Manga

:This article is about the Japanese medium. For other uses see Manga (disambiguation)

Manga outside Japan

Manga has been translated into many different languages in different countries including Korea, China, France, Germany, Italy, and many more. In the USA, manga is still a rather small industry, especially when compared to the inroads that Japanese animation has made in the USA. An example of a manga publisher in the United States is VIZ Media, the American affiliate of publishers Shogakukan (??? Sh?gakukan) and Shueisha (??? Sh?eisha). They have many popular titles such as Neon Genesis Evangelion, Dragon Ball Z, Tenchi Muy?!, Rurouni Kenshin, YuYu Hakusho, (Y?y? Hakusho), Yu-Gi-Oh! (Y?gi?) and the various works of Rumiko Takahashi. The UK has fewer manga publishers than the US.

Related Topics:
Japanese animation - United States - VIZ Media - Shogakukan - Shueisha - Neon Genesis Evangelion - Dragon Ball Z - Tenchi Muy?! - Rurouni Kenshin - YuYu Hakusho - Yu-Gi-Oh! - Rumiko Takahashi

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Since Japanese is usually written right-to-left in works of fiction, manga is drawn and published this way in Japan. When various titles were first translated to other languages, the artwork and layouts were flipped and reversed in a process known as "flopping", so that the book may be read from left-to-right. However, various creators (such as Akira Toriyama) did not approve of their work being modified this way, and requested that foreign versions retain the right-to-left format of the originals. Soon, due to both fan demand and the requests of creators, more publishers began offering the option of right-to-left formatting, which has now become commonplace in North America. Left-to-right formatting has gone from the rule to the exception.

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Translated manga often includes cultural notes for details of Japanese culture that may not be familiar to foreign audiences.

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Another company, TOKYOPOP, is producing manga widely in the United States, with the right-to-left format as a highly publicized point. They are widely credited with starting the current boom in manga sales, particularly amongst teenage girls. Some critics have complained that their aggressive publishing schedule emphasizes quantity over quality, and might be responsible for translations which many feel to be of sub-optimal quality. Many also frown upon the company for their frequent localization changes, including additions such as American slang, excessive swearing that is not to be found in the Japanese originals of the same titles, and joke rewrites, among others. However, even their critics tend to admit that their contributions to the success of manga in America have been considerable.

Related Topics:
TOKYOPOP - United States

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France is noted for having a particularly strong and diverse manga market. Many works that are published in France fall into genres that aren't well represented outside of Japan, such as adult oriented drama, or experimental and avant garde works. Authors such as Jiro Taniguchi who are relatively unknown in other western countries have received much acclaim in France. Part of the reason for the sheer popularity and diversity of manga in this country is due to it having a well established and respected comics market of its own (see Franco-Belgian comics).

Related Topics:
France - Jiro Taniguchi - Franco-Belgian comics

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The company Chuang Yi publishes manga in English and Chinese in Singapore; some of Chuang Yi's English-language titles are imported to Australia and New Zealand.

Related Topics:
Chuang Yi - Chinese - Singapore - Australia - New Zealand

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In Indonesia, manga has quickly become one of fastest growing consumer industries, and Indonesia has become one of the biggest manga markets outside of Japan. Manga in Indonesia is published by Elex Media Komputindo, Garuda publishing, Gramedia, and many other companies. Manga has greatly influenced Indonesia's original comic industry.

Related Topics:
Indonesia - Elex Media Komputindo - Gramedia

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Another popular form of manga distribution outside of Japan is through the Internet as (mostly illegal) scanlations, also known as scanslations. Typically, a small group of people scan the original version of a series with no current license in the language which they wish to translate it to, translate it, and freely distribute; usually through the use of IRC or BitTorrent. Most scanslation groups request that downloaders cease distribution and purchase official copies in the event that their projects become licensed, though it is a common concern that readers will continue to use these unauthorized copies. Many readers prefer scanslations due to the frequent changes found in official translations, though scanslations are more likely to have some unintentional mistakes due to the varying degrees of skill employed by the unpaid translators. Some scanslators do make edits, though it is rare, especially compared to the official manga translation industry.

Related Topics:
Scanlations - IRC - BitTorrent - Scanslation groups

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In Thailand before 1992-1995 almost all available manga was fast, unlicensed, poor quality bootlegs. More recently, licensed translations have begun to appear, but are still inexpensive compared to other countries. Thailand's manga publishers include Vibunkij, Siam Inter Comics, Nation Edutainment, and Bongkouh.

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Manga has proved so popular that it has led to other companies such as Antarctic Press, Oni Press, Seven Seas Entertainment, TOKYOPOP and even Archie Comics to release their own manga-inspired works that apply the same artist stylings and story pacing commonly seen in Japanese manga. The first of these such works came in 1985 when Ben Dunn, founder of Antarctic Press, released Mangazine and Ninja High School.

Related Topics:
Antarctic Press - Oni Press - Seven Seas Entertainment - TOKYOPOP - Archie Comics - Ben Dunn - Mangazine - Ninja High School

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While Antarctic Press actively refers to its works as "American Manga", not all of these manga-inspired works are made by Americans. Many of the artists working on Seven Seas Entertainment series such as Last Hope and Amazing Agent Luna are Filipino and TOKYOPOP has hired a variety of Asian artists to work on titles such as Warcraft and Princess Ai.

Related Topics:
Antarctic Press - American Manga - Seven Seas Entertainment - Last Hope - Amazing Agent Luna - TOKYOPOP - Warcraft - Princess Ai

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