Anime vs Manga

What is the difference? According to Wikipedia, anime is animation either hand drawn or computer assisted. Anime was an art form started in Japan about 1917. Modern Manga is often considered an offshoot of anime evolving into a new comic format. However the earliest manga was a picture book published in the 1700's. Modern manga and anime often feature big wide eyes and have a cartoon art form. They both exploded in popularity after the war. Anime and manga are not genres. They have many genres within the art form.

Manga means comics in Japanese. Manga is mainly a paper culture although there is an increasing amount of manga online. Manga is sometimes scanned and put online by fans. Leading companies like Tokyopop and Viz have their own online manga. Tokyopop has an online player that works fairly well so that that the reader can read online. It looks just like a book with a colored cover, black and white inside, and the pages turn. Online manga is usually not for young children.

Anime is television, films, video, internet, etc. Anime is colorful. Traditional manga is black and white. but this is changing as manga goes global. Often both feature the warrior traditions of the Japanese culture but defined in a pop culture or futuristic setting. Japanese societial mores regarding nudity, gender roles, violence, and even roles of students in schools are often depicted. These roles are much different in the United States. There are anime for children. Adult anime is often shown in the middle of the night on American television. Although the art form is cartoon, the content is not for young children.

There has been a huge globalization of manga and anime all over the world. Pokeman was originally a video game, but the brand is marketed in toys, books, and videos all over the world. Anime movies have won many global awards. In the last few years United States bookstores have developed increasingly large manga sections. Many elementary school age students have favorite manga authors or series.