Manga and Anime: The new literature?

[Razael: The Angel Slayer]

As time goes on, My dear forum freaks, things of old (dare say "Antiquated") passtimes are forgotten and passed over for a new thing.

A study in Australia (Not just Oz but worldwide) has shown that reading amoungst children and interest in reading and Literature has greatly deminished.

It has been replaced by Computers, the Internet and Video Games.
(Why do I feel I'm gonna regret writing this thread?)

So in accordance with the timely flow of trend and events (RE: Staub and Freidken's theory) Anime and Manga will overtake and become the norm and general for the replacement of Literature.

True, Anime and Manga express soo much emotion and detail with (Sometimes) very little and It covers the whole gammat of emotion and demographic.
Cartoons for every walk....Now that works.

But will Dostoyevsky be replaced by Fujisawa?
F. Scott Fitzgerald, Osamu?

What do you think?

FMA. LOVE RAZAEL :D

[Rye]

Um, anime and manga are nice, but they seem more like comics than literature to me. Oh man, I'mma get stabbed for saying that. I've flipped through one once and it's not like I found any literature type theme or life lesson or anything. Not even a "WITH GREAT POWER COMES GREAT RESPONSIBILITY."

I prefer books. It makes me sad when people like my brother and Dad are all like "OMGODZ BOOKS R GHEY." :(

I couldn't see it happening, honestly.

[Shlup]

Nothing will ever replace my Golden Books and Dr. Seuss collection!

[DK]

Not even a "WITH GREAT POWER COMES GREAT RESPONSIBILITY."

xDDD You legend.

And if that ever happens the world should seriously consider nuking itself.

[Captain Maxx Power]

If you want a simplish solution, start making E-books more accessible to the masses. If "TEH KIDZ" won't come off the computers, then bring them the books. Kinda the mountain -> Mohammed idea.

[Levian]

Yeah, what Rye said. Maybe they'll replace cartoons, since they are cartoons and kids seems to like them nowadays. But they'll never replace literature.

[Twisted Tinkerbell]

I have always loved reading and can often be reading three or four books at any one time. I am right now reading three very different books. I also love manga and anime, but nothing will ever replace my books.

[Madonna]

No. Manga are still comics, and comics, no matter how awesome the characters are, how epic the story is, or how brilliant the writing is, are not literature in the sense that you speak of. Call 'em what you will: graphic novels or comics are still just books/booklets with too many pictures and not enough written material to elevate them on the level of Dickenson. I love Calvin and Hobbes; I believe it is the work of genius. This does not change the fact that it will not be studied in a Literature course in high school.

And anime are animated works, and qualify as movies and/or TV series, so they do not count in this respect.

[eestlinc]

kids have been reading comics for a long time. it's nothing new.

[Kai Seraph]

Animation is the new generation of cartoons. I've had a long time disputing the fact that animation is not considered 'cartoon' (for lack of better phrasing) but now I've come to terms that cartoons are actually a substandard form of animation which more often than not deals with fiction. Animation, on the other hand can cover a non-fictional story, or rather it is at least the preferred choice as compared to using cartoons.

Funny thing is... Japanese anime originated from American cartoons, remember Astro Boy? =)

I like to think that the Japanese brought the term 'cartoon' to a whole new level, thus rightly claiming their new creation as 'animation'. And that is true, from some points of view.

Literature, on the other hand, can be considered to be an age-old 'tradition' (for lack of better terms). Literature is, by nature, an art. Despite losing touch with Literature a long time ago(and not having much interest in it), I believe that Literature, as an archaic form of art, is unique in its own right. Past experiences of reading To Kill a Mockingbird reminded me of the sophistry that is only attainable in literature.

Needless to say, as the world changes, our perception changes. Literature is very much an art of the past that people keep alive today, while Animation/manga is an art of the future which people look forward to. Both are seemingly closely related, but are actually worlds apart, mostly because of the circumstances then and the circumstances now.

By looking at the very basics of both subjects, it is very easy to tell that they're different. Many people love Harry Potter but more people love seeing accidental *aherm* underwear scenes. Just kidding. :P

However, seeing as to how the themes of Animation have been changing to become more serious, darker and even sinister (gothic perhaps?), and I have mentioned before, perception plays an important role in the definition of the new 'Literature' of the world today. Thus, it may very well be that Animation may soon become the visual Literature of the future.

(I know i don't seem to be rather coherent in my paragraphs, but too many thoughts crammed into one skull is just too much to bear >.<)

[Agent Proto]

I wasn't aware that reading books is diminishing. I thought more kids are starting to read more often thanks to books like the Harry Potter series. I guess that's wrong then.

[Cz]

Nope, animation and literature are entirely different media, so one will never replace the other, no matter how popular it is.

[Jebus]

Y...you're actually comparing Fitzgerald and Dostoyevsky and all of them to MANGA? I don't know whether to laugh or be offended.

That would be like comparing Homer's Illiad to Superman.

*twitch*

[Mo-Nercy]

That would be like comparing Homer's Illiad to Superman.
They're both pretty boring to me. ^_^v.

(that would explain why I failed that one Ancient History module so hard)

---

Oh yes. I read manga. I watch anime. Much <3 for them.

[The Filecreator]

i dont understand why you guys make a big deal out of this...
i like books, heck i even love some of them!
but i also like cartoons, manga, animations etc. etc.
:Oo: but if someone doesnt, who cares?
a well.
its a free world i`d say...

[Tarshish]

I prefer the Odyssey myself, but I haven't read either in Greek yet.

Literature will never die out, but it might just become what it was in the first place: a past time for the educated elite. Perhaps the masses will move on to more simplified forms of entertainment like when the Romans became less interested in drama and much more interested in bloodsport.

It's sad to imagine children won't ever read 20,000 Leagues under the Sea, or Treasure Island, but will wait in line for hours to get the next Harry Potter (I like Harry Potter too but it's not literary brilliance).

I believe someone will always be driven to put words together to tell amazing stories as long as mankind remains. Anime and Manga were fun (at least for me anyway. I stopped both a couple of years ago), but they just will never compare to literature.

[The Summoner of Leviathan]

I do not think that a novel will be replaced by a book. There is so much about books that you cannot get frm manga or graphic novels. Here is just a comment to what Rye said though. Manga (or the few I have read) can, at times, have deepr meanings than what you see at the surface. For instance, Sailor Moon. Sure she is a teenager going around in a short skirt saving the world, but that is only superficial. Underlinening the whole plot of the entirity is the idea that both good and evil were orn as one, seperated at birth, and they constantly attract each other, striving to unify. Obviously to get that from Sailor Moon you have to read all of it, especially towards the end. But there are more themes under surface. I am not saying that they are anywhere close to my favorite books, but still there is more than meets the eye. I will never give up on my novels, no matter how picky I am.

[edczxcvbnm]

Manga/Comics are different than a typical novel in that they are only dialog for the most apart. This equates them to more of a play. I for one hate novels but I do like some plays. The problem with plays that you read is that they are usually devoid of creativity and imagination and end up sticking to more realistic things where as a Manga is acted out on the page so the sky is the limit.

That is my 2 cents on this.

[RPJesus]

This isn't really sensible argument- most kids have never read much anyway. When you look at the statistics, it's only in the last few decades that most kids have been reading much- it wasn't really a major part of life. Besides, most people never read classical literature, they all read adventure stories and the like (or crappy romance for particularly stupid girls). A kid reading Asimov in the 70s and a kid watching Japanimes now aer really doing the same thing- it's just low-key entertainment, with vauge attempts at deeper meaning to hold the plot together.
Besides, some quality Japanime is really just as good as a lot of 'literature', Harry Potter 'books', for example. Like I said, it's not really about how the stuff is experienced, but what they are actually about.