I remembered hearing about this somewhere before, and was curious as to what people thought on this.

What determines if something is a manga or comic? Is it the style of the book that makes it a manga, or does the author have to be in Japan or be Japanese?

I heard someone some time ago saying that, for example, an American author can't make a manga since it isn't Japanese, so it got me curious as to what others may think. If it looks like a manga, reads like a manga, etc etc, is it a manga?

Do the terms "manga" stick with Japanese, just as "manhwa" is the Korean version?

Hm. Interesting discussion.

I personally don't judge on the source... I just go by the style of the art, and the subject matter/style of writing.

For instance, a few examples that fall under 'manga' in my book are some webcomics (namely Megatokyo), the art for Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane (actually, wait. It's all a crappy teen-drama/romance series. I falls under bad shojuo).

On the other hand, I don't consider Yoshitaka Amano's work as manga at all. Aside from being just plain old gorgeous art, I personally think it falls more towards comic art. Jo Chen I'm thinking of is the same way. The manga influence is there, obviously, but for the most part they just don't fall under manga artists. They just look too realistic(ish) to me.

I say- if it looks and reads like a manga, it bloody well is. If it looks and reads like my good ol' comics, it is. Sources shouldn't have anything to do with it, so long as it's a good read.

Manga is just japanese comics. That's it. Both are comics.

Now style and presentation are different, for which we have the different and to make the destinctions between the 2. So that way we know at least here in america, that when we say comics we talk about american/european and manga we talk about japanese/asain comics. While over in Japan, both would be correct and you could get Stan Lee's Spiderman which would be called comic/manga.

Now, style wise, there is something different. Mostly it comes down to how an american will write out and draw and present a comic, to how most japanese write, draw and present a comic. But not all are the same. I mean stuff like "Ghost in The Shell", "Akira" and "battle Angel Alita" are far more simlair in American style and presenation.

For me the main difference's are in Dialouge and Panels. Most american comics have distincted pnaels and the story is very divide with words and pictures. While with some Japanese comics, the story can be more towards artwork versus's words.

I'm sure someone who might of studies it more can explain better, but culturally will how each does it art makes them different. But the fact is manga just means comics. Asking for comics in Japan will tend to weild you the same thing as manga.

manga is just the term for 'comic' in japan. I heard some japanese people called 'american comics' just manga. So I think it's possible for foreign people to make manga.
I saw some french comic artist go and live in japan and publish some manga there.

Hmm. I personally thought of it as being up to the author on what to call it. I thought of it as being part style of art and part style of book format etc. There does seem to be a difference in styles as mentioned by Akasha, so I'd say if the author feels like it's Japanese-esque, call it a manga then.

I read Megatokyo too <3 Made by a non-Japanese I believe, but can be found in the manga section of a book store, rather than the comic section. Granted all the graphic novels are all together, but manga and comics usually aren't mixed with one another. More like close by each other.

"Manga" and "comic" could perhaps be interchangable words, but I think there are really a lot of differences between the style and connotations to truly keep them seperated. Close, yes, but not exactly the same, in my opinion *nod*

That's an interesting question O_O. I dunno...I've always thought of it as technically being comics made by Japanese mangaka.

I know people call comics from Korea "Manhwa", and comics from China as "Manhua". They often have extremely similar styles as manga...but they're still supposed to be called differently O_O.

• For me, it's the style all the way, and I know that the libaries here in Reykjavík at least rely on that. The main one at least has a couple of MegaTokyo books in the Manga section, and I think I noticed a few others by authors with non-Asian looking names. And they don't have stuff like Amano's with the Manga. That's graphic novel, I'd hazard.

Manga is just the Japanese word for comic book. I use it to describe any comic book produced in Japan, Korea, or other countries from that area of the world. If it's in an Eastern style but made in the West, it's 'manga-style'.

And I think the main difference is just in the style of storytelling. It's about what characters and ideas you like better. I tend to favour Western comics for the most part, but I've enjoyed Japanese stuff too. In both cases, the medium is so varied that there's something for everyone.

Originally Posted by Twism

That's an interesting question O_O. I dunno...I've always thought of it as technically being comics made by Japanese mangaka.

I know people call comics from Korea "Manhwa", and comics from China as "Manhua". They often have extremely similar styles as manga...but they're still supposed to be called differently O_O.

It means the same, comic. But manga distinguished themselves a lot. It is like a first sight of the manga and you can know that where the source would be, Japan. Manga means comic, graphic novel, in Japanese, Manhua in Chinese, Manhwa in Korean and so on. They just mean the same thing...am I repeating?

When saying it manga, it ijust narrows down your thinking to Japan kind of graphic novel, or maybe even the style of presentation, drawing and lots more, people are often confuse. But they mean the same anyway, just in different language.

thats acctually not true but at the same time it is true. the word "manga" means "pictured story". and it's just the fact that manga are written right to left is just that thats how the japanese write their books. that's all :!: :!: :!:

Originally Posted by Yosuke

thats acctually not true but at the same time it is true. the word "manga" means "pictured story". and it's just the fact that manga are written right to left is just that thats how the japanese write their books. that's all :!: :!: :!:

And what do you think comics are but picture stories? Same thing, different name.

I generally just see it as manga being the Japanese word for comics. It's all the same medium, it's just that different cultures have different story-telling conventions. The US and Japan are the two main comic-producing nations, and both influence the others, but every nation's comics are affected by the culture of the place producing them. For example, British comics are different from both, though the boundaries are a bit blurred considering how most of the best UK talent ends up in the US. And French comics are different yet again. The main reason manga's seen as separate is that Japan's cultural differences are bigger than those between America and Europe. The dominant art style and the different format, combined with the difference in storytelling methods, make it seem very distinct, but it's all just comic books, in the end.

It's mostly the matter of style.
I guess American comics have a different taste to it rather than japanese. If you compare the both, I have to say american comics/manga have better art than the japanese ones. I guess the Japanese feel just makes it better.

"Manga" is just Japanese for "comic". Heck, Japanese manga is based off of American comics.

However, when I think about 'manga', I usually think about a style of art. In my mind, "comic" style has more of a realism touch. The eyes aren't as exaggerated, and the people look like what they're supposed to in real life. "Manga" art is more distorted, and looks less like real life people.

There are American artists that are now drawing "manga", and are distributed by manga-publishing companies that recognizes these as "manga"... so I don't know. Some of them, I think, fit under my definition, but some of them just look like regular "comics" to me. Why don't they just publish it as a comic?

Since I'm a budding comic artist, I look at it a bit differently. While I do agree that manga is just the Japanese word for comic, I think that it is a completely different art form than Western comics. It's not so much the drawing style, but also the way the comics themselves are executed and presented.

Most Americans know Manga by the volumes that you can buy at bookstores. Although in Japan, they're released in newspapers, magazines/books like Jump or compilations and what not first.

But I see a lot of comics being made by Americans, released by Tokyopop and other companies. I consider these to be manga regardless, just in the way that the comics are printed, drawn and presented. I'll even consider colored comics by americans/westerners as Manga if they have that manga feel to them.

The main difference for me is in the story presentation.

Western comics tend to have a lot going on in just a few panels, and they often combine the character development with the action.

Manga has a very different pace to it, tending to alternate between action and non-action "arcs". For example, Naruto tends to have long character arcs in the city, and then long action or tournament arcs.

There also tend to be differences in the use of tropes and archetypes. The cheerleader character is rarely found in manga, and you'll rarely see the perverted nosebleed in western comics.

hmm excellent question
umm where do i start....
well after reading Newtype
manwha and manga are book versions of comics
*that didn't come from Newtype, this is my view*
and there are American Mangaka
even American Manga publishers sell Manga in Japan
and they seem to sell well too
umm this is how i view it
no matter what country your in
a book sized comic would highly be called a Manga
if they come in magazine form it's a Comic
for me, i can't look after Magazines
so "Comic's" aren't my thing
I love Books so "Manga's" are easy to store for me
that's how i see it people may disagree
as for style
that is tricky
cause people would think Manga's would be neat and more human like
but not many people realize that Publishing companies have some control into what they want to sell
eg: CLAMP - shoujo, cute, neat and innocent
*can't think of another one, but you get the idea i hope*
basically no 2 publishing companies would look the same
they may look similar, as to how they are drawn
but they would be different
people who read a lot of different Mangas can tell the subtle differences when reading the manga
for me comic's all look the same
don't ask why, they just do
i'm not a big fan of comics
but i love manga, and i'm sticking to them for sure

I think a lot of it is style. When I think manga I usually associate it with big eyed characters with dynamic hair/hair colours (sometimes), but mainly its the eyes.

I have read a few American made manga that you couldn't call comics mainly because they mimicked the Japanese style of manga.

Of course the word manga is just comic in Japanese but pretty much all Japanese 'comics' (or popular ones at the very least) are labelled manga.

So to summarize; it's by style manga is Japanese style and comic is other I would say.

So, it all boils down to this: in Japan, "manga" simply means all comics, while in the Western culture "manga" usually means comics drawn in the Japanese style. Which one of these terms is correct?

Both of them, in my opinion! It all depends on culture. Very few Americans or Europeans speak Japanese, so when they want to speak about comics in general, they'll use their own language for that, not the Japanese word "manga."

Because of some general cultural differences between Japanese and Western comics, "manga" has definitely just become a term that means comics drawn in that particular Japanese style. So, because in West it generally means a style, I don't think the artist has to be Japanese in order to call their style manga. Similarly, Western style comics made by Japanese artists wouldn't be called manga.

Confusing? Not the correct use of the word "manga"? Maybe, but we really can't help the way people start using different words. I've heard someone using the word "pseudo-manga" when talking about Japanese style comics made by non-Japanese people, but I wouldn't want to use that term. Basically it'd mean "pseudo-comics"... :D

for all those saying that manga is the japanese word for comics:
the japanese actually use コミック = komikku = comics.
manga is a certain style of comics developed in japan, so manga really can be written and drawn by non-japanese.

Originally Posted by AkashaHeartilly

Manga is just japanese comics. That's it. Both are comics.

Now style and presentation are different, for which we have the different and to make the destinctions between the 2. So that way we know at least here in america, that when we say comics we talk about american/european and manga we talk about japanese/asain comics. While over in Japan, both would be correct and you could get Stan Lee's Spiderman which would be called comic/manga.

Now, style wise, there is something different. Mostly it comes down to how an american will write out and draw and present a comic, to how most japanese write, draw and present a comic. But not all are the same. I mean stuff like "Ghost in The Shell", "Akira" and "battle Angel Alita" are far more simlair in American style and presenation.

For me the main difference's are in Dialouge and Panels. Most american comics have distincted pnaels and the story is very divide with words and pictures. While with some Japanese comics, the story can be more towards artwork versus's words.

I'm sure someone who might of studies it more can explain better, but culturally will how each does it art makes them different. But the fact is manga just means comics. Asking for comics in Japan will tend to weild you the same thing as manga.

I agree with this very much. But I think both manga and American comics are heavily influenced by the cultures they come from. The types of stories are generally different when told in manga format than in comic format. I find manga tends to work very well on subtle things, particularly how the scene is set up and the individual character nuances while comics tend to focus very highly on action ( at least in super hero comics, there are a few comics that are very heavy in psychological undercurrents) I also find that manga tends to stay well within the realm of the story (as far as I know anyway) and comics sometimes are often used as platforms for current socio-political climates ( marvel's Civil War was meant to reflect the war in Iraq, and things like the women's rights and ethnic diversity have changed along with the times)

Not to go off-topic, but this thread reminded me of this Lil' Formers comic.