The Evolution of the Comic Panel in Japanese Manga

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Date

2017

Authors

Shum, Grace M.

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Publisher

University of Oregon

Abstract

The comic panel is an integral but not always obvious part of comic literacy. This is especially true in Japanese manga, in which panel layouts can be extremely abstract. I endeavored to examine the history of manga to observe its panel evolution to discover how manga panel layouts evolved to what they are today. At the same time, I created a manga of my own, Kaguya, which is adapted from the folktale, The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter, to showcase the evolution of panel examples throughout manga history. Through my research, I discovered that manga panels were at first confined to the dimensions of their media formats like in the proto-panels of emaki scrolls and ukiyo-e prints. Later, due to the influence of European and American comics, Japanese comic panels diversified, with the caption-picture format becoming the most popular. Japanese manga panels evolved even further when shôjo and shonen manga developed with panel layouts designed to emote emotion and action, respectively. Today’s manga panels are variations of the shôjo and shonen panels that evolved after WWII, but with Japan’s deep cultural roots in manga and habit of intermixing manga into different media, perhaps it is only a matter of time before manga panels develop even further.

Description

108 pages. A thesis presented to the Department of English and the Clark Honors College of the University of Oregon in partial fulfillment of the requirements for degree of Bachelor of Science/Bachelor of Arts, Spring 2017

Keywords

Manga, Panel layout, Manga history, Comic studies, Panel development, Caricatures

Citation