Forum - View topicWho Are We?
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truanifan678
 Posts: 73 |
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Geh. In a way I like questions like these and in another, more profound, way I hate them.
It's a highly opinionated question that really depends on the individual's perspective and really can't be specifically applied to a broad base of people. There are far too many different types of fans that really depends on their personal tastes and experiences. You have some fans who think only reading manga straight from Japan makes you a manga fan. You have some who think reading manhwa and manga makes you a manga fan. You have other who think that reading manhwa, manga, and reading OEL makes you a manga fan. Some who advocate that OEL is part of global manga and that it's all manga. What about those comics with manga inspired styles? Or how about American comics influenced by Japanese storytelling? Where do you place the comics drawn by American born artists drawing manga in Japan? What about the fans who read the novels that tie into the manga? Or fans who watch the anime that spawned the manga? Watching the anime based on the manga? The listening to the music group that inspired the characters in a manga? Owning both the Japanese and English editions of manga? Boycotting scanlations in support? Reading or working on scanlations to spread the fandom? Researching manga on an academic level? Learning Japanese just to read authentic manga? Fans who argue the authenticity of translations. Fans who do their own translations? Where do you specifically define a manga fan? It's like Blast of Tempest logic that can go around in circles with a conclusion in sight while still provoking more questions. "Who ARE manga fans?" Whoever they want to be. ...at least... that's my opinion...? ( = _ =;;) |
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Pacifista
Posts: 2 |
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I must agree a bit with truanifan678. A manga fan is anyone who likes manga. And you don't have to like ALL manga. If we get too exclusive then we can turn people off to learning more about manga and that's never good. And if someone doesn't want to call themselves a fan but still enjoy it, well that's their choice.
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Pablo_Equis
 Posts: 45 |
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I can really only comment on my own experience. I started reading American comics [DC, Marvel, etc.] when I was very young, as they were at one time available at convenience stores like 7-11. That ultimately led to going to comic book shops, which had stuff on the shelves that were a mystery to me, done in what I now understand to be the 'manga style.' I remember seeing Nausicaa and Akira manga available right next to stuff like X-Men [what I wouldn't give to go back in time and buy those books].
I didn't really pursue reading manga until I was thoroughly disillusioned by the strange and detrimentally imperishable nature of the American superhero characters and stories. They go on and on, and the people who write and draw those books change too often, making for an inconsistent experience all the way around. When I finally got around to giving manga titles a try, I was initially impressed that the writer and artist were more often than not one and the same person. Also, the fact that a manga title had a definitive beginning and ending was an attractive trait. After beginning reading Dragon Ball, One Piece, and several other titles, I never read an American superhero comic book again in a regular fashion. Now, having read countless manga titles and having over a decade of experience in absorbing foreign media of varying types, reading manga is simply something I do and will continue to do until I go blind or die. I've learned a HELL of a lot from having run into manga [as well as other graphic media from all over the world]. It began my pursuit of learning about Buddhism and philosophy in general. It has put me in communication with wonderful people from all corners of the Earth. It has broadened me in just as big a way as any classic literature or college classroom has done. It's helped me grow up, and I mean that sincerely. So who are we? It IS a hell of a question. A manga reading hobby isn't common among my peers. I'm 41, so some may look at it as reading 'cartoons' [if I had a dime for every time I had to school someone on how many of the themes involved in what I'm reading or watching is ten times more mature and intelligent than the content of most American television shows]. I have a few friends down here in southern Texas who enjoy reading manga as much as I do, but they're very few. They're few enough for me to understand that the term 'we' is a difficult one in this context. I couldn't feel more distant and different from the salaryman on the subway train reading manga on his way to work. Also, I can't really get a handle on who anyone in this forum really is, not that I have really tried. This forum and a few other virtual places are the only ones where I might find something like a community of people interested in manga, and manga seems to be the only adhesive holding together any collective or common idea about who 'we' are. I'm assuming there must be at least a few people whose manga hobby came about in a similar fashion as my own. Hope I've helped to answer the question of who 'we' might be. |
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