Harry Potter and the Japanese Experience

By: Nadia Oxford
Date: Thursday, August 02, 2007

Before reading what our columnist, Nadia Oxford, has to say, I'm warning everyone here at Mania that there is a Harry Potter & Half Blood Prince Spoiler in this article. You are now warned. Now, let's get back to Nadia's thoughts... --Jarrod Sarafin, News Editor.

Harry Potter has cast his last spell, leaving fans to cling to their shaggy Lupin dolls and wonder what comes next.

The most obvious answer is "the movies." The cast has to endure growth-inhibiting hormone injections long enough to get through the filming of The Half-Blood Prince and Deathly Hallows. After that, their souls will be free and fans will really be left wondering about what comes next.

How about a manga adaptation? Although adults enjoy Harry Potter, there's no denying the fanbase is made up mostly of children (which is surprising considering some of the darker moments in the later books). In fact, manga and Harry Potter came to age side by side, each commanding kids' attention through different means. Both share similar subject matter; the enticing mix of fantastic and real-life problems that Harry must face is not unlike some of the stories found in manga--for example, Hibiki's Magic is a whimsical story starring a young girl who must find her place in a magic academy.

Thus, Harry Potter would make excellent manga fodder ... and the books' enormous page counts compliments manga's tendency to span volumes and volumes of tankobon. Harry's story would live again and Scholastic would wet itself with glee.

Despite similarities, however, a Harry Potter manga could just as easily turn into a disaster. A bad writer or a mismatched artist could send things south in a hurry, and there's also the very real possibility of a rush job. The Harry Potter series will remain a beloved classic for years to come, but it will also inevitably fade from kids' memories as they move on to other fancies. If a publisher gets nervous and aims to breed the cash cow before it dries up, the result might not be spectacular. On the other hand, if Harry were allowed to age for a while and make his return through a manga-ka who cherished the series while growing up, there might be something worth reading.

This leads to another consideration: Which country would tackle the adaptation?

Manga written and illustrated by artists outside Japan (often referred to as Original English Language manga, or OEL manga) is rapidly gaining popularity, thanks in part to Tokyopop's exposure. Would Harry Potter be better off in the hands of a native English speaker? Or do the Japanese have more experience plotting out and illustrating epic stories? It's a tricky question to answer. Some OEL manga is excellent, even if manga purists tend to shun it. On the other hand, manga and anime has worked magnificently with literature in the past, such as Miyazaki's award-winning adaptation of Howl's Moving Castle. In fact, if Miyazaki happened to do anything with Harry Potter (which might not be so likely as the director is in semi-retirement), you can be sure it would be worth watching or reading.

On the OEL manga side of the matter, Tokyopop published Return to Labyrinth, a sequel to the original 80s movie. It hasn't been well-received by fans, but maybe they just miss David Bowie.

The success of a Harry Potter manga would obviously lie with the talent and dedication of the artist and / or writer. There are some very talented manga-ka both in and outside of Japan, but there are some lousy ones as well. There's also no denying that an artist's passion for the subject colours his or her work. A non-fan is capable of competent work, but a fan just adds that little bit of sparkle.

There's also the question of what kind of art style Harry Potter would fit under. Contrary to a very stubborn belief, not all manga looks the same. In fact, manga-ka are more determined than ever to find ways to break out of the "big eyes small mouth" mould. It must be said, however, that a Harry Potter re-design by Akira Toriyama (the artist behind Dragon Ball and DragonQuest) would be something to see. Harry's physical description does make hefty note of his "unruly" hair…

Akira Toriyama specializes in shonen manga, which usually features the rambling adventure of a young boy, his loyal sidekicks and all sorts of monsters and magic. A shonen manga might fit Harry perfectly, though it might also alienate older readers and girl readers (even though girl readers are perfectly capable of enjoying shonen manga, and often do).

Another consideration for Harry would be a shojo manga, like Cardcaptor Sakura or Sailor Moon, and let's drop that idea quickly before it grows and hurts someone.

Harry would probably work best just being his good ol' magical self. The wide appeal is part of what's made the books so popular, and if there ever is a manga, that important point should not be forgotten. Either way, it would be cool to see a pile of neat and efficient Hogwarts tankobon shelved beside those giant hardcover monsters.

(And Fawkes would shed sparkly anime tears over the corpse of Dumbledore. Admit it, that's awesome.)

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