If you’ve finally decided to give Japanese comic books, manga, a chance then you will definitely come across the same problem that all westerners have come across.
Manga is hard to read.
From the frames that are just confusing, to the weird shifts in the story paneling and flow, manga can be a nightmare for anyone who is starting to read manga.
However, there are simple steps to take to make sure that you understand manga, and can just jump into enjoying these epic stories. These are the pieces of advices that I wish someone had told me when I started reading manga. How to read Japanese Manga?
Japanese manga is read from right to left, and top- down. This is because most works in Japan are written from right to left, and books are in fact structured from right to left, while others are written from top down.
To read a Japanese manga, you read each panel (called a koma), from the one on the right upper side, then the left one, and then go to the right lower column.
Additionally, try to first isolate the biggest forms in each koma so you can readily identify the action lines, and the symbols. Finally, make sure you read works you already understand or enjoy, and it will go that much more easier for you to implement and practice these strategies.
If you can follow the rules from just the text above, then you should be able to read your first manga. But if you want a more detailed explanation of each line, then here is how to read manga.
1. Right To Left
The first lesson to learning how to read manga is to read the top right panel first, then the left one, and then go a level lower, to the right again. Do this till you finish the page.
I covered this in detail in my differences between manga and comics article, but the first thing to understand about manga is that it is a Japanese product. This means that it is made with Japanese conventions.
In the Western world, we write from left to right. There is a reason for this of course, as covered in this article. There is a reason why it is written “backward”. In Japan though, most of the works are written from right to left. In some instances, they are written from top to bottom (these columns still go from right to left though).
So, keep this in mind.
2. Find The Big Objects, And Ignore Action Lines
The second step is when reading the koma (panels), try to focus on find the main image or form first, then look at what the rest of the panel shows.
The first thing you will notice about manga is that they are not colored. manga are instead written in black, and white.
This makes it hard for you to see what the image is trying to show you. You can’t tell apart the background image, the characters, and the actions that the author is trying to show you.
It becomes even worse when you factor in things like action lines, at which point it almost seems impossible to know what you seeing.
A simple fix for this is that you must always look for the main form/shape that the panel is trying to show you, then try to identify the environment, and finally the action that the form is taking.
Panels always show one thing. A character, an instrument, a building, a city. Just try to find the main image that you must find, using the story as context clue, and when you’ve found it, you can then rearrange what everything else may be,
3. Be Aware Of The Manga Signs
The third step to reading manga is to be able to distinguish the manga signs from the actually physical manifestations in the story.
It is also worth mentioning that there are a lot of signs that are used in this comic style.
These could be hard to decipher for comic readers or westerners. These signs could also add to the confusion of reading, but these signs are just sound effects , and onomatopoeia, not actually physical things within the world of the story.
The sound effects are called gitaigo, while the symbols are called manpu.
Manpu are primarily used to show expressions, and emotions of the characters. For example, things like shock, sadness, or horniness (which actually comes up a lot).
Meanwhile, things like gitaigo are used to show things like onomatopoeia. So things like the sounds of dogs barking, a punch connecting, or a stomach growling.
4. Set Time For Reading, and Quantity For Reading
The fourth step to learning to learning to read manga is doing impromptu reading sessions.
It is a bit weird to consciously set apart time to read manga.
These comics are not work. it is an enjoyable activity that you do when you have down time. However, because it is your first time, it could feel taxing as you try to read the manga before you. T
o avoid this, make it an official session.
Basically, when you do find yourself having a down time, tell yourself that you will do 10 minutes of reading a manga you are interested in. Pull out your time, and actually count out 10 minutes, then start reading.
At first, this will be hard, since you won’t know which way is up or down. You may feel tempted to stop, but I’m here to tell you, don’t.
Continue reading, and when you are done, you will find that reading the manga is not as hard as it was before. You may even begin to find yourself getting lost in the story. This is exactly what you want.
5. Read A Manga Whose Anime You’ve Watched
The fifth trick you could use to improve your manga reading skills is to try and read manga that inspired the anime you enjoyed.
This one is the one that I used to finally learn how to read manga.
Basically, even if you have learned all the previous techniques, it would still be pointless if you do not implement them. This means that if you do not have a story you enjoy to implement these on, then you will not be able to practice.
The easiest way to avoid this is to read a manga of an anime you enjoyed.
This trick was quite useful because you are following the original characters you enjoy. Additionally, manga tends to have more specific material then anime, meaning you get your characters in concentrated dosages.
Also, you will see panels that the anime took, which means you can easily implement the ‘see the forms/images’ advice. You will see the action lines, and the manga symbols too. This will allow you to understand their usage.
6 Find Recommendations Similar To That One
The sixth step that you could take to improving your manga reading skills is to try and find manga recommendations that are similar to the manga which you already read.
This one is a fairly simple concept, yet it is a perfect progression.
When you look at exercising, there are things called progressions. These things are more complex variations of a previous, easier exercise. So a push up is a simple exercise, and a progression of a push up would be a handstand push up.
Let’s have a progression of your manga reading exercises.
Now that you have read manga that you enjoy, and are familiar with, it means you have had an opportunity to test your manga reading exercises.
Additionally, you were doing it using material that you are familiar with, so it is not so bad. But, now we must take it a step further. You must now go read manga that you are not familiar with, and try to practice your techniques using them.
However, you will have a sort of paddling wheels.
For now, you must choose manga recommendations that are similar to this comic you enjoy. This will test you adequately, as you will be seeing something unfamiliar, but at least there is a high likely hood that you will enjoy the story.
7. Read The Popular Manga
The seventh step you could take in learning how to read manga is to read manga that are some of the most popular at the time.
This is where we get to the truly advanced levels of reading manga.
Now you have an understanding of basic manga techniques. This means you can basically read any of these things. Additionally, you have already read manga that you were familiar with, so you have experience of reading it.
Finally, by now you’ve read manga that are completely unfamiliar with, but you managed to read them because of the quality of the story.
Now, you should learn to read manga that you have no idea what the story is about.
This is the most complicated part of reading manga, but it is absolutely one of the most rewarding. When I started reading it, I used to read Naruto, and One Piece. It wasn’t until I implemented this strategy that I started reading Seinin manga, and I found things like Kingdom, and Vagabond.
At this point, I can read any manga that you set before me, even if the story is not my usual cup of coffee. At that point, you will know for a fact that you have become completely fluent in your Manga-nese.
Then, the good times can begin.
For a quick overview of the most popular recommendations, you can click here.
8 Use The Algorithm To Get More Manga Recommendations
The eight trick you could use to make your manga reading education to reach an elite level is to simply use the algorithm to find manga for you to read.
This one is a strategy that i recently discovered and decided to add here.
So first of all, it is hard to look through reddit, and the internet for fandom communities. It tends to feel like a one sided engagement.
Let’s say you finally manage to find a fandom, that is not the end of it all. You will still have to ask the people for recommendations, and their advise can be varied.
They are humans after all, and they may give you recommendations that are completely of the mark. This is because they do not have information on you and your likes. They would not know what you enjoy. But there is someone out there who does. Or something.
The algorithm.
Go to YouTube, and watch the reviews of your favorite works. Play through as many videos as you can find. Then, you can sit back and watch as the magic unfolds before you. Refresh the explore/browse page, and you will find a lot of videos showing you anime that they believe you will enjoy. You can then watch a review, and if it sounds like the sort of thing you could enjoy, you have found yourself a new anime to watch.
As soon as you have mastered how to read anime, you will have taken galloping strides towards mastering mastery.