MANGA: Mainstream vs Independent - Introduction

History of Manga - In A Nut Shell


right, right, I know this is long overdue, but here's the Introduction to my research(can I call this a mini-thesis?)

Manga (Japanese Comics) have been around a long, long time - in fact, it started in 16th century Japan. In this long, long time, this simple form of telling stories through black and white drawings on a piece of paper has boomed into a 14 Billion USD industry worldwide.

(Image - the Great Wave of Kanaga, one of the first Manga)

Manga started life as dynamic drawings by a rebellious artist called Hokusai. He broke conventions of the typical woodblock drawings back then. He went against the rigid styles of the ukiyo-e drawings of then and drew according to how his brush moved across the empty paper - thus creating the Manga style, Manga meant "Whimsical Pictures"

(Image: Comic Strip by Ippei Okamoto, one of the early Mangakas/Manga Artist )

Manga remained that way til the 20th century - when Japan became more open to the world. De to this, the Japanese started picking up new things from other countries, especially America. One of these new and marvelous things were comic strips found in most Western newspapers. The Japanese adopted this humorous outlet into their lives and began making it their own - even using it to spread propaganda messages among the masses during wartime.

Then came along the Godfather - Osamu Tezuka. This man single handedly transformed the Manga industry during the World War Two into the endearing and inspiring medium it is today. He broke the tradition of stagnant frames and bland drawings of the old Manga and re-shaped it to look like the dynamic black and white movies of then (kind of like Hokusai, eh?). He wanted his readers to really EXPERIENCE the story, to be a part of the adventure...something previous Manga failed to bring.

Needless to say, the public were blown away with this new style.
His breakthrough Manga, Shin Takarajima (New Treasure Island - see image below), sold 400,000 copies in its first printing alone.


(Image - The Breakthrough Shin Takarajima /New Treasure Island - note how incredibly cinematic this strip is compared to the previous comic strip...)


Then, the Godfather of Modern Manga laid the foundations of the Manga industry since - specifically, the different genres of Manga. Two main genres of the industry include the Shojo genre - featuring romantic tales, love stories for girls - and the Shonen genre, which had adventure, action and good-old-fashioned butt-kicking. ,

From the Manga came its animated sibling - Anime. Both industries are inseperable now, since most big name Mangas, such as DragonBall and Bleach, will get animated inevitably.

(Image - A page from Dragon Ball's Manga - note the improved cinematographic quality)

(Image - The Cast of the Dragon Ball Anime)


And as time goes on, Manga and Anime continue to grow. Notably, today's Manga and Anime are spreading across the globe, gaining lots of love wherever it goes, even in the West.
Kind of ironic isn't it? It was the Western comic strip that inspired the evolution Manga in the first place.

(Image - Bleach, the Manga)


(Image - Local Bleach fans Cosplaying / dressing up as their beloved character)



























(Image - And LOTS of American Bleach Cosplayers)


So, what's up with all this love?

As a fan, Mangas and Anime have offered me a way into a better world - a world where anyone can chase their dreams just by giving it your all, and anything really is possible.
A World where friends are really nakama, friends you can bet your life to always remain by your side, to chase dreams with.
A world where the mediocre can rise by believing - where the outcast orphan can rise to bring entire nations to stop warring each other, and find the family he never had among friends (Naruto); where a normal, everyday girl can find herself among Gods and Demons (the Oscar winning Spirited Away); even where the ugly duckling of her school can find love with an unexpected prince charming (Ouran High School Host Club).

Mangas also brought that world back here to reality, for as a Manga fan, I can go anywhere in the world and find other Manga lovers out there whom I can relate too.

This industry has remained a pillar of strength and inspiration to its fans because of simple stories - powerful yet simple stories that every and any laymen can immerse into. And grow with.

Perhaps, more than any other story telling industry out there, the Manga industry is very, very involved with its fans. In Japan, huge Manga/Anime corporations hold multimillion dollar events just for the fans - even showcasing their favorite Manga/Anime voice actors, or even getting real life actors to play their parts!




(Image - Bleach Anime's Characters, and their actors. Bloody uncanny resemblance...click here for info)

These corporations also hold off suing fans that breach copyrights. Fans that get so madly in love with the characters of their favorite Manga/Anime they actually draw and SELL their OWN VERSIONS of the story to other fans. Fan drawn Manga, called Doujinshi, are seen as LEGAL despite their obvious copyright infringement. That's how much love the fans get.

(Image - Another Big Name Manga, Naruto - Click here to head to a Naruto fansite)




(Images - ...and SOME of the MILLIONS of Naruto Doujins out there!)

So, I've decided to investigate this crazy, symbiotic relationship between the producers and the fans - Who has more influence in shaping this industry? The Producers? or the Fans? Mainstream or Independent?

We shall soon see.



and... if I still haven't drowned you with History lessons on Manga, get more Here and Here...and Here

Concept Artist

If I ever were to reach my fullest potential as a designer and an artist, this would be the job for
me - A concept artist.

A concept artist draws out imagined scenes, characters, objects etc - mainly for the video game, movie and the comic industries. Concept Artists need superb art skills in order to communicate their vision for completely (awesome) imaginary worlds and characters.

They are the creme-de-la-creme of today's artists.

And they get paid very well, or so I've heard.

We're talking seriously lofty aspirations here as it'll take me yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaarssssss to be even remotely worthy to post my work along side the masters on this site:

Click on the image and head to a more captivating world beyond our own...
(Artwork by Linda Bergvist. I did not create this or own it.)

Stationery Designer

Another thing I've always fancied is specializing in Stationery Design.

I always liked owning good looking stationery, especially since I used so much of it throughout high school.

During those years, I've noticed that this company stand out from the rest - a.e.i.o.u. Studio

It's a local design house that comes out with cutesy, nearly always girly designs in their wrapping paper, gift boxes, gift mugs, photo albums, greeting cards, etc.


(Image - a a.e.i.o.u glass)



(Image - an a.e.i.o.u greeting card)


(Image - an a.e.i.o.u gift bag. I see this one almost everywhere - from MPH to the little Ah Kow & Sons Stationery shop in front of my house!)

Also, I think I can meet the skill scope to work with this company - most of their products looks like they can be easily created with some illustrating skills and a vector programme.

Manga Artist / Mangaka

Hehe, I’ve kept my interest for Anime and Manga well and alive all these years through university.

I was introduced to this sort of comic during high school, and I’ve always been amazed at the details and the emotions that the Manga style can bring out. I’ve always been drawing some of my own doujins since then.

This job would require me to tell powerful stories through my art. I would need to design visual storyboards fluid and strong enough to inspire my readers, or at least, to entertain them.

I’m pretty confident that career prospects as a Manga-ka (Manga Artist) are looking up in Malaysia - there are many magazines that showcase local artists nowadays. One of my favorites would be Gempak! (Click on title to go to the website)

Gempak

I still remember a time where this magazine looked just like the other Bahasa Melayu mags out there – not that I’ve something against it, but it just isn’t my cup of tea.

This mag was one of the pioneers that pushed the Manga style; hence one of the first few tastes of Malaysian – geared Manga. It has, alongside some great comics, news on the latest movies, animation, comics and gossip out there.

It has been growing from strength to strength, providing a platform for local artists to produce and distribute their own graphic novels.

One of them, Ben, even received international acclaim for his graphic novel, Le Gardenie.

And now, Ben, has struck out on his own and is publishing his own Magazine, called Powder

I’m anxious to see how this all develops over the next few years. One day, we young Malaysian Mangakas might even be good enough that anyone would recognize our work at first look! Ganbatte! (Let’s keep it up!)

Fashion Graphic Designer

Hi again!

Recently, I had a hand at designing and selling some T-shirts with a couple of friends of mine. I like how things are going, and I am considering to continue this line after graduation.

It seemed like a fairly simple at first - then I found it was actually quite difficult to find out what the average Malaysian would like to wear on their shirts. Sadly, I think most are still content with Godawful prints of "BILLABONG" or "QUICKSILVER" stamped across their chests... sigh

Someday, I'll find out how to get better looking shirts to more people. Anyways, here are some links for you guys, for a closer look into fashion graphic design (Click on the link to go to the page):

tokidoki

The Top of the Fashion Graphics Foodchain...for the moment.

The creator's ITALIAN!! Yes, this Latino called Simone Legno started tokidoki as a brand fronting his Japanese-Kawaii vector art.

Soon enough, Hard Candy cosmetic's co founder stumbled upon his website and fell in love with his work, and was so into his designs they actually helped him build tokidoki from ground up!

Since then, he has gone and done work for Le Sportsac, which pirated versions you can see being sold everywhere in Sg. Wang, MTV, Volkswagen, Microsoft and even took the cake of LA's 2005 Mercedes Benz's Fashion Show.

I can only wish for half his skill and luck...and he's not even Asian for crying out loud.

Music = Life - My FIRST shirt!

This shirt was meant for the Audiophile in us - I wanted to make a shirt that expresses that music is the heart of its wearer, that they were permanently plugged in to their music.

Business is slow at the moment. It took me a whole week to come up with this design... mainly because I couldn't identify what the people at the LowYat forums would want to spend money on. I'm so going to design better ones! I'm working on a video game themed one right now... I welcome any suggestions!

Well, that's it for now. Thanks to everyone who ordered some! Shipment'll be here Early - Mid April, thanks for being patient yeah =P

The First One

Hey!

This blog is my my Design Analysis online journal, so the entries you'll find here would be for assignments. Turn back now if you were looking for something less cerebral =P

First assignment would be a quick recap of my Internship Experience. Here goes:

My internship was a pretty laid back one, where I mostly watched and learned. It was good for this really gave me the chance to study how those working in an agency would get things done for real. It also gave me insight into what I want to be doing in the near future.

Well, that's all for now, check in again real soon

Regards,

Yin