1.Manga are Japanese comic books. Though manga became very popular in the 20th century, it is the first time for me to read something like this. I had a lot of fun reading these "humorous pictures". Manga is usually written in traditional style of Japan - from the right to the left. Firs few pages it was a little confusing for me, because I had to read not only pages from right to left, but also the text. But then it became easier. Normally manga in a small format which is very convinient. This kind of book you can read everywhere. I did it in the train. Manga is an artwork. Every single page contains drawings. What I find very interesting that manga characters almost always have big eyes, small mouth, and abnormal hair color (Ichigo Kurosaki had orange hair). Manga is written in dialogue style what makes it lively. By heroes sayings we are able to see their character, thoughts, tastes. Manga has a lot of vulgar words, slang, what makes it closer to simple people who are not used to classical literature.
2.It is not a surprise to anybody that pictures say more than words. Pictures are used in the stores, traffic signs. It is just easier to get the meaning as we did in the childhood. This great idea is used in manga too. Sometimes I did not really have to read the whole page. The expression on characters' faces could say everything. I liked the idea of using pictures and words on pages 24-25 of Bleach, vol.1, when Soul Reaper explained to Ichigo two types of souls - "wholes", the normal spirits, and "hollows", "evil spirits". Good spirits are represented by the drawing bunny with hearts around it and bad spirit - with angry-looking bear. As we know that bunnies are nice sweet animals it is clear who the wholes are. People are afraid of bears, because they can attack and they are very hard to fight with. That is why hollows are so dangerous here. Also Ichigo's shirt shows an interesting thought on page 94 (Bleach, vol.1) - "speaking is not communication!".
3.Bleach is full of Christian ideas. First of all, this manga is about spirits and lost souls. People who did something wrong in their lives get to Hell or they can not find their place for a long time. Christians pray and we can see little Orihime prays for her dead brother Sora every day (p. 139, Bleach, vol.1). It is considered that prayers would "ease sufferings" what little girl was trying to do. There are also mystical elements here: Ichigo gets the power from the Soul Reaper and becomes able to fight hollows. We can find some Japanese fightings too: characters have swords. Ichigo (p. 90) was trying to fight according to some rules: "Hitting them from behind is unfair!"
4. The main lesson of Bleach is to be "good" while you live in order not to get lost in the Universe. But not everything goes the way people want in their lives. People make mistakes. And if it happened they have to realise it and feel sorry about it as Sora did. "Good" always wins "evil" !
Questions
For Bleach (due 5/7)
1) Use Wikipedia and Google to get some basic background information on Manga. Create a short list of 5 ways in which Manga differs from the traditional literature we've read this term. Be sure to explore style and content.
2) As you read Bleach, notice that the importance of the words and the images varies from page to page. Choose a page that consists almost entirely of images and discuss how image use affects your understanding of the story. What can images do that words cannot?
3) Research and define two religious or mythical concepts from Bleach that relate to a) Christianity, and b) Japanese mysticism
4) What do you think is Bleach's main lesson? Provide page references for your peers to verify your argument.
Princess AI (due 5/12):
1) Do some research on Courtney Love--based on your findings, how "biographical" is this manga?
2) How are women portrayed in this text relative to women we encountered in other readings this semester?
3) Costume and body shape plays an important role in manga - provide a brief list of the cultural impressions you receive when looking at these elements in this text. Provide page references to support your argument.
1) Use Wikipedia and Google to get some basic background information on Manga. Create a short list of 5 ways in which Manga differs from the traditional literature we've read this term. Be sure to explore style and content.
2) As you read Bleach, notice that the importance of the words and the images varies from page to page. Choose a page that consists almost entirely of images and discuss how image use affects your understanding of the story. What can images do that words cannot?
3) Research and define two religious or mythical concepts from Bleach that relate to a) Christianity, and b) Japanese mysticism
4) What do you think is Bleach's main lesson? Provide page references for your peers to verify your argument.
Princess AI (due 5/12):
1) Do some research on Courtney Love--based on your findings, how "biographical" is this manga?
2) How are women portrayed in this text relative to women we encountered in other readings this semester?
3) Costume and body shape plays an important role in manga - provide a brief list of the cultural impressions you receive when looking at these elements in this text. Provide page references to support your argument.
Sunday, May 11, 2008
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