"What is Manga?"

[Jakeofalltrades]

I can't explain it, but I determine manga and anime by the "feel" of them. I would call Teen Titans anime, it has the continous plot and character development (so do other shows and comics), even if it is only "inspired" by anime. I would also call Courtney Crumrin a manga, because to me, it "feels" like a manga.

A few days back a couple of friends of mine were trying to tell me that pokemon wasn't an anime because it's not based off a manga. If that's the case then wolf's rain and cowboy bebop both can't be anime, which to me they are. Someone once tried to tell me Powerpuff girls is an anime because it's made in Japan. It doesn't feel like anime and it doesn't look like anime. Someone said the same thing about Thundercats. Thundercats I felt was an anime, similar to one at least.

I can't explain how I discern between the two, all I can do is give examples.

[Jakeofalltrades]

*brings out the marshmellows*

Can't we all just agree that we enjoy manga and manga-influenced works? :catgirl:

Can we all agree that there are excellent comics out there that don't make any claim towards being manga but are still worthy in their own right?

It doesn't matter to me if they're "comics" or "manga" in the end all I care about are the pretty, pretty, pictures.

[Sai Rong]

Just read this whole thread. It was an interesting read with many well-supported arguments. I' not so skilled at debating, but I'll give my definition anyway: Manga is comics made by Japanese for a Japanese audience. For example, many people are suprised when they find out that X/1999 and Banana Fish are shoujo titles, since they expect a comic aimed at girls not to have decapitations or gang wars. However, girls are the intended audience for those titles, so they are in fact a shoujo title. Just like with manga, it's made with a Japanese audience in mind, which gives it the exotic twist that Westerners like (or hate). Seven Sea's products are comics made for a Western audience, so I don't classify them as manga.

That was me, by the way. My post got swallowed up by the thread, but I just wanted to re-state my stance.

Manga is comics produced for a Japanese audience. Jack's anology of a chef is interesting (and makes me hungray), but I don't think it applies to manga. You may serve five different people one dish, but you may not tell them the same story. The question "How was your day?" will get different answers from me depending on who asked. A story I tell to my little brother will be a very different version of the same story I tell to an adult. A writer who writes a comic with a Japanese readership in mind will be different from one written for an American audience. I think that's why manga appeals to westerners, in that it wasn't intended for them. There's almost a voyeuristic quality to reading something so foreign, so different from what comic readers usually see in North America. It wasn't made with the intention of global readership, so when a manga is translated into a foreign language, all kinds of delightful idiosyncrasies become evident.
I love manga because of how deeply rooted it is in Japanese culture, how it sometimes it requires me to abandon my whole western mind-set so I can understand it. The Japanese cultural references that go over my head just add to my enjoyment and makes me find out more about Japan and it's customs.

So basically, American manga lacks all the esstential 'ingredients' that make up manga to me. The foreig-ness, the quirks of it being translated, the cultural references that are a natural inclusion in manga but somewhat forced when done by a westerner. Manga is exciting because it makes me puzzle out a different countries POV from my own. Even if certain American comics are considered manga, they're still different from Japanese manga.