Manga rising from the dead

It’s a rare for us to have a chance to understand the world of manga. Many manga studies in English are available only in comic journals or as expensive books in bookstores. Fortunately, Comipress came up with a translation project for one of the most interesting books on manga studies, Manga Zombie. It’s written by Udagawa Takeo and it details the downward spiral of manga during the 80’s and the lives of the artists who struggled to keep the industry dynamic.

The translation is still in its infancy. The preface gives a primer on manga history and how the level of creativity began to subside and then level out with the emergence of formulaic magazines such as Shounen Jump*. He describes Shounen Jump’s formula as the “Great Two System”, wherein artists are placed in a bind with Shounen Jump and have to perform well in the extremely competitive readers’ survey at the risk of getting fired. Udagawa even adds,

“Their system has leeched the art out of manga. The artists are interchangeable, like spare parts in a machine. But the ‘Great Two’ system offers publishers stability, and all the major companies have adopted it.”

It’s really interesting isn’t it? Many Filipinos have been hooked line and sinker by many stories in Shounen Jump. For us, these stories are refreshing and creative. So for a critic like Udagawa to say that Shounen Jump has killed creativity in the manga industry shows us that there is much more to the industry than the casual reader might think. Udagawa implies the promise of a new world of manga, one emerging from the decay brought on by Jump.

* Note: Shounen Jump is a weekly magazine in Japan that publishes popular mangas such as Yu Yu Hakusho (Ghost Fighter), Dragon Ball, Slam Dunk, and Bleach.

This post was done for the regular Comics/Graphic Novel feature of Read or Die. If you have any suggestions on titles to feature, or if you just want me to post about a particular title or topic regarding comics, feel free to contact me at punkednoodle@gmail.com, or visit my manga website, Otaku Champloo.