Manga Series Popularity: Japan vs Rest of the World
On my last visit to Japan, my brother-in-law made a statement insightful to me:
What non-Japanese consider as manga is just Dragon Ball, One Piece, and that genre. Manga popular in Japan is different from those.
At that moment, I realize how narrow my own definition of manga - I based my selection of manga popularity by manga translated into English for me to read.
If the manga isn’t in English, it does not exist in my world, even though I lived in Japan and spent too much time in bookstore stuffed with manga.
This translation creates an interesting experience for non-Japanese manga fans. There is only so much translating resources for manga, so people/companies have to select a set. Of the manga translated into English, they represent all of manga to non-Japanese manga fans.
Considering how much manga comes out in Japan - manga translated into English is only a sliver.
When you visit Japan, open your mind to a world of manga bigger than what you know - because what you know is only the selection others decided for you.
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