Japan Posted February 22, 2004 Share Posted February 22, 2004 I can't really remember all that much when I first started to read manga. I think I started like two years ago starting off with Gundam Wing Vol. 1. After that, I bought random manga here and there. Last August, I bought Kare Kano Vol. 1 and each month I've been collecting the next volume of it. I now have 1-7 of Kare Kano. I also have several issues of Shonen Jump, some naruto, chobits, gundam, and shamen king. I love my manga. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sweet Pie Posted February 22, 2004 Share Posted February 22, 2004 [color=indigo]Ok, I started reading manga when I was around 4? 5? I can't remember but I do remember that the first manga I read was none other than [b]Doraemon[/b]! I still remember some part of the story ^_-[/color] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeathBug Posted February 22, 2004 Share Posted February 22, 2004 [color=indigo][size=1][font=century]Well, to start with, I'm a geek, age 17. I was a somewhat avid comics fan before I read manga; by that I mean, I read a lot of comics, but they were all the same character: Spider-Man. Spider-Man was me, you understand: the nerd with few friends who was upbeat when most would be distrought. I connected with the character in a way I've never connected with others, particularly not characters in large groups. I like the X-Men, for example, but I'm not a social person, and it's harder for me to relate to a large group. As for manga...I read manga that branches off of established anime, mostly. I simply don't have the cash to spend on manga if I don't at least suspect I'll like it. My library consists of Yu-Gi-Oh, Shaman King, Trigun, The Big O, Naruto, The All New Tenchi-Muyo, and Excel Saga. I subscribe to Shonen Jump.[/color][/size][/font] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest MetalSonic700 Posted February 22, 2004 Share Posted February 22, 2004 Ah yes, the day i began reading manga. I had been an anime fan for about a year when I began hearing about a new "anime magazine" called Shonen Jump. It was supposed to be really cool, really long, and I was becoming really interested. One day I saw a kid in my class reading one and drawing some of the pictures. I decided to start collecting Shonen Jump. In there, I discovered what manga really was. My cousin, who is a mojor DVD collector, started buying manga and I would read it. Now I always get manga, and like it as much as anime. ^_^ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ayshi No Ceres Posted February 22, 2004 Share Posted February 22, 2004 My first encounter w/ manga was last year.a friend kinda got me started on Fushigi Yugi,and i'v just been reading ever since. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ScirosDarkblade Posted February 23, 2004 Share Posted February 23, 2004 Yeah it seems that Shonen Jump is exceedingly popular among anime/manga readers. Do you guys think that may be because it makes popular-anime-based-manga so extremely accessible? After all, you can pick up Shonen Jump pretty much anywhere (including Blockbuster) and it has all the "kid popular" mangas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest SweetPrincess16 Posted February 23, 2004 Share Posted February 23, 2004 [COLOR=Indigo][SIZE=3][FONT=Century Gothic]Recently I read manga like a year ago. It tells more info than the shows that are aired in Cartoon Network. Well, sometimes they are more similar as ever. I've read the Marmalade Boy book. Since I borrowed from a friend of mines. Which was cool as ever? I haven't seen the show yet probably it might show up soon. Well, I gotta go. I know there's more that I love to talk about manga. But I'm in a hurry right now. Later. :P[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Omar Harris Posted February 23, 2004 Share Posted February 23, 2004 I only recently began reading manga. I'm twenty years old and have been an avid comic book reader almost as far back as I can remember (like, I don't know, age 7). I'm a huge comic fan still, and collect Wizard on an almost regular basis to fill me in on what's going on when I'm penniless (like now). My opinions of manga are the same as my opinions of anime. I used to be the guy who ran around saying that anime is better than all American cartoons, but then there were still so many American cartoons that continued to blow me away (if you haven't seen "Legacy", the last episode of the Superman cartoon, or any of Mainframe's stuff, you're missing out, IMO). I just don't see much of a difference between American comics and Japanese comics other than cultural stuff. Honestly, what is the difference between what Goku does and what Superman does? None. There is a lot of great art and artists in American comics (Jack Kirby, Alex Ross, Jim Lee, Steve Ditko, Olivier Coipiel etc.) and loads of great writers. There are layers, even to superhero comics, that many fans dismiss without giving a second chance. After all, Stan Lee and Jack Kirby made careers out of creating superheroes who were had fallibilities and flaws, from the fallen angel-like Silver Surfer, who hated mankind's destructive tendencies and yet fought for us nonetheless, if only to be proven wrong about his opinions; to the Hulk, a brute who wants only to be left alone; to the X-Men, men and women who fight a war for racial peace and tolerance, even though, fighting such a war is not as easy as black and white. To go even further, read Alan Moore's the "Watchmen" or Alex Ross' "Kingdom Come". Both are superhero stories, but both have layers of complexities, designed to reveal the human sides of even seemingly omnipotent or "boy-scout" heroes who have long been considered "boring and unreadable" by fans. It's also not a reality when people believe that American comics are all about superheroes. Are all mangas all about Dragonball and giant robots and people trying to catch pet monsters? No. There's almost something for everyone in both markets from the childlike mind (Pokemon and Spider-Girl) to the complex, brooding thinkers who believe they are better than everyone else (Neon Genesis Evangelion and Neil Gaiman's the Sandman). Most fans only read get to read what Marvel and DC are putting out, which currently seems to be the 100th Superman comic or the 100th Spider-Man comic. I don't see much difference, artistically or literally, between the two markets. It's like apples and oranges. You like one, you eat that one. You like both, you eat both, and personally I'm an apple and oranges man. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeathBug Posted February 23, 2004 Share Posted February 23, 2004 [quote name='Omar Harris'] There's almost something for everyone in both markets from the childlike mind (Pokemon and Spider-Girl) [/quote] [color=indigo][size=1][font=century]As an avid fan of [i]Spider-Girl[/i], I'd like to take the opportunity to point out that the title is not "child like". SG is written as a retro title, very much in the style of mainstream comics in the 80's. [/color][/size][/font] [quote name='Omar Harris'] Most fans only read get to read what Marvel and DC are putting out, which currently seems to be the 100th Superman comic or the 100th Spider-Man comic. [/quote] [color=indigo][size=1][font=century]Also as a fan of Spider-Man, I'm inclined to agree with this statement; in fact, I was ranting about it just the other day. I love Spider-Man, but I think he should only have two titles, and maybe a mini-series or special here and there. the problem with American comics today is that the industries have been loosing money whenever they try new characters and concepts. Therefore, they're discouraged. However, they know they can make a profit by making a new book with Spider-Man, Batman, or (God help us all) the X-Men. I do'nt like it all that much, but it's what the market is dictating they produce. They wouldn't make them if they weren't selling; hopefully, the sales of the Runaways and Sentinel graphic novels will be high enough to encourage more new blood.[/color][/font][/size] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subaru-sama Posted February 24, 2004 Share Posted February 24, 2004 I first started reading manga when I was 7,and the first manga I read was DBZ.The reason I started reading it is because I wanted to. The first anime I ever watched was Ranma1/2,and I first started watching that when I was 2.(Though I can't understand why my parents let me watch it at that age....oh well. :p ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest LuciferRevived Posted February 24, 2004 Share Posted February 24, 2004 I started reading manga after I watched alot of anime, the first manga I read was....Oh yea, NGE, and I've been obsessed with manga ever since ^-^ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ScirosDarkblade Posted March 6, 2004 Share Posted March 6, 2004 Yeah, I'm reading Neon Genesis Evangelion right now, and it's pretty good. I don't know how they'll end it, but I really hope it leaves less loopholes than "End of Evangelion." Anyway that's another topic altogether. Thanks for your replies so far guys. On a side note, I've spoken to some people at Tokyopop and they confirm a lot of what I thought concerning manga's large popularity. Superhero comics here, from an aesthetic standpoint, easily hold their own against manga. The thing is, they don't directly compete at all. DC and Marvel's target audiences are older teens and adults. The vast majority of manga is bought and read by 10-16-year-olds. That's not to say that it's not popular among the older crowd, but there the sales of, say, Batman versus the sales of Love Hina aren't as drastically different, and don't bear as much consideration. The younger market is something that comic book publishers in the U.S. haven't tapped into for a long, long time. Of course, the fact that the younger crowd thinks that "simple superheroes" are all U.S. comics have to offer doesn't help, but it doesn't hurt nearly as much as you'd think. In addition, Tokyopop's readers are 60% female. That's not the kind of statistic you'd see DC throwing out there. Bottom line is prior to anime and manga, the only major entertainment that the younger age groups (and girls in general) had catered to them was nine bad cartoons for every good one, random movies, and, the heavy-hitter, video games. When anime hit the U.S., and was properly marketed (this matters), it exploded in popularity because a gigantic portion of potential consumers was attracted to it. This then carried over into manga, which benefited from the tremendous exposure it got from anime series related to it. Once bookstores caught on, and tripled the shelf space allocated to graphic novels (filling the space with manga), manga sales skyrocketed. At this point the biggest competition manga has is anime dvds. While of course both are synchronistic in nature and increase awareness of each other (free marketing, in a way), they are competing for the exact same "entertainment dollar." Because every twenty bucks some kid spends on an anime DVD he/she can't spend on a couple of manga TPBs (and vice versa). All of you gave me aesthetic reasons for getting interested in manga. Which, on an individual basis (especially when comes to explaining why you read a particular title or whatever), is competely legitimate and makes perfect sense. However, I will generalize, and say that the reason people even had a chance to "get into" manga was due to the extremely wise business decisions made by numerous publishing houses who saw a vast amount of consumers without anything to consume, so to speak. After all, nobody says "Batman isn't complex enough for me or drawn well enough so I'm gonna go play some GTA3." They do say "I'm not interested in Batman comics." And I'd say that the reason for THAT is Batman isn't targeted to that person. Let me know what you think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monkey_Orange Posted March 6, 2004 Share Posted March 6, 2004 [quote name='ScirosDarkblade']At this point the biggest competition manga has is anime dvds. Because every twenty bucks some kid spends on an anime DVD he/she can't spend on a couple of manga TPBs (and vice versa). [/quote] [COLOR=DarkOrange]Very true. However, at this point in my life, it's working the other way around. I'm trying to SAVE money now, so I tend to invest more into manga than anime. But of course, the manga series itself has to be pretty darn good in order for me to commit to purchasing a bunch of volumes. As for my borther [who is 8 years younger than me], he'd rather buy dvds than manga. Hehe...I guess you don't have to use your brain as much when you watch rather than read. Silly boy :p [/COLOR] [QUOTE]However, I will generalize, and say that the reason people even had a chance to "get into" manga was due to the extremely wise business decisions made by numerous publishing houses who saw a vast amount of consumers without anything to consume, so to speak. [/QUOTE] [COLOR=DarkOrange]True. It was probably mentioned before, but I also think that the popularity of manga can be related to the fact that it's a great alternative to your everyday American "comics." Once manga has been chosen, I think that word of mouth also play an important role. One doesn't usually see a bunch of advertisments for manga--at least I haven't. If one girl has started reading...let's say [B]Fushigi Yugi[/B], and then told her friends about it, I can confidently say that there will be a ripple effect. But yes, personal interests does play a key role too. You cannot force someone read something they hate. Oh...I haven't answered the primary question yet.[/COLOR] [QUOTE] Why and when did you start reading manga? [/QUOTE] [COLOR=DarkOrange][U]When:[/U] It all started in 2003 :D [U]Why:[/U] I'll just get to the point. There's a difference between the decision to BUY manga versus to READ manga. I shall not reiterate what I posted in another thread. I read manga for the following reasons: 1. Great story--has not been made into anime. 2. Great story--left unfinished in the anime. As for BUYing manga...that's a different ballpark :) [/COLOR] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ScirosDarkblade Posted March 7, 2004 Share Posted March 7, 2004 Well, buying and reading manga are the same thing as far as my research is concerned, because people read them and buy them for pretty much the same reasons. Nobody reads a manga because it's good and buys another because it's cheap. True, many who read manga don't buy it, but that goes for almost every form of visual entertainment. Not everyone who plays Halo owns a copy. Not everyone who's seen The Matrix on DVD owns the DVD. And obviously that applies to anime as well. Of course, almost everyone has read more than he/she has bought, but that's not really relevant. That's why I want to know why/when people started to read manga, not when they started to buy it. I'll get more responses, is all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sailor firestar Posted March 7, 2004 Share Posted March 7, 2004 I started reading manga b/c I always watched Sailor Moon & loved it. I used to work in a restaurant in college that had a comic shop next door to it. One day on my break I stopped in there on my way back from getting a free daquiri at the next shop over to see if I could get some Pokemon cards for my boyfriend. I wandered around a little & talked to the guy who was working about what I wanted. He happened to mention the Pokemon comic they had (probably just hoping to sell more stuff) so I politely looked at the manga section for a minute. There it was ! My beloved Sailor Moon in comic format. The illustrations were amazing, the plot was so much more adult, & it came in every month with a new full color cover design. I was hooked! Since then I've read nearly every manga I could get my hands on, or at least afford. Hope this helps! ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ScirosDarkblade Posted March 8, 2004 Share Posted March 8, 2004 Yeah, it seems a lot of girls got into it with Sailor Moon. Guys had a lot more "gateway" titles like DBZ, Gundam, Pokemon, etc., to get them into anime and manga (or at least know about it). Girls had a lot less heavily marketed titles aimed at them. It makes me wonder what in general got GIRLS reading manga, because more of them do it than guys, interestingly enough. A lot of it is word of mouth, as Orange mentioned above (and I forgot to), but there have to be some titles that drew girls to the bookshelves to begin with. Sailor Moon is one, but a lot of other shojo manga is not that marketed, so I'm wondering if there's anything else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sailor firestar Posted March 8, 2004 Share Posted March 8, 2004 The next thing I started reading after that was SMILE magazine published by Tokyopop which at the time included Peach Girl (still one of my faves) Juline, & Sailor Moon Stars. The comic shop owner recommended it to me b/c he knew I was into Sailor Moon. I stuck with it for a while & it has since yielded such great Shoujo titles as Mars, Planet Ladder, & Paradise Kiss (my latest fave). Also, by the time I started reading the Sailor Moon manga I was already watching a lot of other anime courtesy of some kids I babysat so when I noticed they were in print form too I started picking them up. Then I got my subscription to Animerica & after that I always knew what was coming out & would make the comic shop order it for me. Of course the only reason that I, a 20 year old girl at the time, would have been ok walking into a comic shop in the first place was because I used to read my little brother's SpiderMan & X-Men comics in junior high and high school. Oh yeah, one reason I think girls read manga is because girls simply like to read. Guys like to play video games or do physical things more often than just sit around and read. Also, there's a certain beautiful quality to all manga, but especially shoujo, that appeals to girls. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest iLoveSetoKaiba Posted March 11, 2004 Share Posted March 11, 2004 i had liked anime for about seven or eight months when i met a girl who also did at my theatre camp. she intoduced me to the manga series 'fushigi yugi' which she let me borrow and i was immediatly hooked on the aspect of manga. my interest in manga spread to yu-gi-oh, book 1 was the first manga i bought. I've probably read over thirty manga since last june when i was introduced to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Verykawaiineko Posted March 11, 2004 Share Posted March 11, 2004 Well i ve been reading manga since i was in 1st grade..cept i didnt know what it was..^^;;...i guess i started with Fushigi Yugi cept it was called something different. as of now i read mostly shojou/goth manga's like Count Cain Angel Sanctuary X and Yami no Matsuei Why..well mostly becasue they were the only kinds but in america there were barely any girls comics most of the american comic industry in the 90s were aimed at boys so i had trouble finding ones for my girly senses...i magine my suprise when i found Sailor Moon in the book store after i moved to americ...even though it was poorly translated and not one of my fave titles..i still read it..but now i go to the store and there are shelves of manga and manhwa im soo happy^^ also there are increases in the shounen-ai/yaoi genre and that makes me just dilieriously happy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Junsui_sama Posted March 12, 2004 Share Posted March 12, 2004 I started reading manga after I watched anime, I started watching 'Sailor Moon' when I was in 3rd grade, and started reading the manga in 4th grade, I then started to discover other manga books. I have read American style manga, but I like japanese manga better... My current favorite is Kingdom Hearts manga, and Fruits Basket, I'm also a fan of the CLAMP manga (except Clover, I never understood it), and numerous others including 'Naruto'. I read manga because I simply enjoy reading and I have always had a talent for drawing, I'm now slowly starting to teach myself how to draw males, the male body is so much harder for me to draw than a female's. I'm a fan of all types of genes of manga, the art of the book can't be too realistic or too detailed for me, it is hard to see it when the publishers shrink it. I like het couplings as well as yaoi/shounen-ai and I have no problem with yuri. I love manga, what else can I say? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ScirosDarkblade Posted March 13, 2004 Share Posted March 13, 2004 ...cool. Ok guys thanks for all your replies! I'm working on my final paper right now, and these replies helped me put together my introduction. This thread is closed if you want it to be, as I am no longer really going to reply much myself. But if you want to keep posting until a moderator says it's closed, that's cool. Want to know how I got into manga? Well in high school I wasn't into anime or manga at all. I was really turned off by the art, because it was obvious that they put less effort into it than in the better-rendered American comics. A couple of friends of mine were really into it, and even put together an anime club in the high school, but I did nothing but "friendly tease" them about it. Also I didn't like the random nudity in the manga. I'd grab my bud Josh's book, open a random page, and there'd be a girl there taking a bath in a forest, and there was a lot of T&A. So I was like "oooh naked girls naughty naughty Josh." When I was a freshman in college, I made new friends, and when visiting one of them in their home town I ran into a volume of Oh My Goddess! ("Childhood's End" I believe). It wasn't even his; he was borrowing it from another friend, and he hadn't read it yet. But he let me borrow it, and I got really into it. Not into the story so much, but I liked the characters and most importantly I was very impressed with the line art. I checked out other Oh My Goddess! volumes after that, and liked them all, and eventually got all the ones they've published so far. I have to admit though, I like OMG! almost strictly because the art is good. If the art was mediocre I'd hate it. Anyway, after reading OMG! I went on a "neverending quest for good anime," and mostly it was neverending because I had so much trouble finding anime I liked. But one random day I downloaded an episode of Love Hina, and was throrougly amused. I've watched the entire anime at this point and have much of the manga, which I'll finish because the manga ends what the anime left for it to finish. I'm also reading the Evangelion manga. I picked up volume 1 because everyone said the anime was sweet, and liked it enough to get all the manga of it there is for now. ...so that's my story. I can't say I'm "into" manga, but there are 3 series I enjoy, so I guess that's enough. But I got into one series because a friend introduced it to me and because of its art. I got into another series because I watched the anime and liked it. I got into a third because of the story and the characters. So I guess every reason people get into manga applies to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Panda Posted March 14, 2004 Share Posted March 14, 2004 I started reading manga when I was probably about the same age as many of you are now...probably 15 or 16. I would read manga at my dad's office. He works for Japan Airlines and they have a company "library" that all the employees drop off books and magazines to share with each other. There is always some manga from fellow employee's kids. I ended up reading Ranma 1/2. Before that manga really didn't interest me since the stories were a bit too old for my tastes. I would choose to read the kids books. I enjoy the art and it keeps my reading skills up. You know, if you don't use it, you lose it. I should really start reading more manga again. LOL I have slacked off on my Japanese manga since you can easily find manga in english now in bookstores and malls. I guess I am just too lazy and choose to read the manga in english now. The latest one I have purchased is Saiyuki. The last one I read (reread) in Japanese was Ranma 1/2 number 15. So to sum up, I started reading manga as a teenager and the reason was because I enjoy the stories and artwork. :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subaru-sama Posted March 17, 2004 Share Posted March 17, 2004 [QUOTE=Junsui_sama]I started reading manga after I watched anime, I started watching 'Sailor Moon' when I was in 3rd grade, and started reading the manga in 4th grade, I then started to discover other manga books. I have read American style manga, but I like japanese manga better... My current favorite is Kingdom Hearts manga... I read manga because I simply enjoy reading and I have always had a talent for drawing, I'm now slowly starting to teach myself how to draw males, the male body is so much harder for me to draw than a female's. [/QUOTE] Me too,exactly!!!!I can't draw males,but I can draw females,dragons,animals,guns,etc., and am learning how to draw backgrounds from from "How To Draw Manga" books.In fact,I've been doing that ever since I was eight.Also I,too,perfer reading right-to-left rather then left-to-right,and where the heck're you finding Kingdom Hearts [U]MANGA[/U]?!? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Junsui_sama Posted March 23, 2004 Share Posted March 23, 2004 [QUOTE=Subaru-sama]Me too,exactly!!!!I can't draw males,but I can draw females,dragons,animals,guns,etc., and am learning how to draw backgrounds from from "How To Draw Manga" books.In fact,I've been doing that ever since I was eight.Also I,too,perfer reading right-to-left rather then left-to-right,and where the heck're you finding Kingdom Hearts [U]MANGA[/U]?!?[/QUOTE] It's on a website, as soon as I looked in it I was like AIEEEEEEEEE!!!!!! I loved it! I'm pretty sure its original too, not a doujinishi... here's the URL: [url]http://groups.msn.com/narutomangareturns[/url] it's a Naruto site, but located in folder 'Pictures' (You might have ta scroll down), is Kingdom Hearts Manga. I'm obsessed with Sora x Riku pairings :luv: , they are soo kawaii together, and I HATE Kairi... Let's face it, I'm a yaoi fangirl, I don't care what people think, I love it and I'm not ashamed to admit it! :love2: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Kaminikiro Posted March 24, 2004 Share Posted March 24, 2004 I started reading manga last year mah fwend lent me shonen jump and i looked through it during p.e. and i liked it. Now i think that manga is much better than marvel adn stuff like that Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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