Yusukes
Japan is well-known for interesting, influential comic books (Manga) all over the world. You may have seen some Japanese animations on TV. Almost all of them are based on comic books. One reason for its reputation is that an animation and a comic book are made for all ages while they tend to be targeted at only children on a global basis except Japan. As far as I’m (the author is) concerned, so many Manga have been around me since I was in kindergarten.
It is too difficult to introduce all Japanese comic books, therefore, 4 titles out of them are picked up here. They had been (has been) appeared serially in Weekly Shone JUMP, which is the bestselling weekly comic magazine. Once you start to read them, you would be addicted and come to think “No Manga No Life.”
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SHONEN JUMP
shonenjump.com THE WORLDWIDE PORTAL OF MANGA FROM SHONENJUMP
THE WORLDWIDE PORTAL OF MANGA FROM SHONENJUMPwww.shonenjump.com
DRAGON BALL
Dragon Ball must be the gold standard of the action-adventure. It had been published serially from 1984 to 1995 and has 42 volumes. There is nobody who doesn’t know this comic book. Dragon Ball has been passed down from one generation to another around the world through the comic books, the animation and the video games. Its continuation of the story is going on as the TV animation Dragon Ball Super now. It describes the growth of the main character in 2 generations ; Goku, Gohan (his son) and Goten (his second son).
CAPTAIN TSUBASA
It has 7 sequels after its original title Captain Tsubasa, and now the newest one Captain Tsubasa Rising Sun is being published. The Captain Tsubasa was originally serialized between 1981 and 1988. At that time, this Manga caused the soccer boom and made the little-known sport famous in Japan. It has also inspired many top soccer players around the world; Zinedine Zidane, Neymar, Andrés Iniesta, Alessandro Del Piero, etc.
Here is an interesting story: The main character Tsubasa starts to play soccer in Japan and then becomes a professional player. Finally, he transfers to the FC Barcelona in Liga Española. The FC Barcelona was actually delighted for him to join it since the comic book has an enormous influence on the world. On the other hand, the rival team Real Madrid CF was very disappointed and made a protest against the author Yoichi Takahashi.
NARUTO
Naruto is a typical Japanese comic book since it is a story of Ninja, which started in 1999 and its original story was brought to an end in 2014. It describes friendship and the never-give-up guts through the progress of Naruto’s rising a chief of a country called Hokage. Following the story, the sequel has started since this year. The main character is Naruto’s son BORUTO.
ONE PIECE
ONE PIECE is the best selling book in Japan, which has 82 volumes so far (July 2016), and has been translated in more than 35 countries and regions. It has 320 million copies published worldwide and was officially recognized by Guinness World Record in 2015 for the most copies published by a single writer. The adventure unfolds with a pirate Monkey D. Luffy and his crews sailing around the sea.
One of the most interesting points is that the story is constructed, partly based on the historical fact, for instance slavery and human trade.
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Where in Japan Can I Read them in English?
You can find Japanese comic books in English at the foreign books section in relatively large book stores. For example, Junkudo Book Store in Ikebukuro.
Junkudo in Ikebukuro
Nearest Station: Ikebukuro Station
Address: 2–15–5 Minami-ikebukuro, Toshima-ku, Tokyo
Search this word “Junkudo Ikebukuro” on the Google Map
How long: 6 min walk from the east exit of the station
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