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 I Am Manga (Installment One?)
Written by Park Cooper
I was talking to an old friend of mine from high school (when I attended, not when I taught it), and he understood what I do these days right away... “Because of Naruto.” He has two daughters now.
I said to my old friend...
...my wife and I like Naruto about as much as your girls.
We talk a lot, including this morning, about how Comics just isn't keeping up with the power of Manga...
Wouldn't it be great if it did? I'm not talking about 50 comics about boy ninjas, I just mean, Manga has secrets that make it appealing to girls and boys and everyone else, whereas they aren't snapping up Justice League Adventures so much, even though each has a show on Cartoon Network. No, Comics keeps churning out the same old stuff...
Listen, no one listens to young girls in this. Barb used to say, "if you want more women in comics, why don't you ask them what they want?"
Well, talking to Barb this morning made me think: "If you want to make comics more interesting to girls, why not ask them what they like?"
Well duh, they all like Naruto. But even though Comics knows that, it’s not that easy to copy the secrets of manga’s success.
But WHY DO GIRLS LOVE NARUTO SO MUCH?
I want to ask them.
Would you please ask your two daughters to type answers to the following questions, and then I'll run it on Mangalife.com? If they do this for me, I promise I will write a brilliant letter to their respective English Teachers explaining where the link can be found and why they should be considered for some extra credit for writing this.
This is what they said.
Kenzie K, almost 13 (at time of writing)
1. HOW DID YOU START YOUR INTEREST IN NARUTO (THE MANGA/ANIME, NOT JUST THE CHARACTER HIMSELF)?
My friend kind of got me into it. She just sat me down one night at a sleepover, and we watched it. I thought that it was pretty interesting. So now I thank my friend for introducing Naruto to me.
2. WHAT MAKES NARUTO (THE MANGA/ANIME) SO COOL?
I am not really sure. I think it is a lesson that is sort of learned from it (keep trying and never give up, and you will achieve).
3. WHO IS YOUR FAVORITE CHARACTER IN NARUTO (THE MANGA/ANIME) AND WHY? _WHY_ IS THE IMPORTANT PART-- WHY IS THAT CHARACTER YOUR FAVORITE? DON'T JUST SAY "BECAUSE HE OR SHE IS SO COOL!" TRY TO TELL ME _WHY_ THAT CHARACTER IS SO COOL!
I think the characters Ino and Shikamaru are cool because I think that Ino and I have almost the same personality, and I just plain like Shikamaru, he has a cool Jutsu.
4. I'VE HEARD THAT THIS SERIES IS YOUR FAVORITE... BUT WHAT OTHER SHOWS OR MANGA OR BOOKS OR WHATEVER DO YOU LIKE READING OR WATCHING?
Just Naruto is the only Anime/Manga that I will watch and/or read. Other interests in TV and movies include: Harry Potter, Mythbusters, Good Eats, Sweet Life of Zach & Cody, and the news.
As far as movies: Harry Potter, Narnia, Naruto movie, Wild Hogs, Lilo and Stitch, Back to the Future, Jurassic Park Trilogy, Indiana Jones, Star Wars, Spaceballs, and MST3K.
5. WHAT MAKES NARUTO (THE MANGA/ANIME) MORE INTERESTING THAN OTHER MANGA OR ANIME (OR COMICS OR TV OR BOOKS)?
It is more interesting because to me it makes more sense.
6. HOW OFTEN DO YOU THINK ABOUT NARUTO (THE MANGA/ANIME) WHEN NOT ACTUALLY READING IT OR WATCHING IT? DOES IT HAVE A TENDENCY TO "STICK IN YOUR HEAD"? IF SO, WHY DO YOU THINK THAT IS? WHAT SORT OF THINGS DO YOU THINK ABOUT IT ON YOUR OWN? LIKE, DO YOU TRY TO GUESS WHAT'LL HAPPEN NEXT, OR DO YOU IMAGINE YOUR OWN STORIES WITH?
Yeah, it does kind of stick in my head during school. Some of the parts are really funny and that is why it probably sticks in my head. I do both, trying to imagine what happens next, and try to make up my own story on what I think will happen next in the story.
Rachel K, just-turned-10 (at time of writing)
1. HOW DID YOU START YOUR INTEREST IN NARUTO (THE MANGA/ANIME, NOT JUST THE CHARACTER HIMSELF)?
Through my sister and her friend. It looked really, really cool!
2. WHAT MAKES NARUTO (THE MANGA/ANIME) SO COOL?
I like ninjas, and it has some sweet characters!
3. WHO IS YOUR FAVORITE CHARACTER IN NARUTO (THE MANGA/ANIME) AND WHY? _WHY_ IS THE IMPORTANT PART-- WHY IS THAT CHARACTER YOUR FAVORITE? DON'T JUST SAY "BECAUSE HE OR SHE IS SO COOL!" TRY TO TELL ME _WHY_ THAT CHARACTER IS SO COOL!
Gaara, because he's head of the sand village, he has a demon inside him, he has an interesting character, great abilities, and I think he's cute!
4. I'VE HEARD THAT THIS SERIES IS YOUR FAVORITE... BUT WHAT OTHER SHOWS OR MANGA OR BOOKS OR WHATEVER DO YOU LIKE READING OR WATCHING?
Lilo and Stitch the series, Good Eats, Mythbusters, Ninja Warrior (TV), Get Fuzzy books, Harry Potter, Star Wars, Back to the Future, Hairspray, etc
5. WHAT MAKES NARUTO (THE MANGA/ANIME) MORE INTERESTING THAN OTHER MANGA OR ANIME (OR COMICS OR TV OR BOOKS)?
Because it’s unique due to the hand signs, and I really like the characters.
6. HOW OFTEN DO YOU THINK ABOUT NARUTO (THE MANGA/ANIME) WHEN NOT ACTUALLY READING IT OR WATCHING IT? DOES IT HAVE A TENDENCY TO "STICK IN YOUR HEAD"? IF SO, WHY DO YOU THINK THAT IS? WHAT SORT OF THINGS DO YOU THINK ABOUT IT ON YOUR OWN? LIKE, DO YOU TRY TO GUESS WHAT'LL HAPPEN NEXT, OR DO YOU IMAGINE YOUR OWN STORIES WITH THE SAME CHARACTERS, OR WHAT?
I daydream about it, and think about it when I'm lying in bed, It sticks in my head because I like acting out scenes in my head and defeating the enemies, and I think about it a lot.
Park Says:
You can draw your own conclusions, but just to toss out a few:
1. Girls like action.
2. Girls like a story that isn’t just silly, but sort of has rules of its own that it sticks to, that “makes sense.”
3. Manga titles are not always gateways to even other manga, let alone anything else.
4. Either they're spoiling things for themselves online by reading fansites, or they're making Dad get them Shonen Jump, because those are the only two ways they could have known at the time of writing something they mentioned about Gaara's status in the Sand Village. Interesting.
5. My wife is hardly the only female who likes Gaara. Now it has been proven.
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