Purpose

Ever wonder where anime comes from? Many of them, such as Maison Ikkoku, are based on comic books, or manga. American comic books are done by committees, with decisions on story development influenced by sales (like Superman). In Japan, however, they are conceived and drawn by only one person (with a few joint teams, like CLAMP, one of the leading girls' comic artists and creator of X). There are hundreds of artists, working on genre ranging from shojo (girls') comics, to action, sports, and to fantasy. Though not all get animated, those that are the most popular inevitably get the honor. Some of the most famous artists are Rumiko Takahashi, creator of Urusei Yatsura, Ranma 1/2, and Maison Ikkoku; Akira Toriyama, creator of Dragon Ball (on air Saturdays at 5:30 AM!); and we should never forget the late, great Osamu Tezuka, founder of Japanese anime and comic books, and creator of hundreds of series such as Astroboy, Adolf, and Black Jack.

On the other hand, the anime industry has been getting criticism recently that it is relying too much on comic book-based stories and not enough on its own creativity. It is true that such anime would be more recognizable, and would already have a foundation of fans. Comic books are also a resource of fresh new ideas. Is "original" anime going through a rut? It's a difficult question.

Anyway, some anime, especially those released on video, do not tell all of the story. If you have gotten hooked to anime like Please Save My Earth, the only place that you'll get all your answers is in the comic book. Here is where the manga club comes in, or wants to. A group of dedicated otakus got together last year to discuss stories and gripes about how expensive comic books are, to fold origami, to try to draw some manga of their own, and basically to just create a more personal gathering to get to know each other. Many of us bring our collection of comic books and anime magazines and share them. We have quite a collection among us, both in the original Japanese and translated, ranging from Lone Wolf and Cub (yes, the baby carriage of death!), anything by Takahashi, Fist of he North Star, and Animage magazines. Come to our meetings, held in the Appel 3rd Floor Conference Rooms on Tuesdays from 8:00PM. I think we can even bring our anime soundtrack CDs to listen to, and if we're lucky, we get free popcorn!

For additional information, contact the Manga Club's current organizer, Eric Yu ( ).

CJAS Manga Library

The manga in the library will be availiable for reading during the weekly Manga Club meetings (8:00 - 10:00 PM, Appel Third Floor Conference Room). Due to limited transportation resources, and also the relatively limited popularity of untranslated Japanese manga in the club, the entire library collection will not be brought to every meeting. Therefore, if you want to see any specific manga, please notify the club organizer by email at least 4 hours before the meeting. If there are no requests, the organizer will just bring a random selection to the meeting.

CJAS Manga Library Catalog

See the Manga Club Library page for catalog and lending information.