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What is the Difference Between Anime and Manga?

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What is the Difference Between Anime and Manga?

Manga and anime are both popular forms of Japanese art that have been around for a long time. They are often used together, but they can be distinguished by certain features. If you're interested in manga or anime, read this article to find out more about the differences between them!

What is Anime?

Anime is a Japanese word that means "animation." It's often mixed up with the word manga, but they are not quite the same. Anime uses drawings to tell stories about people or animals while in manga, you'll find words and pictures together on one page.

What is Manga?

Manga has been around since 17th century Japan where it was only read by adults until 1820 when children began reading them too. A western-style comic strip would be an easy way of describing what manga looks like. There are photographs on each side of pages which have text boxes containing dialogue written above and below the images. In Pokemon you will see some manga serieses of different cultures with different languages.  Sometimes artist's sketches will appear alongside (or within) panels as well!

Some differences between anime and manga include:

  1. Anime is drawn in a Japanese style and uses bright colors. Manga has more realistic shading, and the characters may be exaggerated slightly or they can have unusual proportions like big eyes (think Sailor Moon!).
  2. Manga often deals with dark themes while anime rarely does anything too serious. This makes sense when you think about how different the two art styles are; manga typically looks much more real than anime which means it will deal with darker subjects!
  3. Anime is typically a lot shorter than manga. When you compare the two, anime episodes are usually around 20 minutes long while one chapter of manga will be much longer; sometimes it can take several hours to read just one.
  4. Japanese animators use an animation technique called "cels" where they draw characters that are filmed frame by frame in front of a light source with cellulose sheets as backdrops. Manga artists may have their work scanned into digital format or painted digitally on computers.
  5. Manga often has sound effects and dialogue bubbles that might not appear in the original version of anime (due to translation). Obviously there is more room for detail when this happens but sound effects don't always translate well from Japanese so they're included in the panels. Anime will sometimes have sound effects as well, but they're typically just used for dramatic effect and not to provide dialogue with words that can't be seen by the viewer.
  6. Anime is often voice acted while manga does not usually contain any audio; however some publishers may add a soundtrack during chapters of their work at times!

Conclusion

Anime and manga are both Japanese art forms that have their own unique styles. For those who enjoy these types of media, the distinctions between anime and manga can be confusing. Thankfully, we’ve outlined some key differences to help you better understand them both! Whether your interest is in animation or comics, either one might be right for you depending on what type of story you want to tell. If this post has piqued your curiosity about either form of entertainment then check out our blog for more information on how they compare as well as which may best suit your interests!

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