Merry Christmas everybody!
Finally, got some freedom from some school work and chores. It’s all about the holidays now. And in time with the holidays are gifts! And in the case of OtaChan, gifts come in forms of manga! Wheeee~~~!!??????????????????(( *~??????~)
So what are great mangas to give away to friends during the holidays? Well, although it’s quite late, in case you haven’t decided yet, here’s a roster of mangas to give away to friends!!
Two weeks ago, I attended this particular lecture on the canon of Western Literature. According to the lecturer, the Western Literature Canon is a way for writers and readers to read intelligible books that reflect the progress of humanity. It is a list of books that, you may say, have changed the world. Wow. They are chosen not because they are the most popular but rather because these are the books that, as I mentioned in that discussion, if humanity gets wiped out and most likely not a human was left and our only legacy to visiting aliens is a treasure box containing the books that best represent humanity, then the canon would best represent humanity. Before I even venture (which I really shouldn’t, unless I’m in front of my Philosophy teacher) into how these books represent humanity and their transcendence, what really struck my head was the idea of a canon for manga. Could we come up a list of mangas that would best represent humanity and the manga genre? Another interesting question would be… what good would a manga canon bring? Does the world of manga need one?
Strangerataru posted at Weekly Jump a really interesting site that shows the history of Shounen Jump. Having been a jump reader (although not entirely faithfully, I don’t get the weeklies like others do. I just get the weeklies of series I read.), I can’t help but be curious about Jump’s history. And oh dear, looking at the website has made me reminisce some of the best stories I’ve ever read in manga history.
Shounen Jump’s probably one of the strongest magazines out there. That’s the very reason why it even runs in English now. And you can’t help it, Jump’s got some of the best stories told in manga. All the way back, it has mastered the formula of shounen manga. According to Frederick Schodt, there are three key elements in a shounen manga: friendship, perseverance, and victory. Throughout the decades, you can just see how they’ve done this. From Barefoot Gen to One Piece, they’ve basically shown boys of all ages how to live a dream. I guess that’s why readership of Shounen Jump doesn’t exactly fall within the bracket of young boys, but really all ages.
Honestly, looking at all those titles makes me sigh just thinking about all of the fun mangas I’ve read under Jump. Well, I’m looking forward to your 40th anniversary in the next few years. Hopefully, you guys can keep on making crafting some of the best shounen stories ever told.
On a side note, I used to think that Shounen Jump was the best ever until I do notice the wear and tear on some of their series. Sometimes, they hold on to much to the formula that they lose grasp of the story. Or maybe this is just my little tired mind speaking after finishing some papers last night. (?????????) But essentially, as I noticed through their history, there seems to be a reuse of formula that somehow wears the audiences thin. Like, if I ever see another martial arts/ninjutsu/butsu/whatever series, my head will definitely explode.