manga n.

a Japanese genre of cartoons and comic books, typically drawn in a meticulously detailed style, usually featuring characters with distinctive large, staring eyes, sometimes including violent or sexually explicit material

Occasionally also applied to anime. In extended use: denoting cartoons in this style from other countries.

[< Japanese 漫画 (manga), < 漫 (man-) ‘rambling; aimless; involuntary’ + 画 (-ga) ‘pictures’]

SF Encyclopedia


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Genre

  • 1951 M. L. Wolf Dictionary of the Arts 416

    Manga, in literature, a series of sketches generally assembled in book form after individual publication; also, any collection of cartoons.

  • 1980 P. Milward Oddities in Modern Japan ix. 32

    I have found myself sitting next to a manga-fan, and I haven’t been able to resist the temptation to look over his shoulder at these Japanese ‘funnies’.

  • 1998 B. Sterling Maneki Neko in Year’s Best SF 4 469 page image Bruce Sterling bibliography

    Tsuyoshi bought the aftershave, then stepped outside the barbershop. Nothing happened, so he bought a manga comic and waited. Finally a hairy, blond stranger in shorts, a tropical shirt, and sandals approached him.

  • 2005 Wired Feb. 52/1

    Legendary anime director Hayao Miyazaki’s 1984 feature has finally made it to DVD. The film, based on his manga, has been restored to its original length and can be viewed in Japanese or with English voice-over.

Research requirements

antedating 1951

Last modified 2022-05-08 18:30:53
In the compilation of some entries, HDSF has drawn extensively on corresponding entries in OED.