Why I Hate Manga- with apologies to my 17-year-old niece. a rant

To be fair, I don't really hate manga, per se. Manga are, after all, just comics from Japan. There is just as much diversity in Japanese comics (if not more) as there is in American comics. What I really dislike are some of the more common styles associated with manga and American "manga-style" comics. I also find that I often dislike people who are really into manga and anime (Emma, honey, this doesn't apply to you).

I actually am a big fan of Lone Wolf and Cub by Kazuao Koikoe and Goseki Kojima. The story is gripping and the artwork is positively breathtaking at times.



I am cognizant of the fact that Japanese artists have added volumes to the visual language of the comics medium and has a beautiful, visual rhythm all its own. I am quite aware that manga often includes widely varied pacing through use of devices like series of establishing shots and motion lines.

But I just don't like the way it looks. At least the trash the Japanese go out of their way to send us.

I hate those cutesy little faces with the big eyes and the little mouths.


I hate those jagged, gravity-defying hairdos.


I hate the weird androgyny of the characters. More than anything, I hate the use of lazy, visual shorthands like thought balloons with teardrops in them, or those weird, oval shaped mouths with gritted, perfectly squared teeth like a row of plus signs.

And, while I can tolerate the notion of the occasional manga-style version of a classic American superhero,

I really think a whole "mangaverse" is a lame idea.

I don't like Anime much, either. For the same aesthetic concerns. It's just personal preference. I DO like the design of the heroes on Ninja Force Gatchaman (Battle of the Planets, G-Force, Whatever), but it's probably only because they remind me of the Blue Falcon.





I know I'm probably stepping on more toes than Gigantor at a podiatry' convention, but it's just how I feel.