Japan information Do you like Japanese comics and animation?? What animation do you like？ Japan is the birthplace of manga comics. The manga and animation industry in Japan is worth nearly $6 billion. Let’s take a quick look at its history. Small caricature cartoons were already popular in Japan as far back as the Meiji era (1868-1912), but the rise of manga really began after World War II as longer plotlines were developed, bringing the concept of manga closer to the way we view it today. One of the biggest names in this movement was Osamu Tezuka. He is best known as the writer of “Kimba the White Lion” (1950), “Astro Boy” (1952), and “Black Jack” (1973) among others. Tezuka had a masterful command of storyline and used pioneering techniques to illustrate his trademark theme of “life” in his works. He became known as the “God” or “Father” of manga. During his lifetime Tezuka was the inspiration for many talented comic book writers. One of these followers was Fujiko Fujio who earned his place in manga history with his work “Doraemon”. The Doraemon comic, which was first released in December 1969, developed into a TV animation series which ended up being broadcast in more than thirty countries around the world. The Doraemon anime set the stage for manga to move from the page onto the small screen. Doraemon was followed by “Dragon Ball” (manga, 1984; TV anime series, 1986), created by Akira Toriyama. Dragon Ball is one of the highest selling manga series, selling more than 230 million copies worldwide. Dragon Ball had a huge impact on the industry and was largely responsible for the golden age of manga in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s when manga sales were at their highest. Eiichiro Oda, author of “One Piece”, says that Dragon Ball was his biggest influence. One Piece is now the best-selling manga in history with over 345 million copies sold worldwide. Another animated series which took off was “Pokemon” (1996), which actually began life as a video game, only later becoming a manga and animated series. Pokemon eventually moved to the big screen with a series of movies (16 in total as of 2013). When talking about famous Japanese manga and anime, one name that can’t be overlooked is that of Studio Ghibli. Ghibli has attracted worldwide acclaim for their animated movies, including an Oscar for Best Animated Feature for the movie “Spirited Away” in 2002. Nowadays, manga is so much more than just printed comics. There are even costume contests all around the world for fans who like to dress as their favorite characters, especially in France and America where anime and manga culture has really taken root. Overall, the manga and anime market in Europe and the Middle East is said to be worth $250 million and in the US and Canada $175 million.
Posted on: Sun, 26 Oct 2014 13:35:11 +0000
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