Manga are Japanese comics, from which anime is subsequently created. This term was coined by the famous engraver Katsushika Hokusai back in 1814 and means "funny pictures" or "grotesques". Many believe that the Japanese borrowed the idea of comics from the Americans. In fact, the inhabitants of the Land of the Rising Sun drew funny cartoons reminiscent of modern manga a thousand years ago.
Manga in the guise in which it has come down to our days began to develop in the late 40s of the twentieth century, when the influence of the West was felt in Japan in literally everything. It quickly developed into a fairly large branch of Japanese book publishing. The circulation of these comics is not inferior to the circulation of the bestsellers. In Japan, people of all ages and social statuses are passionate about manga, although initially it was purely children's entertainment. Gradually, oriental comics gained popularity in other countries, especially in America. Manga has become the same symbol of Japan as Mount Fuji, sakura and samurai.
Japanese comics are quite different in literary and graphic style from their Western counterparts, despite the fact that they developed under their influence. The main difference lies in the monochrome manga. The black and white palette gives it a special charm. Only the covers are made in color, as well as individual illustrations. The frames of the manga are arranged differently, so it is read from right to left. From their American colleagues, Japanese comics artists, who are called mangaka, decided to borrow the principle of transmitting the characters' speech, the so-called "cloud". In addition, a clear division into separate frames was borrowed.
The principle of conveying the emotional state of the characters has become a trademark feature of Japanese comics. Surprise, envy, joy, dislike, admiration - for each feeling there are certain principles of their image, that is, a kind of masks. For example, a square mouth means rage, and a crossed forehead line means anger. That is why the most important thing in the manga is the good tracing of the characters' faces.
In Japanese comics, a fairly strict age and gender system has developed. There are comics for adults, teenagers and toddlers. Manga is also not alien to the division into genres into comedies, action films, melodramas, and fantasy. All this allows even the most extravagant reader to find manga to their liking.
Regardless of the genre of comics, all of its characters, even the most notorious villains, are portrayed as pretty cute. They touch the reader, even when they cut each other with a saw. And this is another highlight of these comics. In children's manga, reality phenomena like death are not allowed.
The lion's share of Japanese comics are TV series that have been printed in newspapers for a long time. The manga popular with readers is republished in the form of separate volumes, which are called tankobons.
