Manga: 60 Years of Japanese Comics

by Paul Gravett

Japan's output of manga is massive, accounting for a staggering forty percent of everything published each year in the country.Outside Japan, there has been a global boom in sales, with the manga aesthetic spreading from comics into all areas of Western youth culture through film, computer games, advertising, and design. Manga: Sixty Years of Japanese Comics presents an accessible, entertaining, and highly-illustrated introduction to the development...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1856693910
• ISBN13: 9781856693912
• Release Date: August 2004
• Publisher: Harper Paperbacks
• Length: 176 Pages
• Weight: 2.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 9.8" x 11.0"

Customer Reviews

Concerning this book and it's controversy

In terms of English language academic works on the subject of Japanese manga, this book is easily in the top five titles in quality, exceeded only by Frederick Schodt's Manga! Manga! Few comprehensive references on manga have ever been produced, and this is something of an update to Schodt's work, which dates from the early 1980s. It is an excellent academic and artistic source--however, this academic nature is what has given the book some of its controversy. In the United States, the prevalent judgement by parents and many people outside of comic and manga fandom communities is that comics of all kinds are predominantly targeted to young children. In Japan, however, manga is targeted for a diverse audience, from young children, to adults, with genres driven towards female readers of diverse age ranges, which is relatively rare in the US. There are categories of manga directed towards sophisticated adult readers, as well as categories delivering explicitly pornographic or challenging sexual content, or stories written for gay and lesbian interests. Though Japan is somewhat more socially liberal on allowing some access by younger kids to sexual content, these categories are distinctly targeted to different age groups, genders and interests. Of course, to ignore any single aspect of manga is to sacrifice the broad scope that the art form has manifested itself. Gravett casts a wide observation over as many different categories and examples of manga as he could deliver in a reasonably sized format. Examining the book shows that it is clearly targeted for at least a late-teenage readership if not higher, as Gravett presents historical and business information as a backdrop to the artistic content of the Japanese manga industry. Even despite the sexual content, this is far from a children's oriented book in text content and reading level alone. As far as the sexual content goes, there are less than twenty pages with sexually explicit content on them, which is only about eight percent of the overall 176 page book. Some readers would naturally find the content objectionable, but the amount and contexts are hardly excessive--and in some cases, such as the work of Maruo Suehiro, the work is of very fine quality of value to students of Japanese comic art. The work may not be to everyone's taste, but it is far from artistically irrelevant. (Besides which--having seen some wide examples of even harsher sexual material--Gravett's selections are far from the worst ones available). As a result of the sexual content in this book, it was removed from the libraries of San Bernadino (California) County's Public Library system. Both sides make compelling and passionate arguments, but this has given the book an unfortunate notoriety apart from the excellent academic content. Many of the press remarks (which are available on the author's website) seem to refer to the book as excessively pornographic or x-rated, when much of it is compartmentalized in

Manga Mania Made Sense

It's been six long years since Frederik L Schodt updated his seminal 1983 study, Manga! Manga! World of Japanese Comics. Since then manga's unstoppable rampage across the West has become inescapable. So it's appropriate that someone took stock of this comic 'sub-genre' and updated and re-examined what has become the world's most prevalent comic art form. Paul Gravett manages not only to cover the history of manga, but in doing so explores the social and cultural evolution of Japan from its post-war reinvention to its modem-day literary imperialism. Gravett's book excels not only in discussing such, but also by displaying hundreds of examples of artwork in glorious detail. Everything is here from the crassly commercial Dragon Ball Z and Yu-Gi-Oh! to the grotesque Grand Guignol artwork of Hideshi Hino. It even made this jaded cynic get excited about Nipponese comics once more. No mean feat. Authoritatively written and exquisitely designed, this book demands space on your shelf.

Most up to date and comprehensive guide available

In this spectacular book, Paul Gravett captures a brief but thorough historical look at Manga. He reviews the various genres within the Manga art form and gives a well layed out history for the events which have led to Manga's global fame. Gravett focusses on key events, and covers all of the major authors of Manga who have had a hand in pushing this Japanese art form to new limits. He discusses everyone from Tezuka Osamu -creator of Astro Boy and considered the founding father of Manga; to contemporary artists like Ogure Ito -artist of the super popular teen manga series Tenjou Tenge. In between his in depth historical analysis of Manga he writes about how all of these creators, key historical moments, and various Manga which have led to become such a popular artform today. With over 500 pictures, this book is an amazing compilation of the historical progress of Manga to the present both in written and pictorial form. Gravett's insite into Manga is not only an educated one, but also an enjoyable read. Anyone interested in learning the real history of the art form must pick up this book!

Sumptuous Artwork, Thoughtful Analysis

"Manga" is a first-rate introduction and analysis of one of the world's most significant new forms of art - Japanese comics. The book not only has beautiful artwork, much of it in full color, but also glossy pages in an oversize format. Gravett covers the visual history of manga from Osamu Tezuka to modern European comics that have been influenced by manga. There are chapters devoted to boys' (shonen) and girls' (shojo) manga, gekiga ("drama pictures" - a kind of gritty realism), sexually explicit manga for adult men and women, and a fascinating discussion of less mainstream manga done by idiosyncratic artists and editors. The illustrations are clear, well-printed, and very well selected - Gravett has a first-rate eye for some of the most gorgeous manga artwork, ranging from Riyoko Ikeda's "Rose of Versailles" through Masamune Shirow's "Ghost in the Shell, part 2" and the horror manga of Hideshi Hino. Mechas, swordfights, pretty girls, stalwart heroes, nymphomaniac Tinkerbells, beautiful men, Princess Sapphire, Akira, Dragonball - a wide and representative range of manga styles and genres are all included. The hardest part of doing the book was probably choosing what not to include in a finite number of pages! Together with the artwork - which is worth the price of the book - Gravett has written thoughtful, historically and culturally accurate discussions of the social, aesthetic, and political background of manga. These essays are also worth the price of the book. Until now, the only two substantive books about manga as a medium were Frederik L. Schodt's 1983 "Manga! Manga!" and his 1996 "Dreamland Japan." Gravett's book is a worthy successor to Schodt's, and is essential for any fan of manga, anime or cartooning - or anyone interested in popular culture in a globalizing, transnational world. And for anyone else - well, the art is just so beautiful and the writing so well done that you too should get it.

Respect the Beginning of Alternative Comics

If you have a love and respect for Japanese pop art, anime, alternative comics, and history, this book is worth your time. An easy read with a great print reproduction of some of the most important oriental comics ever made. It doesn't pass judgement, try to talk up or down, only shows you some of the amazing works, controversial images and memorable characters that have made this art form so universal. Norakuro Rocks!...and of coarse a whole chaper on Osamu Tezuka (astro boy creator)should be worth anyone's time. (and yes there are plenty of 70's 80's and 90's characters for everyone too).