Comments on: Why Manga Is Good for You

By: Ryan

Ryan — Sun, 07 Aug 2011 18:27:34 +0000

I find very little literary merit in most manga I’ve read. The majority of what I’ve read is disposable junk. It’s just my favorite characters in my favorite situations over and over again until the end of time. Or 56 volumes. Which ever comes first. It’s like the exploitation films of the 70s, just in print with nice drawings. And there isn’t anything necessarily wrong with that. Everybody needs their comfort food. We all like to have pb&j or macaroni and cheese every once in a while, but by itself that kind of food doesn’t make for a very satisfactory diet. I just wish that hardcore manga fans would stop trying to make manga some deep form of art that holds unlimited wisdom. It isn’t and it doesn’t have to be.

By: Susan

Susan — Mon, 04 Jul 2011 22:33:46 +0000

As a school librarian, I appreciate your shout-out to libraries as early adopters…and I would have liked to have met your grandmother! She sounds like a cool lady! I’m planning to teach a high school class on graphic novels, anime & manga and am looking forward to introducing more of my students to manga especially. Your article is both supportive and inspiring!

By: Marie

Marie — Wed, 25 May 2011 16:07:24 +0000

I have grown children and have come to enjoy manga. It took some time to acclimate to chibi humor inserted at the oddest of times, but after I became accustomed to it, I found much depth in the emotions of the characters. I don’t care for tragedy – a favorite of the Japanese and the current fad – so I limit my reading. Most bookstores have very little in the way of novels that I would find worth my time to read. It is much easier for me to find online unpublished stories that I can enjoy. I only hope that the publishing industry catches on. Some are. Amazon and Penguin are providing outlets for unpublished authors and have found gems amongst the ridiculous. It might benefit Random House to do the same, and that would include manga. Perhaps many like me – the average person who has enough difficulties in life without having their fantasy worlds destroyed by death – would find something worthwhile to read.

By: jane

jane — Tue, 24 May 2011 20:49:29 +0000

I’m an adult and I love manga and anime. The stories are are in many ways like life a mixture of deep emotions, thoughts, humor and heartbreaking tragedy and loss . The Japanese don’t typically go for the “they lived happily ever after” opting instead for more complex characters where even the hero has doubts and flaws to overcome . That when it comes to people, relationships, love or war things are never black and white (good or bad) but instead many shades of gray .

By: Shawn Speakman

Shawn Speakman — Sat, 07 May 2011 20:09:40 +0000

Allen, Del Rey Books and Spectra do not accept unsolicited manuscripts. To submit to them, they require you to go through an agent. A quick Google search should help you figure out what agent might be represent your work. Good luck with the process!

By: Allen

Allen — Sat, 07 May 2011 05:09:26 +0000

Where is your submissions guidelines…all i see is line-ups of books.

Where is the guidelines where you can sumit work to del-rey or Suduvu?

By: ed t

ed t — Sat, 30 Apr 2011 23:21:27 +0000

A lot of people don’t understand that manga is as diverse as novels. I still enjoy reading a fun manga on and off and I’m in university.

By: Priscilla

Priscilla — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 04:47:07 +0000

Not everyone enjoys a story. It’s just like if one person to like Lord of the rings, and another person to like Harry Potter but neither to like both. Also some people look at it as their kids reading comic books all day. Don’t be offended by it. She just doesnt know what she’s missing. Some of those comic books and the Anime that I view, most women have like a size DD chest. If the mother would have had a daughter, I am pretty sure she would have bought from you. I am not to force my daughter into reading manga or not reading it, I have a very open mind, but as you might not realize, many people in this country dont have that open mind. That’s why schools wont teach japanese, nor will the disatisfaction and disappointment of this country improve itself. To each is own. Oh, and I am definately not afraid to go to the library for manga or any other store to get them. Just be glad that the kid has found a way to own and possibly worship the manga he has.
Also notice how its only been 20 years. Do you think after 20 years of the african american/black people were accepted by most people? Its only been 20 years. try again in about another 50-75 years, you wont find anyone who hate’s manga.

By: Priscilla

Priscilla — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 04:26:18 +0000

Manga is about the only books I read. I am 24 years old and hate reading. But if has good drawnings and sucks me into the first 5 pages, I’m there and I’ll buy it. I don’t know why you think that Americans don’t show respect towards books. What kind of respect are you looking for? Are you the one that writes the books. I like Manga and I like Anime, but not a whole lot of people can understand nor read Japenese.

By: Rebecca

Rebecca — Sat, 09 Apr 2011 01:07:09 +0000

The great thing about reading is that in includes a wide spectrum of genres, none being either more or less. I’ve always considered manga a form of reading equal to any other kind of reading, even if it’s in a different form. There are some kids who might not read if it wasn’t for manga so to me reading is reading. There’s also a lot of educational value in manga (which surprises some), especially as titles like With the Light (amazing series on Autism) or even more mainstream titles like Rurouni Kenshin have historical knowledge or even Black Jack with medical knowledge. Excellent and insightful post btw