“MANGA wa suki desu ka?” was among the favorite questions asked of me by the Japanese during my early schooling days in Japan.  I will never forget that time when I answered in the affirmative thinking that what they were asking me about was the sweet, golden fruit of the Philippines.  It was only when my dear friend, Dr. Mauro Nishi, a Japanese Brasilian, clarified, “How can you love manga when you cannot even read all the kanji (Japanese characters) in the text!” that I realized that what the Japanese were asking me had nothing to do with the country’s golden fruit.  When I realized my mistake, we could not help but laugh.  “”Well, expect the Japanese to give you your share of manga in the coming days!” was all he could say while laughing to his heart’s content.

Manga, the Japanese comics, is pronounced exactly the same way as we would our delicious fruit, mangga.  Manga has entertained the Japanese for centuries that its readers are not limited to children and young adolescents.   As renowned manga critic Yukari Fujimoto explains, “Japan’s manga culture developed from a large nucleus of work that was written to appeal to adolescent boys and girls…It’s also interesting that so many of the boys and girls who grew up reading these manga remained manga fans even after they reached adulthood.  The main reason grown Japanese men read manga is that Japan has manga specifically targeted towards the ‘salary man.’  There’s nothing similar in other countries.  The manga designed to appeal to adult readers by focusing on their daily concerns are a Japanese phenomenon.”

I still remember one manga entitled “Salary Man” which became a hit in Japan in the late 1980’s.  This particular manga got the attention of noted U.P. Psychologist now based in the USA, Dr. Elena Samonte, who was pioneering in her research on the Japayuki phenomenon in the country.  “Salary Man” even had a series devoted on Japanese salary men and their experiences in Manila.  On my part, I was really surprised with the detailed illustrations of Manila’s scenes and architecture by the Japanese artists.  The then popular manga series had gripping dramas that drew out the story for as long as possible to make the readers anxious to know what will happen the following week.
Sadly, it didn’t give such a good image of our country to Japanese readers.  The author gave his clear, social commentary about Manila, its people, and the pervading graft and corruption in government and business.  “Salary Man” was made into an anime (animated film) and made a killing at the Japanese box office.  This distinctly shows that manga and anime share a relationship in Japan’s industry and pop culture.

Quite amazingly, Japanese manga have achieved tremendous international prominence in recent years.  Former editor of Chuo Koron, Kono Michikazu, claims, “Japanese manga are the embodiment of Japan’s newfound global influence in pop culture — the essence of ‘Japanese cool,’ as it were.  Even Japan’s Prime Minister Aso Taro, an outspoken manga enthusiast, has talked of establishing a manga Nobel prize!  It’s the first time in Japan’s political history that a country’s top political office has been occupied by a die-hard manga fan.”
Japanese artists were expressing movement in narrative picture scrolls as early as the 12th century which depicted animals acting like people.  Their techniques were adapted by Japanese artists of the Edo period (1603-1867) who developed wood-block techniques which enabled them to mass produce illustrated books and prints.  In 1720, the first manga book was published in Osaka and made history for the Japanese to be the first people in Asia to enjoy cartoon pictures.
Having seen the antique Japanese illustrations makes me wonder whether our national hero Jose Rizal’s drawings of the monkey and the turtle were influenced by the ancient Japanese art.  We all know that Rizal lived in Japan and even had a Japanese lover.  You’d be surprised at the similarities of Rizal’s drawings with that of the Japanese antique illustrations.

And what was the catalyst that propelled Japanese manga to popularity overseas?  Fujimoto Yukari, a lecturer at Waseda University explains, “In the West, I think the turning point came in 1991 with the international release of the hit animated film, Akira.”  Then came Spirited Away which won an Oscar for best animated feature at the 75th Academy Awards in 2003. Japanese anime achieved instant fame and recognition worldwide then.  Japan is now considered the anime capital of the world.  Of course, even before that, Japanese anime such as Astro Boy, Mazinger Z, Voltes V, Pokemon, Doraemon, among others, were being broadcast and enjoyed by Filipino children.
Yes, you could easily distinguish the Japanese manga style through the huge eyes of the figure characters.  Just take a look at the Osamu Tezuka’s (Father of Modern Manga) Astro Boy of the 1960’s which is the inspiration for modern Japanese anime.