These weird compact volumes are packed with women depicting boobs the size of Mount Fuji’s. You know, the black and white, you read from right to left in-class reading. Why would anyone like to begin to read that ridiculous crap?
We have upgraded our Doujin game here on our posts. More coverage, more listing of recommendations, and more writings about our manga reading experience. I hope we brought to your notice a new and intriguing series and answered some of the queries you may have had.
Manga
Manga is not some strange book type centered exclusively on extremely gifted females with large eyes and cat whiskers who battle robots over Tokyo’s flames.
Sure, if you want it, there’s enough there. But manga is a whole kind of art, entirely distinct from Western comics or graphic novels in practically every imaginable aspect.
Dismissing manga as weird or childish or boring or “not your thing” is like ignoring music, movies, or books in the same manner.
Manga is a narrative form underlying a universe of different genres and storylines that fit all tastes.
But it would appear that we have overlooked something along the line to answer the fundamental question:
How do you read the manga?
It might sound essential, but how can we tell if you’re new to the manga? Because manga is read right to the left, some people may not realize it at first, which indicates that you start reading a volume starting from the side from which the book is viewed among conventional English readers. Manga publishers in North America once included their translation series reading guidelines. Some people are still doing that.
I figured I had to offer an essential manga reading guide to address this need. This will hopefully make the material less scary for the readers.
- The first rule: start reading from right to left. So the edge should be on the right when you select a manga book to read. For the reading of the panels below, the rule from right to left also applies.
- Second rule: Like English comics, manga also reads from top to bottom, but it works in combination with the above rule. Hopefully, mangakas have arranged their panels effectively so that the reading flow is not disrupted. However, I fully confess that some mangaka uses a more confusing layout, making it harder to follow the story.
Here is an additional bonus tip here. Sometimes you find panels shown on a black page when reading manga.
In general, the black background shows memory flashbacks. Before the current plot, the events presented in these tablets took happened.
Maybe you might even find a page with a black background at the top and a white background at the bottom. This coloring shift shows a change from the past to the present. The visual narrative is quite creative and maybe utilized very extensively.
More storytelling diversity (not just heroes).
I know many beautiful stories in the Western world in visual book form (from the Maus to the Sandman), but DC and Marvel are the dominant mainstream comics in Western Europe. Spiderman, Batman, and Black Panther being the main action heroes.
Manga does have them as well but focuses less emphasis on Western comics.
You may read a straightforward horror genre manga or a slice of life with crazy humor or high school romance, or a sports story.
The kind of stories you will receive in manga are almost unlimited and something for everyone.
