First of all – from right to left. But there are other nuances that you need to know about.
Manga is traditional Japanese comics. In literal translation, Manga means “bizarre stories in pictures”.
In Japan, it is customary to read from right to left, so the pages of manga are viewed in the same way.
But in order to correctly catch the meaning of each specific story, you need to know a few more nuances.
How to prepare for reading manga
1. Make sure you read the comics in chronological order
Manga is a story with a continuation. Therefore, one series of comics may include several books. To figure out who is who is among the characters, why they relate to each other and in life exactly what motives are dictated by their actions, it is important to read the story from the very beginning.
Start with the first issue. The number, as a rule, is largely indicated on the cover. Next, read the continuation in chronological order.
2. Decide on which side to start reading
Traditionally, the manga is read “backwards” compared to the familiar books for us. That is, from the last page to the first.
If you have a paper book with comics, put it in front of you so that the spine is on the right side. Under the rear cover, where the word “end” is usually written in Russian -speaking books, the beginning.
However, there are books adapted for the European or American market: they are leafed to usual way.
In order not to get confused, focus on the designations inside the book. Most often these are arrows indicating the direction of reading.
Personnel: @mrgulpin1 / YouTube
If you are considering the electronic version of manga in any of the applications, you will not have problems with the direction of reading: as a rule, the pages are numbered and it is enough for you to read from the first to the last.
How to read manga
The rule “from right to left” is unshakable and equally for all versions of manga – both paper and electronic. But for the correct reading, you need to know something else.
1. Read each page sequentially from right to left and from top to bottom
Frame: @Unskill / youtube
The manga page, like any other comic book, is divided into consistent information blocks (panels). They must be read built in line, from the right image to the left.
2. Read messages in each block in turn, from right to left
Information blocks in comics are both simple, without words, and complex: filled with phrases, emotions, experiences of heroes.
Read all posts too to the left. If they are located at different heights, the top is first read, then the lower.
Frame: @Unskill / youtube
3. Pay attention to the color of the panels
Sometimes in the manga there are images on a black background. This suggests that the events discussed in a particular block occurred in the past. Perhaps the hero recalls something, or the author of the manga tells the reader about the situation that happened many years ago.
The panel can be painted with a gradient – from the black background at the top to the light gray or white below. This reflects the transition in time from the events of the past to the present.
4. Consider the emotions of the characters
Image: Bibadash / Shutterstock
Most often, the feelings that heroes experience are obvious: anger, fear, joy, sadness can be recognized according to the character’s face expression.
However, you need to pay attention to additional details in which the authors encrypt some emotions. To indicate their intensity, color can be used, and in black and white manga – hatching of different densities.
Here are a few common examples.
- Embarrassment. It is transmitted with blush or short -shat lines on the cheeks. The more saturated the color of the blush or stroke, the larger the area occupies, the stronger the hero is shy or ashamed.
- Shame in half with anger. It looks like a blush with shades of blue or in the form of a thick intersecting hatching. This complex emotion can emphasize the extended whitewashed eyes or drawn swollen wreaths on the face or neck.
- Embarrassment, but not too serious and not related to romantic experiences. It can be recognized by large drops of sweat, which are drawn on the character’s head or next to it.
- Lust. Japanese manga artists traditionally draw it in the form of bleeding from the nose. Typically, the blood from the nose flows in male characters who look at the beautiful girl who excites them.
5. Pay attention to the form of bubbls
Image: Sahua D / Shutterstock
Babblah is information “bubbles”, which contains words and sounds accompanying history.
Sometimes windows are empty. This means that the character would like to say something, but cannot choose a word or is very perplexed. An empty bable in the form of a curly cloud can also indicate a quiet sigh of relief.
The form of manga authors transmit the volume and sharpness of sounds and speech. An ordinary rounded woman is a sign that the character speaks in a calm tone, maybe a little higher or below the usual. The softer the outlines, the more they resemble a curly cloud, the more insinuating the speech. “Bubbles”, having a distinct geometric shape with sharp corners, mean something loud and unexpected: an exclamation of surprise, a cry, a sharp frightening sound. All this adds the emotionality of the manga -historia.
Manga is traditional Japanese comics. In literal translation, Manga means “bizarre stories in pictures”.
In Japan, it is customary to read from right to left, so the pages of manga are viewed in the same way.
But in order to correctly catch the meaning of each specific story, you need to know a few more nuances.
How to prepare for reading manga
1. Make sure you read the comics in chronological order
Manga is a story with a continuation. Therefore, one series of comics may include several books. To figure out who is who is among the characters, why they relate to each other and in life exactly what motives are dictated by their actions, it is important to read the story from the very beginning.
Start with the first issue. The number, as a rule, is largely indicated on the cover. Next, read the continuation in chronological order.
2. Decide on which side to start reading
Traditionally, the manga is read “backwards” compared to the familiar books for us. That is, from the last page to the first.
If you have a paper book with comics, put it in front of you so that the spine is on the right side. Under the rear cover, where the word “end” is usually written in Russian -speaking books, the beginning.
However, there are books adapted for the European or American market: they are leafed to usual way.
In order not to get confused, focus on the designations inside the book. Most often these are arrows indicating the direction of reading.
Personnel: @mrgulpin1 / YouTube
If you are considering the electronic version of manga in any of the applications, you will not have problems with the direction of reading: as a rule, the pages are numbered and it is enough for you to read from the first to the last.
How to read manga
The rule “from right to left” is unshakable and equally for all versions of manga – both paper and electronic. But for the correct reading, you need to know something else.
1. Read each page sequentially from right to left and from top to bottom
Frame: @Unskill / youtube
The manga page, like any other comic book, is divided into consistent information blocks (panels). They must be read built in line, from the right image to the left.
2. Read messages in each block in turn, from right to left
Information blocks in comics are both simple, without words, and complex: filled with phrases, emotions, experiences of heroes.
Read all posts too to the left. If they are located at different heights, the top is first read, then the lower.
Frame: @Unskill / youtube
3. Pay attention to the color of the panels
Sometimes in the manga there are images on a black background. This suggests that the events discussed in a particular block occurred in the past. Perhaps the hero recalls something, or the author of the manga tells the reader about the situation that happened many years ago.
The panel can be painted with a gradient – from the black background at the top to the light gray or white below. This reflects the transition in time from the events of the past to the present.
4. Consider the emotions of the characters
Image: Bibadash / Shutterstock
Most often, the feelings that heroes experience are obvious: anger, fear, joy, sadness can be recognized according to the character’s face expression.
However, you need to pay attention to additional details in which the authors encrypt some emotions. To indicate their intensity, color can be used, and in black and white manga – hatching of different densities.
Here are a few common examples.
- Embarrassment. It is transmitted with blush or short -shat lines on the cheeks. The more saturated the color of the blush or stroke, the larger the area occupies, the stronger the hero is shy or ashamed.
- Shame in half with anger. It looks like a blush with shades of blue or in the form of a thick intersecting hatching. This complex emotion can emphasize the extended whitewashed eyes or drawn swollen wreaths on the face or neck.
- Embarrassment, but not too serious and not related to romantic experiences. It can be recognized by large drops of sweat, which are drawn on the character’s head or next to it.
- Lust. Japanese manga artists traditionally draw it in the form of bleeding from the nose. Typically, the blood from the nose flows in male characters who look at the beautiful girl who excites them.
5. Pay attention to the form of bubbls
Image: Sahua D / Shutterstock
Babblah is information “bubbles”, which contains words and sounds accompanying history.
Sometimes windows are empty. This means that the character would like to say something, but cannot choose a word or is very perplexed. An empty bable in the form of a curly cloud can also indicate a quiet sigh of relief.
The form of manga authors transmit the volume and sharpness of sounds and speech. An ordinary rounded woman is a sign that the character speaks in a calm tone, maybe a little higher or below the usual. The softer the outlines, the more they resemble a curly cloud, the more insinuating the speech. “Bubbles”, having a distinct geometric shape with sharp corners, mean something loud and unexpected: an exclamation of surprise, a cry, a sharp frightening sound. All this adds the emotionality of the manga -historia.