Narrative form in Manga, Professor Dr. Cindy Hing-Yuk Wong, 2006 Nov
/ Introduction
This project pursues a textual analysis of narrative structure of Manga, Japanese comic art. It examines how this particular narrative structures make this particular medium popular through the manga series of two Mangaka (漫画家), Japanese word for a comic artist, Mitsuru Adachi (安達充) and Naoki Urasawa (浦沢直樹). Mitsuru Adachi is a very popular mangaka who flavor in drawing baseball manga especially in high school baseball. Naoki Urasawa is also a very popular mangaka drawing manga with excellent store arrangement and cinematography sense.
Project focuses on specific feature in both micro and macro level of narrative structure in manga. Understanding certain aspects of the micro level will allow me to better understand the some macro level narrative structures. Obviously I cannot explain all elements on micro and macro analysis. I will concentrate on Mitsuru Adachi (安達充) use of the insertion of the author because it is a very interesting device that tend to break up the narrative yet it is more complex than that. On macro level study, I will concentrate on Naoki Urasawa (浦沢直樹) use of aporia (episodic) approach because it sending interesting message and viewing angle by accumulating
many different episodes.
Brief Manga history, the development and transformation of narrative structure in Japanese manga as well as the author background would provide a supplement to the textual approach. Drawing on insights from narrative theory, comic art theory and other related concepts extends analysis of this particular mass medium in a different angle.
