Sporadic Sequential
Monday, July 07, 2008
The Wide Wide World of Manga

Two news items caught my eye this morning and reinforced the international appeal of manga:

1. Two Vietnamese artists, Nguyen Thanh Nhan and Truong Quang Toan, have entered the finals for the second International Manga Award. I'm not sure what their entries were, but I love Nhan's colorful creature pictured at the right.

2. Over the weekend, Paris was invaded by "[t]he strange teenage cult of manga" with "its weird and sinister mix of Tokyo pop, manga comics, anime, video gaming and Lolita-like fashion." I would have loved to attend this event, as it combines two of my great loves: manga and Paris. I remember being amazed at the selection of comics in bookstores during a trip to Paris back in 2003, so I can only imagine what the shelves look like now with the increasing popularity of manga in France. (According to this article, France is now the second-biggest market for manga outside of Japan.) Also, I could have looked into the possibility of sending my kids abroad to attend Koikekazuogekigasonjuku, AKA "Kazuo Koike's Gekiga Sonjuku," which the article describes as "private manga schools."


I have no idea what's going on in this picture,
but I love the omnious Hello Kitty heads floating above everything

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