DRAGON BALL Z
© Viz
Manga Burnout?
By: Nadia OxfordDate: Thursday, September 13, 2007
Will manga ever fall away from mainstream American culture? Elder members of the human race are fond of rattling off every fad that's come and gone throughout their lives; hula hoops, Slinkies, Cabbage Patch dolls. It's tempting to heap the likes of Pokemon on that pile, but can manga and anime be similarly filed away as faded memories?
Right now it seems unlikely. A trip to Borders or Barnes and Noble will yield dozens of titles in almost any genre you could desire (well, except for the really raunchy ones). Schoolkids still get into pissing contests over Yu-Gi-Oh cards and at least one kid on the playground has a puppy named Super Saiyan 3.
Dying Slowly?
Still, there's an undeniable increase of titles in used book stores. Some clerks report receiving old manga by the boxful, which, they believe, is the sign of a hobby in its death throes.
Boxes of used books or toys can't always be depended upon as culture thermometers. A family could simply be moving, or a fed-up mother might decide to junk her kids' "comic collection," a sad practise that seems to carry over from generation to generation. Still, the manga fandom is an interesting study because of its rapid changes.
First, manga and anime can't be considered fads. They've been around for far too long, not just counting the "explosion" that occurred with Pokemon. Between Robotech, Kimba, Battle of the Planets and Astroboy, it's safe to say that anime is something every generation has grown up with since its conception--and those are just a few examples of imports.
Manga infiltrated American culture only a little more recently, especially the "tankobon" book format that's popular today. Even so, it's been at least ten years since the medium has been available in bookstores (not just as a specialty title). By contrast, if you go to Toys R Us, you won't find a whole lot of shelf space dedicated to Beanie Babies or Furby.
Evolving Hobby
Manga and anime have been around long enough for something interesting to occur: Its audience has grown up. Adults sometimes collect the toys they grew up with, but for the most part they're abandoned in a box. Given manga's varied genres, however, it's easy for a kid to graduate from a shonen title like Dragon Ball and move along to Gundam, or even seinen titles like Death Note or Mushishi.
Seinen and josei magna are specifically tailored for adult men and women. Boy-oriented adventure stories are matured and seasoned with mystery, sex and intrigue. It's no wonder shelves are cleared away to make room for new titles.
Which brings up another reason why manga seems dispensable: A tankobon doesn't have the same collector's value as a regular comic book. There's rarely any variance in the cover art. The paper is usually newsprint and retailers don't employ cardboard backing or plastic sleeves. It's not to say some volumes are more coveted than others (older series are discontinued all the time), but manga generally exists to be read, not admired for its shine.
Flooded Genres
Whatever you do in life, whatever you're interested in, you can find a manga based on it. Certain genres are more popular than others; shonen has been very popular for a long time inside and outside Japan. Not surprisingly, there's a lot of it on the shelves--and when one title becomes a success, it makes sense to import and translate similar titles. In no time, stories for boys spill off the shelves of every bookstore.
With such an increase in product, reality beings to slowly dawn: There is a lot of bad manga out there, same as there's bad comics, bad television shows, bad music and bad hamburger joints. It's up to fans to decide what they want to read, which means some of the filtered titles are going to be left in the cold … or on the shelf of a used bookstore.
The Kids Get It
Even with the variety available, even with the lure of seinen and josei titles, it's not impossible for an adult to outgrow manga. As life becomes busier, there's less time for reading. That's when we can count on kids to get their sticky fingers all over what's new.
But will kids finally turn from manga? Not likely. A genre doesn't die overnight, and though manga might not be the most traded item on the schoolyard right now, it's more than held up through the years. And the cross-pollination that occurs between manga, anime and video games will always keep interest high.
Note, I fear you've got the term "tankobon" wrong. It's the prettier, keep-forever versions of the manga, not the newsprint-printed weeklies or monthly books. They're not all that collectable (not say, like doujinshi) but they're available, which is important.
P.S. your registration system for comments is awful. If you lightened up on comments you'd find you got a lot more of a community going.