Development history of Japanese Manga style

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Development history of Japanese Manga style

The history of manga means the history of Japanese manga, starting at the end of the 18th century. Manga (kanji: 漫画, hiragana: まんが, katakana: マンガ, Sino-Vietnamese: painting) is a term. Japanese is used to refer to “comic” or “caricature”, literally every word is romantic (漫) – full and graphic (画) – drawing / painting. Historians and authors in manga history are well described and part of the modern manga making. Their views on the importance of periods are not the same, some look at the role of historical cultural events after World War II, others emphasize the role of Japanese culture and arts in pre-war, Meiji and pre-Meiji period.

Currently drawing Manga is an art used by many countries to create comics. Manga is a simple, uncomplicated school of drawing that originated in many famous Japanese manga works.

Currently, there is a lot of controversy about the origin of manga, Some people believe that manga is a product completely imported from the West (1), but there are other opinions that confirm manga has a long history in Japan. , from the Nara period (AD 700) (2). In fact, all of the aforementioned origin controversies happen because everyone has a different definition of manga. Group (1) sees manga as a whole of storyboards with its own techniques and rules; group (2) see manga in the meaning of the words “manga” (romantic).

To understand the history of manga, we need to combine both opinions and go from scratch: learn from the period when pictures were flooded on the page, until manga in a modern sense was born. .

Thus, the history of manga formation and development can be divided into 5 main landmarks:

The beginning period of painting
The period when pictures had the first word
The period of the first comic books
The era of manga reaching the world

Manga self-asserted position

Each period is accompanied by historical context for the listener to easily imagine.

1.Japanese traditional art of painting and the beginning of manga (~ 700 – 1814).

Japanese archaeologists have found rude caricatures on the ceilings of the Horyu-ji temple, dating from the 710s AD (equivalent to the late Nara period in Japan). It was said that this was the product of the group of workers who wanted to deflate and defame the authorities at that time. Because at the end of the Nara period, Japanese politics fell into a stalemate. Disputes between factions take place continuously. Members of the royal family, the top families of the court such as the Fujiwara and Buddhist monks all participate in a power struggle. At the same time, the smallpox epidemic in 735 caused great damage to the king’s power. At the end of the Nara period, the financial burden gradually increased, and the court began firing unimportant officials. That setting makes historians think that caricatures were created to satirize the ruling world.

By the Heian period (794-1185), pictures of the Spring Palace (Shunga) began to appear (due to the influence of the graphic Spring Palace in the Tang Dynasty, which was massively imported from the Nara period). However, Xuan Cung painting was a product exclusively for the courtiers. Spring archery continued to prevail during the Edo period (Giang Ho, 1603-1867) until the Meiji period (Meiji, 1868-1912) that gave way to erotic photography (spring pictures, erotic photographs).

Along with the Spring Palace painting, scroll paintings illustrating scenes or details in the Genji Story also appeared.

The massive appearance of 18+ paintings shows a way of life of the Japanese people at that time. During the Heian period, Japanese nobles spent a lot of time on sexual and sexual adventures. Chastity is not important to girls. Virgin people are sometimes considered demons or haunted.

Also during the Heian period, Buddhism also developed and spread. A Mahayana Buddhist monk named Toba Sojo made scrolls drawing pictures of frogs, monkeys, mice, … working with a human named Chōjū-giga. He used this collection to serve the purpose of preaching the Mahayana teachings. Also from here, scroll paintings illustrating stories that appeared and lasted until the Edo period (1603–1868).

If the paintings mentioned above are usually in the form of scrolls and illustrate certain things, events or stories, then around 1700, Japan became popular with the art of ukiyo-e – woodblocks. The term “ukiyo”, according to the Chinese character “the right place” (浮世), can be translated as “floating world” or “unreal world”, and is a homonym of the Buddha term. ancient spear (憂き世), or “the world of sorrow and suffering”.

The term “ukiyo” was later used to mean “erotic” or “trendy”, and aims to describe the spirit of pleasure enjoyment at this time to the lower classes.

Asai Ryōi praised this spirit in the Ukiyo Monogatari novel (Story of the Floating World, k. 1661).

“Live just for the present, enjoy the moon, watch the snow, watch the cherry blossoms, maple leaves, sing, drink, and entertain yourself in the floating world, regardless of the prospect of impending poverty, bubbly and carefree, like a gourd to carry people with the river now: that’s what we call ‘ukiyo’. “

Ukiyo paintings often draw beautiful girls; kabuki actors and sumo wrestlers; scenes from historical and folk tales; beautiful excursions and landscapes everywhere; plants and animals; and even pornographic content. Most of the Japanese paintings we see today are in ukiyo style.

By the beginning of the Edo period, the government enacted a seclusion policy, allowing only Dutch and Chinese to come to Japan (Dutch only allowed to go to Nagasaki port). This makes foreign cultures unable to be imported into Japan, and Japanese culture does not have the opportunity to step outside the world.

Until 1798, the term “manga” was first used to refer to the works of the poet and painter Santo Kyoden.

In 1814, “manga” appeared on the titles Manga Hyakujo of Aikawa Minwa and Hokusai Manga (a classification of drawings from Hokusai’s ukiyo-e works) by Katsushika Hokusai.

Thus, from the 19th century onwards, “manga” is understood in the sense that the drawings overflow on the page, can carry a certain story or not. Manga originated from scroll paintings that illustrate a certain event or story. In which, obscene and obscene paintings are quite popular.

The opening period and the appearance of first message-bearing pictures (1855-1895)

In 1855, Japan ended a secluded retreat due to American pressure.

Six years later, since the opening of the Japanese Bahamas, Charles Wirgman (UK) arrived in Yokohama, Japan. He is a reporter and sketcher for the Illustrated London News (the world’s first weekly illustrated news magazine).

Here, he opened various business projects: graphic studio, English tutor, art class, and opened a satire magazine called Japan Punch. This magazine gossiped and satirized about events (mainly satirizing Americans and American actions) through pictures and had a lot of readers. Thanks to that, Japan Punch has existed for 25 years.

For the Japanese, after a period of 200 years of seclusion, Wirgman’s quirky English jokes and open documents about events & people are in fact something very new. Since then, Japanese artists have learned this form of English satire. It was the same pictures posted on Japan Punch and British satire that inspired the series of political satire that appeared in Japan.

By 1868, commentary publications about government, businessmen, celebrities … were known as “ponchi-e” or “punch pictures”.

As well as offering art classes, Wirgman is seen by students and colleagues as their instructors in the fields of Western art and cartoonism.

With all that dedication, we can consider Wirgman to be the “ancestor” of Western-style Japanese manga and art. He was also the first to create and use speech bubbles in Japanese comics (instead of notes on the side or below each picture).

Studying under Japan Punch, in 1874, two Japanese people, Robun Kanagaki and Kyosuke Kawanabe, founded Eshibun Niponchi, following the model of Japan Punch. This is the first satirical magazine created and maintained by the Japanese.

Magazine drawings are relatively simple with handwritten dialog boxes. Due to being used to the form of Japan Punch, especially because the magazine harshly criticized the two famous Japanese political leaders, it failed.

However, the existence of Eshibun Niponchi created a trend, inspired by the later publication of the cartoon magazine, Kisho Shimbun (1875).

Kisho Shimbun operated 11 issues, creating conditions for the publisher (nxb) to continue to establish two other satirical magazines Marumaru Chinbun (1877) and Kibi Dango (1878). Both of these journals are well received by the public.

After that, Nomura (the owner of the publishing house) hired the artist Kinkichiro Honda to work and open another magazine. These two authors repeatedly satirize the government and were arrested many times, many of which were banned. But that doesn’t stop both of them.

At the same time, in 1882, a French painter, Georges Bigot, came to Yokohama. Here, he works as an illustrator and a Western-style watercolor painting teacher. After working for a while and stopping at Nomura, he moved on to his own satirical magazine in 1887. From Bigot, French painting was also introduced into Japan.

A common feature of all the above journals is that they are for adults, showing the political sensitivity of the Japanese people, and also showing that the subject here is still in a certain file, there is no to expand.

When the Japanese government decided to open the door, in parallel with the introduction of foreign cultures into Japan, Japanese art also “exited” and influenced Western countries, especially in painting. In French, there is a term that has been used since 1872, called “Japonisme” – meaning “Japaneseism” – to refer to the influence of Japanese art, culture and aesthetics on culture. Europe (whose influence is mainly from Japanese frivolous paintings.)

Thus, it can be seen that the forerunner of today’s manga is from the picture with the message, carrying the message that appeared in Japan through the satirical magazines, the first creator was Charles Wirgman. It is satirical pictures with text and bubble dialog box that set the stage for manga formation in a new way of presentation.

By 1868, commentary publications about government, businessmen, celebrities … were known as “ponchi-e” or “punch pictures”.

As well as offering art classes, Wirgman is seen by students and colleagues as their instructors in the fields of Western art and cartoonism.

However, the existence of Eshibun Niponchi created a trend, inspired by the later publication of the cartoon magazine, Kisho Shimbun (1875).

It can be said that the product of picture-narrated stories with dialogue for private purposes (satire or political insults) was not invented by the Japanese, but was clearly influenced by the Western press: from layout to layout, drawing. Through the path of journalism and teaching, Western artists have introduced a Western culture and art into Japan, which are strongly supported and followed by the Japanese people and artists.

The blossoming of early manga and magazines

a. The blossoming of magazines (1895 – 1923)

As the satirical magazine grew and gained a lot of public response, newsroom owners saw an opportunity to expand their audience by creating more products with more diverse themes. .

First, Sazanami Iwaya – Hakubunkan publisher specializing in children’s literature – wants to create a magazine that connects all boys at all different levels of society. By 1895, Shonen Sekai magazine (meaning “world of youth”) was established. This is also the first Japanese magazine for young people.

Shonen Sekai brings the first Japanese comics: stories of Japanese history , caricatures and articles

write about the contemporary world of Japan. For example: stories about the Japanese conquest of Korea, board games, baseball cards, translations of Western children’s books …

After the birth of Shonen Sekai, in 1902, another publisher published a magazine called Shojo Kai (The Childhood Woman) and received many responses.

From a response to that women’s magazine, in 1906 Hakubunkan Publishing House also released a magazine called Shojo Sekai (Girls’ World). The writers of Shojo Sekai are famous people in the literary and artistic field: the feminist peacemaker Akiko Yosano, the politician Tama Morita …

Also around this time, publishers expanded their markets, launching other magazines such as: Tanken Sekai (World of Exploration) (1906) – reflecting the patriotic fervor surrounding the Russia-Japan war, the time to meet the adventurous needs of young people; Bukyo Sekai (World of Heroism) – tells stories about military adventures and heroism, detective stories …

At first, the drawings in the magazines were presented in the form of Emonogatari (stories told through the dialog box below the picture – sub picture), and it was not until 1923 that Wirgman’s bubble dialog was combined. .

Also with the massive appearance of magazines, in 1902, Kitazawa Rakuten created columns of funny pictures, divided into frames and read from top to bottom (columns of 3-4 picture frames on current facebook). He was an artist specializing in political cartoonism and was the first Japanese artist hired by an American magazine. He was hired by an American magazine due to his relationship with young Australian artist Frank. A. Nankivell. Nankivell was trapped in Yokohama in 1891. During his time there, he befriended Rakuten and taught Rakuten the style of Western cartoonism, and introduced Rakuten to work in Box of Curios magazine. However, due to his strong national self-esteem, Rakuten stops working here.

Rakuten was the first to use the term “manga” in the modern day sense and bring it commercially. He sells products by inserting it into dolls, cards. The first story Rakuten sold was Chame to Dekobo, about two boys playing with a tap in a public place, causing water to splash all over his body. The story consists of only 4 picture frames, easily reminds readers of the movie L’arroseur Arrosé (1895) of the French Lumière brothers. The movie is also about a young boy fooling a gardener, causing him to be sprinkled by a hose.

In 1905, Rakuten founded the Tokyo Puck magazine, Japan’s first full color print publication. By 1911, he opened two more magazines, Rakuten Puck and Home Puck. During this time, he also trained young Tokyo Puck painters. After a period of rolling in domestic and foreign magazines and releasing a number of manga volumes, Rakuten founded a school, training cartoonists, manga artists and illustrators in 1934.

Due to the continuous work with Western magazines and the traveling life between Japan and the US, Rakuten’s products have a clear influence from American comics.

In 1907, Denkichi Kawashibara founded Shonen Puck, also for children.

In 1924, Tokyosha Publishing House founded Kodomo Puck.

Thus, over the first 20 years of the 20th century was a boom period for magazines and publishing houses, with comic books for adults and children being published in newspapers and magazines. After the 1923 Kanto earthquake, Japan fell into a period of constant war, causing heavy damage to all facilities. But because the manga was created by famous artists and writers, it is still remembered. There is also a manga consortium that was created and thrived throughout Japan in 1923.

b. The first famous comic books (1930-1941)

The first popular Japanese manga series was Norakuro. In 1931, an artist named Suiho Tagawa wrote a series about Norakuro, a black dog inspired by Felix Cat (the character in the non-American animated films). At first, the Norakuro manga was only intended to last for a year, but in the end it lasted for 10 years (1941) – stopping only when the Japanese government forced to stop publishing manga to save paper during the war. Currently, the Japanese have built museums for painter Suiho Tagawa for his dedication to Japanese manga, and numerous shops open up to sell Norakuro souvenirs. Norakuro featured five animated short films in the 1930s, and was made into two animated TV series in the 70-80s.

In the 1930s, American culture was famous in Japan, especially the appearance of Walt Disney and Mickey Mouse. Due to the lack of copyright laws, Mickey Mouse’s image can easily be copied and imitated in Japan. That’s why, in 1934, an artist named Bontaro Shaka drew a Mickey no Katsuyaki (Mickey’s activities) story, about Mickey going to Japan and meeting local heroes.

Norakuro and Mickey no Katsuyaki were Japan’s first two popular manga, with frames divided into sections and using bubble dialogs, telling their own stories. In it, Norakuro’s story is extremely popular and is loved by many readers.

Also in 1934, author Gajo Sakamoto introduced the Tankuro. At first, he intended to write a story about samurai, but ended up wanting to create a new kind of superman. Tankuro is about a human encased in an iron ball (almost robot-like), which can transform into many different shapes and create anything he wants from a hole in his stomach. He fights his enemy, Kuro Kabuto (Black Helmet).

Tankuro is considered to be one of the first comic book series about robotics and science fiction, inspiring characters like Osamu Tezuka’s Astro Boy and Fujiko Fujio’s Doraemon. From Tank Tankuro, the era of robot stories, science fiction, the future begins to unfold.

Besides the first manga, during the World War, since 1935, Manga no Kuni magazine was created, reflecting a political interest in the manga industry. Although satirical cartoons in Japan were soon fiercely criticized by the government, the ongoing hostility towards China and Russia has made Japan more national. Nationalists see manga as a tool for propaganda. The Japanese manga studio has published Manga no Kuni to train manga artists. As the artists were curious about manga from other countries, Manga no Kuni provided them with information on foreign comic industry, publishers and magazines. In which, German comics are strongly featured.

From 1931 to 1945, Japan’s power in Asia had increased, but war with the United States led to defeat. Manga was a powerful tool for wartime propaganda, but the government could not completely erase external influences. Disney’s Mickey Mouse has become a staple in Japan. Mickey-inspired characters can be agents of the opposition and welcome guests at the same time.

The second half of the twentieth century and manga journey to the world (1946 – 1984)

After World War II, Japan was the loser, partly occupied by the US and the Soviet Union. However, the years of occupation were relatively peaceful years in Japan. And also during this time, despite losing, Japanese culture was increasingly known to the world, not through invasions, but through manga.

a. Osamu Tezuka – who brought the manga to the world:

The first person to bring the manga to the world was Osamu Tezuka. Osamu Tezuka (1928-1989) is a manga artist and animation producer.

On January 1, 1946, he published his first professional work in a newspaper intended for primary school students. Ma-chan’s diary’s works.

The story is about a mischievous boy and a shy friend during the Japanese period.

By the US military, parents do not know how to face a changing world and the kids are excited and excited to find joy after years of poverty by the war. Tezuka was only 17 years old when writing this story.

Later, he wanted to write longer, adventurous and emotional stories. His first long-term project was New Treasure Island, based on the classic novel by R. L. Stevenson.

From a very young age, Osamu Tezuka had an opinion: using comics as a means to help convince people to care about the world. So his series often have diverse themes and deep content: The most typical and familiar to Vietnamese readers is Black Jack, Astro Boy, Phoenix. It can be said that, Tezuka is not only the “father” of Japanese manga, but he is also … “godfather” of the science fiction, philosophy comic genre.

In it, the series brought the name Osamu Tezuka to the world as Astro Boy (1952-1968). Astro Boy is about a robot boy with human emotions. He was created by a scientist after the death of his son. In the end, Astro was sold to a robotic circus, then saved by Professor Ochanomizu. Astro becomes the surrogate son of Ochanomizu, who creates a robot family for Astro and helps him live a normal life like a normal boy, accompanying him on many adventures.

The series is loved by many domestic and foreign readers, is always on the best-selling list of all time, transformed into cartoons and TV series, cooperated with international movie shops, turned into video games …

To explain Astro Boy’s popularity in particular and Tezuka’s comics in general, we can clearly see the following three reasons:

First, Tezuka innovates in manga drawing techniques, especially studying film techniques. Tezuka grew up in cinema, and especially loved the Fleischers’ early animated films – the author of Betty Boop and Popeye the Sailor Man (Popeye Sailor) – and the label. Walt Disney. As a result, he was fascinated by cinema’s storytelling and began to use frames on paper as a camera view. He applied cinematic techniques such as panning, zooming, and cut-scenes. Since the manga doesn’t display cinematic sound, he uses brushstrokes and letters to express the sound effects, aiming to give a lifelike impression of everyday battle scenes and sounds. However, this makes a comic can not be within a few frames or a few pages, but span thousands of pages.

He also imitated Mickey Mouse’s cartoon style with big eyes, and combined with traditional Japanese painting to create his own style.

Second, Tezuka’s works always contain a new storyline. According to Tezuka, comics can be used to tell all kinds of stories, from adventurous to funny, sensational. His stories often have long storylines, delving into character development, thoughts, feelings, and a focus on timing. For example, in Kimba the White Lion, he built the young lion to grow into an adult lion, instead of keeping the original lion figure.

Third, Tezuka’s works always have strong media support from Tezuka Productions (Tezuka’s animation studio). In addition to being a manga artist and animator, Tezuka is also a media man. He put Astro Boy on TV, developed other programs related to Astro Boy – cooperated with other international studios, … Since then, Astro Boy is more known to the public around the world.

Fourth, because Japan is under the protection of the US, in addition to American culture easily entering Japan, Japanese cultural products are also easily “exported” to the US and Western countries. This also contributed to boosting Astro Boy’s popularity.

Thus, thanks to the impressive drawing style, the way of dividing the page layout and the way of telling stories with novel content influenced by cinema, he is considered the “father of comic”, “the god of comics”. . Osamu Tezuka’s influence in Japan was comparable to that of Walt Disney’s in America. Walt Disney is also a great inspiration to Tezuka.

Tezuka died of stomach cancer in 1989, while completing the final chapter of the Phoenix series. He left, leaving more than 700 comic books complete with more than 150,000 pages. With his legacy, he was the first to bring manga and anime (Japanese manga and animation) beyond the country to match the world.

Japanese comics, from him, began to become a counterbalance to American comics.

Also from here on, the mention of “manga” is to refer to Japanese manga in its fullest meaning: comic stories, expressed through cinematic-style frames, with bubble dialogs and using expression techniques specific pounding.

b. Fujiko F. Fujio, Doraemon and Japanese cultural symbols:

After Osamu Tezuka, the manga that contributes to the promotion of Japan and Japanese manga to the world is Doraemon.

Written and illustrated by Fujiko F. Fujio, the pseudonyms of duo Hiroshi Fujimoto and Motoo Abiko, the story revolves around a futuristic robot cat named Doraemon about to help a boy named Nobita Nobi. Doraemon is a funny but equally profound story about friendship, dreams, and hope.

At the same time, through the appearance of the computer cat Doremon, Fujio has shown his predictions about the development of modern science and technology.

Doraemon’s long stories sometimes include messages about the environment, evolution, threats in space … That’s why, even though it’s a children’s story, Doraemon is very current.

It is these two things that make Doraemon’s appeal and value exist until this day.

The Doraemon manga was first published in December 1969 in six different magazines. A total of 1,345 stories were created in the original series, published by Shogakukan. This is one of the best-selling manga in the world. The Japanese Foreign Ministry also confirmed that Doraemon is considered a cultural symbol of Japan.

c. Emerging manga trends:

After Osamu, a series of authors of manga and manga with novelties appeared. In addition to topics that have existed such as robots, science fiction, Japanese manga authors have started to explore other aspects:

Trends of female warriors and heroines: In 1953, Osamu Tezuka released a separate series about a female character who appeared in Astro Boy. The series Princess Knight, is about a girl named Sapphire, who was born accidentally with a boy’s blue heart and a girl’s pink heart. She pretends to be a prince to prevent the evil Duke Duralumin from inheriting the Silverland’s throne.

The story was ordered by an editor of Shōjo Club magazine, who wanted Tezuka to produce a female-oriented manga, which was published in that magazine from 1953 to 1956. It was the first adventure manga. is for women and has a strong female character as the main character. (Before, 1949-1955, there was a manga called Anmitsu Hime, but the female character in the story was too playful and lack of strength to be liked and respected by many people).

Sapphire’s story has inspired many comic book artists, animators, and game designers to create a heroine. In 1973, Ryoko Ikeda’s famous manga Rose of Versailles was published, also about a girl who was raised as a man and later grew up to become the queen of France. This trend lasted until 1996, when Be Papas and Saito Chiho wrote another version of Rose of Versailles, the Revolutionary girl Utena, set as a future private school, orphaned heroine Utena. into a deadly swordsman, instead of just waiting to be rescued.

Strong female characters appear more and more in modern manga: From Sailor Moon, Card Captor Sakura, One Piece, Fulmetal Alchemist to Gintama, Vanitas, …

The punk trend: In the mid-1950s, with increasing social unrest in Japan, young artists and fans were looking for a new kind of comic book.

Plump stories, fluid and expansive, great stories no longer fit their world, and they find character stories and attitudes too childish and shallow to express. their feelings. From there, they wanted to create a new form of storytelling that could appeal more to their generation: those captured in childhood and grown up in a rapidly changing world.

The pioneer for this trend is Yoshihiro Tatsumi. He started working for comic book publishers for hire in 1954, at the age of 19. Yoshihro wrote stories and rented them out to poor teenagers, and he dreamed of new comic books that he could tell. The stories are serious and reflect the styles of Japanese and American films.

Together with Takao Saito and a few other friends, Yoshihiro began to develop this new graphic art. They call it gekiga-drama images (realistic, dramatic images, especially for adults).

In 1959, they formalized the movement, founded the Gekiga Workshop, sent their manifests to established publishers and artists. Their work was tied to the student protest movement of the 1960s, often involving sexuality and violence, but they tried to make the comics look more like a movie.

Fans of this trend read manga as a way to rebel.

In terms of style and drawing, what the Gekiga group did influenced many other manga authors. Almost anyone who draws in a realistic tendency to portray the character and target adult audience is somewhat influenced by Gekiga (especially the authors of horror stories).

In terms of content, the stories of Gekiga group often have dark colors, many sexual scenes, bloody violence, death, torture, fear and negative emotions …

Trend of sports: In 1872, baseball was introduced to Japan and gradually became one of the most popular sports in Japan. This has inspired comic book artists. The most famous baseball manga was published in 1966, titled Star of the Giants (written by Ikki Kajiwara, drawn by Noboru Kawasaki). Telling the story of a talented youngster who was put in an extremely tiring training regime by his father and former colleague to ensure he fulfills his promise, but that regime almost kills him in this process.

The story was published in Weekly Shonen magazine until 1971, and became the first animated sports manga series on TV in 1968.

Sport is still a staple of manga, from golf and fishing, to soccer and athletics. Sports manga such as The Prince of Tennis (Takashi Konomi, 1999-2008), Touch (Adachi Mitsuru, 1981-1986), Slam Dunk (Takehiko Inoue, 1990-1996) …

Samurai and ninja trends: Samurai and ninja have been the staples of manga for many years. Writer Kazuo Koike and painter Goseki Kojima created one of the darkest and most profound samurai comics: Kozure Okami, better known in English as Lone Wolf and Cub (1970-1976).

The story of the stoic assassin Ogami Itto, with his young son Daigoro surviving feudal Japan, seeking revenge against those who killed their wives and their mothers, is a great success.

In May 1987, the story was released in North America by First Comics, with new covers by local artists including Frank Miller. Since 2000, it has been digitally released by Dark Horse Comics.

The story of Kazuo Koike attracts foreign readers for its traditional curiosity in Japan and its dramatic story about a rebellion between an individual and a family system.

Trend of robotics, science fiction: Following the success of Astro Boy, Doraemon, stories surrounding robot characters are still exploited by Japanese authors. The robots can now be assembled from cars or motorcycles.
Post-apocalyptic trend, the future world: In 1982, Katsuhiro Otomo released Akira. The story begins in the future 1992, with a nuclear explosion clearly destroying Tokyo and the beginning of World War III. In 2019, in the new city Neo-Tokyo, unstable cycling gangs and riot factions clashed on the streets. In the ruins of old Tokyo, two childhood friends are caught up in a military and political conspiracy with terrifying dimensions.

Combining science fiction, political horror, action adventure, and reflection on the state of the world, Akira is a truly remarkable piece of work of this period.

In 1984, Akira won the Kodansha Best Manga Award and since then, the series has been honored around the world, leading the way for the post-apocalyptic manga trend, the future world hybrid in Japan.

d. Dragon Ball and the victory of Japanese manga in the international arena:

In 1984, Dragon Ball by Akira Toriyama appeared.

Dragon Ball was originally inspired by classic Chinese novels Journey to the West and from Hong Kong martial arts film. The series tells about the adventures of the protagonist, Son Goku, from childhood to adulthood as he practices martial arts and explores the world in search of the seven dragon balls, thereby summoning the dragon god. to wish. During his journey, Goku befriends many people and fights many villains, many of whom also search for the 7 Dragon Balls. During that journey, Son Goku and his friends travel through different universes, encounter different enemies, and also learn many different lessons about effort, faith, and friendship. , sacrifice.

With Dragon Ball, Akira has built a large world: Earth – Saiyans living outside the earth, robots, gods, dragons, … It’s a world with the combination of the image of literature. East Asia and Western technology. This once again erases the line in terms of narrative content and audience audience between manga (Japanese comics) and comic (American comics).

Dragon Ball has been re-released many times, has produced more spin-offs, series of souvenirs and toys have been produced, appeared on cards, spin-off products, converted to games, animated. image, and was made into a movie by 20th Century Fox.

In Japan, May 9 every year is known as Goku Day.

Ian Jones-Quartey, producer of American animated series Steven Universe, is a fan of Dragon Ball and uses Toriyama’s vehicle designs in his work. “We are all big Toriyama fans in Steven Universe, obviously,” he said.

Michael B. Jordan, actor in the movie Black Panther also revealed that Killmonger’s armor may have been inspired by the armor of Vegeta’s character in Dragon Ball.

Dragon Ball’s worldwide popularity marked the triumph of Japanese manga on the international scene. From Osamu Tezuka’s Astro Boy (1952) to Akira Toriyama’s Dragon Ball (1984), for ~ 32 years, Japan has “covered” their culture from West to East. Japanese comic enthusiasts community has a special name “Otaku”, with cosplay activities, festivals held annually around the world.

It can be considered that manga is the cultural element that follows from ukiyo-e, that Western countries have been influenced by Japan without any resistance. Japaneseism (japonisme) was mentioned in the 19th century (1872), until the 20-21 century continues to spread through manga.

e. New trends continue to emerge:

Main character tendency to have psychic abilities or be a weapon living in a distopia world: Tells about protagonists with strong psychic powers, exploited or hired to become a living weapon in a world anti-ideal. These characters will later fight against the organization that hired them, or attempt to destroy the system. (Mai the psychic girl, Appleseed, Gray)

Tentacle Monster Trend: Opening with Toshio Maeda’s Urotsukidoji. This is a Japanese erotic horror series: gekiga drawn, focusing on erotic, dark and supernatural humor. Beginning in 1987, the manga was adapted into a series of animated versions by director Hideki Takayama. The adaptation includes elements of violence, misery, and rape. Urotsukidōji has sex scenes involving tentacles, and it can be considered one of the first works in the hentai genre. The manga and anime have made public influences with negative effects on popular culture. Japan.

Trends for cognitive and emotional robot characters: Opening with Battle Angel Alita (1995) and succeeding at Ghost in the shell (the series has been around since 1989, but after Alita, new trends and notches edge reflected in Ghost in the shell is only widely recognized by the public). Stories following this trend often focus on building stories around robot characters on the journey of self-awareness: personal identity, life goals, feelings … On that journey, robot characters could become a mercenary machine, a sports star, even a high-ranking exploitative class.

Teen detective story trend: Started with Kindaichi (1992) and exists, well received today with Conan. Often talk about the student detective solving difficult cases that the police are difficult to solve. Interwoven is the story of school, the life of teenagers.

Post-apocalyptic trends with clear religious colors: Starting with the Evangelion series (1995). Stories that follow this trend often tell about a post-apocalyptic world, where people have to fight for survival with forces such as angels, demons, aliens, … especially stories that are often used. symbols related to Judaism, Christianity or the faithful.

Mr. Kabbalah.

Trends of adventure stories towards women and romance stories for men: Often adventure stories with clear, easy-to-read, easy-to-understand stories, and images are taken care of so as not to be too horror. for women), but not too feminine (for men). Leading this trend are Sailor Moon (1991-1997), manga by CLAMP authors, which started off with Card captor Sakura (1996), XxxHolic, Tsubasa, … and the manga by Rumiko Takahashi (Inuyasha, ½ Ranma – 1996). These stories do not place much emphasis on socio-political issues. In fact, because there are stories whose content is quite neutral, suitable for both male and female interests, the distinction of “stories for women” or “stories for men” will mainly lie in expression form. The paintings of “women’s stories” often have soft features, many flowers in the picture frame and bright gaps in that frame, at the same time, the emotional element is also more exploited. And the paintings of “stories for men” have angular drawings, the story tends to the character’s actions, there is little space in the picture frame, and very few flower and leaf frames. between responsibility and women, in which responsibility, ideally will take precedence.
Ninja and pirate trends: Leading and still reigning Naruto and One Piece – both in 1997. There are also adventure stories, but the target audience is masculine men. The story often revolves around the adult journey of the protagonist and friends: improving your weaknesses, improving your abilities, overcoming difficulties, living with ideals and goals, especially emphasizing the role of friendship.

Manga of the 21st century (2000 – present)

From 2000 up to now, in addition to trends that have existed and still maintained, manga has grown widely in both the number of authors and the number of works. The genre division is also more diverse and complex.

The trends that the authors pursue that continue to achieve many achievements include:

Adventure comics, fighting: Bleach, Attack on Titan, One Punch Man, One Piece, Fairy Tail, Promised Neverland, Seven Deadly Sins, Pandora Hearts, Vanitas notebook …

Detective Comics: Death Note

Comics for women: Dengeki Daisy, Orange, Your lie in April, …

Horror comics: stories by Junji Itto

New comic trends: La nouvelle manga.

In 2001, the editor of the Comickers magazine Kiyoshi Kusumi coined the term “la nouvelle manga”, which refers to comic works that exploit the theme of daily life in which visual elements are used. Thoroughly tell stories, while also emphasizing the diversity of readers and the boundlessness of the stories. The images used in “la nouvelle manga” can also become a cultural bridge between countries, so that when looking at an image, the reader can both perceive the cultural interference, but still It is possible to see the distinctive characteristics of comic authors from different countries.

In fact, the first person to initiate this movement was a French artist named Frédéric Boilet, but it was not until Kiyoshi called out that the Japanese artists responded.

This movement is supported by the Japanese painting community and French-speaking Belgian painters.

Typical works: Mariko Parade (Frédéric Boilet & Kan Takahama, 2004), Strawberry Shortcakes (2006, Kiriko Nananan)

The influence of la nouvelle manga is also evident in Japanese josei (ex: Honey and Clover, Nana)

C. CONCLUSION

Looking at the overall history of manga formation and development, it can be affirmed that: “manga” was originally a word used to refer to traditional Japanese comics, but modern “manga” means that comic is real. products influenced by Western culture, especially the impact of cinematographic technology. Learn the history of manga, is to learn the history of traditional Japanese painting, the history of comic magazines, the history of trends and influential series. In order to have an overview of the formation and development of manga, readers need to be well aware of the Japanese socio-political context from time to time, and at the same time need to be aware of Japanese and American cultural classes. up the manga.

Thanks to the growth of the internet, manga has become a global phenomenon. Therefore, when looking at manga, it is not possible to just look at a few series, but on the whole of it. The manga shows a unique culture of Japan, and at the same time expresses a part of the thoughts and spirit of Japan: a Japan with many trauma is trying to spread the culture to rise to become a world power.

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