I Bid You Welcome

Greetings, travelers. If you're here on purpose and not by accident or because of a guy putting a gun to your head, it's probably because you've found yourself in the strange, foreign, and unfamiliar world of Japanese manga, and are lost and in need of guidance. Maybe you've tried to read manga but are confused, maybe you love manga and want more but don't know where to look, maybe someone you love loves manga and you don't understand it, maybe you think "manga" is a kind of food. It doesn't matter. You're here, and that's all that counts.

Allow me to be your guide. I am a Canadian who was raised in Japan for most of my life, and have been following anime and manga for years. This additional exposure to the culture has given me awareness to more manga than the average North American reader, with additional viewpoints to the medium that the average North American reader may not even consider.

Many North American manga fans barely explore beyond the borders of what is available to them, and think manga starts with Dragon Ball Z or Akira or something like that. While those are indeed very good and influential works of art, there is so much beyond those borders that made the titles we love, like One Piece, Naruto, and Death Note, what they are. To that effect, I will be starting out this blog with an introduction into the history of manga. I hope it to be informative and enjoyable to read.

And without further ado, I bid you welcome to the Mangaverse.