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Now that you know what's what in
manga and how it is drawn, the next logical step would
be to know where to get manga, right? Whether they are
in Japan or overseas in the West, manga companies' growth
has been a deciding factor in the success of manga (and
anime) in other countries. Stores and organizations
also help to spread the anime medium. Here are some
highlighted ones you may want to look for when you're
looking out for some anime to watch:
Japanese
Manga "Companies" (websites in Japanese, use
AltaVista's
Babelfish to translate):
One
thing to note is that most manga artists in Japan are
freelancers, or, if they are grouped together, work
in very small groups. Unlike in the West, there are
no real "official" manga companies filled
with artists drawing under one banner. Publishing companies
usually deal with manga artists on an individual basis.
Therefore, the "companies" shown here are
either publishing sites or artist sites.
-Shounen Sunday (http://www.websunday.net/)
- Created under the Shogakukan company in Japan, Shounen
Sunday has been one of the most well known magazines
on manga both in the West and the East. Shounen Sunday
also runs manga series in its pages, most notably the
works of Rumiko Takahashi (Ranma 1/2, Inu-Yasha, etc.).
-CLAMP School Web Campus (http://www.clamp-net.com/)
- CLAMP is a group of four manga artists that have created
many popular manga. They are one of the few "teams"
of manga artists in the industry. The site features
profiles, a works listing, and news.
-Newtype Magazine (http://www.newtype-net.com/,
under re-construction) - The definitive source for anime/manga
information, news, and art in Japan, and also for some
fans overseas. Newtype mags are usually quite huge and
contain large, beautifully detailed anime characters,
with some manga pictures included.
Western/Overseas
Manga Companies:
-Viz Video (http://www.viz.com)
- Viz Video, one of the oldest anime/manga companies
in the West, releases many different manga by many artists.
They are the main source for many popular manga series
that have been translated, such as Dragonball, Ranma
1/2, Fushigi Yuugi, and Inu-Yasha.
-Animerica (http://www.animerica-mag.com)
- Produced by Viz, this is the most popular Western
anime/manga magazine published. Animerica features information
and news about anime and manga, and serializes manga
in its pages. Animerica Extra, an off-shoot of Animerica,
is a magazine that is entirely made up of serialized
translated manga from various artists.
-Dark Horse Comics (http://www.darkhorse.com)
- Though they release many Western comics, Dark Horse
also releases "graphic novels" of well-known
manga series, such as Gunsmith Cats, Bubblegum Crisis,
and Lone Wolf and Cub.
Online/Offline
Manga Vendors:
-Amazon.com (http://www.amazon.com)
- The Internet's "do-it-all" online store,
Amazon.com features slightly lower prices and shipping
for many popular anime titles. Performing a search for
manga will bring up not only media such as VHS tapes
and DVD's, but also other things such as toys and anime.
-AnimeNation (http://www.animenation.com)
- Perhaps one of the most well-known of online stores
specializing in anime distribution, AnimeNation has
become a staple company in finding anime/manga and anime-related
merchandise for sale online.
-Anime Village (http://www.animevillage.com)
- Created by the folks at Bandai
Entertainment, Anime Village carries anime goods,
but also features a selection of manga as well, some
of which are bilingual volumes from Japan.
That's
about it for companies and vendors. While there are
definitely a lot more than listed, having a general
idea of some of them will help you find other companies
that distribute manga. Checking out the websites will
give you a resource to look for manga to read. We're
almost done, folks - I just want to give you some of
my personal recommendations for just starting out in
manga, with series that won't make your head explode
or give you too much of a culture shock...
>>Go
to Lesson 5 - Beginner's Manga, or What's Next?
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