Dear reader, today I want to talk with you about manga. I’ve been devouring it lately so I figured, why not talk about it?

First of all, what is manga? Manga is an umbrella term for a wide variety of comic books or graphic novels originally produced and published in Japan. Unlike American comic books, which are usually printed in full color, Japanese manga are almost always published in black and white.

There are also several different demographics of manga, three of which I will be talking about today.

Shonen – targeted at tween and teen boys

Shojo – targeted at tween and teen girls

Seinen – targeted at adult men 18+

Josei – targeted at adult women 18+

Kodomomuke – targeted at young children

The first manga I’m going to talk about is A Sign of Affection by suu Morishita. This is a shojo manga.

A Sign of Affection by suu Morishita

Yuki, who’s always been deaf, is used to communicating with sign language and her phone. But she’s not used to English, so when a tourist from overseas asks for directions, she nearly panics…until a handsome stranger steps in to help. His name is Itsuomi, and it turns out he’s a friend of a friend. A charismatic globetrotter, Itsuomi speaks three languages, but he’s never had a deaf friend. The two feel drawn to each other and plan a date on a romantic winter’s night…but Yuki’s friend is afraid that she might be setting herself up to get hurt. Could this be something real? Or will these feelings melt away with the snow?

Dear reader, I am thoroughly enjoying this manga! The author does a marvelous job showing how Yuki navigates her world, and in portraying the difficulties she encounters from day to day as a deaf person. She has friends who are supportive, but also people who use the knowledge of sign language against her. Throughout the series you can see Yuki striving for and achieving independence, and of course witness her growing relationship with Itsuomi. I’m sure you will fall in love with the characters as much as I did!

A Silent Voice by Yoshitoki Oima

Shoya is a bully. When Shoko, a girl who can’t hear, enters his elementary school class, she becomes their favorite target, and Shoya and his friends goad each other into devising new tortures for her. But the children’s cruelty goes too far. Shoko is forced to leave the school, and Shoya ends up shouldering all the blame. Six years later, the two meet again. Can Shoya make up for his past mistakes, or is it too late?

This manga is a shonen manga, so it has the most violence out of the three manga titles I will be talking about today, as you probably gathered from the description. There is anger, fists flying, thoughts of suicide, and more. The author accurately portrays both the immediate and long-term effects of bullying, but what makes this manga interesting is it not only depicts these effects on the person being bullied, but the person perpetuating the bullying themselves. I won’t give away too much of the plot, but let’s just say that Shoya gets a taste for how it feels to be ostracized and find himself in Shoko’s shoes.

Perfect World by Rie Aruga

An office party reunites Tsugumi with her high school crush Itsuki. He’s realized his dream of becoming an architect, but along the way, he experienced a spinal injury that put him in a wheelchair. Now Tsumugi’s rekindled feelings will butt up against prejudices she never considered-and Itsuki will have to decide if he’s ready to let someone into his heart… Yet they may soon discover that, without each other, the world feels imperfect.

Sadly this manga series can only be requested through WISCAT, which is outside of the Monarch catalog system, hence the lack of a link for the title. However, it is well worth the wait, dear reader! Perfect World is a josei manga, which, if you remember my short description from earlier, means it contains more adult themes since it is targeted to adult women. The author has a no holds barred approach to portraying Itsuki’s every day life with a spinal cord injury. I learned so much not only about that, but also about wheelchair accessibility, both barriers to it as well as architecture designed specifically with it in mind.

Another area the author really shined was in portraying the relational struggles between Itsuki and Tsugumi, with one person being able-bodied, and the other wheelchair bound. Itsuki desiring to be as independent as possible where his condition was concerned, but at the same time, Tsugumi taking it upon herself to learn everything medically that she could to help Itsuki when he needed it. There are several very self-sacrificing characters in this manga that will warm your heart, even as it breaks while you read about some very true-to-life moments.

Well, dear reader, I hope you enjoy reading these manga titles, and many more! I may have mentioned this before, but even if I have, it’s worth mentioning again. One of the greatest powers of books is their ability to open up to us new worlds and experiences. We not only gain a better understanding of the world around us, but books also force us to think outside of ourselves, and see the world through other people’s eyes.