down a lot.

Though I haven’t been updating much content on the site, I have been getting a lot of school work lately. But as I said before, I have been lacking in my homework and that has led me to procrastination. (This in turn makes me forget I pushed the site aside to make room for school work.) Some of the reasons I don’t do homework: one, I hate essays (I’m a creative writing major, but I have to go through all the English major requirements); two, I have a site to run (which I haven’t been doing a good job as of now); and three, I work better under pressure. But it’s number three that has been getting me in trouble as of late. I did a close analysis essay on the same day it was due, and I’m sure it read like shit. We are getting around holiday vacation time and I’m already ready! If only I could closely analyze manga as an essay topic, that would be more interesting to read than freaking Donna Haraway.

Anyway, the point of the matter is this: never become an English major. Though I am curious to hear from others if manga or anime has kept them from doing their homework.

Continuing with this ongoing series of manga character cliches we wish to stop seeing, we will be looking into one that affects shoujo manga titles (and some shounen) very much: the clueless chick. The girl that zones out to collect her thoughts when someone is talking to her. The girl that can’t put two and two together. The girl that doesn’t understand sexual undertones. Yeah, that girl. She comes in many different forms: the naive kid-like teen (sometimes even a young adult), the mother, the mother-in-training, the lovesick high school student, etc. But when it comes down to it, when her help is most needed, she can always be counted on. Sadly, her personality is such a hinder to the readers’ enjoyment the reader ignores her efforts. Pity, but we should move on. Let’s just see why this cliche is so annoying.

She’s Incredibly Naive

Well I did cover some of that in the intro, but let’s go into more detail. For some reason, a lot of the girls in shoujo manga are quite naive. It’s almost as if they just graduated elementary, skipped middle school, and moved on to high school. A good example is Kyoko from Skip Beat. Though she had some problems with her personal life, which led to her not getting into high school, she still holds some naivety that a seven year old girl would believe. Really, she still believes in princesses and fairies at age 16. It’s okay to like fairies and princess stories, but to whole-heartily believe in them at that age… man. No wonder Ren found it funny that she still believed in those things.

… and Dense

For some reason naivety and cluelessness goes hand in hand with these characters. If you’re naive, you’re automatically clueless. Again with Kyoko as an example, the potential love interest Ren makes his feelings for her obvious; when he gets mad at her for keeping her stalker issue a secret, as well as the fact that her ex-love interest saved her from the stalker. But Kyoko does not see his reactions that way: she thinks Ren is being a good older brother (one she never had) who is looking out for her. She does not notice his over-reactions as unusually, which makes love plots so frustratingly annoying.

It would be best to pose another example, like Tohru from Fruits Basket. There was a story Momiji Sohma told to Yuki and Kyo which involved a man being scammed into giving everything he had to strangers. In the end, he was left with nothing but a note (no body,arms, or legs, just a head). This note was taken to be a gift, which he cried his eyes out. This story, or more appropriately the man, is supposed to represent Tohru. That is not a characteristic people want to see in a character. There is a difference between kindness and naive cluelessness. Since Tohru has such a trait, it is then the job of other characters to make sure nothing happens to the leading lady (this is also another cliche seen in shoujo manga). Readers wonder how anyone, even fictional characters, can stand such a people. But they do, and we hate it.

The Setting and People Lets Her Continue Her Naive Thoughts

Why is it these girls cling on to their naive thoughts throughout the duration of the manga? It’s because of where they live and the people around them. The only reason Tohru can think the way she does is due to the Sohma family and her surroundings. She doesn’t live in some urban-like setting where naive thoughts can get you killed (or a vulgar name); she lives on private property with guys who will protect her from the harsh outside world that would taint her “purity.” Though this is visible in many shoujo titles, not all shoujo manga titles use this to continue the “purity” theme. But the ones that do don’t help the plot move any faster.

She Mixes Well With Other Cliches

I had a problem with the clueless girl cliche because many other cliches play into her part. I could have written a paper on this type of character: the helpless chick, the heroine with the awesome or smart boyfriend, the academically challenged student, the girl with terrible parents, etc. I tried to single out the clueless cliche, but even Kyoko and Tohru hold other cliches in their storyline. It would be best to stop and let the naive girl have her day.

Though Skip Beat is one of my favorite manga titles, there are instants when Kyoko is such a cliche. I like Fruits Basket too, but Tohru and her environment makes her cluelessness so obvious. If you would like to add your input, let’s hear it.

Sorry for the lack of update, but things became a little slow when I left on vacation. But since I’m back, let’s look into annoying character cliches that really need to stop being created.

Here we will look at the honest to goody-goody, saint/holy man or woman that should be God’s right hand. That is right, I ‘m talking about the Good Guy (or woman). The guy that defends justice, God’s will, and whatever other crap that involves “goodness”. The guy that will defeat the demon, but shows mercy when the enemy wishes it. And then realizes that he/she should have never showed mercy because the enemy was using the good guy’s characteristic as an advantage. Yes, that guy. Let’s look at a few reasons why he/she is so wrong in manga, or any other type of mediums for that matter.

Fighting for Justice/Moral Reasons

A character of good quality will defend their actions based on their belief or past. Example: kid wants to see dead father so bad he asks the Earl for help. Instead the dead father’s soul gets turns into a demonic creature called akuma. Kid regrets action and kills the akuma to save the soul of the captured father. From then on he decides to save not just humans from these demon creatures, but the akuma as well.

Awww…how sweet. Because of what the kid, Allen Walker from D. Gray-man, experienced with the akuma, he wants to save all of humanity from this chaos. That totally justifies his actions as a warrior of justice.

BOOOO!

Allen Walker is a good guy not because he wants to save humanity, but because he wants to save everyone. The good, the bad, and the oddly ugly are all on his list of need. How unselfish of him, wanting to help all those in need and none needy. Sadly, this personal trait is the most annoying part of him I would rather not acknowledge. I’m not against saving things, but basing it on a higher moral or a higher justice is too ridiculous to see through. (This creates a question of what is “justice” and “moral”, but that is too long to write about.) I would rather see them save things because they want to rather than feel it is necessary to. You can argue Allen wants to save everyone, but I will argue there is a feeling that he needs to save rather than wanting to save. That also leads me to my next point.

The Prophesy Child

We have heard this story before: a child is born to be the one that will determine the fate of the [fill in the blank]. This should be it’s own article, but it plays into the good guy complex in many manga titles. Naruto, D. Gray-man, and 07 Ghost are a few examples of leading characters that are the overall factor to the fate of their world. Each character has a pre-determined destiny they cannot escape and must follow it through the told prophesy.

It’s okay to be special, but being in charge of saving the world is a little too extreme don’t you think? It’s not like they are Superman, but even Superman has his own problems (like being less popular than Batman). Anyway, sometimes I think this pre-destiny thing is used just to make the leading character more special than they should be. That is a sad excuse for character development, especially when the character has enough personality to stand on his or her own.

Good Guy Gets Best Power/Weapon EVER

It’s not enough to be the good guy and hold the fate of the world on their shoulders. In order to overcome evil powered armies, they need the best resources available. But guess who gets the best equipment ever created (within their own manga titles)? The best powers or weapons are exclusive only to the good guys, that or the rarest power/weapon. Tell me you have not noticed that in manga recently. The three previous manga examples follow this concept to the brim. Rare wind element and technique for Naruto, rare parasitic weapon for Allen, and one of two eye weapons only Teito can handle. This special concept works well with fated characters better than others since prophesies give special properties to destined characters.

Too “Perfect” to Relate to

I already talked about the moral side of characters, but maybe there is a personal level with the reader that keeps it at a distance. These good guy characters have their complex plotlines but when it comes to their personality and sense of justice/morals, maybe the reader just tunes out. No one is perfect, but the connection with a damn near perfect fictional character can make the reader distance themselves from reading any more. The leading character has little to no flaws, and the reader may feel inadequate with their own flaws weighing more than this prefect. This seems like a long shot, but maybe that is why Superman is less popular than Batman.

I probably was stretching the last one a bit, but I said a few reasons not a couple. Next time we will explore the terrible cliches of shoujo girls. Which one, I don’t know yet. But if you have something to add on the good guy cliche, please write in. Would love to hear from you.

I was just recently thinking about a canceled show that had a great storyline and concept behind it. That show was My Name is Earl.

The show started with a white trash hick named Earl Hickey who did petty crimes for a living. One day he wins the lottery, one of the scratching ticket types. Shortly after, he gets hit by a car and the wind blows away his winning ticket. In the hospital, his cheating wife wants a divorce and is left with nothing but a bruised up body. He watches a show that introduces him to “karma” and decides to start cleaning up his act. He makes a list of every bad thing he has done and corrects his past actions one by one (there was a lot of things he did bad). “Karma” took note of his change and let him have his winning ticket back. And thus he continued on with his Karma crusade…until the show got canned.

The only reason I bring this up is because it sounds like a great concept for a comic book, even a manga adaptation. It doesn’t have to be the exact same story, mind you, but something like it. Every story arc would involve a character like Earl Hickey trying to make up for all the bad things he has done over the years. A character who doesn’t go about righting the wrongs because of morals, but because he wants to. I know manga titles have some characters that act like moral compasses, Naruto and Allen Walker for example, but they are so outdone. Aren’t you sick and tired of reading themes of “belief“, “justice“, and saving the weak as the main characters’ reason of actions or living? Too extreme if you ask me. How about a small reason, even a selfish one will do. He or she rights their wrongs so they can live a better life. Justice and all that other crap come into play when the character starts correcting the list.

I bring this up because last year (or the past spring) there were a lot of canceled shows, three of which I watched and loved. All three of them, including Earl, had great storylines, characters, and potential. I was so sad to see them go, but if they ever were revived, even in comic book form, I would be the happiest girl around. I know that’s how Buffy fans felt, the comic adaptations are quite the hit.

Any TV shows you wished had a chance to finish their storylines? Or any thoughts or feelings about adaptations from small screen to print? We want to hear them.

Is anime better than American animation? We have continued the discussion from the last post which covered reasons 9 to 5. This post will continue the rebuttal from reasons 4 to 1. For those who want to see the original post that started it all, go over to Mania.com and read. Now without further interruptions, on to the rebuttal:

4. Adult Animation
Animation of a sexual nature aimed at adults is almost non-existent in the West. The diversity of animation aimed at adults with sexual content is quite striking when you get down to it. Every kind of fetish is dealt with, stories are important in quite a lot of them and there’s a lot that deal with emotions and relationships in a serious way as well. Many come from visual novel games where the characters are given a lot of life and fans want to see that translated into the shows. Though it’s certain kinds that get all the notice when released in the US, there’s a lot of other types as well that come out that are sweet and endearing or have an engaging story to tell with sex as a component of it.

You know, it would be a good point if there was a damn example to go along with it. A picture of Black Bible doesn’t mean anything if I have to search for someone else’s summary of the show. And what is this about adult content being “non-existent” in the American animation? The Simpsons, Beavis and Butt-Head, anything Seth MacFarland makes, Rocko’s Modern Life, and South Park are just a few titles that are experienced in adult themes. I should point out something I’m seeing as well. The author seems to be viewing animation for all ages, yet uses the “animation is for kids” idea to reinforce his or her argument. It is not only ineffective as an argument, but generalizes the overall reason as to why anime is superior.

3. Culture/History Is Important
Many Western animation shows tend to celebrate other pop culture aspects and rarely into our own history does it go, at least not since the days of Bugs Bunny. US animation tends to celebrate the stupidity of our culture more than anything else. Culture plays a bit part in a lot of shows, even those that take place out of the norm such as science fiction shows. The past is made into the present and future often, taking lessons from the culture of the past and how it affects everything since then. In addition to basic cultural aspects, there’s quite a lot more history to work with as shows take place across the centuries, providing tales of characters–historical and imagined–within these periods that are often done with exacting detail.

Again, an example would be most helpful here. But so what if certain American animated shows “celebrate”, though another word would be “parody”, cultural stupidity? It’s called comedy for a reason. Though it is hard to doubt culture playing a part in anime when Japanese culture is plastered all over anime. Even the western influenced Cowboy BeBop contains parts of Japanese culture many natives would be familiar with. The author may think there isn’t cultural aspects in American animation, but I would argue there is. Wouldn’t superheroes, Batman and Superman, be considered part of our cultural identity? Readers identify with these superheroes taking matters into their own hands when the government is too corrupt and complex to do anything. The theme of government verses the individual is huge in American superhero animation. Vigilante justice is considered a lot of things, though pop culture aspects wouldn’t exactly be one of them.

2. The Budget Is on the Screen
After the popularity of shows like South Park and the advent of new tools for animation, a large chunk of what comes out in America tends to feel like flash-based animation rather than real animation. Anime had a bad couple of years with some experiments in digital animation after the turn of the century, but by and large many shows have a feel of quality about them because the budget is right there on the screen. Many shows work hard to provide a very detailed series of backgrounds – unique one time use backgrounds no less–in their shows in order to make it feel even more real and lived in that when you get away from anime, you realize how plain and dull–and repetitive–so many backgrounds are. The character animation is no slouch either as most shows feature changing costume designs, hairstyles and locales.

SO? Better art does not equal superior animation. You’d be surprised what a good story, or at least some good lines, can do with mediocre animation. Total Drama Island and 6 Teens have okay animation, but the dialogue between each characters are easily the highlights of the show. Besides even if the production value is visible on the screen, a crap storyline won’t make it anymore appealing (it may hinder the anime to a worst state of viewership).

1. Hayao Miyazaki
The simple fact that Hayao Miyazaki exists in Japan and has created so many movies as well as being involved in a lot of Lupin the Third makes him one of the big reasons that anime is superior. With his works influencing so many others for years now including some of the biggest moments in Pixar films, anything from him and studio Ghibli should be considered required viewing. Much of anime has influenced animation in the West, but none more than Hayao Miyzaki and Studio Ghibli.

I won’t underhand Miyazaki’s work because they are indeed influential to today’s animation. But I could say the same about Chuck Jones, Max Fleischer, Tex Avery, Charles M. Schulz, William Hanna and Joseph Barbera, and even Walt Disney. Their works may be older, and give Miyazaki an unfair disadvantage, but it doesn’t mean American animation is the best (and the same can be said for anime). One influential icon doesn’t equal automatic win.

If you want my opinion on whether anime is the superior form of animation, you won’t get it. I like all forms of animation, but anime is certainly not the most superior. There are somethings I like about anime and somethings I like about American animation. This is a matter of opinion. If you have any thoughts on the case or the entire posts, leave a comment. Would love to hear what others think.

Last week there was a post floating around about anime being better than cartoons. While that title brings forth irony, in that anime is a form of cartoons as well, I think what the author meant to say was anime is better than American animation. It sparked many comments from all sides, and I think it’s still ongoing. But the most interesting thing about this post was there wasn’t specific examples on each point to lead in as proof. Forgive me if I’m going all English Major on you guys, but really. If you want to convince me, show some proof and not just pictures. Though I find the post flawed, it does have some good points I would like to share and rebuttal all of them.

9. Completed Stories
A great number of shows are designed with a beginning, middle and end, telling a complete story in the process. Even when episodic, there are small subplots brought out across the series that tell a larger story in full. While there are a good number of episodic shows that run for years and years (or decades in the case of some of them), by and large shows are meant to run a half season or a full season and tell a story within those confines. That often provides for a tighter script and more engaging show since you know it will have a proper conclusion.

I’m assuming we are talking about animated TV shows because if we were talking film-wise that point would be torn to shreds. I can, however, name an anime show that never completed their storyline, like Fruits Baskets. Even though it’s an adaptation, by technicality it counts. The anime Fruits Basket never finished the opened plotlines nor revealed all the Zodiac characters. But maybe no ending is better than a bad ending, like Neon Genesis Evangelion. Many fans did not find a liking to the ending of NGE. There are many factors going into the making of a show, but when a lost of budget is the hugest, there is nothing anyone can do about an unsatisfying ending.

8. Depth of Character
With the complete story idea in mind, many shows work through actual character growth as it progresses. Many shows have a character that does change, sometimes quickly and sometimes gradually, over the course of it. They come into the show with a fleshed-out past, a past that often intersects with the present to chart them a new future. Whether it’s dealing with people trying to live and work in space, find true love in their 20s or dealing with life after the atomic bomb was dropped, the characters provide plenty of ways for the viewer to connect with them.

I just watched an episode of The Simpsons yesterday. Bart put booze in his teacher Edna Krabappel’s coffee mug to make her more fun to be around. The woman got drunk and fired. Bart tried to cheer her up by making her dream come true: owner of a muffin shop. The dream came true, Bart confessed about the booze, and Krabappel flipped out. Bart also confessed to Skinner, the principal, about the booze and would have received punishment if his substitute wasn’t slurring out drunk rants right there and then. Skinner asked if Bart put booze in his sub’s drink, though Bart denied it. His sub did it to himself and he got fired. Krabappel got her job back and everything was forgiven. The point here is in the time I have been watching The Simpsons, the adults grew to have some trust in Bart over the years. He isn’t just rebellious Bart anymore; he’s a growing character.

7. Depth of Story
Prevalent in many shows is a sense of issues that are of importance, issues that you won’t find in the West for the most part because of the general audience being kids. Social issues are dealt with in pressures of school, intense pressures of being on a sports team, the care of the elderly and so on. The most prominent one, especially from the ’80, is the issues surrounding war and its place within the human experience. Cause and effect, from the political to the soldier on the ground and deep into the effects on civilians, the way anime tackles the concept of war in so many different ways places it above most others.

One word: fillers.

6. Relationships Treated Realistically
Romantic relationships are a rarity in the West but they’re a common theme in anime and in all sorts of configurations. Often the shows deal with the pursuit of a relationship, typically in high school, but even these are given such an honest approach and dealt with in terms of emotions and how it impacts them that it can be startling. When the shows deal with older characters, they can become as complicated and as engaging as any Hollywood prime time series that deals in the same. But with a planned start and finish, the relationships often actually progress somewhere and deal with the ups and downs, leaving you with a sense of closure.

Personally I find exploration into relationships overdone. I agree they are complicating, but not engaging. Since we are dealing with shojo-type anime, it is unfair to compare it with all of American animated shows since these romantic type shows don’t exist. Disney animated films, on the other hand, could lead to some discussion, but isn’t in the exact same medium.

5. Even When It’s for Children, It’s Not for Children
Some shows that are brought over specifically for TV syndication here invariably end up edited. We’re talking your Pokemon, your Sailor Moon and your Cardcaptor Sakura. All shows that are aimed specifically at young kids, both boys and girls, in Japan. Yet when they’re here, they must be toned down and edited because the content is unacceptable for US kids. These shows tackle tough subjects and don’t sugarcoat the world completely for kids, something that many find to be a real positive when raising their own kids on anime. Death, divorce, crushes, love and loss are all familiar themes even in kids anime. But that’s too much for American kids–unfortunately.

…oh sorry I was reading a line in the point. Here you read it too:

These shows tackle tough subjects and don’t sugarcoat the world completely for kids, something that many find to be a real positive when raising their own kids on anime.

What exactly is the tough subject in Pokemon? Getting wild animals and use them as tools to fight other captured animals in this universal game. Didn’t Michael Vick get in trouble for something like this? Yeah I read the death, divorce, crushes, and love part after the sentence, but anyone can make a case with those themes in Rugrats or any other animation for that matter. You just need to dig deep.

We are half way there. I’ll make another post to continue the rebuttal. Stay tune or write your thoughts about what was posted so far. Would love to hear from you.

Update: Part 2 of rebuttal right here

While I was going around the web for some manga news, I found an interesting post about the New York Times Best Sellers List regarding manga in their “Graphic Books” section. The post is an open letter to the New York Times asking them to find someone who can clearly present an unbiased view on the summary of their best selling manga.

You may be thinking “it’s just a summary, who cares?” I would have thought the same thing, but being an English major it really gets to me when biased views are clearly present in term papers. So I had to check it out, and sure enough it got to me. Original posting by Erica Friedman at Okazu.

I am writing because I am increasingly concerned about the obvious bias against manga in your bestseller lists. I have no idea who writes the synopses, but it is apparent to all of us in the manga world that that person *does not like manga.*

For instance… here are two synopses from this week’s list.

This first one is for an American GN:

WALKING DEAD, VOL. 1, by Robert Kirkman and Tony Moore. (Image Comics, $14.99.) The gripping story of the human survivors in a world overrun by zombies continues.

This one is for a manga:

YOTSUBA&!, VOL. 6, by Kiyohiko Azuma. (Yen Press, $10.99.) This series follows Yotsuba, a young girl learning about the world. In this chapter, she recycles, gets a bike and discovers sticky notes. Really.

Yotsuba&! has won awards around the world, and is a truly delightful book about a quirky kid and her worldview. Walking Dead is the millionth book about zombies. Really.

Once again, I *implore* you to get someone who understands and cares about Graphic Novels and Manga to write these lists. At least ask someone who cares about Manga to write the synopses. This damning with faint praise is really annoying to those of us who work so very hard to create and promote this genre. I can recommend several names and I would be more than willing to do it myself.

If you saw the New York Times List, you would know that isn’t the only thing the writer needs to work on. But that is another post for another time.

The point is, there is a biased view shown on the Times column. I agree there should be another writer who actually reads both American comics and manga and presents them unbiasedly, but I think there is more to it than that.

The problem brings a question to my mind: Are comic readers biased to certain comic mediums? Or a simpler question, do American comic readers pre-judge manga without needing to pick up a volume? Based on the Times [writer's] view, he/she does. What do you think? Comments on the questions or the open letter are welcomed.

This is a genuine question that I’m curious about: is reading manga seen as feminine? I mean socially.

If you want my view on the question, I’m going to have to say yes. I don’t have the statistics on the number of female and male readers, though I assume that there are more female readers than male readers. I’ve seen girls browse manga sections of book stores where boys tend to browse the graphic novel and tradeback section. I wondered whether it was a social thing. Though the reason to my thinking is because of one thing. That thing is shojo manga. I think female readers want to read comic books, but don’t have a specific genre played out to them.

Many male audience enjoy action movies, whereas many female audience enjoy “chick flicks” (and some like both). That audience I just described have a niche that would like to read comics targeted to them, but there isn’t much of that going on in American comics. That is where shojo comes in. Even though they shouldn’t, they do read those comics.

No, my observation isn’t scientific. Nor should you take it as a truth. However, this is what I think and that is what I want to hear from you guys. Now I’ll shut up and let you have the floor.

Note: I’ve been updating the post to clarify and clean up a few things, though I keep my original view on the matter.