Manga and Anime

Manga are Japanese comics that are mostly drawn using monochrome colors. The modern day manga first originated in in the mid-1900s, but there is evidence of the first type of Japanese comic appearing over 1000 years ago. Unlike the American comics the ones in Japan are meant to be fleeting and not collected. The Japanese comics can be broadly broken down into four categories which are boys, girls, youths, and mature. From there it can be broken down into sub genres that range from futuristic to slice of life. If a manga series gains enough popularity it will be turned into an animation show most commonly referred to as anime.

Anime has a distinct style that can be defined as Japanese animation. The first accounts of anime can be traced back to 1917, but the characteristic art style that helped form the modern version started from the 1960s. The works by Osamu Tezuka pioneered and popularized anime in both the domestic and international markets. He was the creator of Astro Boy, Black Jack, Kimba the White Lion, and Phoenix. Osamu Tezuka was vital to redefining the industry and was known as “the god of manga.” Since then many companies produced various works like Sailor Moon, Dragon Ball, Pokemon, etc. The industry has expanded various products like video games, music, concerts, and many more.