1.
Cosplay
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Cosplay, a contraction of the words costume play, is a performance art in which participants called cosplayers wear costumes and fashion accessories to represent a specific character. Cosplayers often interact to create a subculture and a use of the term cosplay applies to any costumed role-playing in venues apart from the stage. Any entity that lends itself to dramatic interpretation may be taken up as a subject, favorite sources include manga and anime, comic books and cartoons, video games, and live-action films and television series. The term cosplay is a Japanese portmanteau of the English terms costume, the term was coined by Nobuyuki Takahashi of Studio Hard while attending the 1984 World Science Fiction Convention in Los Angeles. He was impressed by the hall and the fans and reported on both in Japanese magazine My Anime. The coinage reflects a common Japanese method of abbreviation in which the first two moras of a pair of words are used to form an independent compound, costume becomes kosu, Costume parties or fancy dress parties were popular from the 19th century onwards. Most specific costumes described therein are for historical figures although some are sourced from fiction, one of the earliest recorded examples of costuming based on an existing character from popular media were costumes based on A. D. Condos science fiction comic character Mr. Skygack, from Mars, in 1908, a Mr. and Mrs. William Fell attended a masquerade at a skating rink in Cincinnati, Ohio wearing Mr. Skygack and Miss Dillpickles costumes. Shortly after, in 1910, a woman won first prize at masquerade ball in Tacoma. The first people to wear costumes to attend a convention were science fiction fans Forrest J Ackerman, paul and the 1936 film Things to Come, designed and created by Douglas. Ackerman later stated that he thought everyone was supposed to wear a costume at a science fiction convention, although only he and Douglas did. Fan costuming caught on, however, and the 2nd Worldcon, david Kyle won the masquerade wearing a Ming the Merciless costume created by Leslie Perri, while Robert A. W. Lowndes received second place with a Bar Senestro costume. Other costumed attendees included guest of honor E. E. Smith as Northwest Smith and both Ackerman and Douglas wearing their futuristicostumes again, masquerades and costume balls continued to be part of World Science Fiction Convention tradition thereafter. Early Worldcon masquerade balls featured a band, dancing, food, contestants either walked across a stage or a cleared area of the dance floor. Ackerman wore a Hunchbackerman of Notre Dame costume to the 3rd Worldcon in 1941, which included a designed and created by Ray Harryhausen. Douglas wore an Akka costume, the mask made by Harryhausen, to the 3rd Worldcon. Rules governing costumes became established in response to specific costumes and costuming trends, the first nude contestant at a Worldcon masquerade was in 1952 but the height of this trend was in the 1970s and early 1980s, with a few every year. This eventually led to No Costume is No Costume rule, which banned full nudity, mike Resnick describes the best of the nude costumes as Kris Lundi wearing a harpy costume to the 32nd Worldcon in 1974
2.
Roxas (Kingdom Hearts)
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Roxas is a fictional character from Square Enixs video game franchise Kingdom Hearts. Kingdom Hearts II reveals that Roxas is a member of Organization XIII, a group of Nobodies who needed Roxas as he could wield the Keyblade, as a member of the organization, Roxas bears the title Key of Destiny. He is also the protagonist of the video game Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days, in the Japanese games, Roxas is voiced by Kōki Uchiyama, while Jesse McCartney takes the role in the English versions. Since his introduction in Kingdom Hearts II, Roxas has received critical response from video game publications with most of them focusing on his development in 358/2 Days. Various types of merchandising have been released based on his character, Roxas is depicted as a spiky blond-haired boy with blue eyes. Due to his nature as a Nobody, he is an empty shell of series protagonist Sora created when the sacrifices his heart. As a result, despite his appearance, Roxas is one day short of a year old when he rejoins Sora in Kingdom Hearts II. As a civilian, he wears a jacket over a black one jacket. As a member of Organization XIII, Roxas wears a black coat that covers most of his body. His weapon is the Keyblade known as Kingdom Key, resembling a classic skeleton key with a long silver keychain extending from the hilt, however, the player is able to modify it during Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days via the games panel system. Roxas also becomes able to dual-wield Keyblades after leaving the Organization, when learning that he is Soras Nobody and remembering his past, Roxas gives up his existence so that Sora could continue existing, but still expresses happiness for his fate. During his time in the Organization, Roxas develops a calmed personality based on the experiences he has as a result of having no memories of a previous life, unlike other Nobodies. Roxas first appearances were cameos in Another Side, Another Story, a bonus trailer found in Kingdom Hearts, in Kingdom Hearts II, Roxas is introduced as a boy living in a digital replica of a city called Twilight Town. Unaware of the nature of the city, Roxas begins to dream about the adventures of Sora. He later encounters Axel, a member of Organization XIII who was given orders to him, and Naminé. Ansem leads Roxas to an old mansion where he rejoins with a sleeping Sora, Sora later learns that Roxas is his Nobody, created during the events of the first game after Sora briefly turned into a Heartless. Xemnas brought Roxas into Organization XIII as he could wield the Keyblade, Roxas later betrayed the Organization and encountered one of Soras friends, Riku, who captured him to help Sora wake up. Roxas makes two appearances near the end of the game, the first is in a mental battle with Sora depicted as a cut-scene, and the second is with Naminé, who has merged with her other self, Kairi
3.
Sora (Kingdom Hearts)
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Sora is a fictional character and the protagonist of Square Enixs Kingdom Hearts video game series. Introduced in the first Kingdom Hearts game in 2002, Sora is portrayed as a teenager who lives in the Destiny Islands and has been best friends with Riku. When they plan to go on a journey to see other worlds, while fighting against them, Sora obtains a weapon called the Keyblade. Donald Duck and Goofy then recruit him in their journey across various worlds to aid King Mickey while Sora searches for his friends, along the way, the trio protects the worlds they visit from various villains. In Kingdom Hearts II, Sora searches for Riku and fights against Organization XIII who, Sora has also made supporting appearances in other games from the series, and reprised his role in manga and light novel adaptations of the games. Sora was originally designed by Kingdom Hearts series director and character designer Tetsuya Nomura during a discussion between Disney and Square about who should be the protagonist of the series, wanting an original character, Nomura made various sketches of Sora until the design met the approval of Disney. Nomura came to regard Sora as his character that he had designed. Throughout the series, Sora has been voiced by Haley Joel Osment in the English version, for his depiction as a child in the prequel Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep, Sora was voiced by Luke Manriquez and Takuto Yoshinaga in English and Japanese, respectively. Soras character has received positive critical response due to his warm personality. His personal and martial growth in the series received praise. Additionally, Sora has ranked high on various video game character popularity polls, Sora appears as a child with spiky brown-hair who, when first introduced, wears a red shirt, red pants, and a white and blue jacket covered by keychains. Upon traveling to certain worlds, Soras appearance is altered by Donald Ducks magic to adapt to different environments, for example, he turns into a merman in underwater environments. After undergoing significant growth in Kingdom Hearts II, Sora is given a new outfit given by Flora, Fauna, when battling, Soras outfit can change into other designs depending on the players choices. However, through the use of game known as Keychains. During Kingdom Hearts II, Sora dual-wields Keyblades, but their forms depend on the use of Keychains. Across the series, Sora is depicted as a teenager who cherishes his friendships. As a result, several of Soras enemies use his friends as bait to use the Keyblade for their purposes. During the first game, it is discovered that Sora was not meant to wield the Keyblade, however, Soras greater strength of heart causes the Keyblade to reject Riku in favor of Sora
4.
Yaoi-Con
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Yaoi-Con is an annual three-day anime convention, founded in 2001, aimed at fans of yaoi-related anime, manga, and other aspects of Asian culture. It typically takes place during the Fall in California, since the 2012 edition, its organizer and main sponsor is Digital Manga Publishing. It is known mostly for its events that use volunteers known as bishounen. The bishounen are male volunteers who represent the characters shown in Yaoi manga. In addition, Yaoi-Con holds a fan fiction contest, Bishounen Bingo, at bingo, and the auction, the bishounen volunteers put on shows and strip to entertain the convention goers. Each year Yaoi-Con sponsors at least one Japanese yaoi manga artist as guest of honor, and, as yaoi publishing expands in the U. S. the companies who attend Yaoi-Con have become interested in bringing guests with them. Guests of honor usually participate in question and answer/autograph sessions as well as sketch sessions where they demonstrate to attendees how they produce their work. Because of the nature of its theme, Yaoi-Con requires all attendees to be at least 18. As of 2003, 85% of Yaoi-Con membership are female, official website Yaoi-Con 2005, A Celebration of Female Fantasies, by K. Avila, Sequential Tart, Dec.2005 Yaoi Con No
5.
Anime
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Anime is Japanese hand-drawn or computer animation. The word is the pronunciation of animation in Japanese, where this term references all animation. Arguably, the abstract approach to the words meaning may open up the possibility of anime produced in countries other than Japan. For simplicity, many Westerners strictly view anime as a Japanese animation product, some scholars suggest defining anime as specifically or quintessentially Japanese may be related to a new form of orientalism. The earliest commercial Japanese animation dates to 1917, and Japanese anime production has continued to increase steadily. Anime is distributed theatrically, by way of television broadcasts, directly to home media and it is classified into numerous genres targeting diverse broad and niche audiences. Anime is an art form with distinctive production methods and techniques that have been adapted over time in response to emergent technologies. It consists of an ideal story-telling mechanism, combining art, characterization, cinematography. The production of anime focuses less on the animation of movement and more on the realism of settings as well as the use of effects, including panning, zooming. Being hand-drawn, anime is separated from reality by a gap of fiction that provides an ideal path for escapism that audiences can immerse themselves into with relative ease. Diverse art styles are used and character proportions and features can be quite varied, the anime industry consists of over 430 production studios, including major names like Studio Ghibli, Gainax, and Toei Animation. Despite comprising only a fraction of Japans domestic film market, anime makes up a majority of Japanese DVD sales and it has also seen international success after the rise of English-dubbed programming. This rise in popularity has resulted in non-Japanese productions using the anime art style. Anime is an art form, specifically animation, that all genres found in cinema. In Japanese, the term refers to all forms of animation from around the world. In English, anime is more used to denote a Japanese-style animated film or television entertainment or as a style of animation created in Japan. The etymology of the anime is disputed. The English term animation is written in Japanese katakana as アニメーション and is アニメ in its shortened form, in English, anime—when used as a common noun—normally functions as a mass noun
6.
Manga
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Manga are comics created in Japan or by creators in the Japanese language, conforming to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century. They have a long and complex pre-history in earlier Japanese art, the term manga in Japan is a word used to refer to both comics and cartooning. Manga as a term used outside Japan refers to comics published in Japan. In Japan, people of all ages read manga, many manga are translated into other languages. Since the 1950s, manga has become a major part of the Japanese publishing industry, representing a ¥406 billion market in Japan in 2007. Manga have also gained a significant worldwide audience, in Europe and the Middle East the market was worth $250 million in 2012. In 2008, in the U. S. and Canada, the market was valued at $175 million, the markets in France. Manga stories are printed in black-and-white, although some full-color manga exist. In Japan, manga are usually serialized in manga magazines, often containing many stories. If the series is successful, collected chapters may be republished in tankōbon volumes, frequently but not exclusively, a manga artist typically works with a few assistants in a small studio and is associated with a creative editor from a commercial publishing company. If a manga series is popular enough, it may be animated after or even during its run, sometimes manga are drawn centering on previously existing live-action or animated films. Manga-influenced comics, among original works, exist in parts of the world, particularly in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan. The word manga comes from the Japanese word 漫画, composed of the two kanji 漫 meaning whimsical or impromptu and 画 meaning pictures, rakuten Kitazawa first used the word manga in the modern sense. In Japanese, manga refers to all kinds of cartooning, comics, among English speakers, manga has the stricter meaning of Japanese comics, in parallel to the usage of anime in and outside Japan. The term ani-manga is used to describe comics produced from animation cels, writers on manga history have described two broad and complementary processes shaping modern manga. One view emphasizes events occurring during and after the U. S, occupation of Japan, and stresses U. S. cultural influences, including U. S. comics and images and themes from U. S. television, film, and cartoons. Regardless of its source, an explosion of artistic creativity certainly occurred in the period, involving manga artists such as Osamu Tezuka. Astro Boy quickly became popular in Japan and elsewhere
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History of anime
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The history of anime can be traced back to the start of the 20th century, with the oldest surviving anime being Namakura Gatana. The first generation of animators in the late 1910s included Ōten Shimokawa, Junichi Kōuchi and Seitaro Kitayama, propaganda films, such as Momotarō no Umiwashi and Momotarō, Umi no Shinpei, the latter being the first anime feature film, were made during World War II. During the 1970s, anime developed further, separating itself from its Western roots, typical shows from this period include Astro Boy, Lupin III and Mazinger Z. During this period several filmmakers became famous, especially Hayao Miyazaki, Space Battleship Yamato and The Super Dimension Fortress Macross also achieved worldwide success after being adapted respectively as Star Blazers and Robotech. The film Akira set records in 1988 for the costs of an anime film. Later, in 2004, the same creators produced Steamboy, which took over as the most expensive anime film, according to Natsuki Matsumoto, the first animated film produced in Japan may have stemmed from as early as 1907. Known as Katsudō Shashin, from its depiction of a boy in a sailor suit drawing the characters for Katsudō Shashin and it consists of fifty frames stenciled directly onto a strip of celluloid. This claim has not been verified though and predates the first showing of animated films in Japan, Film titles have surfaced over the years, but none have been proven to predate this year. The first foreign animation is known to have found in Japan in 1910. Yasushi Watanabe found a film known as 不思議のボールド in the records of the 吉沢商店 company, the description matches James Blackton’s Humorous Phases of Funny Faces, though academic consensus on whether or not this is a true animated film is disputed. According to Kyokko Yoshiyama, the first animated film called ニッパールの変形 was shown in Japan at the 浅草帝国館 in Tokyo sometime in 1911, Yoshiyama did not refer to the film as animation though. The first confirmed animated film shown in Japan was Les Exploits de Feu Follet by Émile Cohl on April 15,1912. While speculation and other films have been found in Japan. During this time, German animations marketed for home release were distributed in Japan, few complete animations made during the beginnings of Japanese animation have survived. The reasons vary, but many are of commercial nature, after the clips had been run, reels were sold to smaller cinemas in the country and then disassembled and sold as strips or single frames. The first anime that was produced in Japan was made sometime in 1917 and it has been confirmed though that Dekobō shingachō – Meian no shippai was made sometime during February,1917. At least two unconfirmed titles were reported to have made the previous month. The first anime films were made by three leading figures in the industry
8.
Fansub
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A fansub is a version of a foreign film or foreign television program which has been translated by fans and subtitled into a language other than that of the original. The practice of making fansubs is called fansubbing and is done by a fansubber, fansubbers typically form groups and divide the work up. The first distribution media of fansubbed material was VHS and Betamax tapes, early fansubs were produced using analog video editing equipment. First, a copy of the source material or raw was obtained. VHS tapes or even a recording could be used as well. The dialogue was translated into a script, that was then timed to match the dialogue. The two most popular used in this process were JACOsub for the Commodore Amiga and Substation Alpha for MS Windows. The next step was to one or more masters, a high quality copy of the finished fansub from which many distribution copies could be made. The fansubber would play back the raw video through a computer equipped with a genlock in order to generate the subtitles, the hardware of choice was an Amiga PC as most professional genlocks were extraordinarily expensive. The final output of this arrangement was then recorded, the master was most often recorded onto S-VHS tape in an attempt to maximize quality, though some fansubbers were forced to use inferior but less expensive VHS or Beta. Once completed, the copy was then sent to a distributor. The internet allows for highly collaborative fansubbing, and each member of a team may only complete one task. Online fansubbing communities are able to release a fully subtitled episode within 24 hours of a debut in Japan. Then a translator watches the video and produces a text file of the screenplay with any relevant notes. The same series or episode may be subtitled by multiple groups with independent translations of varying quality, fansub groups sometimes translate other already translated fansubs that are more susceptible to more errors. Translated text is assigned with start and end times in a known as timing to ensure subtitles appear when dialogue is spoken. An editor and a translation checker reads over the script to ensure that English is natural, a typesetter then appearance for the dialogue, signs, translator notes, etc. Then groups perform quality control to any final errors
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History of manga
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Other authors report origins closer to the 18th century. Manga is a Japanese term that can be translated as comic, Historians, according to Sharon Kinsella, the booming Japanese publishing industry helped create a consumer-oriented society in which publishing giants like Kodansha could shape popular taste. For Murakami and Tatsumi, trans-nationalism refers specifically to the flow of cultural and subcultural material from one nation to another. An example of cultural trans-nationalism is the creation of Star Wars films in the US, their transformation into manga by Japanese artists, another example is the transfer of hip-hop culture from the US to Japan. Wong also sees a role for trans-nationalism in the recent history of manga. However, other writers stress continuity of Japanese cultural and aesthetic traditions as central to the history of manga and they include Frederik L. Schodt, Kinko Ito, Adam L. Kern, and Eric Peter Nash. Schodt points to the existence in the 13th century of illustrated picture scrolls like Chōjū-jinbutsu-giga that told stories in sequential images with humor, Schodt also stresses continuities of aesthetic style and vision between ukiyo-e and shunga woodblock prints and modern manga. While there are disputes over whether Chōjū-jinbutsu-giga or Shigisan-engi was the first manga, however others like Isao Takahata, Studio Ghibli co-founder and director, contends there is no linkage with the scrolls and modern manga. Ito describes how this tradition has produced new genres and markets, e. g. for girls manga in the late 1960s. Kern has suggested that kibyoshi, picture books from the late 18th century and these graphical narratives share with modern manga humorous, satirical, and romantic themes. Similarly, Inoue sees manga as being a mixture of image- and word-centered elements, both fuse in what Inoue sees as a symbiosis in manga. The roots of the wide-eyed look commonly associated with manga dates back to shōjo magazine illustrations during the late 19th to early 20th centuries. This had a significant influence on manga, particularly shōjo manga, evident in the work of influential manga artists such as Makoto Takahashi. Modern manga originates in the occupation and post-occupation years, when a previously militaristic and ultranationalist Japan was rebuilding its political, furthermore, the 1947 Japanese Constitution prohibited all forms of censorship. One result was the growth of creativity in this period. In the forefront of this period are two series and characters that influenced much of the future history of manga. These are Osamu Tezukas Mighty Atom and Machiko Hasegawas Sazae-san, Astro Boy was both a superpowered robot and a naive little boy. Tezuka never explained why Astro Boy had such a developed social conscience nor what kind of robot programming could make him so deeply affiliative
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Manga outside Japan
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Manga, or Japanese comics, have appeared in translation in many different languages in different countries. France represents about 50% of the European manga market and in 2011 manga represented 40% of the comics being published in the country, in 2007, 70% of the comics sold in Germany were manga. In the United States, manga comprises an industry, especially when compared to the inroads that Japanese animation has made in the USA. One example of a publisher in the United States, VIZ Media, functions as the American affiliate of the Japanese publishers Shogakukan. The UK has fewer manga publishers than the U. S, since written Japanese fiction usually flows from right to left, manga artists draw and publish this way in Japan. When first translating various titles into Western languages, publishers reversed the artwork and layouts in a known as flipping. However, various creators did not approve of the modification of their work in this way, soon, due both to fan demand and to the requests of creators, more publishers began offering the option of right-to-left formatting, which has now become commonplace in North America. Left-to-right formatting has gone from the rule to the exception, translated manga often includes notes on details of Japanese culture that foreign audiences may not find familiar. One company, TOKYOPOP, produces manga in the United States with the format as a highly publicized point-of-difference. Manga in Indonesia is published by Elex Media Komputindo, Acolyte, Level Comic, M&C and Gramedia, the wide distribution of scanlations actually contributes to the growth of publication of bootleg manga, which is printed in lower quality. One of the most notable publisher is Seventh Heaven which publishes bootleg version of One Piece, many popular titles, such as Bleach, Loki, Magister Nagi, Rose Hip Zero, and Kingdom Hearts, have been pirated, which draws controversy toward manga readers in Indonesia. Manga in the Philippines were imported from the USA and were only in specialty stores. The first manga in Filipino language is Doraemon which was published by J-Line Comics and was followed by Case Closed. The very first commercial local manga is She Died, an adaptation of the written by Wattpad writer HaveYouSeenThisGirl. The art was done by Enjelicious, singapore also has its own official Comics Society, led by rewowned manga artist Wee Tian Beng, illustrator of the popular Dream Walker series. In Thailand, before 1992, almost all available manga were fast, unlicensed, however, due to copyright laws, this has changed and copyrights protect nearly all published manga. Thailands prominent manga publishers include Nation Edutainment, Siam Inter Comics, Vibulkij, many parents in Thai society are not supportive of manga. In October 2005, there was a programme broadcast about the dark side of manga with exaggerated details
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Yaoi
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Although yaoi is typically aimed at a female audience, the genre also attracts male readers, however, manga aimed at a gay male audience is considered a separate genre. The main characters in yaoi usually conform to the formula of the seme who pursues the uke, material classified as yaoi typically depicts gay relationships between male characters and may include homoerotic content. Although the yaoi genre is also called Boys Love, the characters may be of any age above puberty, works featuring prepubescent boys are labelled shotacon and seen as a distinct genre. Yaoi derives from two sources, in the early 1970s, shōjo manga magazines published tanbi stories, also known as shōnen ai, the other influence began in the dōjinshi markets of Japan in the late 1970s as yaoi, a sexualized parody of popular shōnen manga and anime stories. The genre has spread beyond Japan, and both translated and original works are now available in many countries and languages. The genre currently known as Boys Love, BL, or yaoi derives from two sources, Female authors writing for shōjo manga magazines in the early 1970s published stories featuring platonic relationships between young boys, which were known as tanbi or shōnen ai. Although yaoi derives from girls and womens manga and still targets the shōjo and josei demographics, another noted female manga author, Kaoru Kurimoto, wrote shōnen ai mono stories in the late 1970s that have been described as the precursors of yaoi. The term yaoi is an acronym created in the late 1970s by Yasuko Sakata and Akiko Hatsu from the words Yama nashi, ochi nashi, imi nashi No peak, no fall, the phrase also parodies a classical style of plot structure. Kubota Mitsuyoshi says that Osamu Tezuka used yama nashi, ochi nashi, imi nashi to dismiss poor quality manga, as of 1998, the term yaoi was considered common knowledge to manga fans. A joking alternative yaoi acronym among fujoshi is Yamete, oshiri ga itai, in the 1980s, the genre was presented in an anime format for the first time, including the works Patalliro. Which showed a romance between two supporting characters, an adaptation of Kaze to Ki no Uta and Earthian, released in the video animation format. In China, the term danmei is used, which is derived from tanbi, the term bishōnen manga was used in the 1970s, but fell from favour in the 1990s when manga in this genre began to feature a broader range of protagonists beyond the traditional adolescent boys. In Japan, the term June eventually died out in favour of Boys Love, Mizoguchi suggests that publishers wishing to get a foothold in the June market coined Boys Love to disassociate the genre from the publisher of June. In both usages, yaoi / Boys Love excludes gei comi, a genre which also depicts gay male sexual relationships but is written for, in the West, the term hentai yaoi is sometimes used to denote the most explicit titles. Yaoi can also be used by Western fans as a label for anime or manga-based slash fiction, characteristics of shōnen-ai include exoticism, often taking place in Europe, and idealism. The origin of shonen-ai is thought to come through two pathways, Mizoguchi traces the tales back to the tanbi romances of Mori Mari. The term tanbi was used for written for and about the worship of beauty. The word was used to describe an authors distinctive style, for example
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Yuri (genre)
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Yuri, also known by the wasei-eigo construction Girls Love, is a Japanese jargon term for content and a genre involving love between women in manga, anime, and related Japanese media. Yuri focuses on the orientation or the romantic orientation aspects of the relationship. The themes yuri deals with have their roots in the Japanese lesbian fiction of the twentieth century. Nevertheless, it is not until the 1970s that lesbian-themed works began to appear in manga, by the hand of artists such as Ryoko Yamagishi and Riyoko Ikeda. The 1990s brought new trends in manga and anime, as well as in dōjinshi productions, although yuri originated in female-targeted works, today it is featured in male-targeted ones as well. The word yuri literally means lily, and is a relatively common Japanese feminine name and it is unclear whether this was the first instance of this usage of the term. Not all women whose letters appeared in this column were necessarily lesbians. For example, the tanbi magazine Allan began running a Yuri Tsūshin personal ad column in July 1983 for lesbiennes to communicate. Along the way, many dōjinshi circles incorporated the name Yuri or Yuriko into lesbian-themed hentai dōjinshi, since then, the meaning has drifted from its mostly pornographic connotation to describe the portrayal of intimate love, sex, or the intimate emotional connections between women. The wasei-eigo construction Girls Love, occasionally spelled Girls Love or Girls Love, Yuri is generally a form of fanspeak amongst fans, but its usage by authors and publishers has increased since 2005. The term Girls Love, on the hand, is primarily used by the publishers. In North America, yuri has initially been used to only the most explicit end of the spectrum. In Japan, the term shōjo-ai is not used with this meaning, the Western use of yuri has broadened in the 2000s, picking up connotations from the Japanese use. American publishing companies such as ALC Publishing and Seven Seas Entertainment have also adopted the Japanese usage of the term to classify their yuri manga publications. Among the first Japanese authors to produce works about love between women was Nobuko Yoshiya, a novelist active in the Taishō and Shōwa periods of Japan, Yoshiya was a pioneer in Japanese lesbian literature, including the early twentieth century Class S genre. These kinds of stories depict lesbian attachments as emotionally intense yet platonic relationships, destined to be curtailed by graduation from school, marriage, or death. The root of this genre is in part the contemporary belief that love was a transitory and normal part of female development leading into heterosexuality. Class S stories in particular tell of strong bonds between schoolgirls, a mutual crush between an upperclassman and an underclassman
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Mitsuru Adachi
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Mitsuru Adachi is a Japanese manga artist. After graduating from Gunma Prefectural Maebashi Commercial High School in 1969 and he made his manga debut in 1970 with Kieta Bakuon, based on a manga originally created by Satoru Ozawa. Kieta was published in Deluxe Shōnen Sunday, Adachi is well known for romantic comedy and sports manga such as Touch, H2, Slow Step, Miyuki and Cross Game. He has been described as a writer of delightful dialogue, a genius at portraying everyday life, the greatest pure storyteller, and he is one of the few manga artists to write for shōnen, shōjo, and seinen manga magazines, and be popular in all three. His works have been carried in manga such as Weekly Shōnen Sunday, Ciao, Shōjo Comic, Big Comic, and Petit Comic. He was one of the authors in the new Monthly Shōnen Sunday magazine which began publication in June 2009. Two short story collections, Short Program and Short Program 2, have released in North America. The first volume was released on October 12 and he modeled the spelling of あだち for his family name after the example of his older brother, manga artist Tsutomu Adachi. In addition, it has suggested that the accurate portrayal of sibling rivalry in Touch may come from Adachis experiences while growing up with his older brother. Adachi did the designs for the OVA anime series Nozomi Witches. Prior to 1969, Adachi began submitting works to the manga magazine COM, in 1969, he followed his older brothers lead and moved to Tokyo to begin work as an assistant to manga artist Isami Ishii The following year, he made his professional debut with Kieta Bakuon. He continued publishing short stories and shorter series throughout the 1970s based on works created by others. In 1978, he published his first original series, Nine and he published two other original series, Hiatari Ryōkō. from 1979 to 1981 in Weekly Shōjo Comic, and Miyuki from 1980-1984 in Shōnen Big Comic. Adachi became a name with the publication of his series Touch from 1981 to 1986 in Weekly Shōnen Sunday. In 1982, Hiatari Ryōkō. was adapted into a live action TV drama series, the following year,1983, was a big year for Adachi. He received the 28th Annual Shogakukan Manga Award for shōnen/shōjo manga his two series Touch and Miyuki and his Miyuki series was adapted into both an anime television series and a live-action film, and Nine was adapted into three films, with another following in 1984. Touch was adapted into a television series in 1985. Adachis romantic shōjo manga series, Slow Step was serialized in Ciao from 1986 to 1991, Adachi then released Niji Iro Tōgarashi, a fantasy medieval romantic comedy manga series, from 1990 to 1992 in Weekly Shōnen Sunday
14.
Fujio Akatsuka
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Fujio Akatsuka was a pioneer Japanese artist of comical manga known as the Gag Manga King. His name at birth is 赤塚 藤雄, whose Japanese pronunciation is the same as 赤塚 不二夫 and he was born in Rehe, Manchuria, the son of a Japanese military police officer. After World War II, he grew up in Niigata Prefecture, when he was 19, he moved to Tokyo. While working at a factory, he drew many manga. He started his career as a shōjo artist, but in 1958, his Nama-chan became a hit and he won the Shogakukan Manga Award in 1964 for Osomatsu-kun and the Bungeishunjū Manga Award in 1971 for Tensai Bakabon. He is said to have influenced by Buster Keaton and MAD magazine. In 1965, Akatsuka established his own company Fujio Productions Ltd, in 2000, he drew manga in braille for the blind. Many of his manga featured supporting characters who ended up becoming popular and more associated with their series than the main character, such as Papa, Iyami, Chibita. In April 2002 he was hospitalized for intra-axial hematoma and was said to frequently be in a persistent vegetative state from 2004 until his death, in July 2006, his second wife Machiko, who had been nursing him, suddenly died from a subarachnoid hemorrhage. On August 2,2008, he died of pneumonia at a hospital in Bunkyō, Tokyo
15.
Hideaki Anno
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Hideaki Anno is a Japanese animator, film director and actor. He is best known for his part in creating the anime series Neon Genesis Evangelion. He married manga artist Moyoko Anno on April 27,2002. Anime directed by Anno that have won the Animage Anime Grand Prix award have been Nadia, The Secret of Blue Water in 1990, Neon Genesis Evangelion in 1995 and 1996, and The End of Evangelion in 1997. Anno is an agnostic and has stated that he has found Japanese spiritualism to be closest to his beliefs, Anno began his career after attending Osaka University of Arts as an animator for the anime series The Super Dimension Fortress Macross. Wrapped up in producing the DAICON III and IV Opening Animations with his fellow students, Anno did not gain recognition until the release of his work on Hayao Miyazakis 1984 film Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind. Running short on animators, the production studio posted an ad in the famous Japanese animation magazine Animage. Anno, in his twenties at the time, read the ad and headed down to the films studio. Impressed with his ability, Miyazaki hired him to some of the most complicated scenes near the end of the movie. Anno went on to one of the co-founders of Gainax in December 1984. However, Anno fell into a depression following Nadia — the series was handed down to him from NHK from an original concept by Hayao Miyazaki. In 1994, the minor planet 9081 Hideakianno was named after him by his old friend Akimasa Nakamura, Annos next project was the anime television series Neon Genesis Evangelion, which would be touted as an influential animated series. During the shows production, Anno became disenchanted with the Japanese otaku lifestyle, for this and other reasons, Evangelions plot became increasingly dark and psychological as the series progressed, despite being broadcast in a childrens television timeslot. The show did not garner high ratings in Japan at its time slot. Budgeting issues at Gainax also forced Anno to replace the ending of Evangelion with two episodes set in the main characters minds. After these last two episodes were aired, Anno received numerous letters and emails from fans, both congratulating him on the series and criticizing the last two episodes, among these were death threats and letters of disappointment from fans who thought Anno had ruined the series for them. In 1997, Gainax launched a project to re-adapt Evangelions scrapped ending into a feature-length film, once again, budgeting issues left the film unfinished, and the completed 27 minutes of animation were included as the second act of Evangelion, Death and Rebirth. Eventually, the project culminated in The End of Evangelion, a film that served as a finale to Neon Genesis Evangelion
16.
Clamp (manga artists)
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Clamp is an all-female Japanese manga artist group that formed in the mid-1980s. It consists of leader Nanase Ohkawa, and three artists whose roles shift for each series, Mokona, Tsubaki Nekoi, and Satsuki Igarashi, almost 100 million Clamp tankōbon copies have been sold worldwide as of October 2007. Beginning as an eleven-member dōjinshi circle in the mid-1980s, they began creating original work in 1987, by the time they debuted with RG Veda in 1989, the group was reduced to seven members. In 1993, three members left, leaving the four members who are currently still part of the group. In 2006, the decided to change their names, Ohkawa later changed her name back from Ageha Ohkawa to Nanase Ohkawa. Clamp originally began in the mid-1980s as an eleven-member dōjinshi circle named Clamp Cluster and this included O-Kyon, Sei Nanao, Tamayo Akiyama, Leeza Sei, and Sōshi Hishika, Kazue Nakamori, and Shinya Ōmi. Three of Clamps artists—Mokona, Tsubaki Nekoi, and Satsuki Igarashi—first began drawing manga when they were teenagers, the three artists were good friends in the same school. They met and befriended Nanase Ohkawa through one of her friends who had bought comics from Mokona, the original group of twelve members began to meet at every event held in Osaka and Kobe, which usually occurred once a month. Before they began creating original work, the group produced dōjinshi of Captain Tsubasa, however, in 1987 the group stopped dōjinshi and began creating original work, it was at this time they began working on RG Veda. Their first collaborative work was entitled Clamp, which continued to work on until shortly after their debut. The group debuted as professional manga artists when they decided to print the manga RG Veda, after seeing the comic digest of the manga series that Clamp had published, an editor for Shinshokans Wings manga magazine asked the group to work for them. They submitted an approximately sixty-page story as a sample, but the work was rejected, Ohkawa later lambasted the draft, stating that everything was bad and attributing the quality to the groups lack of experience, since they had never before completed a story as a cohesive group. The group was another chance at publication should they submit a new story that Shinshokan liked. During the time before their debut, the group moved to Tokyo and rented a small. Ohkawa stated that she thought she was gonna die there, Nekoi stated that the only private space had was under desk. By the groups debut in 1989 with the manga RG Veda, serialized in Shinshokans Wings magazine. During the production of the manga RG Veda, O-Kyon had left the group, in June 1990, Sei Nanao officially left the group, Sōshi Hishika, Kazue Nakamori, and Shinya Omi officially left in March 1993. In October 1992, Tamayo Akiyama and Leeza Sei officially left the group, in July 1989, Genki Comics began serializing Clamps second work, Man of Many Faces
17.
Tetsuo Hara
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Tetsuo Hara is a Japanese manga artist, best known for drawing the series Fist of the North Star, which he co-authored with Buronson. He is cousin to comedian Ryo Fukawa, a native of Tokyo, Hara attended Hongō Junior and Senior High School and worked as an assistant to manga artist Yoshihiro Takahashi after graduating. As an amateur, he won the first prize of the 33rd Fresh Jump award for his short story Super Challenger. Haras professional career began with his first published work, Mad Fighter in 1982 and his first serialized work in the Weekly Shōnen Jump was the Iron Don Quixote, a motocross manga which lasted only ten weeks in serialization. He achieved fame after the publication of Hokuto no Ken in 1983 and his next long-running serial was Hana no Keiji, a period tale loosely based on a novel by Keiichiro Ryu, which was published in Weekly Jump from 1990 to 1993. He would go on to several shorter serials and one-shots for Shueisha until departing from the company in 2000. Originally published as a serial, Sōten no Ken was changed to a semi-regular feature after Hara was diagnosed with keratoconus. An English edition of Ikusa no Ko is concurrently published at the official Silent Manga Audition Community website, kōryū no Mimi - Ichimu An Fūryū Ki Hokuto no Ken, Jubaku no Machi Miyamoto Musashi Saturday Night Slam Masters/Muscle Bomber - promotional illustrations. The character portraits in the arcade version were done by another artist, Muscle Bomber Duo - promotional illustrations Ring of Destruction, Slam Masters II/Super Muscle Bomber - promotional and in-game illustrations. - illustrations for the opening intro, mori no Senshi Bonolon - producer, character designer Gifū Dōdō Naoe Kanetsugu - Co-author with Horie Nobuhiko, cover illustrations
18.
Shotaro Ishinomori
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He was twice awarded by the Shogakukan Manga Award, in 1968 for Sabu to Ichi Torimono Hikae and in 1988 for Hotel and Manga Nihon Keizai Nyumon. He was born and named Shotaro Onodera in Tome, Miyagi, and was known as Shotaro Ishimori before 1986. Cyborg 009, created in 1963, became the first superpowered hero team created in Japan and that same year, Kazumasa Hirai and Jiro Kuwata created Japans first android superhero,8 Man. The success of the tokusatsu superhero TV series Kamen Rider, produced by Toei Company Ltd. in 1971, led to the birth of the Transforming superhero and he even created popular childrens shows such as Hoshi no Ko Chobin, and Ganbare. In 1963, he founded the anime company Studio Zero. From 1967 to 1970, the manga 009-1 was serialized in the Futabasha publication Weekly Manga Action and it was written and illustrated by Ishinomori. There was a drama of it in 1969 and eventually an anime in 2006. Ishinomoris art is reminiscent of that of his mentor, Osamu Tezuka, the true story of his first meeting with Tezuka was illustrated in a short four-page tale drawn up as supplementary material for the 1970s Astro Boy manga reprints. In 1954, Ishinomori submitted his first official work, Nikyu Tenshi, to a contest seeking new talent in the magazine, Tezuka was impressed by his drawings and sent a telegraph to Ishinomori, asking him to work as his assistant with Astro Boy. In the American release, this story can be seen in Volume 15, after graduating from high school in 1956 Ishinomori moved to Tokiwa-so with Tezuka, and lived there until the end of 1961. Ishinomori also illustrated an adaptation of the Super NES video game The Legend of Zelda, A Link to the Past. The comic consisted of 12 chapters, which were serialized from January 1992 to December 1992, the comic was republished as a graphic novel collection in 1993, and, as of 2015, is back in print through Viz Media. Ishinomori, who had one of Shimamotos boyhood heroes, faxed him copies of the proposed story. Shimamoto was astounded that he had chosen to work on his idols final. It was also adapted into an anime in 2007. Ishinomori died of heart failure on January 28,1998, just 3 days after his 60th birthday and his final work was the tokusatsu superhero TV series, Voicelugger, televised a year later. Two years later, the Kamen Rider Series would be revived with Kamen Rider Kuuga, all of the series made in the Heisei period credit Ishinomori as the creator. The Ishinomori Manga Museum named in his honor opened in Ishinomaki, special trains in the Senseki Line were commissioned featuring his artwork generally leading to the museum
19.
Rakuten Kitazawa
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Yasuji Kitazawa, better known by the pen name Rakuten Kitazawa, was a Japanese manga artist and nihonga artist. He drew many cartoons and comic strips during the years from the late Meiji era through the early Showa era. He is considered by historians to be the founding father of modern manga because his work was an inspiration to many younger manga artists. He was the first professional cartoonist in Japan, and the first to use the term manga in its modern sense, Rakuten was born in 1876 in the Kita Adachi district of Ōmiya in Saitama Prefecture. He studied western-style painting under Ōno Yukihiko and Nihonga under Inoue Shunzui, in 1899, Rakuten moved to Jiji Shimpo, a daily newspaper founded by Yukichi Fukuzawa. From January 1902, he contributed to Jiji Manga, a page that appeared in the Sunday edition. His comics for this page were inspired by American comic strips such as Katzenjammer Kids, Yellow Kid, in 1905, Rakuten started a full-color satirical magazine called Tokyo Puck, named after the American magazine. It was translated into English and Chinese and sold in not only Japan but also in the Korean peninsula, Mainland China and he worked for this magazine until 1915, and then returned to Jiji Shimpo, where he remained until his retirement in 1932. In 1929, Rakuten held an exhibition in Paris on the recommendation of the French ambassador. During World War II, he was the chairman of the Nihon Manga Hōkō Kai, both before and after his retirement, Rakuten trained many young manga artists and animators, including Hekoten Shimokawa, creator of Japans first cartoon animation. Along with Ippei Okamoto, he was one of the cartoonists of the young Osamu Tezuka. Rakuten drew many cartoons for Jiji Shimpō and Tokyo Puck. His early style was critical of the government, but after the High Treason Incident it became more conservative, many of Rakutens most popular comic strips were published in Jiji Manga. Tagosaku to Mokubē no Tōkyō-Kenbutsu - started 1902, the story of two country bumpkins on a sightseeing trip in Tokyo. Knowing nothing about culture, they behave foolishly. Haikara Kidorō no Sippai - started 1902, the story of a young man who boasts of his imperfect knowledge of the West but ends up embarrassing himself. His name can be read Mr. European style affected man, Chame to Dekobō - Stories about two mischievous boys, counterparts of the Katzenjammer Kids in Japan. The characters Chame and Dekobo appeared as dolls and on playing cards in one of the first examples of character merchandising in Japan, the story of a wooden-head man, Nukesaku Teino, whose name can be read Mr. Foolish Wooden-head
20.
Satoshi Kon
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Satoshi Kon was a Japanese film director, animator, screenwriter and manga artist from Sapporo, Hokkaidō and a member of the Japanese Animation Creators Association. He was a graduate of the Graphic Design department of the Musashino Art University and he is sometimes credited as Yoshihiro Wanibuchi in the credits of Paranoia Agent. He was the brother of guitarist and studio musician Tsuyoshi Kon. Satoshi Kon was born on October 12,1963. Due to his fathers job transfer, Kons education from the elementary grade up to the second middle school grade was based in Sapporo. Kon was a classmate and close friend of manga artist Seihō Takizawa, while attending Hokkaido Kushiro Koryo High School, Kon aspired to become an animator. His favorite works were Space Battleship Yamato, Heidi, Girl of the Alps, Future Boy Conan and Mobile Suit Gundam, as well as Katsuhiro Otomos Domu, Yasutaka Tsutsui served as an influence on Kons drawings. Kon graduated from the Graphic Design course of the Musashino Art University in 1982, during that time, Kon viewed numerous foreign films and enthusiastically read Yasutaka Tsutsuis books. While in college, Kon made his debut as a manga artist with the short manga Toriko, afterward, he found work as Katsuhiro Otomos assistant. After graduating from college in 1987, Kon authored the one-volume manga Kaikisen, in 1991, Kon worked as an animator and layout artist for the animated film Roujin Z. Kon worked as a supervisor for Mamoru Oshiis Patlabor 2, The Movie along with other animated films. He then worked on the manga Seraphim,266,613,336 Wings with Oshii, in 1995, Kon served as the scriptwriter, layout artist and art director of the short film Magnetic Rose, the first of three short films in Katsuhiro Otomos omnibus Memories. Kons work afterward would be distinguished by the theme of the blending of fantasy. In 1993, Kon scripted and co-produced the fifth episode of the video animation JoJos Bizarre Adventure. In 1997, Kon began work on his directorial debut Perfect Blue, a suspense story centered on a pop idol, it was the first film by Kon to be produced by Madhouse. Kon was initially unsatisfied with the screenplay written by the author. Aside from maintaining three elements of the novel, Kon was allowed to any changes he desired. The screenplay was written by Sadayuki Murai, who worked in the idea of a border between the real world and imagination. Following Perfect Blue, Kon considered adapting the 1993 Yasutaka Tsutsui novel Paprika into his next film, however, these plans were stalled when the distribution company for Perfect Blue went bankrupt. Coincidentally, Kons next work would also feature the theme of the blending of imagination, in 2002, Kons second film, Millennium Actress, was released to the public
21.
Masami Kurumada
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Masami Kurumada is a Japanese manga artist and writer, known for specializing in fighting manga featuring bishōnen and magical boy. He is the founder of the manga studio Kurumada Productions or Kurumadapro for short and he is famous as the creator/author of popular manga, such as Ring ni Kakero, Fūma no Kojirō, Saint Seiya and Bt X. His male protagonists are a reflection of the classical and modern societys archetype of the true men, the male characters in his works often display very masculine qualities and traits, and pursue to achieve courage and manhood perfection through sacrifice, selflessness and true heroism. He has won the best success award with Saint Seiya and the best inspiration award with Ring ni Kakero, Kurumadas first work was Otoko Raku, which earned him an award in a manga contest for aspiring manga artist, and became assistant to professional manga artists. A practicer of the arts in his younger days, the influence this has exerted on his various works is worthy of mention. Because of this, the characters of his works most of the time bear a resemblance to Takane Ryūji. Besides Kurumada, other renowned artists that resort to the master Tezukas technique include legendary authors Leiji Matsumoto, Monkey Punch. Clamp was heavily influenced by Kurumadas works, and they began their career as manga authors creating doujinshi based on Kurumadas characters and it is also known that anime adaptations arent much to his liking, he prefers manga. He agreed that his works Fūma no Kojirō, Saint Seiya, Ring ni Kakero and Bt X were adapted to anime and he often draws his characters as if seen from a low perspective. His drawings can sometimes seem rough, but the improvement in his technique is evident when comparing older works to more recent ones. The detail in his drawings is painstakingly and beautifully executed, and his designs for his characters attire in some of his works, is elaborate, rich and his stories are moving and inspiring. Certain graphics elements characteristic of his style can be all over his works, mostly during fight sequences. Recurrent themes in his works are friendship, courage, redemption, masculine virtue and qualities, honesty and honor are also traits often found in his characters. Female characters in his works play a much lesser role. He specially considers that Motomiyas works had a strong impact. His interest in boxing, wrestling and martial arts is well known, as he states in his website, he likes to drink with friends and to practice photography while jogging. Among his works that have been cancelled due to failing to attract fans, Otoko Zaka, Silent Knight Shō and his works that suffered popularity decrease, Bt X, and Saint Seiya. In Saint Seiyas case, Kurumada was forced by Shueisha, his publisher, to finish the manga after the Hades Arc and he put his manga in hiatus after he finished the mentioned arc, and resumed it in 2006 with Saint Seiya Next Dimension
