Understanding Manga Art
Source: Vijay Times, CentreStage PG - 3.)
Copyright © 2005 Puja Goyal
Manga Art has taken the entire world by storm; their simple, outlandish characters have had a major influence on animation and movies, notably in movies like, The Matrix, Animatrix and Kill Bill; and famous music videos like Daft Punk's One More time, and Gorillaz Feel Good Inc.
Bangalore has also seen a recent growth in the interest of Manga art; school students have started to draw animé and even be a part of the Manga video game culture. Many youngsters cited that this growing interest is a result of trying to find a new form of animation.
Manga originated in the 12th century in the form of Chojugiga, (humorous pictures of birds and animals), drawn by an artist-priest Kakuyu (1053 - 1140). It later developed as a graphic narrative through the work of Hokusai Katsushika (1760-1849). The elements in Manga are also different from other comic books because they developed from a simple caricature of 'good versus evil' into a knotty story containing diverse themes like religion, politics, and social and cultural issues.
The range of readers has increased over the years defeating the perception that comic books are only for children. Manga has started to produce different types of stories, fiction and non-fiction: science fiction, sports, love stories, etc. There are gigantic Mangas' (the size of dictionaries) that come out weekly and monthly and feature 10 to 20 different artists (e.g.: Shounen Sunday, started publication in 1959). Japanese collaborations with other countries have resulted in animated films that have broken new ground in both style and subject matter.
One interesting product of this cultural fusion was The Prince of Light: The Legend of Ramayana, produced in the 1990s as a joint venture between India and Japan. The film based on Ramayana, combined the visual styles of traditional Indian illustration with the bold look of Japanese animé.
The adaptation of the legend combines the techniques of Manga, and Indian classical paintings, updated by Ram Mohan, the father of Indian animation. Later, the cross-cultural exchange led to some interesting changes in the movie. For e.g. Rama and Lakshmana looked like Samurai warriors, and the action sequences consisted of swordfights based on the Japanese kenjutsu tradition; the characters delivered their speeches in an Indian folk theater acting style, but with a Manga twist.
Of late Manga has been given a different dimension. The life like animation makes for violent, sexually explicit expression and pornographic content. Most of these Manga animé constitutes adult content, which are strictly not for children. Some insist that, like movies and other forms of entertainment where you have different genres, Manga also has the right to deviate into different forms.
The new trend amongst young adults is indulging in this lucid form of animation which they justify as stress releasing. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Pokemon, AniMatrix Series, Dr. Aki Ross from Final Fantasy- the Spirit Within, and the Sailor Moon series are some famous and well liked Manga movies and characters.
Animation has taken a free form. You find all sorts of animation to fulfill the demands of the creators, producers and buyers; and the same goes for Manga. The real question is, should animation be rated or should it be left to the parents to decide, before the children enjoy it?
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