Manga and Anime in the Japanese Culture

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Manga and anime are a very huge part of Japanese culture. They have a long history in Japan and they have gotten increasingly popular. Even now in modern day Japan, manga and anime have become a major part of everyday life. Though accepted into many households, some people believe that manga and anime are a bad influence to the people that enjoy reading and watching them. However, manga and anime give the people of Japan a huge quantity of stories to explore and enjoy and a wide range of genres to choose from that it makes it such a favored hobby.
To begin, the origin of manga goes way back into Japan’s old history. In Chapter one of the book Understanding Manga and Anime, it says that manga’s origin arguably goes back further in history that western comics and graphic novels (Brenner 1). That means that manga is even older than all the superhero comic books like Marvel. Even though nobody is exactly sure when manga first appeared, many credit the Japanese Buddhist monks that lived during the twentieth century. They drew illustrations on scrolls of funny looking animals that dressed up and played the roles scholars and monks. Also, the scroll pictures were drawn from right to left, just like modern day manga. The term “manga” was actually thought of by the artist Hokusai Katsuhika around 1815 (3). Anime was created much later in Japan’s history. In fact, anime started showing up around the 19th century when animation pictures boomed around the world (Macwilliams 49). So, even though manga had been alive for centuries, anime was only a recent development in Japanese cartoons. Anime started out a lot like Disney films in that the first animes were shown in little cinemas as short little movies then over time grew into full length ...

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... are a huge part of the Japanese culture. Mangas have a deep history in Japan and have grown to be an everyday thing in that part of the world. Even now, manga and anime seem to be expanding into other countries around the world. Though many people do not agree with people and especially children reading and watching Japanese cartoons and comics, they are still a part of japans culture and may even becoming a major part of other countries in the world. One day, Western culture may even learn to fully embrace this vast growing hobby.

Word Cited
Brenner, Robin E. Understanding Manga And Anime. Westport, Conn: Libraries Unlimited, 2007. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost). Web. 12 Dec. 2013.
Macwilliams, Mark Wheeler. Japanese Visual Culture : Explorations In The World Of Manga And Anime. Armonk, N.Y.: M.E. Sharpe, 2008. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost). Web. 12 Dec. 2013.

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