When you read a manga, you can meet so many characters. Some of them are like you, and others are completely different. But it can help you to understand them, says manga artist Caly.
Interview with Manga Author/Artist Caly
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When it comes to manga, prejudices can abound. For one thing, many readers harbor prejudices about these graphic novels, which originated in Japan more than a century ago. A typical manga plot, according to these fixed ideas, is sentimental fantasy at best and antisocial when taken to extreme.
Prejudging manga would mean missing a great deal in an art form that enjoys a massive global audience. In Japan alone, popular titles can sell many millions of copies. Apart from treasure hunts and battles with monsters, there are manga romances, of course, including the same-sex subgenres called yaoi and yuri. And women have long played an important part as readers as well as authors.
As part of an ongoing program celebrating the international women of manga, Los Angeles-based manga publisher Tokyopop has recently published Breath of Flowers by Paris artist Caly. Its characters live in a teen world of school sports, school bullies, and classmate crushes. But the story pulls these traditional themes in unexpected and very contemporary directions. The manga’s publication comes at a contemporary moment when definitions of sexuality and gender are more fluid than before.
At author signing events, Caly says, “I have met several young people who identify with my characters, especially Gwen, because she is a character who wonders about her identity and who tries to find herself despite who others think she is.
“From personal experience, I learned a lot of things thanks to my favorite manga – simply about Japanese culture, for example. When you read a manga, you can meet so many characters. Some of them are like you, and others are completely different. But it can help you to understand them,” she tells CCC’s Chris Kenneally.
“If you learn a lesson or something good, it’s better, but you can also read [Breath of Flowers] to have a good time. If there is a lesson to draw, the important thing in my manga to remember is to be yourself and feel good about yourself. Don’t let others define who you are. Because if you try to be like how others see you, I think you will [end up] being hurt.
