Comic reading habits among the youth vis-a-vis to Japanese Manga 1
Comics fit easily into the category of “literature”, because we read them front to back and left to right.
[This sequencing] matches our expectations of narrative, and characters develop. –Claire Huschle
Comic magazine also called as comic book or simply a comic, is simply a publication of comic
arts in the form of sequential panels which represent individual scenes. The panels usually
contain dialog or narrative in the form of word balloons, quite unique to the comic art form. The
Comic book contains everyday language, slang and idioms combining colour and complex
interplay between image and text to deliver or serve therapeutic, explanatory and commercial
purpose in American Culture. (Meskin, 2007) Comic books do hold some of their origins in
1700s Japan and 1830s Europe, but were majorly popularised in United States during the 1930s.
Most of the comic books in the United States were derived from the humorous comic strips
which used to be printed on the newspaper. When the comic strips begin to garner quite a bit of
popularity among the readers, the strips were combined and made in books, thus the comic books
came into the existence in United States. Compilation of comic strips of humorous tone was the
trend for some time, till the comic books featuring non-humorous tone also began to appear. The
comic book space in United States had a Platinum Age, which had pulp magazines featuring
heroic stories and are considered predecessors to the Super Hero comics. Platinum Age is
followed by the Golden Age, which started featuring Super Heroes. Golden Age was followed by
the Silver Age of comics in States. The Silver age (Spider Man or Fantastic Four) saw the rise of
Super Heroes whose origins could be explained through science, where as the comic books of
Golden Age commonly relied on magic or mysticism to explain the origin of the Super Heroes.
It’s also noted that the readers of the silver era were more scientifically inclined than the
previous generations. Silver Age was followed by the Bronze Age which is highlighted by
publication of Stan Lee’s ‘The Amazing Spider-Man’. (Comic Book). Traditionally comic books
Comic reading habits among the youth vis-a-vis to Japanese Manga 2
usually reflect the mood and the thought process of the generation reading it. The comic books
help in identifying the socio-political issues the youth faces. Comic books are much more than
the sequence of text and images, given its complex cultural and commercial role. (Meskin, 2007)
Manga, on the other hand are created in Japan, which follows the art form developed in Japan
during the late 19th century. Manga in Japanese means “flowing words” or “undisciplined
words”. (B., 2003) When discussing about the history of Manga or about how it became what it
is today; most of the historians find themselves speaking for one of the two broad and
complementary historical processes they believe, played a major role in developing Manga.
Some historians attribute the role of cultural and historical events following the World War 2 and
some attribute the role of pre-War, Meiji and pre-Meiji Japanese culture and art. The Manga as
we see today is the result of the Occupation (1945-1952) and post-Occupation years (1952-early
1960s). The previously militaristic and ultranationalist Japan suffered a lot in WWII and was
going through a major rebuilding process on political and economic front. Two Mangas which
were at the fore front, to influence the modern manga was Osamu Tezuka’s Mighty Boy (Astro
Boy) and Machiko Hasegawa’s Sazae-san. (Comic Book)
Unlike Comics which doesn’t have gender specific comics (most of the comics are male centric),
Manga on the other hand has, gender specific publications called Shojo (little girl/woman)
Manga and Shonen (for boys up to 18 years), seinen and seijin (for adults having action-
adventure and explicit sexuality as the theme). (B., 2003)
Shojo: In 1969, a group of women manga artists later called the Year 24 Group (also known as
Magnificent 24s) made their shōjo manga debut (year 24 comes from the Japanese name for
1949, when many of these artists were born). (Gravett, 2004) They marked the first major entry
Comic reading habits among the youth vis-a-vis to Japanese Manga 3
of women artists into manga. Thereafter, shōjo manga was drawn primarily by women artists for
an audience of girls and young women. (Thorn, 2001) In 1971, Ikeda began her immensely
popular shōjo manga Berusaiyu no Bara (The Rose of Versailles), a story of Oscar François de
Jarjayes, a cross-dressing woman who was a Captain in Marie Antoinette's Palace Guards in pre-
Revolutionary France. (Goo, 1998) Likewise, Hagio Moto's work challenged Neo-Confucianist
limits on women's roles and activities as in her 1975 They Were Eleven, a shōjo science fiction
story about a young woman cadet in a future space academy. (History of Manga)
Shonen, Seinen and Seijin: In Shonen also there is a category which only caters to kids, which
is called Kodomo manga. Shonen manga is boys usually between 12-18 and Seinen manga is for
young men between ages of 18-30. Since the end of the World War 2, boys and young men were
the earliest readers of the Manga. Shonen manga, since 1950s, focused on topics thought to
interest the archetypical boy: sci-tech subjects like robots and space travel, and heroic action-
adventure. (Schodt, 1986) (Gravett, 2004) Shōnen and seinen manga often had the plot where the
protagonist's abilities, skills and maturity are tested and challenged. The rebuilding Japan needed
the idea of self-discipline, sacrifice in the cause of duty and honourable service to the society,
community, family etc inculcated in the minds of young men.
Each Comic book has its own plot, whereas Manga volumes all follow the same plot. The
artwork is also very different in case of Manga, especially when regarding the human faces. (B.,
2003)
In 2013, the market for comics in Unites States and Canada was around $870 million at retail
according to a report released by ICv2 and Comichron. Sales of the comics went from $300
million in 2011 to $335 million in 2012; graphic novel sales increased from $390 million in 2011
Comic reading habits among the youth vis-a-vis to Japanese Manga 4
to $400 million in 2012; and combined comics and graphic novel sales grew from $690 million
in 2011 to $735 million in 2012. (Dilworth, 2014) Book format comics or graphic novels; have
grown into the largest section of the comics market. Graphic novels generated $415 million in
sales in 2013, divided between sales in the comics shop market ($170 million) and general
bookstores ($245 million). Digital comics sales, the newest and fastest growing category in the
market, are estimated to be about $90 million in the 2013. (Reid, 2014) "For book format
products, over half of all graphic novel sales ($245 million) occur in the book channel, with a
smaller share ($170 million) in the comics store channel.” (Publisher Weekly)
On the other hand, Manga sales worldwide has seen a considerable increase, they have grown
rapidly in United States, France, though in U.S., they still represent about a tenth of the amount
spent on the anime. In Japan in 2007, Manga was a 406 yen billion market and 420 yen billion
market in 2009. In Europe and Middle East the market was worth $250 million. In 2008 it was
worth $175 million in U.S. and Canada. (History of Manga)
Comic reading habits among the youth vis-a-vis to Japanese Manga 5
Both Manga and the comics represent an integral part of the child’s and the adult’s psychology
and supplement the thoughts which relate to ones cultural and value system. Manga and comics
try to tackle issue related to the society and as such they are more than just a juxtaposition of text
over sketch. Comic books can be seen as the result of the pressures by the artists and consumers
as well as by the historical forces acting on both the groups. Both are much more than
entertainments for kids, they are sophisticated and serious art form that takes inspiration and
creates cultural formulas and historical construct.
The dissertation aims to determine the reading habits among the youth and this literature review,
reviews the literature which I found over the internet.
According to a study conducted in Britain, reading of graphics novels/comics shows decline in
the readership with age, falling from at least half of those in the 6-8, 9-11 and 12-14 age bands,
to a third of 15-16s, 13% of 17-34s, and less than 10% of older groups. The proportions of
women (females aged 17+) readingfiction (77%), magazines (80%) and poetry (22%) exceeded
those of males (44%, 59% and 8% respectively). Women were also slightly more likely than men
to use reference books (72% compared to 67%). In contrast, relatively more men than women
read non-fiction books (60% compared to 52%). Reading of newspapers showed the least
variation between men (80%) and women (77%). On the whole, the changes between the habits
of children and adults showed similar patterns for males and females. So, for example, both
sexes saw big increases in readership/use of magazines, newspapers and reference books among
adults, compared to decreases in reading of poetry/rhymes and graphic novels/comics. (Limited,
2000)
Comic reading habits among the youth vis-a-vis to Japanese Manga 6
Readership of graphic novels/comic books is higher among males than females, particularly for
the 12-16, 17-24 and 25-34 age bands. Among these age bands a significant proportion (11%
altogether) of males are reading graphic/comic books and not fiction/storybooks.
(Limited, 2000)
On the frequency of hours/spent reading, overall around 70% of adults and 77% of children said
they read books (fiction or non-fiction) at least once a week, with most of these reading more
than once a week. On an average people read books for just under 5.5 hours a week, this
increases to 5.5 hrs a week in case of adults, standing just under 4 hours in case of children. The
average number of hours spent reading books increased with age, from just over 3 hours a week
among children aged 0-5 to around 5 hours a week in case of adults aged 25-34. Those aged 17-
24 had the greatest proportion of people not reading books at all in the average week (16% -
nearly twice that of any other age group). However, the average hours spent reading by this
group was higher than e.g. 25-34s, reflecting the fact that those 17-24s who were reading tended
to read for more time than many other age groups. 82% of the adults and 73% of children read
Comic reading habits among the youth vis-a-vis to Japanese Manga 7
books for pleasure or entertainment. For those aged under 16 the most common reason for
reading was ‘for school/study purposes’ which came ahead for entertainment purposes. On the
other hand of those aged 17-34 for entertainment purpose was the main reason for them to read
books.
The most common reason given by children for not reading was that they were busy doing some
other activities. Male children tend to state this reason more often than the girls. In case of adults
aged of between 17-34 more males stated that they couldn’t read books because they were busy
with other things (52% compared 34%). (Limited, 2000)
Thus the literature review provides the substantial data that youth prefers to read books given its
for entertainment purposes or study purposes.
Comic reading habits among the youth vis-a-vis to Japanese Manga 8
Works Cited
B., S. (2003, October 2). Manga. Retrieved from Urban Dictionary:
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=manga
Comic Book. (n.d.). Retrieved November 2014, from Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comic_book#American_comic_books
Dilworth, D. (2014). Comics & Graphic Novels Market Reached $840 Million in 2013. mediabistro.com.
Goo, T. (1998). Shojo Manga: A Unique Genre.
(2004). In Gravett.
History of Manga. (n.d.). Retrieved November 2014, from Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_manga
Limited, B. M. (2000). Reading the Situation- Book reading, buying & borrowing habits in Britain.
London: Book Marketing Limited.
Meskin, A. (2007). Defining Comics. The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism.
Reid, C. (2014, July). Comics, Graphic Novels Market Hit $870 Million in 2013. Retrieved from Publishers
Weekly: http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/comics/article/63319-comics-
graphic-novels-market-hit-870-million-in-2013.html
Schodt. (1986).
Thorn, M. (2001, July-September). Shôjo Manga—Something for the Girls. The Japan Quarterly .
