Gravett, Paul - Manga: Sixty Years of Japanese Comics

[oyceter]

Warning: this is going to be a rather mean write-up. I suspect this is largely because I am not Gravett's intended audience; that is to say, I have more than a passing familiarity with manga, manga history, and manga scholarship.

As you know, Bob-people, I ended up writing my thesis not just on anime and manga, but specifically on anime and manga scholarship. I would have just done it on manga scholarship, but it wasn't as though I had a ton of sources to pick and choose from. I would also like to say that I'm not an expert on anime, manga and/or Japanese pop culture or Japanese culture by any means, but I suspect I know a bit more about it than Gravett's intended readers do.

And for full disclosure, the general argument of my thesis was that too much of anime and manga scholarship tends to focus on anime and manga as a purely Japanese product (insert my standard disclaimer on nationality and ethnicity and identification and the fuzziness thereof) and that that reading, while necessary for scholarship, overlooks the growing international audience for anime and manga, tends to tie in to the rather problematic reading of Japan as some sort of exotic and special nation that can only be understood through its pop culture (or corporate structure, or whatnot, depending on the book), and flattens and simplifies the range of readers and attitudes. So note, I come from an extremely, extremely biased point of view!

The book starts off with the fairly standard introduction of manga for people who believe that a) comics and cartoons are for children, and really, doesn't Disney do a lot of that stuff? or b) it's all porn and violence. Given that the book was published in 2004, I'd hope that the perception of manga has changed a bit, but who knows? While Gravett does the standard attempt to say that manga encompasses an extremely broad range of topics and genres, he continues to use the comparisons and language of the very people that he's attempting to contradict (likening Japan to a "boy of twelve," somewhat facetious comments on salarymen reading manga in the subway). I really wish he wouldn't... it feels like he's undermining the very argument that he's attempting to make because he isn't refuting any of the claims, really. He's just saying that he is.

Also, he annoyed me right off the bat by going with Frederik Schodt's reading of the character "man" as "irresponsible." I mean, I'm not saying it doesn't mean that, but I wonder if most people think that when they see "manga" written out. I was also irritated that the first mention of Japan as a country starts off with the stereotypical notion of inwardness and isolation, and then the continual reference to stereotypes of Japan, from the isolation to the frightening foreign powerhouse that overtakes American things like cars or comics. Wargh.

I mean, it's not that it's inaccurate, because Japan was isolated from most of Europe and America during the Edo/Tokugawa period, but it's not like they were locked away from the world. There was trade going on with China and Asia and the Dutch. And I won't go into the whole "Japan is taking over the world" thing of the 1980s.

Then Gravett goes on to the standard argument that Japan as a nation is specially poised to be manga consumers, given the long history of pictorial stories in the form of picture scrolls, shunga or ukiyo-e (the erotic woodprints largely popularized during the Edo/Tokugawa period) and the first coining of the phrase "manga" in 1814. I thought that he was going to give these facts and then argue against them, but he sticks with it and contrasts the Japanese culture with that of Britain, which also had a satiric comic tradition that was apparently stomped out.

My main annoyance with this is the same monolithic culture thing, along with the bit that if you looked through anything, you could probably find explanations of reception to comics via the alphabet or illustrated manuscripts or what have you. It's very anecdotal and highly speculative, but it keeps being repeated! Argh. Also, scrolls and shunga and the manga of the Meiji era are extremely different media than what's currently considered manga, and I would say that really, the manga tradition goes back to Tezuka Osamu and possibly back to the Meiji era with the advent of satirical comics with European and American influences.

Er, yes. Also, Gravett's structure is basically a combination of Schodt's Manga! Manga! and Dreamland Japan, from the beginning introduction to manga to an extremely vague and rather stereotyped portrayal of Japanese culture and history in light of manga, to a chapter on Tezuka, to more chapters on shounen and shoujo (with the requisite paragraphs on "why in the world would Japanese girls want to read about boys in love?"). The chapters on Garo and the indie manga largely reminded me of Dreamland Japan. Of course, this is probably a nitpicky complaint, given that there probably aren't a gazillion ways to organize introductions to manga.

Most of the content is the same as Schodt's two books, and sadly, Gravett doesn't add that much extra despite his book being published twenty years later. There is a bit at the end on the popularity of anime and manga in the States and in other countries, but it's rather minimal. The one thing Gravett does have going are the multitude of pictures and illustrations, which add a lot to the text.

I'm being really crochety about this book, which isn't really all that fair. There isn't any other introduction to manga book that I'd rec to other people; I generally rec Schodt, even though I have the exact same compunctions about his books as well. But... damnit, twenty years! And still the same thing! I wanted something with a more critical approach and a much, much wider understanding of Japanese culture and history. Actually, I don't care about the understanding of Japanese culture and history, I'm perfectly fine with books on manga that don't reference those things. I'm just sick of the same old generalizations being toted out again and again without any passing attempt to cite anything or research anything beyond "What he wrote in his book!" It's sloppy.

So... recced as a general resource, but with lots and lots of caveats. And with a strong wish for more books on the manga industry and the current state of manga, or specifically on manga in the States, or just focusing on shoujo or something.

Comments

Duh - nul points for knowledge of Brit cartoon tradition

[oursin.livejournal.com]

Britain, which also had a satiric comic tradition that was apparently stomped out.

Yerr WHAT!!! Has this guy ever looked at a Steve Bell cartoon, frex? Bell is so in the Rowlandson/Gilray line of descent.

I think that this daft assertion establishes that he is yay uninformed about the British cartooning tradition, for starters. I don't think a nation in which such a trad had died out would have a cartoon museum (http://www.cartooncentre.com/) (there's also a centre for political cartoon and caricature at the University of Kent (http://library.kent.ac.uk/cartoons/)).

Re: Duh - nul points for knowledge of Brit cartoon tradition

[oyceter]

That's what I sort of figured, but given that I have no real knowledge of British satiric comics, I wasn't sure.

Thanks!

[wemblee.livejournal.com]

And with a strong wish for more books on the manga industry and the current state of manga, or specifically on manga in the States, or just focusing on shoujo or something.

You should do eet. :D When you have the time.

[oyceter]

Ehhhh, I am lazy and that actually requires research!

[literaticat.livejournal.com]

with a strong wish for more books on the manga industry and the current state of manga, or specifically on manga in the States, or just focusing on shoujo or something.

We'd like that, too. Have you thought about ... err... writing one yourself?

[literaticat.livejournal.com]

Yes. Umm. And that, friends, is why one should look at the comments before giving one's own 2 cents.

But see, it's unanimous!

[oyceter]

Hee!

Alas, I am lazy and disinclined to do, say, actual research, as opposed to blathering in LJ ;).

[coffeeandink.livejournal.com]

See, I disagree about whether or not Gravett covered more than Schodt -- I think he covered a lot more genres in a lot more depth, and I also really appreciated the detail on the process of production and publication: the studio methods, the involvement of the editors (which is really startling from an American perspective), especially the common gender breakdown of female assistant editors and male senior editors.

Schodt did a lot on Garo and indie, but I didn't feel like he covered the *popular* genres well.

[oyceter]

Ooh, yes, you are right about the production process details, which I thought were useful. I haven't read Schodt in a while, so Gravett probably does do the shounen/shoujo/seinen/lady's comics coverage better (I think Schodt skipped seinen and lady's comics?).

I just got so irritated by the introduction and beginning chapters on the history of manga that I went through the rest of the book in a rather bad mood.

[rilina.livejournal.com]

Schodt did a lot on Garo and indie, but I didn't feel like he covered the *popular* genres well.

I've only read one of Schodt's books, but I had this impression as well. Actually, to be honest and uncharitable and specific, I got the feeling of, "Yes, I am talking about comics, but I will attempt to maintain some of my highbrow credibility by focusing on the indie/avant-garde ones! I wouldn't stoop to like the popular ones! Really, I wouldn't!"

Of course, this could be my natural cynicism projecting on the text.

[oyceter]

I think you may have read Dreamland Japan? It was written after Manga! Manga!, which is the book that gives the general overview of more popular manga genres; Dreamland Japan was written specifically to focus on the genres that Schodt didn't have a chance to write about in the first book.

Not to defend Schodt overly much, because I have huuuuuuuge issues with his books.

[rilina.livejournal.com]

I checked my books read list, and yeah, that's the one I read. My impression from reading the forward/intro/whatever to Dreamland Japan was that it was more an update than a supplement to Manga, Manga, but perhaps I misunderstood.

[oyceter]

Yeah, I think he kept saying it was an update, but it honestly feels much more like a supplement than anything else.

[octopedingenue]

It's been a while since I read it, but I think Adult Manga by Sharon Kinsella had some information about the production/publication processes (I remember editor/mangaka fight stories, and maybe stuff about the printing presses). It was far from a perfect work as well, though.

both of you, write manga books!

[oyceter]

OOo yes, I liked that one, largely because it did focus a lot on the production and publication and the business side of manga, as opposed to most of the books I read on manga.

[jinian.livejournal.com]

you could probably find explanations of reception to comics via the alphabet or illustrated manuscripts or what have you.

I seem to recall that Scott McCloud does something like that in Understanding Comics, though it's been a while since I read that. (It's very good; I recommend it if you haven't read it already.)

[oyceter]

Yeah, I remember that too! Just.... not in detail. It's been a while since I've read McCloud.

[londonkds.livejournal.com]

Agreeing with oursin that no way has the UK satirical comic tradition been stamped out - it's just that it's now largely as newspaper strips and single-panels rather than comics.

Is this the book that got banned from a US library recently for including a porn page?

[oyceter]

Is this the book that got banned from a US library recently for including a porn page?

Yup, that's the one! It's rather ironic, considering that the book argues that manga isn't all porn and violence.

intenational influences in manga

[(Anonymous)]

hi my name is rotem, i'm studying communications at the hebrew university in israel. i was thinking of writing a paper/study of the influences other cultures such as the u.s. have had on manga since i too think that manga isn't "a purely Japanese product" as you nicely put it.
i was wondering if you could point me to some resources and if i could read your paper.
you can e-mail me at rotem_nagar@yahoo.com
thanks rotem