UNIT 5: LISTENING 1: Manga's New Popularity
Reporter: It's possible that you haven't yet heard of the Japanese comic-book style called manga. But don't worry, you soon
will. Manga is known for its (1)
distinctive artistic style, in which the youthful-looking heroes have big round
eyes. It's been popular in Japan since the 1950s. The U.S. and (2)
early '90s, and now you'll see the comic books in (3)
Europe started to pay attention in the late '80s and
unexpected places like bookstores and your local library. So
what's the big deal about manga?
We visited the recent Planet Comic (4)
convention and asked around. John Abrams is a buyer for a major
bookstore chain. Abrams says all the major bookstore chains have taken note of the rise in manga's (5)
The comics I recall from my childhood were about (6)
popularity.
superheroes battling bad guys. But manga is different.
John Abrams says that manga is not like the old comics.
John Abrams: Our (7)
generation grew up reading about heroes fighting to save the world, but manga tells all
kinds of stories. I think that attracts different readers. And each manga story is longer, the (8)
reader becomes interested in a story or a character, he or she can usually read a whole (9)
same character. And that means that bookstores are paying (10)
length of a book. Once a
series of books about that
attention-if someone is buying a series of books,
we want that person to be our customer.
Reporter: Abrams says there's greater variety in the types of stories manga
tells.
John Abrams: Just about everything, from science (11)
fiction to high school dramas to sports stories. And I think
another factor is the art itself. Manga looks a lot like video games, and that (12)
Reporter: Manga, unlike earlier American comics, appeals to a different (13)
attracts many younger readers.
breed of reader: girls. Sixty percent of
manga readers are female. Fourteen-year-old Tina Roberts is one of the young readers at the convention. We met her and
her mother at a booth that (14)
specializes in shoju, manga written especially for girls.
Tina Roberts: Manga is really great. I really like the characters and the stories. I used to think comics were all about fighting,
but manga has stories about(15)
regular girls like me.
At Planet Comic last year, I saw Rumiko (16)
Takahashi. I couldn't believe it! She writes InuYasha, a really good
story about a girl who goes back in time. These conventions are really cool because sometimes you get to meet the (17)
artists.
Reporter: Although many people believe true manga still comes from Japan, a lot of manga or manga-style books are now
produced in North America, many by female artists. And this may be (18)
popularity. After our (19)
encounter
contributing to its increased
with Tina, we attended a session about North American manga,
graduate
and about an American manga company called Tokyopop. Colin Baxter, a UCLA (20)
student
who's studying manga, explained Tokyopop's success.
Colin Baxter: Yeah, this guy Stuart Levy founded Tokyopop in L.A.
In 1997, after working over in Japan, and he's had (21)
amazing
success. And he broke all the Western
comic book rules. For one thing, he published all his books from right to left, just like they do in Japan, but the (22)
opposite
like most American (23)
of traditional American comics. And he printed them in black and white, like most manga, not color,
comics.
doing something right. In 2005, they (24)
And every single book sold for less than ten dollars. They must be
reached
a thousand titles and are bringing in more than forty
million dollars in yearly sales. They're on all the social networking sites. And they sell video games, produce films, and hold
(25)
contests
. No wonder manga is so popular.
Reporter: Margaret Brown, a librarian from Topeka, Kansas has a different take on manga's popularity. She's part of a (26)
panel
that will talk later today about manga and its new role in libraries. I asked her if her library included
manga among its titles.
Margaret Brown: Oh, my goodness, yes. We've got a whole section devoted to manga in the children and young adult (27)
categories.
are in(28)
Manga is incredibly popular. On any given day, I'd say at least three-quarters of our manga titles
circulation,
so we plan to expand that section of the library. That's why it's so exciting to come
to conventions like these to see all of the great new titles.
Reporter: According to Brown, there's a connection between manga and more traditional forms of (29)
literature.
Margaret Brown: I think anything that helps young people have an (30)
appreciation for reading is terrific.
And because manga looks like television shows and video games, it can get kids to turn off the TV and actually read. And like
all literature, good manga shows the (31)
development
of characters and plot over time. We're even
starting a manga discussion group at our library so younger readers can talk about these important parts of any story.