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What is Manga?
Literally translated from Japanese, manga means "whimsical or humorous pictures". It is the term that refers to comic books, often Japanese in origin and rendered in black and white. Manga refers to the format of the book and should not be confused with genre. You can find many genres such as romance, mystery, science fiction as a manga. Manga is always a book; anime is the Japanese term for animated films that use a similar art style. Many popular manga are converted into anime or novels.
Manga in Japan is typically serialized in large manga magazines with many other manga stories each published one chapter at a time and continuing in the following volumes. If a series is popular it will be published as its own book or series.
Manga is very different from Western comic books. While both contain stories told through sequential art, western comics are in colour, a larger trim size with smaller page count and are more often superhero stories. Manga are approximately the size of a standard trade paperback, in black and white and have many genres.
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History of Manga
While the history of manga can be traced back to the history of visual communication, most consider modern manga to have begun just after WWII with the publishing of Osamu Tezuka's Astro Boy and Kimba the White Lion. Heavily influenced by alt Disney, Osamu Tezuka is considered the 'god' of modern manga. Manga, originally considered to be a format for children, grew in style and popularity with this post-war generation who continued to enjoy the format well into adulthood. As the age of the fan increased so too did the number of topics and genres.

 Types of Manga
Manga can be broken down into several types or categories of manga. Shojo (also known as shoujo): manga aimed at a young female audience. Typically written by women, these stories are often romantic comedies or magical girl series (stories that feature young girls with superhuman abilities who save the world). Shonen (also known as shounen): manga aimed at male readers typically action oriented featuring a male main character. Shonen-ai: manga aimed toward women featuring the romantic relationship between two male characters.

 Other Definitions
Manga:
Stories told visually through sequential art. Often refers to comics originating in Japan and drawn in black and white. Also typically features a specific style of art where people have large eyes, small mouths and other exaggerated features.
Anime:
The Japanese word for animation also including a specific art style where characters have exaggerated features. Many manga are the source material for anime.
Bi-shonen:
Also shortened to bishi or bishie, this term refers to impossibly beautiful men often with long hair and appearing in romance manga.
Otaku:
A term that refers to fans in the manga and anime realm. In Japan this term is more derogatory and is used for the most obsessive fans, but Western fans have adopted it with a very positive context.
Mecha:
Derived from the Japanese word "meka" an abbreviation for the English word "mechanical", mecha refers to mechanical robots controlled by a pilot found in many manga.

 Who Reads Manga?
In Japan, manga are widely read by children and adults of all ages enjoying everything from an action adventure to historical drama to comedy to business and commerce. As manga enters more western cultures, teens are the first group to pick it up. The current reader in Australia has an equal chance of being boy or girl and will age anywhere from 10-19. Older fans who are interested in anime, are often also interested in manga.

 Ratings
Madman and our partner publishers understand that because of the visual nature of manga and rior misunderstandings regarding comics and graphic novels in general, you and your customers may be concerned about the appropriateness of each series for different age groups. Most manga from Madman has been rated based on their content and those ratings can be found on our order forms as well as on the back of each book. The general descriptions of the ratings are below:
All Ages
Suitable for readers of any age. May contain cartoon violence and potty humour.
Youth
Suitable for ages 10 and up. May contain mild language, fantasy violence and bullying.
Teen
Suitable for ages 13 and up. May contain mild profanity, mild violence and gore, crude humour, suggestive themes or situations, as well as references to tobacco, alcohol and drug use.
Older Teen
Suitable for ages 16 and up. May contain profanity, moderate violence and gore, moderate sexual themes, nudity, alcohol and drug use.
Mature
Suitable for ages 18 and up. May contain extreme profanity, intense violence and gore, mature themes and graphic depictions. For more detailed information, please visit www.manga.com.au/ratings

 Manga Growth Around the World
 Manga has grown incredibly fast in almost every country into which it has been introduced.
Quick Facts:

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