How To Read Manga

http://otakuokashi.tumblr.com/howtoreadmanga HOW TO READ MANGA by Otaku Okashi A lot of my friends who are just starting to get into things like anime and manga,
often come upon a slight problem with the latter… the problem is always the same they just don’t know how to read manga correctly. Now, these days a lot of manga
translators/publishers just mirror the image so that you can read it as you would
read any regular book - from left to right. But, some of my favorite manga
publishers such as Del Ray Manga strictly refuse to flip the image as it isn’t true to
the original layout or art. Besides, learning how to read manga correctly will help
you to understand Japanese culture just a little bit better. Anyways, enough
preface, let’s get you reading first…
Alright, when it comes to manga there are a couple of rules that I should point out
from the beginning:
1. Right to Left
2. Up to Down
Those are the basic rules that remain constant in every and all manga.
Starting Off
When laying the book down, try to keep the spine on the right and the leaf ends on
the right. By “leaf ends” I mean the ends of the pages that you can see from the
outside.
By “leaf ends” I mean the ends of the pages that you can see from the outside.
These are leaf ends:
The correct side that you should start on is the side with the name of the author and
the title, along with the edition. Since manga is always a series, if you are new to
any series you should always start with the first edition.
Alright! Now let’s get to the pages. Page setup varies a lot from author to author as
much as it does from series to series. Some of them are rather clean, and others are
just all over the place. Anyways, when it comes to reading manga, we have to keep
the 2 most important rules in mind:
1. Right to Left
2. Up to Down
If you simply remember that, I promise you it will help you so much it’s ridiculous.
Panels
Okay first, I’m going to teach you about panels. Panels are those boxy things that
hold a particular scene or part of a conversation. Panels are the paragraphs of
manga. They outline a collective group of dialogue, or pictures. They are generally
squares, but can also be other shapes. The important thing to remember is that it
consists of straight lines.
Unlike cartoons such as “Garfield” where the boxes are clearly defined and go in
one direction, manga is sometimes difficult, but once you learn, you don’t forget.
As you can see, this one is definitely NOT manga at all, but it does have some
similar features which we will be getting to in a little bit…
I have taken some scanned pages from “Ouran High School Host Club” and
“Strobe Edge” to just give you a general idea of how you’re supposed to read
manga. It’s labelled in number order so it should be pretty easy to understand. Try
to keep in mind that manga reads from right to left, and up to down. You’ll begin to
see the pattern, and be able to recognize it yourself as time goes on.
This particular one outlines which panels come first. Usually they come in rows or
columns which stick to the right to left rule. The rows or columns are then read from
the up-most row/column to the lowest row/column. Look for the pattern. In the scan
above, it’s easy to tell where the columns are, but that’s not always the case for
some mangas. Here’s a more difficult to understand example:
I think you get the picture :P It’s actually quite basic in construction, but I figured I
might as well stress the point anyways :P
Dialogue/Text Clumps
The reason why I put a “/Text Clumps” is because those little groups of text aren’t
always necessarily said out loud. Some of the more box-ish looking text boxes
usually hold some sort of preface. The cloud-looking (or rounded rectangles) text
boxes hold thoughts, and the round text boxes hold dialogue. Dialogue boxes
usually don’t have a definitive shape, but they’re easy to spot. Keep in mind that
most authors have one shape for their different text boxes, but that their style of
text boxes generally vary from author to author.
Text clumps also follow the rules of right to left and up to down. If you understand
the order of the panels, then you’ll understand the order of the text clumps. In fact,
they’re pretty much the same, except that there are generally a lot more text clumps
than panels.
It’s pretty easy, isn’t it? Well, this one probably is, considering that it’s done by an
author who chooses to draw her art in a very clean way, but then you have authors
who just have a lot to say like this:
I admit that it’s a bit confusing, but just remember the two rules (I emphasize this for
a reason) and you’ll be fine.
Exceptions
There are two basic exceptions to the right to left, up to down rule and they are:
1. SFXs
2. Overlapping text
SFXs
SFX refers to a sound that is emphasized in a manga. In English we use things such
as “drip, drip, drip” or “buzzzz” for different sounds that we want to express
through words. Basically a SFX = onomatopoeia.
SFXs in manga are usually very important to help visualize a scene. It clues you in
on what happened, or makes sort of a dramatic statement. It is generally put over
an image in large Japanese characters. Under or near it there should be a little
piece of text stating “SFX: (sound translation)”. It looks like this if you still cannot
visualize it:
The reason why it is an exception to the rule of right to left, up to down, is because
that SFXs are generally supposed to be read either before or after you read the rest
of the text clumps in the panel. If it crosses multiple panels, it is likely that you are
supposed to read it while it portrays visualization, etc. It is usually up to you
whether or not you want to read it first or last, but generally, it depends on what the
sound is. If it’s someone bumping into something, it is generally read first. If it’s a
slap after they say something rude - it’s last. The interpretation is up to you largely.
Overlapping Text
Overlapping text refers to when there is text in a bubble which is joined by another
bubble or text is sort of spilling off of the border of the bubble.
Though it can be left unread or ignored, and you can still get the main idea of what
the character is trying to say, I still highly suggest reading the overlapping text as it
usually helps portray the idea more clearly.
Expression Indicators
Since this is the last and easiest thing to explain, let’s just run over the basic
briefly…
The X or Y Popping Vein:
Expresses anger or annoyance.
Blushing:
Can be expressed as lines across the facial area. Easy to interpret
as embarrassment or a character having romantic feelings towards
something/someone. Can also be used to express joy.
Sigh Bubble:
Expresses exasperation or relief. Usually shown as a miniature empty dialogue
bubble.
Sweat Drop:
Can also be expressed by a U-shaped thing on their face or hair. Expresses
embarrassment/exasperation/just feelings of being uncomfortable in the situation.
Question Marks:
Obviously signifies either confusion or ignorance towards something.
Chibi:
Used to express comedy or cuteness. Usually shown as a form of a character with
a larger head and eyes, while being shorter and fatter.
Dark Aura/Facial Shadow:
Usually shown as a black or purple floating blob in the background or a shadow
cast upon the upper half of their face. It can signal anger, depression, annoyance,
or jealousy.
Pentagons:
I personally refer to them as “the pentagons of love” as they usually portray either
romance or happiness. These can also be replaced by circles, hearts, or pretty
much any light-colored floating thing that just randomly seems to appear in the
background.
Nosebleeds:
Signifies either embarrassment or sexual arousal. Usually very over-exaggerated.
Well, there’s a lot more to learn, but that’s the basics! I will be adding more,
especially to the expression indicators, as time goes by, but that’s all for now!