Hello everyone and welcome to Manga Mind! My name is James and I’m here to talk about the various manga and anime, amongst other things that I have come to love to read and watch throughout my life. So in order to properly introduce this blog, and myself, I feel like I should answer some key questions to why we are here now.
Who Are You?
I’m a guy who's an otaku for fun.
Sorry, I wanted to see if I could do Saitama justice.
To be more specific, I’m someone who loves to read all different kinds of manga, watch anime television series and films, and play japanese video games. That isn’t to say that I don’t like western centric media. In fact, it's studying films like The Godfather and watching the works of directors like Alfred Hitchcock that helped me pursue my passion for film making. This led me to Western Michigan University where I graduated from their Film, Video, and Media Studies program. I soon picked up a minor in English after enrolling as my passion for studying media bled into literature as well, and I soon found myself gaining the fundamental building blocks to create my own stories.
Even as I began creating my own student films and writing various short stories and plays, I developed this passion for learning more about the creators that came before me. I loved engaging in the critical analysis, research and discussion that they brought, and found myself making friends who had the same passions that I do.
Why start a blog?
I think the main reason I want to do this is to get back into writing on a regular basis. After I graduated, I found myself working retail in my hometown and living with my parents. I found myself dealing with a lot of ups and downs leading to this point, from work related injuries, rejection in applying for jobs in my field, and trying my best to make my family proud of who I am. I started losing the passion to be creative and wondering if I still had the drive to be the person I thought I wanted to be.
It was only until I was given the chance in the last couple of years by some amazing people that I found myself wanting to be creative again. I was able to find oppurtunities to work freelance, both in film and as a writer, and it helped me realize that I wanted to do this line of work now more than ever.
Why focus on Japanese Pop Culture?
Because I love it! Shocker I know, considering the name of this blog, but I feel like I have to be upfront about it here. It has been a part of my life as far back as I can even remember anything. I watched the likes of Sailor Moon, Speed Racer, and Kiki’s Delivery Service before I knew they were anime. Video games like Pokemon and Kingdom Hearts developed my love for JRPGs, alongside the icons of gaming like Mario and Zelda. These properties became ingrained in my everyday life for a long time, and they also played a part in the friendships I have built throughout my life. It even helped me through some of the most difficult times in my life.
I realized I wanted to share that with other people and that I want to write about my experiences, both old and new, and highlight what makes these mediums so fascinating to me.
Why "Manga Mind"?
Well there are two reasons for the name. First, alliteration is fun, catchy, and easy to remember when you’re reading content, a little trick I learned both in English and communications courses in college.
The second, and more important reason, is because manga has helped build upon my love for otaku culture. I bought my first volume of Viz’s Shonen Jump from a school book fair in fourth grade, exposing me to the world of Japanese comics. As I’ve continued to read and learn about the different mangaka, or manga creators, and the magazines that publish their work, it also began to expose me to the different facets of the industry. It piqued my interest and led me into this whole other side of these comic books that felt so different from the likes of DC and Marvel.
Is “Manga Mind” Only About Manga?
Not necessarily, but it will be the primary focus. I plan on highlighting the series I love, new ones that I’ve discovered, and maybe even the ones that didn’t live up to my expectations. Manga has always been tough to talk about with other people even as things like anime have hit the mainstream.
That’s not to say these other forms of storytelling are off limits. I’m also going to explore the adaptations that make manga series into full blown franchises. From anime television and films, games, and even the very fandoms that built around them. Nothing is really off limits to me because they are all parts that make these series so interesting.
I love to study what makes stories and the media I love tick. I always have, whether it be in film study and production courses, to the study of literature in college, to even just talking about TV shows and movies with my friends. Manga just became the outlet that kept that passion alive after my actual schooling ended. Now I’m giving myself the platform to talk about it and the other mediums that make Japanese pop culture so much fun to experience.
What can you expect in terms of content?
Like I said, I’m giving myself really no limits here. I want to improve as a writer by talking about the things I love, so of course the focus will be on articles. There will of course be standard reviews of manga volumes. I want to highlight new series As much as I can, so expect reviews of first volumes of newly published series as well as ongoing releases and special editions.
I also want to try to highlight newly released manga chapters from Japan, and the best way for me to do that will be reviewing the weekly releases on Viz Media’s Shonen Jump and Shueisha's MANGA Plus apps.
So the first real announcement is for a series I’m going to call The Weekly JUMP-In!, which will cover what I consider to be the best (and sometimes worst) of the magazine each week. While I could cover each individual chapter in depth, the issue comes with the sheer number of series that are currently in Jump, with twenty that are currently released weekly. At this point I’m still trying to catch up on the longer running series that are still coming out. While I will try to focus on five series each week, expect special additional highlights on the first and final chapters of manga that come out as well, because those always make for fun discussions as well.
Reviews aren’t the only thing on the pipeline, as I plan on doing editorials, long form writings, and lists about different series as well. From narrative themes and characters, to tropes and subversions, and even stories about how these various manga and anime series have impacted my childhood.
For now though, I’ll try to focus on creating the best content I can and I’m glad you're here to join me. So get yourselves ready, because I can’t wait to share my thoughts and ideas on the wild and crazy world of manga, anime, and everything in between.
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