にほんのまんが

はじめまして！
オメラです。
アメリカじんです。
わたしはいちねんせいです。
せんこうはてつがくとえいがです。
どおぞよろしく！

My interest in Japan began with my introduction to Japanese media; especially that of anime on Cartoon Network when I was a child. The only two shows I watched like this were Rurouni Kenshin and Yu Yu Hakusho. When walking through a bookstore half a year later, I saw the manga version of Yu Yu Hakusho volume one. I had to get it! That was the very first book of manga that I ever purchased. Ever since, I have been exceedingly interested in all things Japanese.

Urameshi Yusuke,
Yu Yu Hakusho main character

This series was only the beginning. As I delved further into series after series, I became more a fan of manga than of anime. At the moment, I keep tabs on updates of Hajime no Ippo, Naruto, and many others from week to week. 


I find that the more manga I read, the more I learn. Not only about fantastical story plots and interesting characters, but also about Japanese culture itself. From studying the media, I somehow got a sense of the attitude. It was from this understanding of Japanese attitude that I began karate and wanted to learn the language.


In addition to the cultural significance of manga, it also greatly influenced my growth as an artist. I have drawn a great many comics of my own in the Japanese manga style. If you would like to see some of these, just ask. Some mangaka that I greatly respect include Masashi Kishimoto and Jooji Morikawa. 


Manga was the starting point in Japanese culture for me, and it holds a special place in my heart. If you ever want to talk about it with me, please do!  Just be warned: it might turn into quite a deep, philosophical conversation. :)

Makunouchi Ippo from Hajime no Ippo
(The butterflies are kind of off-putting... Sorry)

Pop culture is, in effect, the main media that I personally enjoy from Japan. However, I am becoming increasingly drawn to other forms of Japanese media. Has anyone seen Inception or Batman Begins? Both of these films have the actor Ken Watanabe in them, as the characters Saito and Raz'al Ghul respectively. He is an extremely popular Japanese movie star.

I also love all of Hayao Miyazaki's works; I own a few of his movies. If anyone ever wants to have a movie marathon of Spirited Away, Howl's Moving Castle, Princess Mononoke, and The Cat Returns, I've got 'em. Did anyone see the new movie he made, Ponyo? It was so cute! :)

Tata for now,

Fiora