Western Comic Style vs. Manga

by Johnny Kilhefner

The differences in style between Japanese manga and American comics are subtle but genre defining.

Western comic books and Japanese manga may occupy the same medium but the culture and style used to tell stories differ. While the term "manga" is essentially a translation of "comic," American comics and Japanese manga are separated by differences in pacing, storytelling, themes and the use of adult themes such as sex and violence.

Cultural Differences

One of the major differences between Western comics and manga is the pacing. Manga is paced much slower than Western comics, placing less of an emphasis on action. Mangaka -- the term for manga creators -- aren't in as much of rush to hurry the story as comic book writers are, and accordingly ask for more patience from their readers. For some, the result is a more gratifying payoff when the storytelling does gain steam. Unlike Western comics, which dedicate full-page spreads to action, manga tends to dedicate full-page spreads to emotional reactions. The panel layout is also different in manga, with panels that read from right to left.

Thematic Differences

While Western comics have explored dark topics and concepts for quite some time now, the medium is still more known for its family-friendly superhero genre. Manga, however, is more comfortable exploring risqué material such as sex, violence and scatology. The reason for this freedom in exploring such concepts is cultural, as the primary religious affiliations of Japan is Shinto and Buddhism -- religions that do not equate sex with shame. This allows the Japanese to be more liberal in exploring sexuality than most Americans.

Style Differences

In Western comics, the establishing shot is centered to occupy the first scene in the comic. Manga, however, places its establishing shot at the bottom of the page. Manga also uses more of a cinematic style than Western comics, portraying characters in dramatic angles more in sync with a film than a comic book. Manga structures its scenes frame-by-frame, representing a snapshot of the action and in sync with the dialogue. Western comics are graphic novels, and as such, the stories and visuals don't necessarily sync with the dialogue and visual action.

Production Differences

Manga production in Japan is much larger than comic production in America. Manga makes up over 40 percent of all published magazines and books in Japan. Also, 40 percent of the movies produced in Japan are anime, which is the motion equivalent of manga. Where Western comics are designed more with children and teenagers in mind, manga is read by a much wider audience. As such, manga is found in journals and magazines for people of all ages.

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Dr.Vee:

I would add that, how it is produced is also quite different. Where American comics rights and characters ownership largely belong to the publishing company, manga authors gets to keep theirs, with a timed contract for full management and publishing rights for the publishers. The time span depends on each publisher but say, about 3-5 years after the series had been terminated. Typical royalty for book sales is 8-10% per printed unit.

American comics are often created in factory-like manner having different parties undertaking different tasks such as script writing, penciling, inking, coloring etc while in most cases, a single manga author does all of that, with or without the help of assistants. Manga authors have more control and freedom over their work in general.

According to my latest inquiry to Japan Society for Studies in Cartoons and Comics, 日本マンガ学界 http://www.jsscc.net/ the exact number of active professional mangaka is impossible to know, some claim to be 500, others claim to be 5000, depending on how professional is classified. What we know for sure is that there are huge number of those with 'Japanese dream' of becoming professional mangaka, with 600,000 visitors in Comic Market event (held twice a year in summer and winter), and 35,000 circles or groups selling doujin, indie or fan art comics each time.