INTERVIEW, SPECIAL

MANGA WORLD REPORT : JORDAN BY DEE JUUSAN

Manga World Report continues to Jordan! Courtesy of dee juusan, who of course won The Winner Runner-Up award in the first year with “a Pure Love”, a silent manga about her pet rabbit. She writes from the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan…

Hello~
I’m Diana, mostly known as dee, from Jordan. I’m 27 years old with an Architecture degree graduating in 2009.

I’ve been working as a manga artist since 2010 with some freelance work as a character designer and illustrator on the side.
I have several one shots and an ongoing published series; Grey is…
I’ve been blessed enough to be one of the Winner Runner in the first Silent Manga Audition and it’s the kind of “pat in the back” I needed after working for 3 years in this fresh and unknown medium to some in Jordan.

Jordan is a small country in the Middle East that’s constantly developing and changing at a very fast pace, given that it’s one of those countries with high population of young aged and spirited people. It’s most known for Petra, one of the new seven wonders of the world and the Dead Sea; Earth’s lowest Elevation on land.

As I mentioned, Manga/Comics is a fresh medium here. It has its audience and readership but it’s still mostly unknown for many people, and when known, many consider it a medium aimed at children. But things have been changed for the past 3-5 years and the Comics community is getting bigger and bigger.
Anime/Cartoons/Movies are still much known and watched than Manga/Comics but we’re getting there.

A lot of people used to buy Manga online, and an international store; Virgin Mega Store was the only place to provide some Manga titles. A store opened in 2010; 16:9 WIDE:SCREEN, and it gives a wide selection of Manga and Comics titles, and it provides a service that you can order any Manga through them and get it at the retail price without shipping charges. Also, the owner, Sami Al Nazer, is really supportive and loves to help us local talents in displaying out works and self-published books in the store.This pushed the medium greatly for the past 2 years.

The Manga/Comic community is mostly young adults of 20-30 years old, although a most people, if not everyone, watched Arabic dubbed anime, growing up without knowing the terms; Manga and Anime. Main stream shounen titles are most known, like Naruto, Bleach, Dragon Ball Z, Full Metal Alchemist, Slam Dunk, but at the same time there is a wide appreciation with the gems like Mushishi, VegaBond and others

Internet is a great thing! It allowed us to connect and learn a lot of faster and more conveniently that it was before. For the past 2 years, The Middle East Comic Con in Dubai, was a big help for us indie manga/comic creators to get together and share experiences and dreams.

And thanks for people like you in the Silent Manga Audition Committee, it’s been easier to get our works out there for the whole world to see.
I think this is one of the best contests/ideas and I see a big future for it because it’s purely universal with strong humane sweet themes.

Thank you so much for reading~

Peace be upon you all!

As the media central of Arabic speaking world, Jordan produces 75% of all Arabic content on the internet. Through dee’s article I can feel how vibrant the country must be. Thanks dee!

We will be asking more people around the world, to send in reports… Stay tuned 

source: http://www.manga-audition.com/manga-world-report-jordan-by-dee-juusan/#more-198

Manga outside of Japan

MANGA OUTSIDE OF JAPAN

 Since the early 1990s there has been a notable increase in the export of Japanesemanga to Europe, America, and countries in Asia. In places like Taiwan, Hong Kong, and South Korea, which used to be known for their pirated editions, large numbers of the most recent popular manga from Japan are published in translation through formal license agreements with large Japanese publishers. In Europe and America, the popularity of broadcasts of Japanese animation on television has greatly increased interest in manga. Shelves lined with manga featuring the stories of animation series such as Dragon Ball (by Toriyama Akira) and Yu-Gi- Oh! (by Takahashi Kazuki) are now a familiar sight in U.S. bookstores. [Source: Web-Japan, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Japan]

Anime first rose to international popularity in the 1970s, and paved the way for manga in the global market. To adapt to overseas audiences, manga images were initially flipped so that readers could read from left to right. However, nowadays it's common to see manga read from right to left as it's strange to see a right-handed protagonist become a left-handed one. While the text in speech bubbles is still read from left to right, non-Japanese readers have become accustomed to reading pages right to left. [Source: Takamasa Sakurai, Daily Yomiuri, August 17, 2012]

“In 2002, a major Japanese manga publisher established an overseas affiliate to market translated editions of Japanese manga and distribute animated manga. The company launched a monthly English-language edition of Shonen Jump in 2003. As of 2009, NARUTO, a manga serial in the Shonen Jumpmagazine, in which the main character is a ninja boy, has been republished in book form and distributed in more than 30 countries. The animated version is on the air in more than 80 countries. Japanese manga and animation have clearly expanded beyond their original group of hardcore fans to become a significant part of Western pop culture as a whole. [Source: Web-Japan, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Japan]

Manga has been popular in the United States, Germany and France for some time. It didn’t really begin to catch on in Britain until the mid-2000s. The Internet has help spread manga around the world but has also provided alternatives to spending money on manga books and magazines. When asked why they like manga and anime American university-age students say they like the art, they get a kick from the sex and violence and they find the plots and stories refreshing and different from American ones and the characters more multi-dimensional and less superficial.

Two of the most popular comic, which have been translated into English, are Akira and Lone Wolf and Cub. Manga like Doraemon, City Hunter and GTO are popular in Asia.

Many foreign movies and television dramas have been based on Japanese manga. A Battle of Wits, set in the warring epoch of ancient China, is being made into a movie by Hong Kong director Jacob Cheung. The popular South Korean film 200 pound Beautywas based on the Japanese manga Kanna-sam Daiseoko Desu! by Yumiko Suzuki. In Taiwan, more than 10 television dramas have been based on Japanese manga for girls. Including Meteor Garden.

As a sign of the extent and the talent of oversees manga fans, the Morning International Manga Competition award for best new manga artist went to a Houston-based artist who goes by the name rem for her work Kage no Matsuri (“Festival of Shadows”)

The Japanese government has developed a national plan to export manga.

http://factsanddetails.com/japan/cat20/sub135/item1862.html

Manga grows in the heart of Europe (part II)

Manga grows in the heart of Europe (part II)

Takamasa Sakurai wrote in the Daily Yomiuri: Many manga comics have been translated into French, English and Spanish. In Barcelona, I even found manga that had been translated into Catalan...Very girly manga Kimi ni Todoke (From Me to You)—which is about a girl who doesn't realize she's fallen in love—was popular in Italy and Spain... When I visited Geneva in May 2009, I went to a bookstore near Lake Leman called Tanigami, which boasted a stock of 11,000 manga translated into French. The shopkeeper told me he sold between 3,500 and 5,000 manga a month, or more than 100 copies per day. Some manga enjoy initial print runs of more than 100,000 copies.[Source: Takamasa Sakurai, Daily Yomiuri, October 12, 2012]

And what about the language? I spoke with Simona Stanzani, who has translated Japanese manga into Italian since 1992. Originally from Bologna, Stanzani translates three to four books a month. Recently, she has worked on such titles as Bleach, Soul Eater and Kuro Shitsuji (Black Butler). "I get jobs directly from Italian publishers. In Italy, I think between 80 and 100 manga are published per month. The same series are popular in Italy as in Japan," she said. [Ibid]

"I have to rack my brain to come up with the right ways to translate jokes and gags popular among Japanese high school girls into Italian," Stanzani said. "I use different expressions with similar nuances, but I try not to change phrases based on Japanese culture. Instead, I add annotations." For example, when a protagonist frequently uses the "sempai" to refer to an older fellow student, Stanzani leaves the word as is but explains its meaning and nuance the first time it is used. "There's no real equivalent to sempai in Italian," she said. [Ibid]

To help Italian readers share the same feelings as Japanese readers, Stanzani said it's important to translate Japanese culture as well. "That's why I describe my job as 'culture translation,'" she said. Asked about what techniques she uses to translate various mimetic and onomatopoeic phrases in manga, Stanzani said, "I try to change them to something that's used similarly in our language. But, most of the time, I just translate them phonetically like, 'Kyaah,' 'Waah' and 'Uooh.'"

http://factsanddetails.com/japan/cat20/sub135/item1862.html

Middle East embraces Japanese culture through manga

Middle East embraces Japanese culture through manga

Cheers to Japan: At the annual Doha International Book Fair at Qatar last year, Meitantei Conan (Case Closed) was among the popular series that was sold out

Middle Eastern girls embrace Japanese culture through manga.

EACH year, the annual Doha International Book Fair picks a country as a special featured guest. For 2012, that honour went to Japan.

At the event, which was held from Dec 12 to 22 in the Qatar capital, I produced a runway show by “kawaii” fashion brands, a panel featuring voice actors and a cosplay (short for costume play) show. The runway show and panel were the first ever held in the Middle East, while the cosplay show was the first in the region to be held at a public arena.

Right next to the event space was a booth for Kinokuniya’s Dubai store.

More than 4,200 manga and character products were on display at the fair, and more than 3,500 were sold. Among the 2,500 manga on display – all of which were translated into English – 2,300 were sold. Popular series, such as One Piece andMeitantei Conan (Case Closed) were sold out.

There is a strong demand for manga in the Middle East. According to Kinokuniya’s Dubai store, the most popular vendor at the fair, at least 500 copies of English-language manga are sold each week.

“We selected manga that sold well at an earlier Dubai comic convention,” said Kinokuniya Dubai’s Tomoshi Uramoto, who manned the booth for the entire fair. “But we didn’t realise that young Qataris already had many manga.”

Uramoto said he prepared the first 10 volumes of Naruto to target new manga fans. However, he had to shelve the first and second volumes of the series as many fans already owned them. “We should’ve increased selections for hard-core manga fans,” he said.

Meanwhile, box sets of completed series also sold well. Sets of Death Note andVampire Knight sold out on the third day of the event, he said.

Shojo manga, or girl’s manga, dominated the shelves at the Dubai fair.

“In the Muslim world, public pastimes for women are still limited. As a result, there’s strong demand for home entertainment. Manga-loving girls constantly check the Internet and are more aware of the latest manga than boys,” Uramoto said.

“Series featuring school life are particularly popular because there aren’t coed schools here, and these girls are also interested in cultures they aren’t familiar with.”

Kimi ni Todoke, an international best-selling shojo manga, is popular in the Middle East.

At the Dubai comic convention, Uramoto sold a Japanese-language manga to a young female customer because the English version was sold out. She told Uramoto: “It’s OK. I’ll study Japanese (using this manga).”

According to a Japan Foundation survey, the number of people studying Japanese around the world was 2.1 million in 1998. The number increased to 2.35 million in 2003, to three million in 2006 and to 3.65 million in 2009. However, these figures do not include self-taught Japanese speakers, many of whom learn the language through radio or TV, private tutors or textbooks. Many of my Twitter followers fall into this category.

Despite the weakened brand power of Japanese home electronics and cars, more people are eager to study the language. This must be due to the rising popularity of manga and anime, which have become the most powerful ambassadors of Japanese culture. The lifestyles and environments depicted in manga have sparked interest in modern Japanese culture among Middle Eastern women.

At the Kinokuniya Dubai store, books and magazines featuring crafts, hairstyles and nail art are popular, Uramoto said.

“Manga and anime have become a gateway for people’s interest in Japan, and play a crucial role for women, especially in the Middle East,” Uramoto added.

Uramoto said he was overwhelmed by the widespread popularity of manga and anime in Qatar.

“Since it’s hard to obtain information, people here do a lot of research in advance before travelling all the way from Qatar to visit our Dubai store,” he said. “I’d like to open booths at book fairs in other Middle Eastern countries to understand the strengths and weaknesses of Japanese manga.” – The Daily Yomiuri/Asia News Network

http://www.thestar.com.my/story.aspx?file=%2f2013%2f1%2f25%2flifeliving%2f12598460&sec=lifeliving

The supernaturally focused manga "Kekkaishi" is one of the top manga titles in Germany.

Manga grows in the heart of Europe

Editor's note: Danica Davidson is a writer whose articles have appeared on MTV.com, Publishers Weekly and the Los Angeles Times. She also writes English adaptions of Japanese graphic novels. She has recently finished her first young adult novel and is seeking a publisher. 

Anime and manga are gaining in popularity around the globe.  The realization of that first hit me when I was attending a fair at the German city of Wiesloch. There —  amidst the bratwurst and schnitzel stands, the arts and crafts and the homemade goods — were “Yu-Gi-Oh” tapes and cards.

I was lucky enough to be on an inexpensive (read: actually affordable for a writer) group trip to Germany and France, where we stayed with German host families at night and toured during the day.  I never stopped being amazed by the grandeur of the old buildings or the kindness of the locals, especially the host families, but seeing anime and manga became a regular occurrence.

Every bookstore I went into in both countries had manga sections. Anime and manga magazines were being sold like the ones you can get in America.

I flipped through “Peach Girl” at the bookstore in Wiesloch. I checked out “Bleach” at a bookshop in Heidelberg not far from Heidelberg Castle, which you can see in Naoki Urasawa’s “Monster.”  I could go into a mall, say, “anime,” and be pointed in the right direction.  I didn’t have much time for television watching, but I did see “One Piece” in German and “Naruto” in French.  And, yes, I bought myself “Yu-Gi-Oh Der Film” from the fair.

“In Europe, manga is most popular in France, then Italy and Spain,” said Hyoe Narita, president of VIZ Media Europe, which is headquartered in Paris. Annual manga sales in Japan are about $5 billion, he said, whereas American manga sales are $120 million and Europe and the Middle East combined make $250 million. This combined number given out is probably because VIZ Media Europe distributes to the Middle East as well. Japan is still the huge maker, but these numbers show that manga is moving well outside of Asia.

The popularity does vary by country, but France is by far the leader in European otaku interest, as it brings in 50% of European manga sales. Narita said it’s the same size or a bit bigger than the market in the United States.

The market for anime and manga isn’t new to Europe, either. According to Narita, it’s been going on for 40 years.

“The first huge hit animation was ‘Goldorak,’ broadcast on TV in 1978 in France, and the average rating was 75% in the younger generation category,” he said.

“Manga in Europe is expanding, exponentially,” said Yoko Tanigaki, sales manager of the California-based publishing company Digital Manga.

“Every quarter, it seems there is a new European publisher approaching us for new licenses. I constantly receive e-mails from European readers asking ‘Is (this title) going to be released? I plan to buy on Amazon USA and ship it to myself, no matter what the shipping cost is!’”

Although we don’t have all the same titles here as in Europe, and vice versa, it appears the main ones seem to sell wherever they go. Narita pointed to “One Piece,” “Naruto,” “Detective Conan,” “Fairy Tail,” “Dragon Ball” and “Ranma 1/2" as being top titles in Europe, just as they are in Japan and the U.S.

These are all labeled "shonen," or titles for boys. From my limited but fascinating experience in German and French bookstores, there were definitely a lot of shonen titles, but I noticed a lot of titles aimed for girls as well. This included a good number of girl-oriented "Boy’s Love" titles, some of which have not been licensed in the U.S.

As one might deduce from all this interest in anime and manga, anime conventions also are making themselves known in Europe.

“The biggest one is Japan Expo in Paris, with more than 200,000 visitors,” said Narita. “It is the most important convention in Europe. The others are Salon del Manga in Spain, Lucca Comics and Games in Italy, London MCM Expo in England, AnimagiC and Connichi in Germany… But even outside of these shows, there are a lot of events, conventions and festivals on Japanese pop culture and anime.”  They happen almost every week in France, he said.

Seeing “Yu-Gi-Oh” at a German fair might be small beans compared to that, but then again, seeing “Yu-Gi-Oh” at a German fair shows how immersed the medium has became in parts of Europe.

http://geekout.blogs.cnn.com/2012/01/26/manga-in-the-heart-of-europe/