3-2a Manga Characteristics 1

Icon (McCloud)

Any image used to represent a person, place, thing, or idea.

Iconography

Established codes of visual meaning; the art of reading the icons that make up an image.

Three categories of icons

Symbols, practical icons, pictures.

Cartoon face effect (McCloud)

Readers tend to identify with simplified cartoon faces but see realistic faces as other people.

Amplification through simplification

Simplifying an image focuses attention on selected details rather than removing information.

Japanese kaomoji

Text-based emoticons that express emotion using simplified facial features.

Masking

Using different levels of realism within the same manga to influence reader identification and focus.

Three types of masking

Type 1, Type 2, Type 3.

Masking Type 1

Simple/cartoon characters with realistic, detailed backgrounds.

Masking Type 2

Simple/cartoon characters contrasted with realistic characters to emphasize “the other.”

Masking Type 3

Objects that are usually cartoonish suddenly become highly detailed.

Panels

Each frame of a manga or comic.

Gutter

The narrow white space between panels.

Closure

Mentally completing what is incomplete based on past experience.

Panel transition

The movement from one panel to the next through closure.

Six types of panel transition

Moment-to-moment, action-to-action, subject-to-subject, scene-to-scene, aspect-to-aspect, non sequitur.

Moment-to-moment transition

Shows a short amount of time passing; requires little closure.

Action-to-action transition

Shows successive stages of a single action.

Subject-to-subject transition

Shifts from one subject or character to another within the same scene.

Scene-to-scene transition

Shifts across different times or places.

Aspect-to-aspect transition

Explores different aspects of a place, idea, or mood while largely bypassing time.

Non sequitur transition

Panels have no logical relationship.

Suzuki’s criticism of McCloud’s panel transition theory

It is sometimes inconsistent and does not explain all manga techniques.

Suzuki’s recommendation for analyzing panel transitions

Analyze an entire work or volume rather than isolated panels.

Eight characteristics of manga

Iconic characters, sense of place, wordless panels, subjective motion, genre maturity, character design, small real-world details, emotionally expressive effects.

Iconic characters

Simple, expressive characters that encourage reader identification.

Sense of place

Detailed environments that immerse the reader.

Wordless panels

Panels without dialogue that encourage readers to construct meaning visually.

Subjective motion

Visual techniques that make readers experience movement from within the action rather than observing it externally.

Genre maturity

A wide range of mature genres with specialized storytelling techniques.

Character design

A broad variety of visual character types and recurring archetypes.

Small real-world details

Attention to ordinary details that connect readers to the story.

Emotionally expressive effects

Visual effects that communicate characters’ emotions.

Main effect of McCloud’s manga techniques

They increase reader participation because readers actively construct the story.

Two kinds of reader participation

Shōjo and Shōnen.

Shōjo reader participation

Places readers inside the character’s thoughts and emotions.

Shōnen reader participation

Places readers inside the action.

Shōnen action analysis

Can be analyzed using Cohn’s theory of subjective and objective motion lines.