The birth of Manga and its world conquest

Manga (漫画) basically means comic book. These stories won over not only the Japanese, but fans all over the world.

The self-respecting good otaku certainly has his favorite manga and always keeps an eye on when the anime inspired by this manga will come out! There is no age or gender for this passion.

And there is manga for all kinds of tastes like action, adventure, business and commerce, comedy, detective, drama, horror, mystery, romance, fantasy, sexuality suspense and many others.

But have you ever wondered how it all started and why it caught so much attention from people from other countries? Discover it all now!

The birth of manga and its worldwide conquest

How did the manga come about?

It is believed that the first evidence of the manga with the characteristics we know today was through the Oricom Shohatsu (Theater of Shadows).

These theaters were known for telling legends with puppets in the feudal period. Over time these legends were written on rolls of paper and contained illustrations.

The term Manga appeared in the 19th century in the year 1814, but it was still not like our modern manga. The author to use this term was Katsushika Hokusai, but until then this type of artistic expression was known as ukiyo-e.

The term manga was used when Hokusai created his collection of humorous stories on various subjects and called it Hokusai Manga which lasted until 1878.

After his death around 1850, manga began to become popular among Europeans.

This happened because, after the end of the Shogunate, Japan found itself in need of forming alliances to favor the economy and so they partnered with the United States.

Then after that the artist and cartoonist Charles Wirgman exerted a strong influence when in 1862 he created Japan Punch. This magazine spoke in satirical ways of Japanese conflicts.

But investing in manga was not something simple, no one would even imagine it would be a success around the world. But the first to invest and believe in manga was Rakuten Kitagawa, he made comics.

Rakuten Kitagawa's manga was published in 1902 and told the story of two peasants who had to deal with life in the big city. This story started the modern manga.

Kitagawa also founded a school specializing in manga, and there many cartoonists and animators graduated.

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Curiosities about manga

  • Manga make up at least 40% of everything printed in Japan.
  • In 2006 alone, manga generated over 4 billion dollars, becoming one of the largest markets in the world with 750 million copies sold.
  • The biggest consumers of manga are: USA (more than 200 million dollars in sales), France and Germany
  • The ten countries where manga is most popular are: 10. Spain, 9. Japan, 8. Mexico, 7. Philippines, 6. United States, 5. Russia, 4. Brazil, 3. Indonesia, 2. India, 1 china
  • The plot is published from chapter to chapter in almanacs of up to five hundred pages.
  • Most almanacs are on recyclable paper
  • The writers write an average of twenty pages per week and have the help of the illustration team.
  • In Japan, manga with advertisements of the most famous stories of the moment on billboards, train stations and even inside wagons.
  • In Japan, manga are shown more on newsstands than newspapers considered to have a large circulation.
  • Not always a manga generates an anime, the opposite can happen as in the case of Gundam, the most famous giant robot in Japan.
  • The most visited place by manga fans is in the Akihabara neighborhood.
  • Japanese citizens usually spend an average of 117 reais on manga annually (it's cheaper there)
  • One of the most popular is One Piece, which since 1997 has sold over 480 million copies worldwide.
  • 60% of manga fans are women
  • The genre that most attracts attention is the Science fiction;
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What sets manga apart from ordinary comic books?

The characteristics of manga are strong that don't even need much effort to identify when compared to other stories.

This is because in general the characters have outstanding characteristics such as big eyes, exaggerated expressions such as rosy cheeks, bloody nose drops among countless others.

All this probably happens because before the term itself, caricatures were made and a characteristic of it are the striking expressions.

The protagonist usually has a "child soul". He has purity and naivety, but at the same time he is a warrior for fighting in life. You can see this with the Naruto and Goku.

It always reinforces the bonds of friendship and at the same time has clashes with outstanding rivals.

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The manga industry today

As incredible as it may seem, even with this process of globalization in which people have everything at their fingertips, there are many who still prefer the physical version of manga.

But for those who follow this modernity it is also possible to have access to these mangas on the internet.

The anime industry has risen 15% in recent times mainly because of the pandemic caused by COVID-19. So consequently the mangas were also in demand.

This was a form that many found as a form of entertainment as most had to stay at home in quarantine.

As the manga end up generating successful anime then the popularity is increasing. For you to have an idea, a half-hour episode costs, on average, 100 thousand dollars.

But as you can see, there are always anime releases, as it manages to recover and exceed the investment value.

Tell me which manga you like the most! Do you prefer the electronic version or the good old print version?

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