Do you know the words “manga” and “anime“?
Maybe they have become commons words in Western countries…but before I came to Japan in 1990, I had never heard either of those two terms before.
They are both Japanese words.
マンガ (Manga) is the word to describe Japanese comic books. アニメ (Anime) is a Japanese word that comes from the English word “animation”…it’s the word for Japanese cartoons.
Are you a manga and/or anime fan? (You don’t call yourself an オタク (otaku)*, do you??)
*(オタク (otaku) is another Japanese word that, it seems, is being used in Western countries that was never used in America when I lived there. オタク (Otaku) are compulsive fans.)
I’m not really a fan of manga or anime. I know some of them because I have three kids.
Sometimes I watch 「ゲゲゲの鬼太郎」 (Ge-ge-ge-no-Kitarou), 「ちびまる子ちゃん」 (Chibi-Maruko-chan), 「サザエさん」 (Sazae-san), 「あたしンち」 (Atashinchi), or 「クレヨンしんちゃん」 (Crayon-Shin-chan).
And sometimes I might read one of those series in manga.
I watch those anime series because they’re all funny and show average life in Japan.
I can relate.
(Well, 「ゲゲゲの鬼太郎」 (Ge-ge-ge-no-Kitarou) is about 妖怪 (ghosts)).
I occasionally read a manga in order to practice reading Japanese.
One manga that I like to read is called 「ダーリンは外国人」 (“My Darling Is A Foreigner“).
It’s written by a Japanese woman whose husband is an American. They live in Tokyo and the manga is a chronicle of their life in an international marriage.
I can relate to this comic, too.
Another one I like to read is called うちの3姉妹 (“Our Three Daughters“).
(うちの3姉妹 isn’t so easy to translate accurately! Something like “Our Family’s Three Sisters” is closer…but that sounds odd in English. Anyways, it means “Our Three Daughters”.)
The author of this one is a mother of three girls close in age…like my daughters are.
Her daughters are younger than mine…but I remember when my kids acted like hers do.
I can relate to this one, as well.
When I was a kid I loved Pokemon, had poke cards, a lunchbox, etc.
The reason I became interested in Japan is I found a manga book in my library and I thought it was strange, as to me it was read like backwards, so I read it and loved the style of drawing. I try to draw some manga every now and then but I’m not very good.
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>a (Pokemon) lunchbox
I had a KISS lunchbox when I was a kid. And an Evel Knievel one too.
>I became interested in Japan is I found a manga
I’ve heard that many people in Western countries are becoming interested in Japan because of manga. When I was a kid, no one in America even heard of “manga”.
>I try to draw some manga
Do you want to become a professional artist one day?
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>Do you want to become a professional artist one day?
No, I don’t think so, I’m not very good!
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If you enjoy it you can only improve with practice.
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Oh wow, I thought I was the only person who loved うちの3姉妹. 🙂
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I have three daughters, just like in the manga. That’s why I like it…I can relate to many of the stories.
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Masako…
>Japanese is offered at the high schools and there are a couple of Japanese language schools for children to attend after school.
When I went to high school in Florida, the only foreign language classes that were offered were French or Spanish.
I took Spanish class (but didn’t retain much!)
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Japanese is offered at the high schools and there are a couple of Japanese language schools for children to attend after school.
I took a couple of years in high school and my daughter took two years also.
There are quite a few Japanese speakers in Hawaii. If you are fluent you can get a good job in Waikiki.
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Masako…
>No he couldn’t, thats why I thought it was funny that he could understand just from the pictures.
I see. Yeah, I guess Crayon-Shin-chan is easy to follow.
>He is in his second year of Japanese so he might be able to read some of it now.
Do your kids study Japanese in Hawaii?
I’ve heard that there are many Japanese-speakers in Hawaii. Tourists from Japan don’t need to know English if they visit Hawaii.
(Guam and Saipan are the same way).
Do they teach Japanese at Hawaii’s schools?
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maantas…
>always glad to coment on blogs/post i like
Thanks.
>budism in india, then it “travels” to china, changes a bit, travels to japan
Yes, that’s true. Japanese Buddhism is different from how it is in India.
Holidays, such as Xmas and Valentines, have spread all over the world…but every culture make it “their own”.
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>Thanks for commenting on my site!
always glad to coment on blogs/post i like 🙂
also i had a dream to live in japan too, when i was younger 🙂
>Yes, I guess it happens more nowadays than ever before with the internet.
i am not sure if “more” faster, thats for sure.
///
look at religions for instance,
budism in india, then it “travels” to china, changes a bit, travels to japan changes more and then budism in us, or europ
anyways,
i heard manga as well as anime, i guess, is very popular in poland too.
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“>On our first trip to Japan he asked us to buy him Crayon Shin-chan books. Even though they were in Japanese he would be looking at it and cracking up.
Can he read them?”
No he couldn’t, thats why I thought it was funny that he could understand just from the pictures. He is in his second year of Japanese so he might be able to read some of it now.
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maantas…
Thanks for commenting on my site!
>its funny how words *(but also ideas traditions and religions) migrate from one culture to other, and then back again
Yes, I guess it happens more nowadays than ever before with the internet.
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its funny how words *(but also ideas traditions and religions) migrate from one culture to other, and then back again 🙂
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Wayne…
> the word anime is definitely very popular around here and I hear the term a lot.
Really? I guess “Anime“, “Manga“, and “Kara-oke” are Japanese words that are used in Western countries now.
>I have another Japanese running story on my blog.
I commented on it.
It’s here:
http://runnersf.blogspot.com/2009/02/photo-finish.html
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Sir Pent…
>I grew up watching anime.
> Star Blazer (Space Battleship Yamato over there)
Actually, 「宇宙戦艦ヤマト」 (Uchuu-senkan Yamato) here 😉
> Battle of the Planets (Gatchaman over there)
I like this one when I was a kid, too.
> Speed Racer
(「マッハGoGoGo」 (Mach-Go-Go-Go) in Japan).
> Voltron
This one I’ve never heard of before.
>I do remember reading the Akira comic books
I never heard of Akira before I came to Japan.
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Masako…
>My son is into some Manga stuff. I think its called Naruto or somethng.
Yes, Naruto is popular with Japanese boys…and I heard it’s popular overseas now too.
>On our first trip to Japan he asked us to buy him Crayon Shin-chan books. Even though they were in Japanese he would be looking at it and cracking up.
Can he read them?
> I remember watching the cartoon with that naughty Shin chan boy.
Yes, it’s pretty funny. I think he’s like the Japanese Bart Simpson…but younger.
>On our second trip to Japan my son was into Gundum. We went all over Akhiabara
Yes, Akihabara is the place to go for that type of stuff.
When did you come here on that trip?
Was the big Yodobashi Camera there at that time? You can find everything in that one store! (It’s popular with foreign visitors).
>Now he is asking for Bakugan stuff.
Try the “Akiba-Yodobashi“!
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naoko-さん、
>I like あたしンち It shows a real average, like my mom! It’s so funny!
Yes, that manga and the anime version show a normal family life in Japan.
It’s fun. (Sometimes I see the father do or say things that I have done 😉 )
>Did it work for you to improve your reading skill?
Yes. It’s good reading practice.
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Gigihawaii…
>I worked in a public library here, manga were always being checked out.
Really? Alot has changed in America, I guess. There was no manga in America when I lived, as far as I know.
>They quickly became worn and torn, so we had to mend them with glue and tape.
Maybe the library should laminate them when they’re new, if they’re that popular.
>I should mention that they were checked out by kids, not by adults.
Maybe you know…but in Japan, many adults read manga as well as kids.
>BTW, the manga in the Hawaii public libraries are in English.
That makes sense. I’ve never seen an English-language manga.
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BTW, the manga in the Hawaii public libraries are in English.
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Tokyo5, the word anime is definitely very popular around here and I hear the term a lot. Thanks for sharing this.
BTW, I have another Japanese running story on my blog. If you have a chance, please check it out. It’s something that doesn’t happen in distance running very often!
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I grew up watching anime.
> Star Blazer (Space Battleship Yamato over there)
> Battle of the Planets (Gatchaman over there)
> Speed Racer
> Voltron
I grew up in a small town and Manga wasn’t readily available…but I do remember reading the Akira comic books and being excited to hear that there would be an animated movie based on them.
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My son is into some Manga stuff. I think its called Naruto or somethng. He has volumes of it. On our first trip to Japan he asked us to buy him Crayon Shin-chan books. Even though they were in Japanese he would be looking at it and cracking up. I remember watching the cartoon with that naughty Shin chan boy.
On our second trip to Japan my son was into Gundum. We went all over Akhiabara looking for these things that he wanted and ended up taking home a whole suitcase full of them.
Last years trip was all about getting Pokemon stuff for my nephew. Now he is asking for Bakugan stuff.
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Did it work for you to improve your reading skill?
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I like あたしンち. http://www.shin-ei-animation.jp/atashinchi/. It shows a real average, like my mom! It’s so funny!
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I should mention that they were checked out by kids, not by adults.
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Japanese manga are very popular in Hawaii. When I worked in a public library here, manga were always being checked out. They quickly became worn and torn, so we had to mend them with glue and tape.
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jplrosman….
>”Huhauhauaha” is true anime
By that, do you mean “DragonBall“?
I know “DragonBall” is popular overseas (outside of Japan), as well as with Japanese boys…but I have only daughters, so I’ve never watched “DragonBall“.
(I wrote a post about Hollywood versions of Japanese movies…including DragonBall. Here: https://tokyo5.wordpress.com/2008/12/13/japanese-movies/ )
>manga are kind of new in my day-to-day…
Which do you read?
>the movie Akira, I saw it 13 times at the cinema
I guess you really like it, huh??
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Huhauhauaha is true anime and manga are kind of new in my day-to-day… well I waas first exposed to anime when back in 1990 with the movie Akira, I saw it 13 times at the cinema
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