What is manga?
Manga are stories written with pictures. They are drawn by skilled manga artists (漫画家 in Japanese). They are published in all sorts of languages all over the world, and have recently gained massive popularity in the United States. In the United States, many people enjoy drawing pictures in the “manga style”. Most mangas are published in black and white, though there are some exceptions.

Manga in Japan
In Japan, manga is read by people of all ages. It covers a wide variety of genres, from magic to mystery. Manga in Japan is usually serialized in enormous magazines close to the size of a phone book! Readers must continue buying the magazine to see the entire story. If a story is extremely successful in the manga magazines, several of the chapters may be published in paperback format. Manga in Japan is often made into animes, television cartoons drawn in the manga style (think Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh, Digimon, Sailor Moon, or Bakugan). Outside of Japan, the term manga refers exclusively to manga books written in Japan and then translated for the world market, as opposed to manga-style books that were not written in Japan. However, there are some exceptions- Taiwanese manga is termed “manhua”; South Korean manga is termed “manhwa”; and Chinese manga is termed “manhua”.

Genres of Manga
There are many types of manga. Some of them are listed below.

Shōjo manga – Shōjo is a type of manga marketed almost exclusively to girls between the ages of 10 and 18. It can cover a wide variety of topics, but generally there is some sort of romantic focus.
Shōnen manga - Shōnen is a type of manga marketed to boys between the ages of 10 and 18. Generally, it is characterized by somewhat comical male characters. Well-known shōnens include Dragonball-Z, Naruto, Bleach, One Piece, InuYasha, and Yu-Gi-Oh.
Seinen manga - Seinen is a type of manga marketed to men from 18 to 30 years of age. Seinen manga is very similar to shōnen. However, it covers more mature topics.
Gekiga - Geikga is a darker genre of manga that talks more about the hardships of everyday life. It is generally drawn by mangakas who do not want their manga classed as “manga”, because “manga” translates into “whimsical pictures”, and is traditionally more lighthearted.
Dōjinshi - Dōjinshi is somewhat like fanfiction, using characters from other big name mangas. However, it is published by small companies.
Kodomo - Kodomo is a type of manga that usually has a strong moral. It is targeted towards young children. Hamtaro is one example of this type of manga.

A brief history of manga
The first manga magazine was created in 1874 by Kanagaki Robun and Kawanabe Kyosai. It was titled “Eshinbun Nipponchi”. It was not very popular, and its drawings were simple. After three issues were published, it ended. However, in 1875, a manga magazine called “Kisho Shimbun” emerged. It was inspired by “Eshinbun Nipponchi”, and soon after, in 1877 and 1879 respectively, two more magazines emerged: “Marumaru Chinbun” and Garakuta Chinbun. In 1895, the first shōnen magazine was formed by Iwaya Sazanami, a well-known and respected children s author. The magazine had a central focus on the Sino-Japanese War. However, the popularity of the manga magazine was very low until 1905, around the time of the Russo-Japanese war.
The magazine “Tokyo Pakku” became a huge hit. Also in this year, with the growing popularity of manga, a female version of the shōnen magazine created by Iwaya Sazanami was founded. It was called “Shōjo Sekai” and was the first credited shōjo magazine. “Shōnen Pakku” was created as the first kodomo magazine. From 1935 to 1941, “Manga no Kuni” was published.