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J O U R N A L O F A D O L E S C E N T & A D U L T L I T E R A C Y 5 0 : 1 S E P T E M B E R 2 0 0 640

Adam Schwartz, Eliane Rubinstein-Ávila

Understanding the manga hype: Uncovering the multimodality of comic-book literacies

The sharp rise in manga’s popularity in the

United States warrants directing educators’

attention toward these comics.

It’s regrettable, but teachers and par- ents often undermine the ability to make meaning from the myriad of popular culture texts to which young people are exposed. Comics, television, and video games are often perceived as contributing to students’ short atten- tion spans, passivity, and lack of creativity and as providing distractions from educational practices (Gee, 2004). Therefore, the hype around the popu- larity of Japanese-style comics, or manga (Japanese for “amusing drawings”), among youths in the United States is viewed with bewilderment and amazement (Wolk, 2001). While some teach- ers are banning manga from their classrooms, some public librarians are rejoicing because they are unable to keep manga on the shelves (e.g., Carey, Reid, & Kawasaki, 2005).

In the meantime, literacy researchers not only validate but also expand upon the ways youths engage with and use popular culture as a tool for literacy development and critical inquiry (Alvermann & Xu, 2003; Gee, 2004). A growing number of scholars even argue that engagement with sophisticated computer games is associated with distinct cognitive development, increase in rapid decision making, and enhancement of

hand–eye coordination (Carrington, 2004). Those of us who have not been socialized from a young age into the postindustrial, saturated con-

sumer culture of computer games, film, interactive toys, e-mail, and DVDs may find the visual grammar and storytelling used in manga chal- lenging to follow. Not to mention that its multimodality is difficult to com- prehend and build upon to make meaning.

So far, we find that discussions regarding manga are dominated by

scholars in the field of cultural studies (Grigsby, 1998; Ito, 2002; Kinsella, 1999, 2000; Martinez, 1998; Ogi, 2003; Schodt, 1996). Although several scholars in education have explored the role of popular culture in youths’ literacy and meaning making (e.g.,Alvermann, 2004; Alvermann & Heron, 2001; Alvermann & Xu, 2003; Gee, 2004; Muspratt, Luke, & Freebody, 1997), the manga hype among young adults, which has swept the United States for the past few years, has not been addressed by educators and literacy researchers. We intend to raise educators’ awareness about manga, explore manga’s semiotic features, and underscore the multimodal demands of these popular culture texts on readers.

What are manga, anyway? For the benefit of educators and researchers, it is important to differentiate between manga and

Schwartz is a doctoral student and teaches at the

University of Arizona in Tucson (Language, Reading,

& Culture, 1430 E. 2nd Street, 512 Education

Building, Tucson, AZ 85721- 0069, USA). E-mail

adamfs@email.arizona.edu. Rubinstein-Ávila teaches at

the same university.

anime. Many are likely to confuse and inter- change these terms, which both refer to Japanese varieties of what U.S. audiences would consider to be “cartoons.” Specifically, manga are printed comics found in graphic-novel format, whereas anime are animated cartoons (i.e., moving images on television, movies, or video games). What be- gins as manga in Japan and ultimately gains pop- ularity is likely to become anime. Conversely, what originates as anime is often also appropriat- ed into printed manga form. Sailormoon is a per- fect example of this fluidity; this popular series is about a superheroine who fights for “justice” against the “Dark Kingdom” (Grigsby, 1998). The series began in Japan as manga in 1992 and was quickly reproduced as anime, filling a primetime Saturday night slot on TV Asahi. It has since been widely released internationally as both manga and anime (Grigsby).

There is little doubt that proficient manga reading demands a reader who is a negotiator of multimodalities. Manga are said to require “a complex visual reading on the part of the reader” (Adams, 1999, p. 71). Proficient manga readers are adept at negotiating multimodality, “using image plus language in increasingly complex ways” (Bearne, 2003, p. 98) as they partake in the dynamic interplay among cultures, identities, texts, and literacies. Manga readers are likely to attend to graphical information at the same hier- archical level as the printed text. This is a drastic change from traditional reading that involves at- tending first and foremost to the written text, us- ing pictures and illustrations only as supplements to it (Carrington, 2004).

Manga are reflective of Japanese communi- cation. They rely on highly contextual cues, com- bining visual and auditory modalities: facial expressions, tone of voice, and grunts (Ito, 2005). The integrative storytelling style of manga relies heavily on homonyms and onomatopoeia, usual- ly expressed through Japanese characters called katakana, to create dynamics and atmosphere (Ito). It is not unusual for subjects of the comics to be drawn breaking out of their rectangular

frames, an artistic technique intended to capture certain feelings and emotions (Adams, 1999). Moreover, the dialogue and the visuals in manga are not just expressed through the written words, drawn characters, and landscapes within (or jut- ting out of ) a strip’s rectangles. Readers in Japan must negotiate a variety of fonts and script styles; dialogue may be printed in kanji (Chinese char- acters), alternate between the two Japanese char- acter families of hiragana and katakana, or borrow from English or romanized Japanese (Allen & Ingulsrud, 2003). The variation in direc- tionality, frame, and font is also found to apply, if to a lesser extent, in English editions of manga (Allen & Ingulsrud). It is interesting that many of the U.S. manga translations have retained the original Japanese style, artistic format, and right- to-left directionality (Colford, 2004; Wheeler, 2004). The series that conform to Japanese direc- tionality are perceived by U.S. readers as being more authentic. But because dialogues may be read from right to left, left to right, and at times horizontally, even proficient readers of English— who are not experienced with this level of multi- modality and have been socialized into more traditional, nonhypertext, story lines—may find manga, as we do, to be a challenging read.

Why should we care about manga? We contend that there are two main reasons that warrant drawing educators’ attention toward manga: (1) the comics’ sheer popularity—evident by the sale of manga across the United States— and (2) the unique multimodal reading that manga seem to demand. Manga sales in the United States have exceeded publishers’ predic- tions. Sales were estimated to gross US$100 mil- lion in 2003, at least 75% higher than the previous fiscal year, and were anticipated to clear US$120 million for 2004 (Wheeler, 2004). Public libraries are having a hard time keeping the bound manga books on their shelves. Librarians are delighted; the manga hype has lured many

Understanding the manga hype: Uncovering the multimodality of comic book literacies

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new patrons among U.S. youths to public li- braries (Carey, Reid, & Kawasaki, 2005). Given the popularity of manga among young adults, it is surprising that these comics have not been ex- plored in greater depth in the literacy research literature.

Manga, like other multimodal texts of con- sumer culture, may be dismissed as another form of lowbrow, popular culture. Nevertheless, the multimodality of manga texts “extend[s] the tra- ditional notions of text and literacy” (Carrington, 2004, p. 215). Several scholars have claimed that manga require multimodal reading skills and a sharp critical inquiry stance. For example, recent studies have reported on how manga have been used as both a teaching tool and a subject of cul- tural study (Allen & Ingulsrud, 2003; Frey & Fisher, 2004). Ultimately, like any cultural texts, manga provide a way for youths to negotiate al- ternative identities. By engaging with a wide range of manga characters, dynamic plots, and storyboards, children and young adults make connections between these popular texts and their own life experiences (Allender, 2004; Frey & Fisher).

Multimodality and the New Literacy Studies Here we return to Grigsby (1998), who para- phrased Sailormoon in great detail. Usagi is the name of an ordinary Japanese schoolgirl who transforms magically into the valiant super- heroine Sailormoon.

Usagi has a fight with her brother, then goes to her room and takes a nap. The black cat Luna arrives, from whom Usagi learns that she is Sailormoon. The cat convinces her by giving her a “cute” pendant. Usagi goes to the mirror and looks at herself with it on. The brooch begins shining.... Usagi becomes Sailormoon! Make up! Prism power!

Meanwhile, in a subplot, the jewelry store owner and mother of Usagi’s friend have been taken hostage by the evil ones. Luna guides Sailormoon to defeat the

evil ones and save her friend’s mother.... At one point, she pitches another little tantrum and says she has had enough and wants to go home. (p. 71)

Unlike many Western comic strips geared toward youths, manga plots are rather indirect: It is not always clear who the main protagonists are (although Sailormoon, which focuses on the con- quests of a schoolgirl-turned-heroine, is an obvi- ous exception). Moreover, the plots are usually nonlinear, much like soap operas or movies. Subplots are highly common, as shown in the above example. Gender is addressed more flexi- bly, less moralistically, and in greater complexity than in traditional U.S. comics. For instance, characters may appear in the nude when taking a bath; nevertheless, nudity is not necessarily con- noted with sexual activity. In a very popular se- ries, a young man, who is a martial artist, is occasionally transformed into a voluptuous young woman as a result of his accidental dipping into magical waters; his father, by the way, is occa- sionally transformed into a panda bear. Contrary to what might be expected, these reoccurring flip- flops do not seem to have a major impact on the young man’s developing (heterosexual) romantic relationship with a young woman, who is also a martial artist. Thus, it is possible that manga sto- ry lines not only afford readers a nonlinear, rich imaginative read of the world but also tap into an array of complexities in human experiences to- ward which young adults seem to feel great affini- ty.

Scholars who directly or indirectly con- tribute to what we have come to term the “New Literacy Studies” all point to the need to broaden our understanding of literacy. These scholars hope to encourage a shift from educators’ tradi- tional perceptions of literacy as an autonomous set of skills to be mastered to a view of literacies as a range of social practices affected by social factors, such as socioeconomic status, race, or gender, and linked to broader social goals (Barton & Hamilton, 2000). The theoretical framework that has come to be known as the New Literacy Studies encourages educators and researchers to

Understanding the manga hype: Uncovering the multimodality of comic book literacies

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examine the range of literacy practices that peo- ple engage in to mediate and make meaning of their lives outside the context of formal school- ing. The New Literacy Studies not only encourage a critical reexamination of what counts as literacy but also broaden the definition of texts. This framework is especially beneficial to examine the multimodal literacy practices of manga readers.

Today, people are more likely to negotiate a range of texts and contexts simultaneously, which often overlap the physical and the virtual world (Jacobs, 2004). As critical educators, it is our role to encourage students to “value the multiple forms of literacy and representation that consti- tute their lived experiences” (Williams, 2001, p. 26). But to do so, we educators and literacy re- searchers need to broaden our definitions of texts and recognize that our bias toward written text is a result of our own socialization in a print- dominated world. It is doubtful that teacher- training programs and K–12 curricula are en- couraging teachers and students to develop an adequate metalanguage to help them understand the construction and features of visual texts. Some educators argue that 21st-century metalit- eracy skills are to be taught explicitly in schools, to help youths to analyze and evaluate the con- stant barrage of information in “today’s visually drenched world” (Abilock, 2003, p. 30).

Semiotics of manga speak directly to “the overlapping nature of image and text and the shift towards the primacy of the image” (Carrington, 2004, p. 218). Visual texts, however, can be more effective than verbal text in express- ing perceptual information such as colors, shapes, textures, positions in space, sizes, and patterns (Williams, 2001). Several scholars have under- scored the impact of new technologies on how we use and think of language and define communi- cation (e.g., Jacobs, 2004).

Proficiency in manga and anime, as in Short Messages (SMs), requires an understanding of the semiotics of languages and literacies. For exam- ple, in order to communicate efficiently using SMs, the user must be proficient in communicat-

ing through Squeeze Text (Carrington, 2004). This means that to adhere to the limits of 160 characters per message, English text needs to be converted to its most compact format, which typ- ically equates to a compression ratio of 30% to 40%. Thus, to maximize compression, Squeeze Text has its own rules; for example, all text is con- verted into lowercase, and certain words are con- verted to a single symbol without losing their meaning. So the word for is converted to 4, less to –, more to +, and most to ++. Thus, while many parents and teachers may dismiss manga reading, avid manga readers are strategic literary negotia- tors of that form of text.

A brief history of manga The art of manga boasts a lengthy history, even if its origins are debatable (Gravett, 2004; Kinsella, 2000; Schodt, 1986). For a more in-depth account of manga’s place within the context of Japanese history, see Ito (2005). Schodt estimated that Japanese narrative comic art is perhaps as old as the civilization itself, noting caricatures uncov- ered in the 7th-century Horyuji Buddhist temple. The roots of early modern manga, however, are neither religious nor mundane but social and po- litical. Misaka (2004) constructed the history of modern manga as an artistic movement birthed by European political cartoonists living in Japan in the 19th century—a form of “east meets west” (p. 23) in a newly industrialized Japanese society. Misaka also argued that the explicit and often elaborate political statements and social com- mentaries were fitting for story manga, with their strip style and multiple boxed frames that im- plied the passage of time. Like the older elaborate picture scrolls, they told a story.

The evolution of manga as serialized comic art opened the doors for more complex stories and messages. Scholars in cultural studies and so- ciology assign the agenda of adult manga as texts that directly reflect a broad array of political edi- torializing, from social change to proestablish- ment rhetoric (Kinsella, 1999, 2000; Misaka,

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2004). The 1920s and 1930s featured manga as an outlet for response to Japan’s postindustrialist Westernization (Misaka), whereas the late 1960s reflected political and avant-garde manga move- ments that included publications of leftist inter- est, focusing on social issues that other Japanese media dared not cover (Kinsella, 1999). The so- cial and economic turbulence of the mid-1980s marked a time when manga were first appropriat- ed by corporations and government agencies as a means of balancing pop culture movements with the political interests of the Japanese state (Kinsella, 1999).

But the politically charged story manga quickly progressed into marketable mass enter- tainment for all ages. Manga are commonly ac- cessible as serialized strips found in magazines and newspapers, although comic shops in both Japan and the United States offer story manga in bound compilations (Kinsella, 2000; Misaka, 2004). These compilations, more commonly known as graphic novels, present a manga series in its entirety (Misaka). The black-and-white graphic novels resemble a thick paperback book and often include advertisements for other man- ga collections on their glossy, colorful back cov- ers.

Since the mid-1990s, however, and partially due to the competition from and demand for newer entertainment media such as video games and DVDs, sales of manga in Japan have been in a steady decline (Misaka, 2004). Thus, publishers resorted to U.S. audiences as a new marketing frontier, one where the success of manga has been astounding (Misaka). Manga have been referred to as the fastest growing genre in U.S. publishing; the demand for authentic, original manga strips and graphic novels is high despite the cost— ranging from US$10 to over US$20 per book.

Before the publication of manga, a series of visual formats or anime (video games, films, and television cartoon programs) was pitched at U.S. youths. Dragon Ball Z, Yu Yu Hakusho, Yu-Gi- Oh!, and Pokémon ushered in the manga hype (the last two were also marketed as interactive,

collecting card games). Manga comics with anime counterparts in English are likely to sell better in the United States (Wolk, 2001). Although manga are geared mainly toward adolescents, specifically in the 12 to 17 age bracket, rising popularity among older readers has encouraged publishers to invest in the U.S. market.

The five spheres of manga In Japan, it’s hard to avoid manga. In addition to graphic novels, strips of manga can be found in newspapers and magazines—with topics ranging from finance and economics to sports and leisure. Recently, even tax guidelines have been distrib- uted in manga form. This popularity is greatly due to manga’s tailoring for a wide range of target audiences, accommodating a variety of “tastes, in- terests and stages of life” (Gravett, 2004, p. 5). The four main genres of manga to emerge after World War II are shonen (boys’) manga, shojo (girls’) manga, seinen (adult) manga, and rediisu komikku (ladies’ comics). These four categories may also overlap into a fifth manga category that includes “hobby, specialist, sports, erotic and pornographic” (Kinsella, 2000, p. 45). We expand on three categories here.

Boys’ manga: Compassionate competition. Although manga as an industry originally catered to boys, in 1996 only 40.6% of Japanese manga publication was geared specifically toward young male audiences (Kinsella, 2000). Nevertheless, boys’ comics, in which friendship and struggle are often popular themes, are a forceful mainstay in modern story manga. Gravett (2004) argued that manga series such as Shonen Jump appeal to boys and men by stressing values such as friendship, perseverance, and winning. He paralleled this popularity to the rebuilding of Japan following World War II and the revival of the Japanese economy.

Tales of competition are often developed by situating manga characters in national sports such as baseball, sumo wrestling, basketball, soc- cer, and even fishing and car racing (Gravett,

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2004). Ever since the 1950s manga have been credited for increasing Japanese youths’ interest in sport; a “sports manga hero is bound to win, or lose well, so the thrill comes from reading how he overcomes all challenges with determination and honesty” (p. 54). Sport, then, becomes a metaphor for life; often these boys’ manga follow the life of an ordinary male protagonist who fights his way through the big leagues as an un- derdog. Through training—not just physical but also mental and psychological—the young boy becomes a man, whose masculinity is defined by values of “heart” and “perseverance.”

But boys’ manga are not just about sports heroes. Postwar advances in modern technology inspired new ways of constructing the underdog type of hero to entertain and enlighten male au- diences, and this formula has been widely applied to a variety of settings “from martial arts, fantasy and science fiction, to big business, and power politics” (Gravett, 2004, p. 54). The arrival of Mazinger Z in 1972 introduced the adventures of a high-tech robot, a character that inspired decades of spin-offs and appropriations that pit- ted technology, intelligence, and strategy against the world’s evil. Boys’ manga also include a share of lighthearted humor—gags, pranks, jokes—and a strong appeal to the male libido (Gravett).

Girls’ manga: Compensatory sexuality. Postwar Japan (particularly the 1960s) was also a water- shed time and place for girls’ manga, which evolved into the construction of female empow- erment. At the turn of the century, Shojo Kai (Girls’ World) generally idealized domesticity and servitude. Male artists created story lines and characters to project female roles—for example, the role of mother and homemaker as submissive and sexually available companion. This image was particularly manifest in the physical drawings of women in girls’ manga—the large eyes and pupils; long lashes; slim torso, limbs, and hips; and the petite noses, mouths, and breasts. Such elements persist today, although breasts are often grossly exaggerated (Gravett, 2004; Ito, 2002; Ogi, 2003).

Much as in the past, today’s girls’ manga dabble in love and romance; however, similar to boys’ manga, they often pit a young female pro- tagonist in a position of self-empowerment. Sailormoon is a fine example. This particular se- ries presents a female protagonist in an action- adventure role and her pursuits to protect the earth from the queen of the “Dark Kingdom.” She is, therefore, required to be strong, intelligent, and authoritative. But in her transformation to her su- perheroine alter-ego, through the jewelry that provides her with magical powers, Sailormoon seems to “compensate” with traditional notions of heterosexual femininity as her svelte adolescent features are transformed with more womanly characteristics (Grigsby, 1998; for a discussion on “compensatory” and “apologetic” behavior as it originally relates to sport and female sexuality, see Festle, 1996). In other words, Sailormoon’s brave, heroic conquests to save the world seem to require compensatory conventional, heterosexual femi- ninity to appeal to young female readers who are in the process of constructing their own gender identities (Grigsby). Sailormoon’s transformation from child to woman also invokes parallels to the state of affairs in Japan: “Part of the popularity of the character may be because at one level she re- solves major tensions present in contemporary Japan with respect to the diminishing primacy of the mother role for women” (p. 75).

What could be defined as the epitome of the modern protagonist in girls’ manga—a character designed for and by women—is often construed as paradoxical. This paradox is also found fre- quently in contemporary young adult literature in which young women are the main protago- nists. In reviewing the research literature, we found that the so-called strong and powerful young female protagonists are also the ones who compliantly fulfill their caretaker roles (as good daughters, granddaughters, or girlfriends). They respond readily to the needs of their families and communities (before their own needs—although those are seldom voiced explicitly). Although these contemporary female protagonists are pro- claimed by reviewers and literacy researchers to

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be nontraditional, they seldom, if ever, cross, dis- obey, or transgress mainstream, acceptable, gender-role boundaries (Rubinstein-Ávila, 2005).

The image of sexually powerful young women in manga is paradoxical in this regard as well as in another sense: The comics are designed and drawn to entice male consumers as much as to entice young women seeking modern-day heroines as role models (Gravett, 2004). This par- adoxical issue of power is also present in ladies’ manga.

Ladies’ manga: Tensions between empowerment and conformity. At some point, the readers of girls’ manga adopt a more mature, sophisticated style. The genre rediisu komikku, or ladies’ comics, was born in the 1980s as a more mature extension of the classical themes found in shojo manga (Ito, 2002). As a type of feminist discourse, ladies’ manga attempt to address the experiences, de- sires, and needs of women and to present role models for the modern Japanese woman (Ogi, 2003). Rediisu komikku tend to focus on the reali- ty of life as experienced by the modern Japanese woman, whether she is a housewife, office worker, or college student—stories tend to focus on themes such as love, romance, female friendship, careers, mother–child relations, and more recent- ly sexism, divorce, and even domestic violence. Ito (2002) quoted one rediisu dialogue between a heroine and her girlfriend, who are reflecting on marriage as a rite of passage into adult life. The heroine says,

I have also been thinking that I do not want to marry. I have a very difficult time taking care of myself. Once married I would not have any freedom, and then I must protect my family and make everyone happy. However, I started to think that turning my back on marriage will not lead to my growth as a human be- ing. I think it is very important for me to be positive and take the first step [to marry] (p. 73).

In ladies’ comics, protagonists tend to be vic- tims of gender stereotyping, often trapped in op- pressive spaces of marriage and family life. As heroines, the lady characters often overcome life’s

barriers in some empowering, positive way. However, these challenges are consistently laced with romantic fantasy and “lustful perversion” (Ito, 2002, p. 77), which complicate the idea of manga as a site of empowerment for female readers. Even while considering her unhappiness or dissatisfac- tion with life, the female protagonist consistently reinforces the idea that Japanese women’s ultimate life goal is to find and marry a Prince Charming. According to Ito, the protagonist provides the reader with a sort of psychological reward: The fe- male adult reader can vicariously relive her youth- ful dreams and experiences.

Ultimately, ladies’ manga might be viewed as soft pornography, often showcasing what is traditionally private and personal: voyeurism, masturbation, and bodily fluids (Ito, 2002). Topics seemingly taboo to the U.S. reader are of- ten framed as natural, playful, and nonsexual in manga. Nudity, gender-bending, homosexuality, and dream-like fantasies are common in girls’ and ladies’ manga, often without the intent to be sexual discourse (Gravett, 2004).

Is there a place for manga in the classroom? Although there are many reasons for educators to carefully consider the pros and cons of bringing alternative (especially alternative, unsanctioned) literacies into the classroom, some educators are making use of graphic novels to develop students’ traditional writing skills. For example, Frey and Fisher (2004) used Will Eisner’s graphic novel about city life to encourage urban high school students’ development of reading and written communication skills. The class collectively read Hydrant, a wordless graphic novel that illustrates the life of a woman living in a housing project without running water. Considering the connec- tions between popular culture and critical litera- cies, the authors encouraged students to collectively list the techniques the artist used to convey meaning; after brainstorming colorful vo- cabulary, students were encouraged to rely on the

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elicited vocabulary to narrate their own individ- ual stories in a written composition. Students ex- perimented with first- and third-person narrations, as well as various ways to describe tone and mood. Frey and Fisher also used this ex- ercise as a springboard to instruct students on how to effectively convey multiple ideas in fewer words. Ultimately, the semiotics of the wordless graphic novel inspired Frey and Fisher’s students to become not only more descriptive writers but also critical “consumers of ideas and informa- tion” (p. 24) as they produced concise, original stories of their own. Nevertheless, Frey and Fisher’s exercise, which succeeded in teaching writing technique and the art of “consuming ideas and information,” failed to serve as a prac- tice of critical pedagogy. No efforts were made to construct Eisner’s text as an impetus for raising awareness on poverty and the greater social issues being conveyed.

Manga could be used in the classroom to develop students’ analytical and critical reading of visual texts. As Alvermann and Heron (2001) contended, critical reading of unique media like manga “calls for both the expression and exami- nation of multiple points of view” (p. 121). In the case of students using manga for classroom study, they can use the mechanics and multimodalities of the comic strips to learn “how to question their own pleasures” (Alvermann & Heron, p. 121).

For example, students can examine how a manga storyboard “works to invite and produce particular views” (Alvermann & Heron, 2001, p. 121). This technique was used with great success in a reading of the computer-based anime Dragon Ball Z (DBZ). As in the case of various manga serials from which it originates, DBZ uses storyboards to constantly negotiate a good-and- evil character dichotomy. Students can use this dichotomy to investigate how the animator, as au- thor of the texts, “visually portrays the characters in ways that convey traits of altruism and treach- ery..., [how] characters change position (from hero to villain), revert to their original position,

or appear to operate from both positions at the same time” (p. 121).

As Kress (2000) reminded us, multiliteracies go beyond just communication through myriad modes; each mode has its own regularities. Critical educators can encourage youths’ reflexiv- ity about their use of popular culture by selecting appropriate texts for the classroom that help stu- dents situate themselves in the world around them and underscore how power shapes “our emotional, political, social and material lives” (Alvermann & Xu, 2003, p. 148). Gilles Poitras, a librarian and manga enthusiast in northern California, provides librarians and teachers with resources through an up-to-date guide to anime and manga accessible through his website at www.koyagi.com.

In the spirit of situated literacies and influ- encing students to think as critical consumers of ideas and information (Frey & Fisher, 2004), old- er students could also use Kinsella’s (2000) manga spheres as an entry point for critically examining societal disparities in the representation of gender and sexuality. Although manga is by origin a Japanese genre, inequalities in the representation of males and females persist cross- culturally. For example, students may survey ex- amples of girls’ and ladies’ manga to analyze the female paradox of power and submission. How, for instance, is the consistent image of the sexual- ly enticing yet assertive, powerful female in man- ga mirrored in Western advertising campaigns, television, and movies? On another note, how, for example, do boys’ manga frame athletic success as a venue for proving socially acceptable notions of masculinity? How might this view of athletics contrast or compare with conceptions of sport in U.S. society?

Skills may transfer This article introduces the world of manga to ed- ucators; manga’s hype among young adult readers is examined through the New Literacy Studies. The genre is the embodiment of hybrid texts.

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Manga are in line with the current literacy revo- lution, as traditional reading is being expanded into postmodern readings that combine print text, graphic images, and sounds. It is not surpris- ing that the multimodal and iconographic fea- tures of manga attract consumers across age groups, cultures, languages, and genders.

The skills manga readers use may transfer well to other media, and vice versa. For example, reading manga is very much like playing video games if we consider both as literacy “domains”— as space for deciphering images and practices. Gee (2004) argued that it is highly beneficial for ado- lescents to practice negotiating semiotics in order to develop critical and multidimensional thinking. Thus, the popularity of manga among youths and young adults on the cusp of the 21st century may be precisely a consequence of this genre’s highly multimodal and semiotic properties.

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