«Manga» is a word familiar to many modern people. However, not every adult reader will understand what it is.
Moreover, not even all young people will be able to define the term «manga». You can read the manga on https://remanga.org.
History
Translated from Japanese, «manga» means «funny picture.» Such pictures are made of two hieroglyphs — “man” and “ga”, where the first is understood as cheerful and bizarre, and the second is a picture. In simpler terms, manga is a Japanese comic.
Manga appeared in the XII-XIII century in Japan. In the first manga, rabbits and frogs were depicted, and their paws were represented by an unusual drawing technique that imitated movement. Already in the 18th-19th centuries, the first books with cheerful images began to be published, which were developed by the most famous artists of Japan — Santo Kyoden and Hokusai Katsushika.
Manga — visual arts
As an art, manga images are on the same level as the symbolism of Japanese poetry, when the object is only hinted at, but not named. For example, the transfer of emotion or mood is carried out with the help of a highly raised eyebrow, or a leaf falling from a tree.
The peculiarity of the display in the manga is black and white colors, since the focus is not on colorfulness, but on the actions themselves, on the plot of the illustration. Colored inks can be used on the cover, or at the moment of highlighting an important event. It is necessary to consider drawings from right to left, or “back to front”.
Why is manga so popular?
The manga is quite easy to read, has an accessible and convenient format. Manga is published in series, forcing the reader to expect continuation. That is, a manga is a one-time book. That is why it is so often found in catering establishments, where it is left by the previous owner.
Today, manga is not just literature for reading, but also a school textbook, which presents a visual picture that is understandable to all students. Manga is also used to create textbooks in the field of economics, to display technical instructions.
For more than 60 years, manga has become an integral part of Japanese culture: it is actively displayed in books, on various TV shows, in anime, in video games. For a long period, manga has contributed to the formation and development of the Japanese economy.