Agence France-Presse reports that Japanese manga comic books are becoming more popular in America:
WASHINGTON (AFP) - The Incredible Hulk and Spider-Man are confronting new rivals in the US comic book world, as young Americans are devouring Japan's "manga" comics depicting wandering samurais and cheeky Tokyo schoolchildren.Actually, U.S. comics don't either, Linda-chan.
Linda Pfeiffer, 15, never got hooked on her brother's comic books, which glorify muscular heroes complete with superpowers. Instead, she is absorbed by Japanese comic book characters to whom she can relate, "even if they live far away from here."
Unlike US comics, "mangas don't always have a happy ending," Pfeiffer added as she scoured a Washington area comic book store.
Now, perhaps it's unfair to expect a 15-year old girl to be familiar with a graphic novel from 1987 -- even though it's widely regarded as one of the greatest comics of all time, and almost certainly inspired Pixar's smash hit movie The Incredibles. Some people even credit it with previsioning the 9-11 attacks, fourteen years early.
What's more interesting here is the false dichotomy the article establishes between American and foreign cultures.
We Americans like "muscular heroes". Brawn over brains. And fittingly, as the world's lone superpower, we want our heroes to have, well, superpowers. We need action, you see, and pronto. We're not much for talking things through. If there's a problem, there should also be a nice, neat, satisfying solution.
In other countries, like Japan for example, they're more sophisticated. They like complex, dare I say it... nuanced characters. And hey, if you've got a problem, there just might not be anything you can do about it, so deal.
Of course, that view doesn't account for Japanese manga favorites like Kinnikuman ("Muscle Man"). I'm not a fan, but here's a synopsis, unedited by me, of a typical story line:
Brokkenman was killed by Ramenman in the ring. Brokken Jr., seeing this made him want revenge. For a year Jr. trained hard. Went undefeated for that year until finally he had his chance at Ramenman. Jr. Entered the 2nd Chojin Olympic tournament (The first one was where Brokkenman was killed). Hoping to get the chance to face him. He had his wish in the second round. Unfortunately he lost to Ramenman in what was a cement-ring death match. In the match itself, both men took a beating from one another. But it was Ramenman that, of course, won, to move on in the tournament. Ramenman told Jr. after the match, to forget about his father and train for himself, and he would become a much better wrestler. After that, Ramenman collapsed and was taken to the hospital with Jr., and put in the same room. Since Ramenman still had to fight another match, he kept training and not resting. That is where Brokken Jr. became concerned and ended up helping Ramenman for his next match in the tournament against Wars Man. Finishing Moves: The Claw, Karate Chop.If anyone's guilty of wanting simple, unchallenging stories here, it's the AFP reporter.
4 comments:
this is a weird pundit piece, couldn't you write about the PA Israelis again? Safire just quit the Times... *smile*
course that girl probably never even heard of the watchmen. (So the giant fake alien materializing in NYC is suppose to symbolize 9/11? And Dr manhatten cutting loose is the U.S. military/industrial complex? Interesting.) Watchmen was written during the end of the cold war when russia and the U.S. could have blown up the world at anytime. Great book, but some fifteen year old girls who proabably wasn't born before the Watchmen was written, well it seems to me she's interested in highschool themed mangas not superheroes comics no matter how classic or literate, they may be. her unknowingly dissing american comics, " not always an happy unending" and the reporter using the word "muscular," and you find him criticizing all of American comic book culture? you words you go off on some weird tangent the reporter didn't imply "Brawn over brains. And fittingly, as the world's lone superpower, we want our heroes to have, well, superpowers." He didn't denigrate u.s. traditional comics at all just reported the popularity of Mangas in the u.s. and that they come in a broad range of subject matter. So this little article is someone "guilty" of something? guilty over what, liberal media bent? one sentence about super heroes and you expoliate a whole "dichcotomy being established"? Is he a liberal U.s.A. basher, is that what you are getting at? I don't see anything about the reporter saying u.s. comics books are simple stories. Just you.
Personally I prefer The Dark Knight Returns as the greatest comic ever written. Batman has to kick Superman's ass, Clark Kent has become little more then a super soldier, in Reagan's America that has become so right wing it's jingoistic quasi fascism is all too apparent. Supes is the secret weapon that censors former superheroes, all in the zeal for the american way.
anyway maybe jap comics appeal to Linda cause American comics have become stale, and formula? I don't know I haven't read comics since Neil Gaiman stopped doing The Sandman, maybe she likes them because they are written for girls too, not just teen age boys. the last part was kind of apparent, if you didn't skim the article.
when you are on, like nailing that quasi Choamsy like professor who endorsed 9/11 you are good, when you find a sentence about spider man and the hulk having competition and expoliate it into a whole false assumption that the reporter is turing u.s. comics into a whole indictment of simplistic American superpower whatever, and also criticise some girl's ignorant, subjective statement explaining why she likes jap comics, well you my friend are not using your powers of observation for the good of mankind.
really man, when you're good, you are pretty damn good. if that was a mild continuation of liberal media conspiracy bashing, it was pretty damn weak. It's especially weak for the unelegantly translated plot synopsis of Muscle man you pasted in to prove a point I'm not quite sure of.
I was just reading some interesting stuff on Haaretz about the cautious optimism in Israel and my favorite pundit japbiker former esquire, is waxing illogically and impoetically about comic books. come on man.
Posted by fasteddie
I approve this comment. *smile* I re-reread and stand by it.
Posted by fasteddie
"really man, when you're good, you are pretty damn good. if that was a mild continuation of liberal media conspiracy bashing, it was pretty damn weak."
That's because it wasn't. Read it again, only try to understand these two lines as you read the post;
"If anyone's guilty of wanting simple, unchallenging stories here, it's the AFP reporter."
-and-
"What's more interesting here is the false dichotomy the article establishes between American and foreign cultures."
-and from your post-
"It's especially weak for the unelegantly translated plot synopsis of Muscle man you pasted in to prove a point I'm not quite sure of."
That's because you didn't actually read the whole post. The point of the translation is that the Japanese like mindless muscle-bound revenge-driven stories as much as we do. Nuance? Not in Kinnikuman. He doesn't need nuance when weilding his "Finishing Move: The Claw".
The point of the post is that the French writer is writing about an easy stereotyping of american culture and getting it wrong. Easy to do when all you have is the american entertainment industry and the american media to look at. That's all.
"I approve this comment. *smile* I re-reread and stand by it."
Great. Now, next time, read the whole post and understand it before you bash the author. Really, it just makes you look silly. And stop being so bloody sensitive. That makes you look REALLY silly.
Posted by Kresh
is this a flame war? I bow out, I read the post, I got the point of the strongman quote, duh. i was being facetious. the whole point of G.b. turned on two sentences from the original article, one a quote by a fifteen year old American girl, and the exposition statement that followed spiderman and hulk watch out. something about muscular, super heros. I did read the whole post, don't assume because I didn't find the post up to G.B. usual excellent standards, no really I mean that, or that I disagreed with as before finding it a non-sensical post. Full of, I'm guessing here,
I'm projecting, is that clear? * looking for liberal media bias, USA bashing, where there is only information about the popularity of Jap comics.*
the guilt over simplification quote doesn't tread water, it doesn't logically fit the news article. did the reporter say anything about guilt? or about simple? nope. this is a total non-logical fabrication, a waste of g.b. boys talents, to go looking for demons in need of exocism where the are none.
the article didn't establish false dichtomy,it was a teen age girl's ignorant statement, and a journalist's innocent expostition, that's why i was being critical, and trying to figure if it's the ol liberal media bashing thing again. G.b. goes on for paragraphs about american super power and nuanced charaters and this and that totally pulled out of his ass, based on "muscular heros" because the journalist didn't say anything about u.s comics having brawn over brain, or japanese manga's being smarter. Just straight reporting.
oh just for fun:
kresh my kung fu's stronger then yours. Maybe if you would read more manga instead of incredible hulk, you would have more brain then brawn, and develop nuanced thinking. sarcastic irony intended. (just in case you didn't get it.)
Posted by fasteddie
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