Does anyone here read Japanese Manga?

[narfstar]

When I started reading comics the stories were 18-20 pages long. The character continued but not the story most of the time. Most current comic stories are 132 pages long. The audience has become very art centric and many of those stories may be drawn out and overdrawn. Manga usually has far to many pictures for story. I am not saying that I have not enjoyed enjoyed some manga. But when the anime of the manga is too long and gets boring, then I know the manga must be. Love Hina is a prime example. I enjoy Case Closed where the stories are interesting and conclude.

[Drahken]

While it is indeed true that long animes usually have long mangas & vice-versa, it's not always true.
With most series, the manga & anime will parallel each other, being almost word-for-word the same (for the most part, although you'll often find that the anime has some filler thrown in, or that parts of the manga were omitted). However, sometimes the manga serves as a side-story or as additional episodes. Some examples of the latter include dominion/tank police and ghost in the shell.
Conversely, you'll sometimes find a very short anime with an extremely long manga. An example of this is battle angel alita/gunnm. The only anime for it is a single movie (which has about 2~3 volumes of the manga crammed into it), whereas the manga is currently at 17 volumes/109 chapters, and still going.

If there's a certain type of manga that you like (comedy, action, mecha, sorcerors, romance, whatever), I can probably point you to some shorter series.
You can check outthe lists of series I've read/am reading here: http://www.mangaupdates.com/mylist.html?id=119474&list=read

[paw broon]

I have a pal who's a big anime fan and he's loaned me some films.  Most left me cold but I did enjoy Porco Rosso. You'll probably tell me now it's not real anime.  It looked rather European, I thought. 

[Yoc]

Barefoot Gen is one I read that truly shocked and moved me.  A real life child survivor of Hiroshima shows us his experiences.  I highly recommend it.

[Drahken]

I have a pal who's a big anime fan and he's loaned me some films.  Most left me cold but I did enjoy Porco Rosso. You'll probably tell me now it's not real anime.  It looked rather European, I thought. 

Nah, porco rosso is indeed anime. In fact, it was made by the disney of anime, miyazaki.

[Greekcarrot]

Barefoot Gen is one I read that truly shocked and moved me.  A real life child survivor of Hiroshima shows us his experiences.  I highly recommend it.

Barefoot Gen is really awesome! Another similar great manga which unfortunately has not been released outside Japan is RAINBOW- Nisha Rokubo no Shichinin. It deals with the post war Japan and the way kids were treated at the reform schools at the time. Luckily there is an anime series based on the manga and it's pretty accurate as far as I've seen it.

[Yoc]

There was an anime movie sorta based on Barefoot Gen (but not called that IIRC) that had a super depressing ending.  Firefly was in the title, I think.  Again, powerful subject matter and film.

[Drahken]

You mean grave of the fireflies?

Most people say it was a real tear-jerker, but I just found it dull & tedious. I guess the difference comes down to whether or not you can sympathize with the characters.

[Yoc]

Yes, that was the film!  I thought it very well done but you are right.  If you don't connect with the characters I could see it being called dull.

[vaillant]

Not if I can help it!  
I am more of a classic American comic book buy.
There is way to much already here on DCM for me to read!
Plus, no jingle to put to yet ANOTHER comic to buy.

Though, way back when I was young I do have a vague memory about Astro Boy, sometime in the mid sixities. I was about seven or eight year old.

B.

@bminor: I am firmly convinced there is no substantial differences when we are speaking of comics which have made history, of classics or generally acknowledged productions which breathe universal values.
If I was reasoning like you, I would snob golden age and read only italian wartime or other periods' comics. Which would be an enormous disregard for the greatness of any national or cultural native production.

Luckily I have been able to read almost all Marvel's silver age, but you americans have been lucky enough to have Atom in his very first animated series aired in 1963 (in fact, Tezuka produced it with high care for the american audience). Only a little more than a hundred of episode have been aired, however, since the original B/W series is of 193 episodes.

@Yoc: Definitely, Barefoot Gen is a must read. I still have to locate a copy of the italian edition but sooner or later I will do.
I am not a big fan of Miyazaki, although I appreciated quite a lot My neighbor Totoro.
Right now, I’m totally into those darn "classic american comic books", an unknown territory as much as mangas of the same time for us italians. 

[jfglade]

 I've read manga and I think some of it is very good, especially "Barefoot Gen" and "The Grave of the Fireflies" but I found most of it either so simplistic (e.g. the Naruto material)  or so utterly foreign ("One Piece") that I can't get worked up about it. Most of it seems like nothing other than attempts to produce material which will be used for Japanese made-for-television cartoon and I really don't like made-for-television cartoons.

[vaillant]

but I found most of it either so simplistic (e.g. the Naruto material)  or so utterly foreign ("One Piece") that I can't get worked up about it. Most of it seems like nothing other than attempts to produce material which will be used for Japanese made-for-television cartoon and I really don't like made-for-television cartoons.

That’s just because most of the more significant material (especially that preceeding the television boom, and the serialization of animated versions, TV anime) has never been properly published neither in the US or in Europe.
I assure you holding in hand a 1950s original Atom suplement makes the same effect as holding an american golden age book or an italian, or french equivalent of the same era. Only, with Japan they got to a modern conception slightly after the war, so it’s a little shifted, but a manga from the 1950s has the feeling of a 1940s western publication (and the same historical weight). Gotta love 'em, like my Lou Fine which I just discovered!

[jfglade]

Barefoot Gen is one I read that truly shocked and moved me.  A real life child survivor of Hiroshima shows us his experiences.  I highly recommend it.

 "Barefoot Gen" has to be the pick of the Japanese litter, Yoc. It has been translated and published in scores of countries and there are version in something like nineteen languages. It's a milestone book, in the same way as "Maus." Significantly neither is like the bulk of comics/manga from their respective nations.

[Yoc]

So I gather Jon.
It's annoying my library system only had the first four volumes.  It was certainly hard to read at times due to the subject and gore but I'd still recommend it to everyone.  I found The Grave of the Fireflies to be even more depressing that Barefoot with the ending about as sad as could be imagined.  I guess that was the point though.  Having seen fairly recent documentaries on Hiroshima it doesn't feel like Barefoot or Grave were exaggerating on anything.

[watson387]

Grave of the Fireflies is excellent. The Ghibli-made movie is great too if anyone is interested. It's animated, but very far from a cartoon. EDIT: Sorry. I see now that you WERE talking about the anime and not the live action film.

On another note, I really like Junji Ito's (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Junji_Ito) horror mangas.  That guy writes some really freaky, weird stuff. Uzumaki is a good place to start if interested.