MEDIUMS OF ANIME
A Dive Into How People Experience Anime Globally
MANGA
Japanese comics, or more commonly referred to as manga, is one of the most popular mediums for anime. For a lot of people, manga is their gateway into anime as it is commonly found in libraries in the west. Manga is commonly seen in the form of black and white panels with occasional text written on them. Although many people believe that manga is an overarching term for all Asian graphic novels, there are many intricacies to manga, creating multiple subcategories as a result.
Manhua
Describes comics originating from China. Although manga is the popular term for asian comics, “manhua” was actually the phrase it was taken from.
Manhua Modernity discusses how manhua first came to china and how it was popularized, in addition to popular reserializations of famous Chinese stories in manhua form, including Journey to the West. One of the most popular manhua is ½ Prince, an adaptation on the light novel.
Crespi, J. A. “Manhua Modernity: Chinese Culture and the Pictorial Turn.” Oakland: University of California Press, 2020. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1525/luminos.97, a resource found through the UBC library.
Manhwa
Describes comics originating from South Korea. Also coined from the Chinese term for manhua. A way of differentiating manhwa is that it is read from left to right, similar to a comic book from the west, versus right to left, which is common in both manga and manhua.
Zuhaimi and Abdulla created a conceptual discussion about how due to the recent surge in online media, literature is no longer restricted to physical books. Due to the culture and entertainment factor of manhwa, the international audience for manhwa has steadily grown. This 14 page PDF explores the potential benefits of integrating manga and manhwa in reading and writing skills.
One of the most popular manhwa out is Tower of God, which was adapted into its own anime.
Zuhaimi, N. B., & Abdullah, A. Q. C. (2021). “Incorporating Online Manga and Manhwa to Entice Cognitive Reading and Writing Strategies: A Conceptual Paper.” International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 11(7), 169–182
PHYSICAL MANGA
MANDARAKE
Mandarake, a website and store based in Japan which houses a large catalog of physical manga in which users can buy from their website. The website seems to constantly be updated, as the most recent update on the site is the day in which I accessed it. Everything, ranging from old manga, to currently serialized manga are listed on the site. Pages in English https://order.mandarake.co.jp/order/?lang=en, Chinese https://order.mandarake.co.jp/order/?lang=zh, and Japanese https://order.mandarake.co.jp/order/.
DIGITAL MANGA
With more and more people having access to internet and mobile devices yearly (as stated in the 2021 digital report), it is inevitable that more and more media moves to an online setting. Although there are many websites in which a person is able to read manga, below I have listed just a few.
MANGADEX
This fan-made site is one of the most popular sites in which a person can read manga. It houses a massive catalog of manga, manhua and manhwa, all of which are made available in various languages by translator groups, commonly referred to in the community as “scanlators”. The website is both available for viewing on mobile and desktop, both of which have very good reading experiences. Due to the nature of being fan-made and ad-free, the website may contain bugs, as the website is maintained by unpaid volunteers. Additionally, a lot of features, such as view count and a comment section, which are both listed on the public site, are still yet to be implemented. The site itself is also very much in a gray area, as the legality of having free digital manga is constantly in question. Website interface is only available in English, but the media is in multiple languages, including English, Spanish, Russian, etc.
CRUNCHYROLL
Not only a platform in which people can stream anime legally, Crunchyroll also offers their own catalog of manga. Since they do not own the license to every manga, they are only able to offer their own catalog, with manga constantly cycling in and out of the rotation. The website contains an interface similar to shopping sites in which one can read synopsis and view cover art of various manga. Both the mobile and desktop website interface are available in various languages, such as English, Spanish, French and Dutch, however the media itself is only available in English. https://www.crunchyroll.com/comics/manga
BOOK WALKER
Book Walker is a website that is slightly different then both Crunchyroll and Mangadex. While both of those sites have an interface where the user can directly read the manga they want, Book Walker is more similar to an online bookstore. Users are able to directly buy the e-books that they want, and download them from their website. This is in stark contrast to Mangadex and Crunchyroll, as both of those sites allow for direct reading of the manga, without needing to download the media prior. Additionally, while Crunchyroll is a subscription service, Book Walker is a “buy what you need” service, meaning that Book Walker is buy per book, compared to Crunchyrolls buy to access their collection for a period of time. The website is available in their global version, which is in English https://global.bookwalker.jp/, and their local version, which is in Japanese https://bookwalker.jp/top/.
MOVIES AND TELEVISION
Movies and Television are two of the most popular forms of entertainment around the world. With movies ranging from Spirited Away to the most recent release of Jujutsu Kaisen 0, and TV shows from Pokemon to Yugioh, it is safe to say that the originally Japanese only form of entertainment has expanded to an international scale.
CINEPLEX
Cineplex is the biggest movie chain in Canada, and is constantly showing the newest films, in addition to old classics. Although the core audience that the website advertises towards are western movies, as those are likely the ones that ads are run for on television networks, occasionally one might find an anime movie that is being played. Since Cineplex does not maintain a history of movies that they have shown at their theatres, sometimes when a user tries to input a movie they want to see, the movie may not exist in their library. The current big anime movie, Jujustu Kaisen 0, has showtimes every day, in both the English dubbed version and the Japanese version with English subtitles. The Cineplex site is only available in English.
https://www.cineplex.com/Movie/jujutsu-kaisen-0-japanese-west
TV NETWORKS
Television networks, particularly those that appeal to a younger demographic, have recently picked up the license to rebroadcast Japanese anime with English voiceovers. Many shows that kids grow up watching, such as Pokemon, are commonly known as cartoons. However, these are actually anime that are dubbed over in the networks language of choice. This is further exemplified in merchandise sales. Animes which have branched into card games, such as Yugioh and Pokemon, can commonly be found in retail stores around the world. Increasing both the shows popularity and revenue simultaneously.
Although many shows have been pulled from local stations, this website contains a past schedule of airtimes for certain shows
Citations
Fujimoto, Tatsuki, Chainsaw Man, Tokyo, Shueisha, 2018, Digital Print
Gotouge, Koyoharu, Demon Slayer, Tokyo, Shueisha, 2016, Digital Print
Oda, Eiichiro, One Piece, Tokyo, Shueisha, 1997, Digital Print
Akutami ,Gege, Jujutsu Kaisen, Tokyo, Shueisha, 2018, Digital Print
Wo, Yu, ½ Prince, Taiwan, Min-Hsien Cultural Enterprise, 2004, Digital Print
Lee Jong Hui, Tower of God, Young Com, 2010, DIgital Print
Original Source Unknown (Bookshelf), https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/D8C52NRNfWxv0auhEi2Cq2lBTcI=/1400x1400/filters:format(jpeg)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22511937/1315866813.jpg
Mandarake, Mandarake, https://order.mandarake.co.jp/order/?lang=en
Funny Cat Picture, Original Source Unknown, https://i.pinimg.com/originals/97/43/60/97436039c19974488717bcf5f2432a00.png
Indigo, Indigo, https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/
Amazon, Amazon, https://www.amazon.com/
Mangadex, Mangadex, https://mangadex.org/
Crunchyroll, LLC, Crunchyroll, https://www.crunchyroll.com/
BookWalker, Book☆Walker, https://global.bookwalker.jp/
Nintendo, Pokemon, https://assets.pokemon.com/static2/_ui/img/og-default-image.jpeg
Page by Billy