Manga books are generally printed in black and white and cover a wide variety of genres and subject matter aimed at both sexes and all ages, not just for young boys – to whom comics are generally marketed in the West.

Themes include romance, action adventure, science fiction, comedy, sports and can also venture into darker subject matter for adults such as horror and more risqué material; though the latter tends not to be acknowledged in everyday life and culture.

As it makes up a large section of Japan’s publishing industry, manga books can be found and seen everywhere. People reading manga on trains during rush hour is a common sight in Tokyo as well as the rest of the country.

Every town will have a book store with aisles upon aisles of different manga genres and larger cities even have stores entirely dedicated to the medium over multiple storeys. Convenience stores are quite happy for patrons to stand and read manga even if they are not going to buy and many waiting rooms and restaurants have bookshelves with popular serialisations.

Most manga aimed at children uses a simplistic style and the adorable characters feed Japan’s love for all things kawaii (cute). Characters also have oversized eyes through which the artists are able to convey emotion more easily. Below are a few examples of the more popular manga comics amongst children:

AstroBoy (created by Osamu Tezuka and first published in 1952) is about a world where humans and robots coexist. The protagonist, AstroBoy, is a robot who uses his superior powers to fight crime and as a result of the care and attention of his owner is able to experience human emotions.

Doraemon (created by Fujiko F Fujio and first published in 1969) follows a blue robotic cat who has travelled back in time from the 24th Century to help a young schoolboy, Nobita Nobi, through the trials and tribulations of life.

Dragon Ball (Created by Akira Toriyama and first published in 1984) follows Goku and his friend Bulma as they explore a mythical earth, learning martial arts and searching for “dragonballs” that summon a magical dragon who assists them in times of danger.

As you move away from the books aimed at children and to those aimed at teenagers and young adults, the themes can become a little darker, however, the general ideas of good overcoming evil still remain. The style of the artwork is a lot more detailed and realistic, however, physical features of the characters are still over stylised and exaggerated. Below you will find a couple of examples popular amongst the teenage audience:

Bleach (created by Noriaki Kubo and first published in 2001) is about a teenager named Ichigo who gains the power of Soul Reaper (similar to a death god) and protects the human world against evil spirits as well as guiding deceased spirits safely to the after-world.

Death Note (created by Tsugumi Oba and first published in 2003) follows Light, a Senior High School student, who receives the “Death Note” from a death god. When Light writes the name of a person in the notebook their life comes to an end so he takes it upon himself to rid the world of criminals and evil.

Both Bleach and Death Note, along with other popular serialisations, have been published in English. Their popularity in Western countries is not on the same scale as in Japan, but interest is growing.