While comic books of all varieties are enjoyed throughout the world, they play an especially unique central role in the culture of Japan. The Japanese word manga refers to both comics and cartoons alike, and comprises a wide range of genres for every imaginable audience, while the word anime refers more specifically to animated films. Although all works in the comics medium tend to lend themselves to film adaptations (as was noted in this guide's introduction), the connection between manga and anime in Japan is particularly deep, with many artists in one of the two forms often dabbling in the other as well. Katsuhiro Otomo's cyberpunk epic Akira and famed director Hayao Miyazaki's Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind are just two examples of works that began as comics serials before their creators personally adapted them into films.
Manga is also renowned for its incredibly long-form storytelling: while some sagas fit concisely into a few hundred pages, and can thus easily be contained in a single book, many others will last for thousands of pages and will ultimately fill multiple volumes. Similarly, anime can range anywhere in length from a two-hour (or shorter) movie to a television series that lasts multiple seasons. Both industries have proven highly profitable both in their home country and abroad, with manga sales in the United States now making up three-quarters of the entire American comics market.
Anime from Akira to Howl's Moving Castle: Experiencing Contemporary Japanese Animation
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Japanese Visual Culture: Explorations in the World of Manga and Anime
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Unlike an American superhero comic, which is presented in full color, Japanese manga tends to keep color to a minimum. Aside from maybe a few introductory pages, most of a manga story's artwork will be drawn in black, white, and shades of gray. Yet this has also resulted in some of the most intricately detailed comics artwork anywhere in the world: the late Kentaro Miura (1966 - 2021) was renowned for paying intensely close attention to every panel he drew. A scene from his medieval fantasy epic Berserk is presented above, with the swordsman known only as "Guts" confronting one of his many (literal) demons. Notice how well-defined every piece of Guts's armor is, and how much detail has been given to every wrinkle in the monster's face and every piece of fur on its body. This art style has had a significant influence on many black-and-white American comics, including Robert Kirkman's The Walking Dead (a saga which also shares manga's penchant for long-form storytelling).
