by Frank Sanchez
Frank is co-webmaster of AnimeInfo.org and its main designer. He also works for an annual Anime Convention in the Midwest, Anime Central. An anime/manga fan for the past 10-12 years with varying tastes (including Ranma 1/2, Evangelion, Kenshin, and Nadesico, among others), Frank insists that he is absolutely normal, eliciting laughter from pretty much anyone who meets him.

Manga is one of the most well-known and respected types of publications in Japan. The pictoral art that is manga has garnered as much clout as even novels and magazines in the Japanese culture, and manga takes up a fair amount of the publishing "pie" each year. Even though entertainment takes many different forms these days, lots of people are still avid manga readers. This begs the question "why"? Why is it that a simple black and white publication of pictures is so popular?

One way of answering this question thoroughly is to look at the origins and background of manga. How did it start? Who were the key figures in making it what it is today? What happened that made it such a popular form of written/pictoral expression? All these questions will be answered as Frank takes you on a journey through the history of manga, from its humble beginnings and ancestry to the popular cultural product it is today.You'll definitely understand the appeal of manga once you've been through our course!

>>Go to Lesson 1 - The Early Days: Pre-Manga History