From: axolotl@socs.uts.edu.au (Iain Sinclair)
Subject: Re: The Amazing World of Japanese Comics (Sydney Australia)
Reply-To: axolotl@socs.uts.edu.au
Organization: University of Technology, Sydney
Date: Sun, 30 Aug 1992 19:27:02 GMT
Originator: irsincla@uts.EDU.AU
Keywords: good!


michaele@nagisa.nsg.com.au (Michael Edwards) writes:
 >There are about twelve display boards with a combination of history and 
 >types described.  There is a table at each of these boards with plenty of 
 >manga of the type described.  

There were about 22 displays.  Let's see if I can remember them (as you
said, there was a LOT of manga there, ..., a drop in the ocean compared
to a comiket, of course.  One of the displays had photos of a comiket,
BTW).

1. Intro -- 4 significant ways in which manga differ from comics,
  Posters for Morning and Mr. Magazine. On table:  Mangajin (lots).

2. Magazines -- Describing audiences and circulation (14 mil. weekly
  for shounen manga; also, there's more manga for males than females).
  On table: Shounen Mag + SM Monthly, Mr. Mag, Bonbon + other kids' stuff,
  Be Feel + Midori + other OL stuff, Morning, Young Mag.  The magazines
  were all a week or two old.  NB: there was nothing of questionable
  content (eg. YJ, BJ) on this display, or anywhere else throughout the
  exhibition.  In fact, a display dealing with the all-important
  Ultraviolent manga genre was completely missing!  Still, you can't
  have everything.

3. Tezuka Osamu -- bio, how he pioneered the format, popularity.
  On table: about 1-4 volumes of at least 15 of his best-known titles.
  I hadn't seen any of his stuff in the original format before.  I was
  pretty blown away by his originality, and the clarity of the art.
  The stories were very wide-ranging and not simplistic at all.  Also,
  there was an English page-long synopsis as a preface to EVERY volume -
  a good incentive for me to buy them.  Anyway, now I know why this guy
  is so highly regarded.

4. Akira -- Otomo, success of Akira.  Actually, I don't buy any of this
  hype about Akira being massively popular, because it simply isn't so.
  Not just because many manga addicts I know don't care for it, nor
  because the final vol.6 is over two years late, nor even because the
  original ending is lost forever (unless some net.otaku can dust off
  their YMs and send me photocopies in return for an utterly absurd
  amount of money).  It's because there are a lot of people with the
  impression that Otomo is somehow the king of manga, an impression
  which really needs correcting, IMHO.
  On Table:  Epic Akira (packaged for Japanese market), French Akira
  (looks nice), vols.1-5, KABA.

5. The international distribution of manga -- describes the rise to fame
  of Taiwanese artists like Chen Wen, and the proliferation of manga
  throughout the rest of the world.  Also, foreign comics in Japan
  (Rank Xerox was mentioned).  On Table: Indonesian versions of manga,
  Heroes of East Chu Dynasty 1-2 in 3 different editions (Taiwan, HK,
  Kodansha).  I must say that the Taiwanese edition had the best
  printing and reproduction.  I had a good look at both volumes of
  the Japanese edition, but this manga seems to be extremely
  inaccessible to Westerners.  Something of a shame, considering
  its fantastic art.

6. Sports manga.  On table: Success Joe, that judo story from YM,
  Chiba Tetsuya stuff, etc.

7. Sneering Schoolboys manga -- on table:  Be-Bop HS, Dear Boys, but
  no examples of this genre that I consider interesting (eg. Gorillaman).

8. Gag and humor manga -- on table:  Chibi Maruko-chan, Joy (by the
  guy who does Wing Half in Afternoon), plus Taiho shichau zo 1-2 and
  AMG! 1-3.  Interestingly, Fujishima's stuff seems to have been
  selected for the exhibition in early '91, as the AMG flyer only
  mentions 3 volumes for AMG.  (There were many more titles on
  the table, but I can't remember them.)

9-10. Shojo manga.  didn't spend long here; only thing I recognised
  was Miyuki (the display explained that it wasn't a "real" shojo
  manga).

11. Historical manga -- something else that was fairly new to me.
 The display explained the various subclasses of this genre
  (clinically accurate, accurate + artistic licence, vaguely
  historically based).  Some of the volumes here were enormous,
  some came in ornamental boxes.

12. SF- manga -- on table: Hardback Queen Emerald (Leiji M.),
  Otomo stuff (Domu, Sayonara Nippon [a bit out of place], Kanojo
  no Omoide...), Kiseiju 1-2 (very well thumbed ^_^), Raika (looking
  pretty nice in the original wide format), Legend of Mother Sarah 1,
  SD Gundam, Nausicaa, and U.P.O./Unidentified Prince Object.
  U.P.O seems to be an early work of Tanaka Masashi (the artist of Gon),
  almost laughed myself to death reading it.

13. Manga with social themes -- display rather diplomatically described
   Silent Service as "dealing with themes of politics, war and peace". ^_^
   On table:  Mademoiselle Mozart, SS, others.  More Tanaka Masashi stuff,
   also very good (IMHO).

14. Informative manga -- on table:  various bits and pieces, incl.
   Cooking Papa (I think).

15. Kids' manga -- on table:  Dragon Ball (lots of volumes), cardboard
   books for Ultraman et al, Doraemon.

16. Political/satirical manga -- Evolution of the OL, all the other stuff
   that looks interesting when you see it in Mangajin. ^_^

17. Cartoon corner --  A brief section describing anime.

There were more displays than listed here, those are just the ones that
spring to mind.  You could drag volumes away to a comfy chair and sit
there and read them at your leisure.  Why don't they have this facility
at our local bookshop!!

I recommend this exhibition to anyone.  I spent the best part of the
day there.  However, it leaves Sydney on Sep.4.