Angel's Dreams: Manga and Anime

Hi, invisible people.

I couldn't write last weekend because I was in a family trip with my parents and my sister, visiting Córdoba. And apart from the fact that I didn't have time, in the hotel where we were staying I couldn't get to the Internet. Yes, the World Wide Web was out of my reach, which is something nearly unbelievable nowadays. It was my parent's fault because they made a "little" mistake when they booked the rooms in a hotel of Córdoba that did have wi-fi. The day before going there, they noticed something. Our hotel was in Córdoba, but that Córdoba wasn't in Spain, but in Argentina. Can you believe it? I just couldn't stop laughing. They had to cancel our booking and look for a hotel that was actually in Córdoba the day before setting out. That's why our hotel didn't have wi-fi.

Well let’s forget about it, because my initial intention was talking about manga and anime, but I just couldn’t help telling you that funny anecdote. So, here’s my last advice about it: if you want to visit a city called Córdoba, first check which continent it is placed in.

And now I start with today’s subject: What’s manga? And what’s anime?

Well I suppose you know that “manga” is Japanese comic and “anime” is the animated series based on the manga. But why has it become so popular? How did manga take over the world? First of all, we can thank the great input from Osamu Tezuka, who applied cinematographic techniques to manga and created those famous big eyes inspiring on Walt Disney’s designs. Then, after the Second World War, people in Japan needed to evade reality by reading manga, so in 1959, publishing houses got into the market of manga magazines. That became a great success, as sales figures soared and international expansion took off.

Also, I think the clue is that there are so many genres of manga that you just can’t say you don’t like it. It’s as varied as films. Why does nearly everybody like films? Because you can find at least one genre that you like. Manga is the same case; maybe it’s possible for you not to like “kodomo manga” (which is for kids) if you’re an adult, as an example, but the same way that you like terror films instead of Disney ones, you may like terror manga. I sincerely think that those who don’t try reading manga or watching anime just because of prejudices are committing a great mistake.

In Japan, manga is a phenomenon that arrives to all social layers: everybody reads manga, from kids to the elderly. Even in the metro or the train, people read manga magazines and then leave them there so that they can be recycled and reprinted. The leading manga magazine, Shonen Jump, sells over 6 million copies every week. And in 1989, 38% of all books and magazines that were published in Japan were manga ones. Can you grasp the idea of how important manga is in Japan? Although it’s true that the word we manga lovers use to describe ourselves comes from Japanese and it’s quite derogatory, in origin. This word is “otaku”, and in Japanese is used to describe a person whose life nearly turns around his/her hobby. But that hobby doesn’t have to be reading manga. “Manga” is not negative. A “strong addiction” to it, well, maybe is.

In my case, I’ve loved manga, and even more anime, since I was little. It took me long to discover the world that was hidden behind the series that I used to watch on TV when I came home from school. Series like “Detective Conan”, “Doraemon”, “Sailor Moon” or “InuYasha”. For me it was natural to see characters wearing a “yukata”, taking off their shoes when they entered a house, sleeping in beds without even a mattress, visiting a temple in New Year’s Day and making wishes… I got used to all these things to the point that I didn’t notice that it wasn’t part of my own culture. That’s one of the reasons why I love Japanese culture and that I’m learning Japanese. I wonder if it’s possible to fancy something to the point that you “miss it”. When I think of all those things, like fireworks in summer festivals or cherry-trees in springtime, I feel the same feeling in my heart as when I think of my home in Benicassim. I miss it, although I’ve never been in Japan. Strange, huh?

Well, for now, if I’ve convinced you to watch anime, I recommend you “InuYasha”. Its author is the "mangaka" (professional who draws manga) Rumiko Takahashi. It’s about a semi-demon, InuYasha, and the reincarnation of a priestess, Kagome, who set out in the world of the Japanese Middle Ages to find the fragments of a powerful jewel that some demons want to use for mischievous purposes. During their journey, a little fox demon, a pervert monk and a demon huntress will join them to find the fragments and fight against Naraku, a demon who wants to obtain the power of the jewel for his evil plans. For me it’s the perfect anime, as the personalities of characters are really well defined and the complicated relationships between them create funny and really interesting situations.