Manga is the fastest-growing sector in the entire book sector; the trade and publishing world owe almost two thirds of all comic sales to Japanese comics. It’s hard to get past the small books that are read from back to front.
What makes manga so unique and why do so many people read them? An important factor: There are dozens of target groups. The comics cover a wide range of genres, from action to drama to fantasy, horror, romance and 18+ sex stories. The style of the drawings can vary greatly, from realistic to garishly distorted and over-stylized. Mangas are often a good introduction to the world of books for first-time readers.
What makes manga accessible to a young generation that grows up with an exposed streaming and series culture is the often long-term, serial narrative style. Many manga are published over a longer period of time and allow complex and deep stories to be told. Character development and storylines can continue across many volumes. To put it simply, manga are the serial novels of our time.
There is also an intense fan culture. The cosplay conventions that bring thousands of young people together – mostly with self-made costumes of their heroines and heroes – are just one example of this. In the wake of manga enthusiasm, interest in J-Pop and K-Pop, anime streaming services, Nippon fan sites and Japan stores also emerged. There is intensive discussion about the manga material in forums and groups online.
While manga themselves are now an important pop culture factor and are cited as an influence in many other art forms (especially in video games, and now often in the cinema), comic books also offer unfiltered access to Japanese culture, its social structure, which often seems complicated to Europeans and history.
At the same time, through their diverse themes and astonishing aesthetic openness, manga generally succeeds in expressing emotions that would seem intellectually cumbersome in other literary forms. The publishing world may be happy about this, because in the long term manga are also the colorful starter for the fiction menu in later adulthood. The high sensitivity to the heightened emotions in manga (and anime), one could argue, also reflects a culture in which feelings seem more meaningful than before and in which more consideration is given to the psychological needs of individuals.
The reasons for the manga cult are diverse and quite easily explainable. In any case, it is a blessing for the comics industry, which has had difficult years since the Corona period and now with rising inflation and the paper crisis exacerbated by the Ukraine war and is also currently struggling. This is also why manga and especially their sometimes fanatical admirers are now celebrated.
On September 16, 2023, Manga Day Manga paperbacks produced especially for the event will be given away in over 1,200 bookstores in German comic shops and libraries. Circulation: over 800,000 copies! The main aim is to retain fans and attract newcomers.
ROLLING STONE is giving away a manga set for Manga Day. If you want to win, all you have to do is fill out the form and enter “Manga Day” as the solution. The deadline for participation is September 30th.