Manga Genres

November 25, 2008 under Books, Manga

Bishojo: Japanese for ‘beautiful girl’, blanket term that can be used to describe any anime that features pretty girl characters, e.g. Magic Knight Rayearth.

Bishonen: Japanese for ‘beautiful boy’ blanket term that can be used to describe any anime that features “pretty” and elegant boys and men, e.g. Fushigi Yukgi.

Ecchi: Derived from the pronunciation of the letter ‘H’. Japanese for ‘indecent sexuality’. Contains mild sexual humor, e.g. Love Hina.

Hentai: Japanese for ‘abnormal’ or ‘perverted’, and used by Western Audiences to refer to pornographic anime or erotica. However, in Japan the term used to refer to the same material is typically Poruno or Ero.

Josei: Japanese for ‘young woman’, this is anime or manga that is aimed at young women, and is one of the rarest forms.

Kodomo: Japanese for ‘child’, this is anime or manga that is aimed at young children, e.g. Doraemon.

Mecha: Anime or manga featuring giant robots, e.g. Mobile Suit Gundam.

Moé: Anime or manga featuring characters that are extremely perky or cute, for example Little Snow Fairy Sugar.

Progressive: “Art films” or extremely stylized anime, e.g. Voices of a Distant Star.

Seinen: Anime or manga similar to Shonen, but targeted at teenage or young male adults, e.g. Oh My Goddess!

Sentai/Super Sentai: Literally “fighting team” in Japanese, refers to any show that involves a superhero team, e.g. Cyborg 009.

Shojo: Japanese for ‘young lady’ or ‘little girl’, refers to anime or manga targeted at girls, e.g. Fruits Basket.

Maho shojo: Subgenre of Shoujo known for ‘Magical Girl’ stories, e.g. Sailor Moon.

Shojo-ai: Japanese for ‘girl-love’, refers to anime or manga that focus on love and romance between female characters, e.g. Revolutionary Girl Utena.

Shonen: Japanese for ‘boys’, refers to anime or manga targeted at boys, e.g. Dragon Ball Z.

Shonen-ai: Japanese for ‘boy-love’, refers to anime or manga that focus on love and romance between male characters. This term is being phased out in Japan due to references to pedophilia, and is being replaced by the term “Boys Love”

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Books about Manga

November 25, 2008 under book lists, Books, Manga

<p>Add a little extra buzz to your manga collection with some books about the genre to complement the actual manga you provide!  Here are some suggestions!</p>

<p><b>The Art of Drawing Manga</b> by Ben Krefta (Foulsham, 2003)</p>

<p>This attractive large format book looks great on display shelves.  It also gives easy to follow step-by-step instructions that can get pretty much anyone drawing great manga style pictures!</p>

<p><b>Manga: Sixty Years of Japanese Comics</b> by Paul Gravett (Laurence King, 2004)

This in-depth exploration of manga is great for devout otaku who want to learn more, but the lavish artwork throughout makes this an attractive prospect for the manga-curious too.</p>

<p><b>The Anime Companion (volumes 1 and 2)</b> by Gilles Poitras (Stone Bridge, 1999/2005)</p>

<p>Part of what appeals to many manga readers and anime viewers is how uniquely Japanese the images and stories are.  These books help otaku decipher the cultural references that are predominant in most series and give everyone else a unique insight into why anime and manga appeal so much to so many!</p>

<p><b>Digital Manga Tecniques</b> by Hayden Scott-Baron (A&C Black)</p>

<p><b>Draw Manga</b> by Sweatdrop Studios (new holland)</p>

<p><b>Drawing Manga</b> by Selina Dean (harper collins)</p>

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Dimensional Manga

March 16, 2008 under Graphic Novels, Manga

Dimensional Manga is a publishing company registered under the company name Fifth Dimension Limited. It specialises in producing manga (comic format) graphic novels. Its main titles include Demon Prince: Children of Gaia scheduled release February 2008. Titles to follow in the future include Origins: Energy Pattern Disruption, Discoveries: Fifth Dimensional LayerShift, Ghost Battle: Imprisoned by Progression, Incomplete: Detached, Hero Complex, Winning Tactics F.C and Monsters& Samurais.

Dimensional Manga believes in providing fans with a top quality experience through stunning storylines captured in amazing manga graphic novels. Dimensional Manga’s ultimate aim is to push the barriers within the comic books arena and introduce never before seen concepts and content encapsulated in a perfect balance of action, comedy and excitement guaranteed to amaze.

Dimensional Manga was founded by Dil. He had been intrigued by the comic format especially manga for over 10 years and was captivated by this art form since. This art style inspired him to begin writing his own stories and creating original character designs. In 2006 Dimensional Manga was established. The aim of this was to promote manga and the comic format in the west and to release an original unique story that would entertain the masses. To do this Dimensional Manga needed to contract professional comic artists from all over the world inlcuding Canada, Malaysia, Philipines and UK. Manga and the comic format is a unique way to express ideas. Dil prefers this medium over conventional books/novels because of the combination of visuals and written text. As a result Dil was inspired by the comic format resulting in his decision to adopt this this style for his stories.

Dil is responsible for writing the story, the script, co-ordinating the story board and instructing the artists on how to create each frame. The goal was to ‘create’, not borrow, change or visually alter established concepts, but to make a fresh start. His ultimate aim is to show that there are always new possibilities still available, no matter what achievements have been accomplished. And his hope is that this message will inspire others to do the same.

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