Manga F.A.Q.
Manga terms
Q & AA : From what i've read, the word manga meaning in japanese is comic and other print cartoons. In English, it's refering to Japanese comics. Mangas are usually read from right to left and printed in black and white. The manga artist are called mangaka, Japanese word for cartoonist.
Q : What's so special about it?
A : It's out of this world comedy, sci-fi, and always unthinkable storyline with unforgettable symbols such as sweat drops and not to forget its facial expression facial expressions. Suffice enough to say it's unique.
Samples from Ichigo Mashimaro Vol.2 and One Piece Vol.1
Q : What's up with the big eyes?
A : Actually, it was started by the first manga artist,now considered legend for some,Osamu Tezuka who did an excellent job on creating Kimba The White Lion & the infamous Astro Boy/Tetsuwan Atom.At first, he just loved Disney cartoons.(Yes, the real influence wasn't really from Japan!) They also got big eyes you know! Later, he developed his own technic but the big eyes stays. When his work got 'big', lots of artists who admired his work tried his formula and that's how manga got started.Actually, I know 'bout this from a magazine called Gempak.Thanks for the writer of Gempak who giving so much info about manga til I can finally get the idea what manga really is.
Q : Ever heard of manhwa and manhua? What are those?
A : Manhwa is Korean word for comics and cartoons, it genrally refers to korean comics while manhua is chinese comics.
Manga terms
It means child. It's considered a specifi genre for children.
Targets boys as primary reader yet sometimes girls do love this genre.
It means girl and aiming girl as target reader.
Targeting for older age than shonen (15 to 30, sometimes 40). Sometimes it is classified as shoujo or shonen but it does have its uniqueness such as pornographic (if one considered so) the complexities of its storyline.
In Japanese it means female but the target reader is late teenage and adult female.
Considered as fan-art done by of course, fans. Yet it's seldom published in limited quantity, by hand made.
In Japanese, it means a pervert. Generally contains pornograpic manga or anime.