Manga goes global

Abstract

OTOMO Katsuhiro's Akira was published in Japan from 1982 to 1993. When translated into French (1991-1995), the eleven volumes serie was given an unusual first-class treatment-complete with colors and hard-cover. Its French publisher targeted well-educated high-income urbanites at a time when manga were still considered cheap stuff for children or semi-illiterate teenagers. The fact is that Akira is in a class of its own. It stands out as a highly sophisticated cultural object far away from the standard manga's violence and sex routine. It became a cult-serie in France, although this fortress of the "école franco-belge" is a very difficult market for foreign comics. It also succeeded in the US-which is hardly an easy market either. Akira the movie enjoyed worldwide success. Akira's echo in the West-like Doraemon's success throughout Asia-epitomizes the fact that contemporary manga is the vehicle of a culture which appeals to audiences all around the world. This makes it a major element of Japan's soft power and a worthy subject for academic research. Jean-Marie Bouissou-Manga goes global-April 2000 http://www.ceri-sciences-po.org 2 The statistics about manga industry are impressive. About one third of all the paper used for printing in Japan is used for comics magazines and books. In 1995, the circulation of manga magazines surpassed 2 billion, and the total earnings for printed manga alone surpassed 600 billion yen-$6 billion (ARTE). But the bulk of the profit is made through TV-series, animation movies (anime) and licensed goods. Some sources put the total earnings of the Japanese character-merchandising industry at $15 billion for 1995-on par with Korean giant Hyundai's revenues (TESORO, p.35). Combined with the videogames industry, the total earnings of Japanese "pop culture" industry may exceed $30 billion, and much more if hardware for video viewing and computer games is added. Admittedly, the Japanese manga and anime industry is not quite on par with Disney and Hollywood. The Japanese all-time animation hit, Princess Mononoke, which reached 12 million viewers and earned more than 17 billion yen ($131 million) (AMAHA) during the summer of 1997 is dwarfed by the many billions earned by Titanic to date. Japan matches neither the $4 billion in surplus from the trade of movies between the US and the rest of the world nor the total spending for movie-viewing by the American ($18,4 billion in 1992 against only $5 billion for the Japanese) (TURNER). Nevertheless, for the first time, American giant producers of comics, animation and TV-series are confronted worldwide by foreign competitors. Although the taking-over of MCA studios by Matsushita in 1991 ended in a failure four years later, three Japanese multimedia companies now rank among the world's top ten (TURNER). This is doubly significant, since the competition in "soft" industry is not only a matter of big money. To export comics is also to export ideology and values system. Hence the stubborn opposition raised by France against the extension of the rules of t...

An examination of portrayals of smoking in graphic novels/comic books: A picture is worth a thousand words

“…Although this research identified a decline in depictions of smoking in more modern Manga comics, the continuing portrayal of smoking remains a serious concern 38 . As Bouissou 40 comments, to export comics is also to export ideology and value systems.…”

“…It must be remembered that it is not accidental that Manga characters are routinely portrayed as heavy smokers. Manga as a genre has consistently and deliberately challenged the spectrum of Japanese societal norms, from respect for parents to cannibalism [40][41] . This is in stark contrast to the Ecole Franco-Belge school that dominated comic book/ graphic novel production in Europe and produced well known and non-controversial examples such as Tintin and Asterix.…”

“…Similarly, the USA produced 'safe' comic products such as Mickey Mouse [42][43][44] . As Bouissou 40 notes 'the American cartoons, after struggling with the stringent constraints of the Comics Code for half a century, gradually 3…”

“…Cessation 2020;6(July):41 https://doi.org/10.18332/tpc/122867 became emasculated. The readers were tired of no violence, no sex, no police-bashing, no smoking and 'no nothing' 40 . Therefore, although the routine depiction of smoking in Manga is not surprising, the prevalence of smoking depictions in contemporary graphic novels from both Europe and North America is unknown.…”

“…Similarly, the USA produced ‘safe’ comic products such as Mickey Mouse 42 - 44 . As Bouissou 40 notes ‘the American cartoons, after struggling with the stringent constraints of the Comics Code for half a century, gradually became emasculated. The readers were tired of no violence, no sex, no police-bashing, no smoking and ‘no nothing’ 40 .…”