Thursday, December 31, 2009

Anime: Few Happy Ending in these Fairy Tales

Here is an interesting article on a type of  "anime" - "manga."  The name was coined in 1815 by woodblock artist Hokusai, describing his illustrated doodles as " sketches or unintentional pictures."  Manga became entertainment for children in Japan in about 1952 when Tezuka Ozamu created the "Astro Boy" comic which is the story of a robot with a human soul.  However there is a difference between manga and western comics or fairy tales as is described in this article in New American Media:

"There are no soft landings, no candy-coated protection in the story lines from the Far East. Behind those round, puppy-eyed, cuddly characters, with their perfect western features, lies a set of ancient eastern sensibilities informed by human suffering rarely known in the land of “happily ever after.” It is why, now in middle age, as an immigrant from a war torn country, Vietnam, I watch Naruto religiously." ...(Cont.)...

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