Manga

This is going to be a fun week in this class because I absolutely love anime and Japanese-style art.  For this I decided to read Ranma 1/2, because I'm familiar with the name but not manga in general because it was not something I've gotten into reading (even though I've been told it's better than watching anime).

So one of the things I noticed about Ranma 1/2 (or just Manga in general) is the culture.  Even in typical American comics, culture plays a large role in the story and feel of the comic.  In manga, they show typical Japanese architecture such as dojos, schools and hospitals. They even go as detailed as to show trees that grow in Japan such as Hinoki cypress and cherry blossom trees.  They also use almost stereo-typical animals in their story, like Ranma uses a Panda in it.

Another thing that is different in manga and American comics is the art style and forms of impressions.  The art style for most manga has a distinctive style (ie. Large eyes, small mouth, slim bodies (almost no one is fat, and if they are, its exaggerated), etc..).  Another thing is the facial and body impressions.  For example, if Ranma is angry, the facial features are overly exaggerated, same with the body language.

And the last thing I noticed is the color.  The front cover is always colored, but the rest of the manga is black and white.  I'm not exactly sure why that is, but if I had to guess, it would be because of mass print and the company doesn't want to print in color to save money.  Other than that, the only other reason I can think of is because it's tradition (Japanese culture is big on tradition).  I don't think it takes away from the story at all, if anything, it makes it more interesting to use black, white and gray to portray depth and perspective. 

I thoroughly enjoyed reading the manga this week, I can't wait to find out more about it in next class.