I don't get Manga...

hobs707 · Jul 5, 2007

So I've never really read Manga or watched Anime much. I know people who do and they love them and are always telling me to read or watch some.

So at the library today I picked up a copy of .Hack and Full Metal Panic (I recognized the names) out of about 400000 different series of Manga. I don't know there were so many!

But I got home and read about 30 or so pages of .Hack, and I had no idea what was going on. All the characters looked like girls with crazy hats and large clothes, and there didn't seem to be any story. Maybe I'm just totally ignorant, but I was really lost. The panels were so crammed full of sound effects, wiggly lines, and crazy looking man-girls I didn't know what was going on!

Anybody care to explain maybe why I don't get these books? Is there something I missed, or something if I understood they would all make sense? Or does anyone have any suggestions for Manga that makes a little more sense?

giulio · Jul 5, 2007

What I don't get is Dragon Ball Z. When I used to go to the gym it was the most boring moments of my life. I was bored LIVING that, why would I want to WATCH a cartoon character in a space capsule working out five episodes in a row?? JUST GET TO YOUR STUPID DESTINATION ALREADY haha

todd51 · Jul 5, 2007

Yes, DragonBall Z was ridiculous..when there was about to be a battle, they had to stretch it about 10 episodes long.

Title27GT · Jul 5, 2007

No, there's nothing wrong with you, anime/manga is stupid and pointless.
I'd rather watch a baseball or football game than watch a bunch of pointy-haired mean-looking cartoon characters punch eachother and blow eachother up.

hobs707 · Jul 5, 2007

I felt like everything that happened in .Hack was an inside joke. Like the characters are like "lolz omg hyeahhhrarf" or some crazy words that mean nothing to me.

softtack · Jul 5, 2007

Title27GT said:
No, there's nothing wrong with you, anime/manga is stupid and pointless.
I'd rather watch a baseball or football game than watch a bunch of pointy-haired mean-looking cartoon characters punch eachother and blow eachother up.

Woah woah woah... it looks like we're going to have a problem here.

I like anime, but I'm in the same boat as the OP when it comes to manga. Just don't get it, sorry. True, there are a lot of different series out which can make it confusing to those unfamiliar with anime. I would have to say that about 85% of the people who hate anime/manga based their judgements on their first experience, most likely Dragonball Z or Pokemon. A good anime can tell a story as good as, if not better, than a book or a movie.

I highly recommend you check out animes such as Eureka Seven and Last Exile before making your decision about anime/manga.

ki99 · Jul 5, 2007

anime/manga is just another form of comics and cartoons. you don't have too like it, but to say it is stupid and pointless is not very nice. it is the same as pc people saying macs are stupid. it's not the right thing to say. i personally enjoy a few of them, and i absolutely hate sports like baseball and football. but i don't think they are stupid and pointless, other people enjoy them, and good for those people.

D3v1L80Y · Jul 5, 2007

ki99 said:
anime/manga is just another form of comics and cartoons. you don't have too like it, but to say it is stupid and pointless is not very nice. it is the same as pc people saying macs are stupid. it's not the right thing to say. i personally enjoy a few of them, and i absolutely hate sports like baseball and football. but i don't think they are stupid and pointless, other people enjoy them, and good for those people.

Well said!

SmokingFetus · Jul 5, 2007

I don't read Manga (never was one for comics), but love anime.

You just gotta find the good ones. All the shows on TV suck (with the exception of Bleach, which is now airing on cartoon network) as well as the selection in most rental houses. All my favorite ones have not been picked up here in the US and needed to find fansubbed versions.

Hear are some series and movies that are easy to get into

Death Note* (my favorite, very dark and mature)
Bleach
Princess Mononoke
Karas (very stylized action, awesome art direction)
Blood+
Cowboy Bebop (IMO this is the easiest anime for westerners to digest)
Samurai Champloo ( ^ this one is a close second)

* Not released in US. Look on the vast nets for fansubs

I could go on and on. But with all the genres they have you are bound to find one you like.

jotdess · Jul 5, 2007

I love both.

There are many dumb ones out there. You just have to find the right ones. I really liked Rurouni Kenshin. Hence the avatar.

hobs707 · Jul 5, 2007

jotdess said:
I love both. There are many dumb ones out there. You just have to find the right ones. I really liked Rurouni Kenshin. Hence the avatar.

Ooo what's that about? Ha, anything I should know in case I pick it up at my library?

jotdess · Jul 5, 2007

This is from wikipedia...

The story is set during the early Meiji period in Japan. The English versions of the OVAs as well as the movie are released as Samurai X, although the original title was included in the DVD releases. The series tells the story of an assassin named Himura Kenshin, who was known as the Hitokiri Battōsai ("Man killer - Master of the Sword"). Kenshin later grieves for all the lives he has taken, and vows that he will never kill again.

Ironic part is that I used to hate all of it too, but I loved comics and animated series hahah. Then my cousin gave me some movies and series and I started loving it. There are so many different types out there.

Hajime no Ippo - About a loser who becomes a boxing champ
One Piece - It's a pirate anime/manga. Wacky characters, but good story
Basilisk - About two samurai clans trying to wipe each other out to take over the shogunate.
Naruto - About a kid ninja and his friends.

fleurya · Jul 6, 2007

Manga, or graphic novel, is just another format in which to tell a story. In Japan manga is huge and involves much more than just cartoonish stories for children. Many, very adult, stories are told using manga. Even outside Japan the use of the graphic novel style can be effective. You should check out a book called "Maus: A Survivor's Tale" in which the writer, Art Spiegelman, tells the story of his father's struggle to survive in Nazi prison camps during WWII and the he won a pulitzer prize for it.

I personally don't read graphic novels much, but really enjoyed reading Maus and can see how people can like it. It does take a little knowledge to understand how to read a graphic novel. They flow a certain way, you have to understand the symbolism and how to read the look of the characters, positions, and pretty much everything in the cell that can have meaning. It's much more than reading words, you have to be able to read the pictures too. It is a real art form to successfully communicate a story through this format.

hobs707 · Jul 6, 2007

fleurya said:
Manga, or graphic novel, is just another format in which to tell a story. In Japan manga is huge and involves much more than just cartoonish stories for children. Many, very adult, stories are told using manga. Even outside Japan the use of the graphic novel style can be effective. You should check out a book called "Maus: A Survivor's Tale" in which the writer, Art Spiegelman, tells the story of his father's struggle to survive in Nazi prison camps during WWII and the he won a pulitzer prize for it.

I personally don't read graphic novels much, but really enjoyed reading Maus and can see how people can like it. It does take a little knowledge to understand how to read a graphic novel. They flow a certain way, you have to understand the symbolism and how to read the look of the characters, positions, and pretty much everything in the cell that can have meaning. It's much more than reading words, you have to be able to read the pictures too. It is a real art form to successfully communicate a story through this format.

Hm. thats cool. I'll have to check it out. Thanks man

giulio · Jul 6, 2007

I've been watching some anime on and off while working. Desync.com streams it 24/7 for free (use VLC). Initial-D is pretty cool. Hellsing is pretty cool too.

Ninjab3ar · Jul 6, 2007

In reality, I have nothing against anime/manga. My two favorite mangas are Death Note and Dragonball (the original, not Z). They both had very interesting stories that always had you wanting to read the next.

However, what drives me away from anime/manga are a majority of its fans. Most of them think that anime/manga is the supreme form of entertainment and that anything in comparison to it sucks.

They also believe that the fact that they read manga or watch anime that was not released in the US means that they have a greater insight on Asian cultures than others, when in reality they know nothing about Japan beyond Anime and video games.

jotdess · Jul 6, 2007

Ahaha that's pretty funny. There are people like that around?? I've never met any hardcore fans so I wouldn't know.

I just like them usually because of the story line and sometimes art. They appeal to me more than regular comics now. Don't know why.

christm · Jul 6, 2007

hobs707 said:
So I've never really read Manga or watched Anime much. I know people who do and they love them and are always telling me to read or watch some.

So at the library today I picked up a copy of .Hack and Full Metal Panic (I recognized the names) out of about 400000 different series of Manga. I don't know there were so many!

But I got home and read about 30 or so pages of .Hack, and I had no idea what was going on. All the characters looked like girls with crazy hats and large clothes, and there didn't seem to be any story. Maybe I'm just totally ignorant, but I was really lost. The panels were so crammed full of sound effects, wiggly lines, and crazy looking man-girls I didn't know what was going on!

Anybody care to explain maybe why I don't get these books? Is there something I missed, or something if I understood they would all make sense? Or does anyone have any suggestions for Manga that makes a little more sense?

your not the only one. i dont understand any type of anime. ! just not my thing.

Ninjab3ar · Jul 6, 2007

jotdess said:
Ahaha that's pretty funny. There are people like that around?? I've never met any hardcore fans so I wouldn't know.

I just like them usually because of the story line and sometimes art. They appeal to me more than regular comics now. Don't know why.

Manga appeals to me more than american comics because they have darker themes. American comics seem to appeal to younger audience (although there are many exceptions)

As for the harcore fans, my old high school was full of them. they used to wear naruto headbands, trenchcoats, or gloves. They only read mangas (Im not exaggerating, they didnt read books or magazines, I'm not lying!). They watched only anime (again, not an exaggeration. Okay, they might have watched a regular show here or there). They also tried to incorporate Japanese into their language and tried to play as many imported or anime themed video games as possible. But what was most annoying of all was the fact that they though they were great artists just because the can copy any drawing on their favorite manga. But leave it to them to draw from their imagination and their drawings were horrible.

I was friends with a couple of them; they got me into anime. But people like that are just crazy.

softtack · Jul 6, 2007

Ninjab3ar said:
In reality, I have nothing against anime/manga. My two favorite mangas are Death Note and Dragonball (the original, not Z). They both had very interesting stories that always had you wanting to read the next.

However, what drives me away from anime/manga are a majority of its fans. Most of them think that anime/manga is the supreme form of entertainment and that anything in comparison to it sucks.

They also believe that the fact that they read manga or watch anime that was not released in the US means that they have a greater insight on Asian cultures than others, when in reality they know nothing about Japan beyond Anime and video games.

I totally understand what you're saying.

As a big anime fan, I do know that I am one of the few that don't take it too far. I download my anime instead of buying it because not only is it better (english dubs are horrible), but when the time comes, I can delete it without feeling any regrets, unlike a huge collection of anime DVDs or manga books. I like to consider myself more of a discreet fan, not buying figurines or posters or cosplaying like some others like to do. The hardcore fans scare me. They've recently started taking over my old high school's library with their weird manga.

While it's great to enjoy anime/manga, I don't think one should be so close minded to other forms of entertainment, such as movies, TV shows, etc.

I don't get Manga...

hobs707

giulio

todd51

Guest

Title27GT

hobs707

softtack

ki99

D3v1L80Y

SmokingFetus

jotdess

hobs707

jotdess

fleurya

hobs707

giulio

Ninjab3ar

jotdess

christm

Ninjab3ar

softtack

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