Beginner's guide to Japanese comics

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I would like any information or opinion, no matter how apparently trivial, on the following titles:

HAMTARO
YU-GI-OH!
RANMA ½
SHONEN JUMP
GUNDAM
INU-YASHA

The reasons for his will hopefully become clear in the near future. Thanks!

― @d@ml (nordicskilla), Sunday, 7 March 2004 22:20 (twenty-two years ago)

ramna is ver y funny. its about a girl who changes into a boy every time she falls into water. her dad changes into a panda when something else happnes. it is drawn very simple but very tenderly. there is also lot of kung fu.

― :|, Sunday, 7 March 2004 22:38 (twenty-two years ago)

"What did you say to them?"

*written out* "I DIDN'T SAY ANYTHING, I'M A PANDA!"

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Sunday, 7 March 2004 22:40 (twenty-two years ago)

Shonen Jump's an anthology title -- monthly in the States, I think the Japanese original is weekly -- that runs serials of various genres. I had a subscription (to the American one) for a year when they first started, because I was having trouble finding it and was curious (oddly, it wasn't carried at my comic store). They seem to be playing things loosely, like they're not sure yet who their readership will be, and run frequent polls about what readers would like to see. I like the concept, but in the end I let the subscription lapse because I just wasn't interested in enough of the series. ("One Piece," a cartoony pirate story, was fun; "Naruto," a Young Ninjas In Training dealie, seemed like it'd make for better television, but I haven't seen any of the anime, so I don't know if that's true. "Dragonball Z" just bored the hell out of me.)

― Tep (ktepi), Sunday, 7 March 2004 22:46 (twenty-two years ago)

Are there any artists/writers of note that produce these comics?

(thanks, btw)

― @d@ml (nordicskilla), Sunday, 7 March 2004 22:48 (twenty-two years ago)

Ranma and Inu-Yasha were both created by Rumiko Takahashi, a popular (female) manga writer. I'm not sure whether she does the art or not, although the style of most of her stuff (she does lots of romantic comedy type stuff) seems like it could be.

(Am I remembering wrong about Inu-Yasha? I've never actually seen or read it, but I think it's by Takahashi. If not, someone will correct me.)

― Tep (ktepi), Sunday, 7 March 2004 22:51 (twenty-two years ago)

Yu-Gi-Oh is related to (based on? the source of?) a tv series, where kids play Magic The Gathering-style card-games (only 4real). It is the dullest show in the world.

― Andrew Farrell (afarrell), Sunday, 7 March 2004 23:21 (twenty-two years ago)

There's a few different Gundam series - Gundam Z, Mobile Suit Gundam Wing (I've never come across an original manga for this one, but the anime is very popular after being on... Cartoon Network or Adult Swim or something), some others. They're generally about large robots, 'mecha', piloted by fairly young soldiers, often in space; by extension, they're about international politics and the role of humankind in war. I've no idea who invented the first Gundam series, but the MSGW anime is owned by Sunrise/Bandai.

The name 'shounen jump' probably refers to the genre of 'shounen manga', manga 'for boys', as distinct from 'shoujo', which is 'for girls'. Girls read shounen manga, but I don't know if boys read shoujo: shounen is the more popular.

― cis (cis), Sunday, 7 March 2004 23:35 (twenty-two years ago)

Okay let me throw my 2c in. Inu-yasha is an awesome series, though I have only seen the animation of it. It is very interesting and I have heard rave reviews about the comic book too. I've never heard of 'shoujo', it's probably boring. Shonen Jump has a lot of stuff that they give to you every order, sometimes anime series, and I think it keeps you up-to-date with the latest anime.

Naruto, that is one of the freakin best anime's in cartoon form. The comic book is pretty good, but don't worry about it. Just get on Kazaa lite and download! Or find a way to get them with subtitles from Japan. It's more interesting in Japanese.

― aNatheMa (aNatheMa), Sunday, 7 March 2004 23:58 (twenty-two years ago)

so...a general question - people like this stuff then? It's "good"?

― @d@ml (nordicskilla), Monday, 8 March 2004 00:08 (twenty-two years ago)

Why does that matter? I'm watching Naruto now because I LIKE IT. Not to watch what other people like.

― aNatheMa (aNatheMa), Monday, 8 March 2004 00:17 (twenty-two years ago)

I'm just curious as to what the consensus might be.

― @d@ml (nordicskilla), Monday, 8 March 2004 00:18 (twenty-two years ago)

I'm not trying to catch anyone out, just inserting a culture barometer into the armpit of ILE.

― @d@ml (nordicskilla), Monday, 8 March 2004 00:18 (twenty-two years ago)

Inuyasha is great; I know this because my wife (who is vehemently opposed to most animated shows/movies) has started to get into it.

― Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Monday, 8 March 2004 00:19 (twenty-two years ago)

but lots of funny people on online comic bbs diss Inu-yasha, haven't seen it but I was betting they are right. Google image their main character made me think of sure shot Urusei Yatsura.

― Sébastien Chikara (Sébastien Chikara), Monday, 8 March 2004 00:21 (twenty-two years ago)

So how do the animated versions of these things compare to the comics and vice versa? Which comes first?

― @d@ml (nordicskilla), Monday, 8 March 2004 00:21 (twenty-two years ago)

ranma the film is just as funny as ranma the comic.

― :|, Monday, 8 March 2004 00:27 (twenty-two years ago)

Manga usually precede anime.

Also, big creator-names such as Masamune Shirow ("Ghost in the Shell") and Kazuo Koike ("Lone Wolf & Cub," "Crying Freeman").

― Leee the Lee (Leee), Monday, 8 March 2004 00:28 (twenty-two years ago)

Lone Wolf and Cub is one of my five favourite comic books ever! The only Japanese thing that might be as great, for me, would be Osuma Tezuka's Phoenix.

― Martin Skidmore (Martin Skidmore), Monday, 8 March 2004 00:30 (twenty-two years ago)

And and and what's his face (NO FACE HAHA) who did Yeah, Miyazaki, actually did a few manga, most notably "Nausicaa," which has many of hte same themes that "Princess Mononoke" has but done much thoroughly.

As for Shirow, a word of warning: his imagination is rampant, he'll invent a world in such minute detail that he feels compelled to include footnotes and annotations to explain how a 21st century computer network works in his reality.

I've only read Lone Wolf and Cub, which is all sorts of awesome, and he's sort of Kurosawa-ish, the lone tough samurai for example. Lots of blood and swordplay. Fairly intricate fight choreography as well, which seems to be a distinctive staple uncommon to American comics.

xp -- invoking LW&C is like saying "Candyman" three times! Martin materializes! ;p

― Leee the Lee (Leee), Monday, 8 March 2004 00:34 (twenty-two years ago)

Leee, I must speak to you about this.

― @d@ml (nordicskilla), Monday, 8 March 2004 00:35 (twenty-two years ago)

Sébastien Chikara how dare you say that about Inuyasha! Of course his MC Hammer pants take getting used to, but that doesn't mean he is any less awesome! Check yourself.

xpost

― aNatheMa (aNatheMa), Monday, 8 March 2004 00:36 (twenty-two years ago)

Hey Martin, have you heard about Kogaratsu? It like lone wolf done european style
http://www.martialart.tmfweb.nl/images/kogaratsu_wallpaper1_jpg.jpg

aNatheMa I never heard anything concrete about that anime but by default I have decided to laugh at it! ha-haw!

― Sébastien Chikara (Sébastien Chikara), Monday, 8 March 2004 00:41 (twenty-two years ago)

bump

― @d@ml (nordicskilla), Tuesday, 9 March 2004 05:46 (twenty-two years ago)

http://www.biwako.ne.jp/~susan908/C1.jpg

― Mary (Mary), Tuesday, 9 March 2004 10:20 (twenty-two years ago)

I've become quite bored with manga. Once you get over the cultural differences, you realize most manga is pretty formulaic, and the stories also go on ad nauseam. Remember, comics are a big, business in Japan, much bigger than in USA or Europe, and most of the titles in English are exactly the commercial ones. A good comparison would be American TV series: there is some good stuff available (Nausicaä, Domu, titles by Yukito Kishiro, Ozamu Tezuka etc.), but most of what's released is pretty mediocre. The same applies to anime, basically. I've seen maybe ten anime flicks which are actually great, most of them are as clichéd as the comics.

― Tuomas (Tuomas), Tuesday, 9 March 2004 11:19 (twenty-two years ago)

HAMTARO - cute, I guess
YU-GI-OH! - addictive, but the cartoon goes on forever, and means I have to wake up in time every Sunday
RANMA ½ - Rumiko Takahashi is great, boy becomes a girl when he gets wet! haha!
SHONEN JUMP - ?
GUNDAM - Totally confusing! Cool robots!
INU-YASHA - I like this.

― jel -- (jel), Tuesday, 9 March 2004 17:49 (twenty-two years ago)

Anyway, the best Manga is URUSEI YATSURA also by Rumiko Takahashi (and yeah she draws and writes it). I kinda like Gunsmith Cats too.

― jel -- (jel), Tuesday, 9 March 2004 18:32 (twenty-two years ago)

i'm curious as to why only these titles are being asked about when other things are a) more well known or b) better.

andy

― koogs (koogs), Tuesday, 9 March 2004 20:03 (twenty-two years ago)

how about AKIRA and GHOST IN THE SHELL??

i've always wanted to read those. i'm not really an anime fan but i'm into sci-fi. i'm also not really a big fan of graphic novels, but i can and will read them if they're good.

so are they any good? will i get anything out of reading seven books that i wouldn't get from simply watching the films?

― vahid (vahid), Tuesday, 9 March 2004 20:12 (twenty-two years ago)

i'm curious as to why only these titles are being asked about when other things are a) more well known or b) better.
andy

there IS a good reason, honest. Ask me next week.

― @d@ml (nordicskilla), Tuesday, 9 March 2004 21:28 (twenty-two years ago)

GitS, anime > manga by a metric tonne. What I said upthread: " his imagination is rampant, he'll invent a world in such minute detail that he feels compelled to include footnotes and annotations to explain how a 21st century computer network works in his reality." One randomly chosen annotation: "The activity of cells creates order, forming organisms, human bodies, and groups of individuals. Just as at each level, every one of these things has its own phase -- if that's the right word -- the phrase about the "world turning" refers to the overall speed of people's activities." And so forth.

However, from what I can remember about the manga, the Gavel Republic plotline actually becomes relevant, somewhat.

Akira: the manga makes way more sense than the anime, which left out entire books (slight exaggeration) and characters. My biggest complaint was knowing whom to root for, otherwise it's a bangup and crazy comic.

― Leee the Lee (Leee), Wednesday, 10 March 2004 01:10 (twenty-two years ago)

That's IT! Fight to the death! I get Tetsuisaiga and you get...well whatever you want. *They fight* *WIND SCAR!* *100 demons as well as Sébastien Chikara fall over, dead*.

NOOO!! I killed him...Forgive me. *blesses his corpse*

― aNatheMa (aNatheMa), Friday, 12 March 2004 07:39 (twenty-one years ago)

two weeks pass...

Hey Martin, about "Phoenix" -- how many volumes have been translated?

― Vitamin Leee (Leee), Thursday, 1 April 2004 23:17 (twenty-one years ago)

I was under the impression that it was a sinle one time comic and not a series. So only one volume, but I may be wrong.

― A Nairn (moretap), Thursday, 1 April 2004 23:35 (twenty-one years ago)

Quite the opposite -- 12 volumes, 3000+ pages, if you frequented I Love Comics you'd know this. ;p

Is it just the first two volumes?

― Vitamin Leee (Leee), Thursday, 1 April 2004 23:41 (twenty-one years ago)

fresher kogaratsu picture
http://www.hedonist-materialism.com/images/kogaratsu.jpg

Three volumes of Phoenix have been translated so far. I'm not sure that there will be 12 volumes - there are 12 distinct stories, but book 3 collected two of them, so I'm not sure how many volumes we will get. The third may be the best yet - a lot of it is incredibly funny.

― Martin Skidmore (Martin Skidmore), Friday, 2 April 2004 16:35 (twenty-one years ago)

So - the reason I started this is that I applied for a job proofreading the above titles. But now the position is "on hold". Oh well. :(

― @d@ml (nordicskilla), Friday, 2 April 2004 16:42 (twenty-one years ago)

Yeah, I guess I only have the first volume then, but I couldn't tell that it was going to continue into more. I'll have to look for them because I really like it.

― A Nairn (moretap), Friday, 2 April 2004 17:47 (twenty-one years ago)

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