Manga threatens US superheroes
2005-01-31 10:57
Washington - The Incredible Hulk and Spider-Man are confronting new rivals in the US comic book world, as young Americans are devouring Japan's "manga" comics depicting wandering samurais and cheeky Tokyo schoolchildren.
Linda Pfeiffer, 15, never got hooked on her brother's comic books, which glorify muscular heroes complete with superpowers. Instead, she is absorbed by Japanese comic book characters to whom she can relate, "even if they live far away from here".
Unlike US comics, "mangas don't always have a happy ending," Pfeiffer added as she scoured a Washington area comic book store.
Thanks to enthused American teenagers such as Pfeiffer, "manga is one of the fastest growing segment of the (American) publishing industry," said Milton Griepp, founder of ICv2, a research organisation on the animation industry.
Manga, literally "random sketches" is the term for the genre of narrative comic strips, often series, read by millions of Japanese.
Thousands of new titles on themes ranging from samurai, golf, yakuza gangsters, fantasy superheroes, sex and social satire are published each year.
Sales soared in the US
In the United States, sales soared to between $110m and $140m (between about R657m and R836) in 2004 from $60m (about R358m) in 2002, Griepp said.
Book stores have expanded their comics sections to accommodate the growing demand.
"Japanese pop culture has a lot of exposure in the US, on TV with anime, with video games and now mangas," he said.
The best-selling manga in 2004 was Rurouni Kenshin, which depicts the religious and war rituals of 19th century samurais.
The mangas follow the popularity in the United States of the cartoons Pokemon, Dragon Ball and Yu-Gi-Oh.
The success of mangas is surprising since they mainly refer to Japanese culture and are created for Japanese readers.
American girls have helped make mangas successful in this country, representing between 50 to 60 percent of the readership, Griepp said.
Comics for girls
They are avid readers of "shojos" - mangas mainly created for girls. These comics mix realistic stories about school, family, friendship and love, with fantasy.
One of the most popular shojo series, called Fruits Basket, tells the story of Tohru Honda, an orphaned student adopted by a family hit by a curse.
"Female readers in the United States have strongly demonstrated that manga is now a medium to be enjoyed by both sexes," said Liza Coppola, vice president of sales at Viz, one of two big manga publishers in the United States.
Viz's rival TokyoPop released last year a manga co-created by rock singer Courtney Love, the widow of Nirvana singer Kurt Cobain. Princess Ai is the story of a girl who becomes a music star and escapes assassins.
"I have always loved the Japanese culture and the people," Love said. "Princess Ai is a great character because she feels like my alter ego, but in a fantasy setting."
"Japanese art, not traditional but contemporary art... are doing quite well and are accepted in the US," Japan's ambassador to the United States, Ryozo Kato, said recently.
"This is a good thing because, in the end, I believe that the strength of the US-Japan relationship comes down to people-to-people communication and mutual respect," he said.