Forum - View topicPoll: Thoughts on Manhwa
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drowz
 Posts: 13 Location: On a bus between Hamilton and Ottawa |
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If this is so, then I feel that reasoning enough should give motivation to review manwha. To elaborate, many comic stores place manga and manwha in the same shelving, though do not include the American comics that have manga styles. Even pure anime/manga stores make no distinction and place manwha side-by-side with manga. Knowing that a number of readers might not know the difference, I feel they should at least have some source to know how good a certain manwha title is compared to the rest of the manga sitting next to it. Having to rely on a manwha specific site might make the claim that [xyz] is a superb drama series, though not mention it falls short when compared to a similar manga title (which they could have picked up instead). That said, time is always an issue, so perhaps what ANN can do is just include manwha when they can, picking up a series only if there is a certain following suggesting it is a good read. |
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GATSU
Posts: 15304 |
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enjin: Koreans contribute to Japanese culture when they work on anime. But anyway, speaking of the Ask John column you linked, I'd probably be more interested in ANN covering the latest Korean animated flicks. I really don't see enough reviews of those.
Going back to manwha coverage, I'd be ok with it, as long as it only excluded ANN from reviewing the cream of the crap in anime and manga. Of course that makes it a challenge if you're forced to decide how to cover Chinese comics. dark:
I just don't see a lot of Korean cover art which grabs me. And there isn't enough hype or WOM for their comics as there is for their flicks. Although Ragnarok looks more appealing than .hack.
Speaking of MegaTokyo, check out Sexy Losers strip 231. (Not work-safe.) ^_- littlegreenwolf:
Manga-style comics-with the exception of the fan-made ones like Rising Stars-are usually just a desperate attempt to cash in on the manga look without actually having the writing to back it up. (See IMAGE.) Manwha has more relevance, because it's part of the effort for Koreans to establish their own cultural imprint in their media. |
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dormcat
Encyclopedia Editor
 Posts: 9902 Location: New Taipei City, Taiwan, ROC |
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Totally agree. This is ANIME News Network. The reason manga was included because they are so tightly related and can't be simply cleaved out. And there's one more thing: why are people calling for more manhwa but not more Korean animation?  That should be more closely related to anime, right? It's all because they are not reaching US coast as much as manhwa, a result of business consideration by licensing companies. It's all about marketing and green paper. 
That's the point. I call it manipulation. 
As of today, ANN has 3100 anime titles and 1223 manga titles. The ratio in Japan is just the opposite: there are far, far more manga titles than anime. The reason is simple: it's much cheaper and easier to publish manga than producing anime. Therefore, many excellent manga titles remain unknown to US readers, simply because they are not licensed yet. Personal experience: A typical mall-based bookstore in US, say, B. Dalton, has manga shelf 10-15 feet wide. Not bad compared to couple years ago, when manga don't exist in mainstream bookstores. But a typical manga rental in Taiwan has enough manga to fill up EVERY SINGLE SHELF in a typical B. Dalton. I wonder how does it look in a typical Akihabara bookstore (really wanna pay a visit). I enjoy manhwa titles too, but until the day we finish indexing all good manga (read: never) I don't think we have enough time to spend on manhwa. I'd like to see ANN spending more resource on increasing manga titles rather than on US-licensed manhwa titles, unless ANN wants to become a website focusing on North American licensing information -- something I don't want to see it happen. After all, this is an Encyclopedia, not a 'Licensing Information Database.' |
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littlegreenwolf
 Posts: 4796 Location: Seattle, WA |
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That may be true from a business standpoint, but there are artist out there inspired by manga that are hoping to get published. With the industry's "greedy" intrest in cashing in on the manga style, there is always a chance that an artist with something actually good might get published. I see no difference between the Korean artist and the American artist inspired by the genre. The Koreans just have it easier. |
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Loren Leah
Posts: 45 Location: USA |
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.....o_o "Manhwa" was misspelled in every single one of those polls. I'm all for including coverage for it as long as everyone can remember it's not man"wha".
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CCSYueh
 Posts: 2707 Location: San Diego, CA |
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While I can usually tell the look of manhwa vs manga, I don't see the major dif. I've read empty manga & empty manhwa(both usually get dropped from my reading list within a couple issues). Right now my fav title seems to be Rebirth-Korean.
As an older reader(44), it took me a bit to get used to the authentic manga format, but now I start at ther cover & go from there & frankly don't particularly notice if I'm reading right-to-left or left-to-right & that's my usual clue I'm reading Korean vs Japanese material. I'm looking for a good story & there are some very good Korean titles out there. Clamp & Satoru Akahori are the only authors I really track, I have no idea who writes what I read until I've read a couple volumes & thus actually care who's who. I know people who are into the art of comics, etc., but I've always cared more about the story. The biggest dif I see between manga & manhwa is the Korean stuff often has heavier lines & we're seeing more fighting titles (percentage-wise), but that could just be the American licensing trend. One of the things I enjoy in the Korean titles I'm reading is the humor doesn't dwell on fan service. Tomie was interesting, but I really preferred Island for the horror element. As much as I enjoy Vampire Game, I really loved Demon Diary. It seems like ANN is already running news of manhwa licensing. Including a manwha box/dropdown couldn't drain the resources all that much. |
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Jadress
 Posts: 807 Location: Seattle. It purdy and nerdy! |
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Either way sounds good to me. Personally, I have not read many manhwa, but it does sound like a number of them lack story telling qualities (the one series I tried getting into, Demon Diary, proved this, but damn is it pretty). But either way, I'd still like to know about manhwa since it's available and see what ones are good. If you feel it's not right to compare manhwa to manga, all-manhwa specials are good too. I trust your judgement! ^^ |
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CCSYueh
Posts: 2707 Location: San Diego, CA |
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I loved Demon Diary & so did all my daughter's little girlfriends who borrowed it from me. Eclipse is pretty & that priesboy was so stupid.
The problem is probably the number of fighting titles--they aren't known for their depth(DBZ, anyone), but their action. King of Hell is saved from that using the twist that the fighter is dead & serving as a grim reaper(& getting no respect. In the first few pages of Vol 1, he's flipped off twice by the dying man he's sent to collect) Frankly, I don't know what keeps me coming back for more with some of the manhwa I read, but I've dropped far more manga titles than manhwa titles from my reading. Maybe I only buy the titles I know I'll like, but that should also apply to manga, yet I have abandond manga titles while I can't think of any manwha I've stopped buying. I don't know what keeps me buying Now, but there's no way I'd drop it. Same with Dragon Hunters & Chronicles of the Cursed Sword--I dropped Rave Master when spoiler[Shuda fell to his death & had to play catch-up when he turned up again, ]but I've never considered dropping those 2. There's something engrossing about most of the manhwa I read & I read for characters(I'll put up with a weak plot for good characters) or story/plot, not the art. Eternity is funny, as is Couple. [edit: spoiler tags added -L] |
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lianncoop
Past ANN Contributor
 Posts: 1705 Location: Indiana |
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Well, considering there are way more manga than manga, it makes sense that you would've probably dropped more manga just because you have more opportunity to sample a larger amount. |
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CCSYueh
Posts: 2707 Location: San Diego, CA |
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But I think it is the fact there is so much manga out there, we see a lot of average titles-fluff that is pretty similar to everything else, thus no big deal reading that or a similar title.
Dropping more manga titles than manwha titles has nothing to do with the number available of each type. I read for story. I don't bother with straight martial arts titles usually which probably limits the number of manwha titles I pick up, but that means the same once-over skills I use to first purchase manga is the same eye applied to manwha, yet I've dropped fewer Korean titles(can't really think of any right now. I'm holding off for a sale on a couple titles because I can't afford to buy everything printed). Perhaps as more manwha is available, we'll start seeing more average stuff, but so far what I've read has been good enough, I might actually be giving it a higher priority over manga in my purchases. Threads of Time & Eternity have already moved to the top of my reading list. Island, which I didn't think I'd like, I ended up loving & it it still a fav. It was so sad in Threads of Time contrasting the 2 sets of parents--I copied the one page & hung it in my cubicle(I have an interesting cubicle at work.) where he comments "So a mother's embrace can be warm. I have alwas known it to be cold, like the skin of a reptile." |
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