Manga FAQ

Archive-name: manga/faq

  THE REC.ARTS.MANGA FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS LIST
  ==================================================
      Edited by
     Steve Pearl
     August, 1993

This FAQ, as well as many other FAQ's appearing on the net, is posted
to news.answers.  You can ftp FAQ's mentioned in this document from
rtfm.mit.edu:/pub/usenet.  If you do not have ftp, send a message to
"mail-server@rftm.mit.edu" with the word "help" in the body.  The
server will send you instructions on retrieving the files via email.

This is a monthly list of questions that have been frequently asked in this
newsgroup.  If you have any questions, additions or corrections, send them to:

Internet: pearl@remus.rutgers.edu    or Steve Pearl
CI$: >internet: pearl@remus.rutgers.edu 359 Lloyd Rd
GEnie:  S.PEARL6 Aberdeen, NJ 07747-1826

Changes to this posting since July, 1993:
- Changed Mangajin's address... Thanks John Prenis!



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TABLE OF CONTENTS:

o ARE THERE ENGLISH BOOKS OR MAGAZINES ON THE SUBJECT OF MANGA?
o CAN YOU RECOMMAND SOME GOOD MANGA?
o WHERE CAN I GET MANGA?
o WHERE CAN I GET SCRIPTS OR SYNOPSIS TO SOME OF THE MANGA?
o HOW DO I LEARN JAPANESE?
o WHAT IS JAPONISME?
o IS MICHITAKA KIKUCHI & KIA ASAMIYA THE SAME PERSON?
o WHAT IS WIDEBAN OR "WIDE VERSION" MANGA?
o WHAT ARE JAPANESE PHONE CARDS AND PHONE BOOKS ARE AND WHAT THEY HAVE TO
  DO WITH ANIME/MANGA? 
o OTAKU, WHAT'S AN OTAKU?  (EXPANDED DEFINITION)
o WHY WAS VIDEO GIRL AI MANGA VOLUMES 3 & 5 CENSORED BY THE GOVERNMENT?
o WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE CENSORED AND NON-CENSORED VERSIONS OF
  VIDEO GIRL AI 3&5
o IS MASAMUNE SHIROW A PSEUDONYM?  WHY DOES HE KEEP HIS TRUE IDENTITY A SECRET?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

o ARE THERE ENGLISH BOOKS OR MAGAZINES ON THE SUBJECT OF MANGA?

Yes, There is a book called "Manga! Manga!" by Frederik L. Schodt,
which examines in detail the history, background, content, etc of
manga in the popular culture.  There is also a magazine called
"Mangajin", which aids in the learning of the Japanese language
through the use of manga.  (Check the "How do I learn Japanese"
section for more detail.)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
o CAN YOU RECOMMAND SOME GOOD MANGA?

Check the Rec.Arts.Manga Guide.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
o WHERE CAN I GET MANGA?

Check the Rec.Arts.Manga Resource Guide.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
o WHERE CAN I GET SCRIPTS OR SYNOPSIS TO SOME OF THE MANGA?

Check the FTP Script List, a list of all the scripts available through anonymous FTP, and then some.  Maintained by Kenneth Arromdee at arromdee@cs.jhu.edu. 
Also posted monthly on rec.arts.manga
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
o HOW DO I LEARN JAPANESE?

Edited from the rec.arts.anime faql:

As is to be expected, all manga is in Japanese.  Synopses & scripts
all help to understand what's going on, but they can only cover a
fraction of all the manga being released at a certain time.  A common
question in rec.arts.manga and sci.lang.japan is "What books would you
folks recommend for someone who wants to learn colloquial Japanese?"

The following books have been recommended by persons in this newsgroup as good
sources for learning Japanese.  Of course, they can't replace a live teacher
in a Japanese course at your local university, or practicing with a
Japanese-speaking friend (a GOOD friend, in case you unwittingly commit a
faux-pas :-).

NOTE: If you wish to translate manga yourself and aren't too familiar with
the Chinese characters called Kanji, then you should look for manga
that contains furigana alongside the kanji.  Furigana is small
phonetic writing that gives you the pronunciation and reading of the
complex Chinese characters in Kana.

Basic Japanese textbooks:

BASIC STRUCTURES IN JAPANESE
by Aoki, Hirose, Keller, Sakuma
Taishukan Publishing Company
A beginner's Japanese textbook.

JAPANESE:  THE SPOKEN LANGUAGE
by Eleanor Jordan
The standard text for college level Japanese.
Yale university Press, 1988.
ISBN 0-300-04188-8

ESSENTIAL JAPANESE
by Samuel. E.  Martin.

        JAPANESE FOR BUSY PEOPLE (volumes I and II)
        by Association for Japanese-Language Teaching (AJALT)
        Kodansha International Publishers (Tokyo and NY)
Another beginner's Japanese textbook.  Recommended.

Books on colloquial Japanese:

JAPANESE IN ACTION
by Jack Seward

MAKING OUT IN JAPANESE
by Todd & Erika Geers
Yenbooks (Charles E. Tuttle Publishing Company)
A book on colloquial Japanese.

MORE MAKING OUT IN JAPANESE
The sequel to "Making Out in Japanese"

MANGAJIN
PO Box 7119,
Marietta GA 30065
This is a magazine with detailed panel-by-panel manga translations,
along with articles on the Japanese culture.  Regular features
include: "Galaxy Express 999", "What's Michael", "Tanaka-kun", etc.
Great for learning colloquial Japanese.

Books on Japanese Grammar:

AN INTRODUCTION TO JAPANESE GRAMMAR AND COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES
by Senko K. Maynard
The Japan Times
A book on Japanese Grammar

Reference works:

KENKYUSHA'S JAPANESE-ENGLISH DICTIONARY

NELSON'S CHINESE CHARACTER DICTIONARY

Other suggestions:

Get a feel of basic Japanese before figuring out the slangs and
contractions.

Keep in mind that even the simplest manga assume about 7 years of
constant Japanese usage.

Get Japanese copies of children's classics such as Winne-the-Pooh,
A Christmas Carol, etc., which are aimed for elementary/grammar school
children.  Read them and compare with the original English.

Jordan's book has plain style Japanese starting with chapter 9.

Most minor Japanese sentences are in the so-called "direct" style.

Live in Japan for a while.  [A bit drastic, isn't it? -- Editor]

Read manga and watch T.V., preferably watch some show with subtitles.

LOTS OF PATIENCE!!  Learning a new language is never easy.



-------------------------------------------------------------------------
o WHAT IS JAPONISME?

Japonisme is a term to describe the influence of Japanese art and
style (including manga) on Western art and culture.  Rutgers
University hosts the International Center on Japonisme at the Zimmerli
Art Museum in New Brunswick, NJ. [Further information to be added as they
send it to me...]

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
o IS MICHITAKA KIKUCHI & KIA ASAMIYA THE SAME PERSON?

At Anime Expo '92, Mikimoto Haruhiko stated to the effect that
although they're not friends, but he does know him (Kia) and that
Kikuchi and Asamiya are the same person.

Another thing to consider is that there are Newtype calendars that,
have Silent Mobius images that say (in big bold letters) Mitchitaka
Kikuchi, and then in little tiny letter Copyright 1991(?)  Kia
Asamiya.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
o WHAT IS WIDEBAN OR "WIDE VERSION" MANGA?

Wide version refers to reissue of compiliation, typically twice to
three times the page count of your ordinary compiliation; Urusei
Yatsura was issued in 34 compilations, and its wide version is only 15
compiliations or Outlanders, originally released in 8 compilations,
its wide version is only 2 compilation.

Consider wide version... compiliation of compiliation...

From a post by chu@ucsee.berkeley.edu
       (real name unknown)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
o WHAT ARE JAPANESE PHONE CARDS AND PHONE BOOKS ARE AND WHAT THEY HAVE TO DO
  WITH ANIME/MANGA? 

These are actually two different things.

  -Phone Cards:

Ma Bell in Japan is still a national monopoly / government bureacracy.
Nippon Telephone and Telegraph (NTT) charges 10 yen per time unit for
local calls.  10 yen coins are an annoyance to carry around.  Sort of
like a pocket full of nickles.  But if you stuff a larger denomination
coin into a phone, you don't get change for time/money not used.
Enter the telephone card.  It is a cheap piece of plastic the size of
a credit card with a magnetic widget inside.  You buy them from a
vending machine or a kiosk (in denominations ranging from 500 to 5000
yen).  The green phones are (mostly) wired to accept phone cards (yes,
there are different color phones depending on the type of call).
Stuff a telephone card into the slot and you don't have to worry about
carrying around a pocket full of nickles and the magnetic widget
counts off each time unit as you use it.  There cards are particularly
useful for international calls.  Each time unit costs 100 yen and they
count off very quickly.

With all these little plastic cards running around, somebody in
Japan got the idea of putting pretty pictures on them.  Like
mountains, or rivers, or forests, or movie stars, or whatever.
Certain types of fans like to collect these cards (sort of like
a cross between expensive postage stamps and baseball cards).
For these fans, companies print up limited runs of cards with
desireable pictures on them and then sell them for double the
face value (spend 1000 yen to get a 500 yen card).  The fans
value these cards as long as they are not used at all.  So
they are another anime/manga collectable.
- from a post by Eric Kouba


- Phone Books

This is a term used to describe the various manga magazines.  These
periodicals are typically printed on newsprint, and contain several
ongoing manga stories (which, if popular, are usually collected into
collections).  These magazines are VERY thick and often resemble
phonebooks.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
o OTAKU? WHAT'S AN OTAKU? (Expanded Definition)

OTAKU
(1) Original meaning: Your house (company, organiztion, etc), used as
a polite form of the second person => you

(2) Meaning in early-late 1980's: An extreme fan of anime/manga/sf who
lacks communications with other people and usually untidy => nerd,
fanboy [Otakus used "otaku" for "you" instead of more common "anata"
"anta" and that' what gave them the title of Otaku-Zoku (otaku-race)]

(3) Current Usage: Anyone obssesd or overly interested with any subject
<ex.> Car otaku, Gun Otaku, etc... => mania, freak

(2) has VERY negative meanging and (3) still carries negative meaning, unless
used between otakus, of course. :-) So use "otaku" to only other anime fans.

On the net, Otaku is usually refered to a big fan of anime and/or
manga. For example, I'm an Otaku. :-)

--From a posting by Tonghyun "Vajra" Kim

o WHY WAS VIDEO GIRL AI MANGA VOLUMES 3 & 5 CENSORED BY THE GOVERNMENT?

This case doesn't have anything to do with government censorship in
Japan.  Parental (and other) groups pressured Shuueisha to withdraw it
from sale, because some content was seen as unsuitable for its boys +
girls audience.  (An assessment I agree with, but that's just MHO.
The reaction is, I imagine, rather like what would happen in the US if
"Liquid Sky" was shown in the "Tiny Toons" timeslot.)

It seems that this sort of "voluntary censorship" is on the increase in
Japan.  (Actually, "censorship" is too strong a word - it's just voluntary
compliance with public pressure.)  Mainly the H-and-violence stuff is
being targeted.  VGA fits into this category (though it's a pretty tame
example).  It reminds me of toned-down Ujin, visually... and Ujin's stuff
is not for a general audience, to say the least.

As for "why now", maybe they've had it too good too long.  I wouldn't
link it to one individual incident like the Miyazaki murders, but who
can tell?  I don't live in Japan.  Who knows.
-- From a posting by Iain Sinclair

o WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE CENSORED AND NON-CENSORED VERSIONS OF
  VIDEO GIRL AI 3&5?

   Volume 3

   published date

1990-11-15 1st printing (original edition)
1990-11-15 2nd printing (original edition)
1990-12-15 3rd printing (original edition)
1991-01-25 4th printing (original edition)
????-??-?? 5th printing (???)
1992-12-25 6th printing (retouched edition)
????-??-?? 7th printing (retouched edition)

   retouched points

page# frame# difference
------- ------ ----------
9 5 panties (*1)
11 1 panties
25 3 panties
28 1,2 panties
29 5 panties
30 2 panties
33 6,7 panties
37 4 panties
43 1,2,3 panties
44 1 panties
45 1 panties
46 2,3,4 panties
47 1 panties
49 1 panties
50 1,3 panties
54 1,2 machine (*2)
56 3 machine
------- ------
total   25

  (*1) In the original edition Ai wears no panties.

   (*2) In the original edition, a couple of large parts that are
   concealing Ai's thighs and hips cannot be seen.

   Volume 5

   published date

1991-03-15 1st printing (original edition)
????-??-?? 2nd printing (???)
1993-03-15 3rd printing (retouched edition)

   retouched points

page# frame# difference
------- ------ -------------
19,20 all deleted (*3)
33 3,5 panties (*4)
34 4 panties
35 3 panties
36 2,5 panties
37 1,2,3 panties
38 1 panties
47 3 panties
48 5 panties
49 3 panties
88 1 replaced (*5)
97 1,4 panties
98 2 panties
99 6 panties
100 3 panties
101 2 panties
180 1 water level (*6)
------- ------
total 22

   (*3) In these pages Matsui touches Mai's thigh and buttocks, hugs her,
   and comes to give himself up to her. In the retouched edition the
   pages are deleted and a blank (black) leaf is inserted as pp.5-6
   instead. Therefore the page numbers are different between both
   editions till p.20.

   (*4) In the original edition Mai wears no panties.

   (*5) In the original edition, the view of Ai's buttocks seen from the
   rear (the viewpoint of Youta), but in the retouched edition, a
   magnification of the 2nd frame.

   (*6) In the retouched edition the water level of the spring becomes a
   little higher to completely conceal Ai's crotch.


o IS MASAMUNE SHIROW A PSEUDONYM?  WHY DOES HE KEEP HIS TRUE IDENTITY A SECRET?

What I remember:  "Masamune Shirow" is a pen name, he does manga-ing
in his spare time (hence the long delays!), and the reason he doesn't
use his real name is that his employer would frown upon his "moonlighting"
as a mangaka.  Whether this means he'd be fired or just reprimanded or
something, I don't know, but he deliberately doesn't use his real name.
-- From a posting by Bill Barnes


       THE MANGA RESOURCES LIST
       ========================

      Edited by
     Steve Pearl
     August, 1993

This FAQ, as well as many other FAQ's appearing on the net, is posted
to news.answers.  You can ftp FAQ's mentioned in this document from
rtfm.mit.edu:/pub/usenet.  If you do not have ftp, send a message to
"mail-server@rftm.mit.edu" with the word "help" in the body.  The
server will send you instructions on retrieving the files via email.

This is a monthly list of sources of manga material available to the readers of
this newsgroup.  If you have any questions, additions or corrections, send them
to:

Internet: pearl@remus.rutgers.edu    or Steve Pearl
CI$: >internet: pearl@remus.rutgers.edu 359 Lloyd Rd
GEnie:  S.PEARL6 Aberdeen, NJ 07747-1826


Changes to this posting since May 1993

Things to do: 
- Find out which of the "anime" ftp sites contain non-animated manga material.

DISCLAIMER 1: The editor is not associated with ANY of the companies or
organizations mentioned below.

DISCLAIMER 2:  The opinions expressed on this post do not necessarily represent
the opinions held either by the editor or any organization he's affiliated with.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Table of Contents

o TRANSLATED MANGA AVAILABLE IN THE USA
o WHERE TO FIND MANGA
o MANGA FTP SITES
o MANGA BITNET FILESERVERS
o OTHER ELECTRONIC MANGA RESOURCES

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

o TRANSLATED AND/OR ENGLISH-LANGUAGE MANGA AVAILABLE IN THE USA

     Some manga (Japanese comics) have been translated into English for
the American market.  Those manga which have spun off into anime-related
projects are indicated in parentheses.  [Note:  "American manga" based on
Japanese characters are not included.  That's why CAPTAIN HARLOCK, DIRTY
PAIR and LENSMAN are not listed here.  Also not listed here is NINJA HIGH
SCHOOL, an "American manga" that is only *indirectly* based on Japanese
characters (it is a satirical blend of elements taken from ORANGE ROAD,
PROJECT A-KO, and URUSEI YATSURA).  Manga produced by Japanese creators
in English, however, like MAZINGER, ONI & SAMURAI: SoD are included.]

Antarctic Press:
  MANGAZINE #17-19 (All three issues contain "The Age of Hydroplanes,"
  the serial by Hayao Miyazaki.  This was the prototype for the movie,
  PORCO ROSSO.), STAR TREKKER

Blast Books [New York]:
  MR. ARASHI'S AMAZING FREAK SHOW, PANORAMA OF HORROR

Catalan Press:
  GOODBYE AND OTHER STORIES

CHEVAL NOIR [Dark Horse Comics]:
  ANGEL FUSION by Keisuke Goto & Hiroyuki Kato in #1; IN DREAMS by
  Masashi Tanaka in #24-26

Dark Horse Comics:
  GODZILLA (TV series and lots of man-in-a-rubber-suit movies)

Dark Horse Comics/Studio Proteus:
  CARAVAN KIDD, ORION, OUTLANDERS (OAV) and VENUS WARS (movie)

Eclipse Comics:
  SAMURAI: SON OF DEATH [not a translation but an all-new work in English
  by Hiroshi Hirata, whose work was well-liked by Yukio Mishima]

Eclipse Comics International/Studio Proteus:
  APPLESEED (OAV), BLACK MAGIC (OAV), CYBER 7, DOMINION (4 OAVs),
  THE LOST CONTINENT

Eclipse International/Viz Comics:
  AREA 88 [was continued by Viz Comics afterwards] (3 OAVs, TV series),
  (THE LEGEND OF) KAMUI [this is not the same Kamui as the Kamui in "The
  Dagger of Kamui"] (TV series), and MAI THE PSYCHIC GIRL

Educomics:  [see also entries under "New Society Publishers"]
  BAREFOOT GEN (OAV, 3 live-action films & an opera) and I SAW IT

Epic Comics:
  AKIRA (movie), FAREWELL TO WEAPONS, MEMORIES

EPIC Magazine, ?/?/83:
  ONI ["Ogre;" not a translation, but an original story written & drawn
  by Go Nagai, of Devilman, Fandora, Shuten Doji & Violence Jack fame.]

First Comics:
  LONE WOLF AND CUB (a live-action TV series & 6 live-action movies) and
  MAZINGER [not a translation but an all-new English-language work by
  series creator Go Nagai] (3 TV series & 6 movies; the first TV series
  was released in the USA under the name "Tranzor Z")

Innovation Comics:
  SAZAN 3x3 EYES (4 OAVs)

MANGA! MANGA! THE WORLD OF JAPANESE COMICS by Frederik L. Schodt [book]:
  PHOENIX [Tezuka!] (movie & a live-action film), THE ROSE OF VERSAILLES
  (TV series & a French live-action movie), SENJO [BATTLEFIELD; by Leiji
  Matsumoto], and BAREFOOT GEN (OAV, 3 live-action films & an opera)

New Society Publishers [PO Box 582, Santa Cruz, CA 95061]:
  BAREFOOT GEN: A CARTOON STORY OF HIROSHIMA (284 pages) copyright 1987,
  BAREFOOT GEN: THE DAY AFTER (177 pages) copyright 1988, and
  BAREFOOT GEN: LIFE AFTER THE BOMB (164 pages) copyright 1989

Now Comics:
  SPEED RACER CLASSICS (TV series)

Sun Comics:
  COSMOS: CHRONICLES OF PARADISE, HIGH SCHOOL AGENT, RAGNAROK GUY, RAIKA

University of California Press:
  JAPAN, INC. by Shotaro Ishinomori [ISBN 0-520-06289-2]

Viz Comics:
  BAOH (OAV), BATTLE ANGEL ALITA, COBRA (TV series and movie), CRYING
  FREEMAN (OAV series), FIST OF THE NORTH STAR (2 TV series, a movie & a
  live-action Hong Kong kung fu movie), GREY (OAV), GOKU: MIDNIGHT EYE
  (2 OAVs), GOLGO 13: THE PROFESSIONAL [also put out by two other
  publishers] (movie), HOROBI, HOTEL HARBOUR VIEW, JUSTY (OAV), LUM:
  URUSEI YATSURA (TV series, OAVs and movies), MACROSS II (OAV series),
  NAUSICAA OF THE VALLEY OF THE WIND (movie), PINEAPPLE ARMY, RANMA 1/2
  (2 TV series, 2 OAVs & 2 movies), RUMIC WORLD: FIRE TRIPPER (OAV),
  RUMIC WORLD: LAUGHING TARGET (OAV), SABER TIGER, SANCTUARY, SHION:
  BLADE OF THE MINSTREL, SILENT MOBIUS (movie), STRIKER: ARMORED WARRIOR,
  and 2001 NIGHTS (OAV)

                                           -- Written by Steven Feldman

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
o WHERE TO FIND MANGA
  ===================

Two Japanese bookstore chains in America offer original mangas and
manga magazines.  They are the Kinokuniya and Asahiya bookstores.  You
shall also be able to find some small bookstores that carry manga in
any major city with a decent size of Japanese populations.  For them
check the various "shopping guide" availble at various FTP site.
(There are shopping guide to San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, New
York, Hawaii, Tokyo, and Hong Kong.)

For the people in Taiwan, Korea, Hong Kong, and Thailand, many
translated bootlege pirate copys of manga exist at a cheaper price
with a poorer quality.  These usually find their way to Chinese
bookstores abroad.  If you don't understand Japanese anyway, then you
may wish to check these manga out.

People in Australia and Europe generally are stucked with the American
translations, unless they can find some distributors which carry the
original stuffs, or make oversea order to Japan or America.  There are
suppose some French translated manga (Maison Ikkoku and Saint Seiya),
but apparently they are very hard to find.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kinokuniya Bookstores:

Los Angeles         (213) 687-4447
New Jersey                      (201) 941-7580
   Yaohan Plaza       941-6087 (FAX)
   Kinokuniya Bookstore
   595 River Road, Edgewater, NJ 07029
Costa Mesa, CA in Yaohan Center (714) 434-9986,
New York                        (212) 745-1461/1462
   Kinokuniya Bookstore               541-9335 (FAX)
   10 West 49th Street, New York, NY 10020
San Francisco                   (415) 567 7625
   Kinokuniya Bookstore
   1581 Webster Street
   SF, CA 94115
San Jose                        (408) 252 1300
   Kinokuniya Bookstore
   675 Saratoga Ave
   San Jose, CA 95129
Seattle (206) 587-2477.
Torrance Store                  (213) 327 6577
Weller Court Store              (213) 687 4480

Yes, Books Kinokunia does indeed special order books and mangas through
mail.  If you will go to one of their stores, or ask them by writing or
phone, they will give you a yellow postcard that looks like this:

(my best ASCII representation of the back of the postcard)

===============================================================================
  Books MAIL ORDER CARD DATE___________
Kinokuniya

Please supply me the following publications with bill-invoice

_______________________________________________________________________________

AUTHOR TITLE PUBLISHER PRICE
_______________________________________________________________________________

If it's not currently in stock, please let us know if you obtained the book
from Japan. YES __ NO __


ORDER BY: SEA __ AIR __  (20% MORE from AIR CARGO)
_______________________________________________________________________________

MR.
MISS MRS. _________________________________________PHONE NO.___________________
please print

STREET ADDRESS ________________________________________________________________

CITY AND STATE _________________________________________ ZIP CODE _____________

===============================================================================

(and the address on the front says)


KINOKUNIYA BOOK STORES OF AMERICA CO., LTD.

1581 WEBSTER STREET - KINOKUNIYA BUILDING

SAN FRANCISCO, CA  94115-9948


You may not even need this postcard (although the postage is paid for by Kino.)
as long as you send in the necessary informations.  If you can't write Kanjis
then it may help if you would send in a copy of those slips of papers that
always get in your way of reading the manga, but you never bothered to take
out.  Those papers have all the essential information (title, publisher,
author, price, etc.).  Sea cargo would take 2 - 2 1/2 months (so they claim,
expect 3-4 months) but at no extra cost (compare to store retail, that is),
while the air cargo would take 1 months (5-6 weeks) at 20% additional cost over
retail.  If you live in the middle of nowhere (no offense to those living in
the "Good Morning" State (^.^)) ask Kino if they would also do UPS, since most
special orders are picked up at the store.  The store also carries some CD &
Video tapes, so they may special order those for you as well.......

(By davmou@ocf.berkeley.edu)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Other Japanese Bookstores:

Asahiya Bookstores U.S.A., Inc
Yaohan Plaza
333 S. Alameda St. Suite 108
Los Angeles, CA 90013
(213) 626-5650
(213) 626-1746 (fax)

Asahiya Bookstores U.S.A., Inc
Yaohan Plaza
100 E. Algonquin Rd.
Arlington Heights, IL 60005
(708) 956-6699
Corner of Arlinton Heights Rd and Algonquin Rd.

Books Nippan
Nippon Shuppan Hanbai U.S.A., Inc.
532 West 6th Street
Los Angeles, CA 90014
(213) 687-7400
(213) 687-7401
(213) 687-9896 (fax)

Iwase Bookstore
Atlantam, GA
(404) 814-0462
(Will mail order)

Nikaku Japanese Art
615 N. 6th
San Jose, CA 95112
(408) 971-2822
Tues-Sat: 10-6PM
Sun-Mon: 10-5PM
send them a SASE for their catalog.
(Best all around Anime/Manga store!)

Sakura (Maryland)
(301) 468-0605

Tokyo Do SHoten
18924 Brookhurst
Fountain Valley, Ca 92708
(714) 968-9182
Mon-Sat 10:30-6:30pm, Sunday 11-5
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

DIRECTLY FROM JAPAN

- Manga-Chan
Bret Halford
2-10-3-3 01 Minami Kugahara
Ota-ku Tokyo 146
Japan
 Manga-chan is a mail-order service that exports VIDEO GAMES only.
 Manga-chan accepts checks or money orders in US$ from a US bank, or
 in Pounds from a British bank.  (Made out directly to Bret Halford)
 Other means of payment are possible, please ask if necessary.  Your
 order is mailed directly to you from Japan.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

IN EUROPE:

O.C.S. Bookshop B.V.
Ferdinand Bolstraat 333
NL-1072 LH  Amsterdam
The Netherlands
Phone : +31-20-6799238
Fax   : +31-20-6766187
Hours : 10:00-18:00 daily

For the people who want to visit the bookshop, it's located in Hotel Okura.
It's easy to get there by taking tramline 25. The manager of the shop is
Mr. Masanori Iwanaga. The shop sells japanese books, magazines, manga and
some other things. Note that everything is in japanese and not in English.
The manager told me he is willing to take orders from all over Europe. If
he doesn't have what you're looking for, he can always order it directly
from Japan. He also provides subscriptions to magazines, just call and ask.
--Leon Oninckx

o MANGA FTP SITES

These Internet sites contain manga related materials and are
accessible by anonymous FTP.  There may be other sites, but these are
the major ones.  Many of them only contain animated related files and have
no files derived from the printed forms of manga.

Site IP address directory contents
==== ========== ========= ========
ftp.white.toronto.edu 128.100.2.160 /pub/anime GIFs
network.ucsd.edu 128.54.16.3 /anime scripts,GIFs,AnimeStuff
ocf.berkeley.edu        128.32.184.254 /pub/AnimeB scripts, sound files
lightning.berkeley.edu 128.32.234.10 \
volcano.berkeley.edu 128.32.234.11 --- Mirrors of ocf.berkeley.edu
headcrash.berkeley.edu 128.32.234.31 /
piggy.ucsb.edu 128.111.72.50 /pub/anime scripts,GIFs,sounds
cavevax.ucsb.edu 128.111.72.55 \
ferkel.ucsb.edu 128.111.72.60 --- Mirrors of piggy.ucsb.edu
oinker.ucsb.edu 128.111.72.55 /
remus.rutgers.edu 128.6.13.3 /pub/anime Rutgers Anime
romulus.rutgers.edu 128.6.13.2 --- Mirror of remus.rutgers.edu
wpi.wpi.edu 130.215.24.1 /anime scripts, GIFs


A crude guide to using FTP:

Unix Command: ftp <site name>
Login: anonymous
Password: login@machine_name

Let's say that geeker@pac.man.edu wants to get the latest and greatest
Ranma-chan GIF (/manga/hentai/r-chan1.gif) from happosai.com.
- At the Unix prompt, geeker types "ftp happosai.com".
- At the "login:" prompt, he types "anonymous".
- At the "Password:" prompt, he types "geeker@pac.man.edu".  He's now logged
  at happosai.com.
- geeker now uses cd(1) and ls(1) just like in Unix to find whatever he's after.

If geeker want to get the Ranma-chan GIF, he must do the following:
- He uses cd(1) to go to /manga/hentai.  Once there, he uses ls(1) to make sure
  that r-chan1.gif is actually there.
- GIF files are binary, so geeker sets the file transfer type to binary by
  typing "binary".
- geeker types "get <filename>", where <filename> is the name of the file he
  wants to copy.  In our case, he would type "get r-chan1.gif" to get the file.
  Note that no wildcards are allowed.
- Several other ftp commands to know:
"?" - lists the commands available
"quit" - exits the program
"ascii" - sets file transfer mode to ascii
"mget" - allows multiple-file gets, and wildcards

If you need help, or want to learn advanced techniques, DON'T post to
rec.arts.anime for help.  Instead, ask your local system administrator / CCON
/ Unix witch doctor for help.  That's what they're paid for.

Notes:

- Synopses are available at most of the sites mentioned above.

- Sound files:  These are IFF "raw" sound files, which can be played on Amiga,
  MS-DOS, Macintosh and Sun computers.  There is also a text file with
  instructions on how to play them.

- urusei-yatsura archives:  the collected messages of four years (1987-1991)
  of the Urusei Yatsura mailing list (see below).  Warning:  this file is
  HUGE! (about 300 pages long).

- The Rutgers Anime files contain all the manga translations by Theresa
  Martin, and current copies of all the lists maintained by Steve Pearl
  (see OTHER ELECTRONIC MANGA RESOURCES, below).

- Remember to set your file type to BINARY before reading any GIF files, sound
  files, or compressed text (.Z) files.



o MANGA BITNET FILESERVERS

listserv@brownvm.brown.edu -- Miyazaki mailing list archive.  From the
Internet, send a message with the text 'get nausicaa filelist' to
the above address.

BITFTP@PUCC -- FTP access for BITNET sites.  For more info,
type 'tell bitftp at pucc help' from a BITNET account.

ftpmail@decwrl.dec.com -- Alternate e-mail FTP access.  Send the message
'help' and it will send back instructions.

o OTHER ELECTRONIC ANIME RESOURCES

  - Alt.manga mailing list:  a mailing list for manga fans (basically a
mailing list echo of the alt.manga newsgroup).  To subscribe,
send e-mail to alt-manga-request@darwin.sura.net.  The mail should
have the following text in the first line:
    subscribe alt-manga yourlogin@youraddress Firstname Lastname

  - Anime/Manga APA Index:  an article describing anime/manga APAs (Amateur
Press Associations) and a list of known anime/manga APA's. Maintained
by Steve Pearl at pearl@remus.rutgers.edu.
UUCP address: ..!rutgers!remus.rutgers.edu!pearl

  - Anime Shopper's Guide to Chicago:  a travelogue of the manga/anime stores
in Chicago (submissions are welcome).  Maintained by Enrique Conty at
jester@ihlpl.att.com.

  - Anime Shopper's Guide to London:  a travelogue of the manga/anime stores
in London.  Maintained by David Cotterill at 100014.3230@compuserve.com.

  - Anime Shopper's Guide to Los Angeles: a travelogue of the
manga/anime stores in Los Angeles.  Maintained by Jim Lick at
jim@piggy.ucsb.edu.

  - Anime/Manga Shopper's Guide to New York City:  a travelogue of the stores
in NYC where one can purchase manga and anime.  Maintained by Steve
Pearl at pearl@remus.rutgers.edu.
UUCP address:  ..!rutgers!remus.rutgers.edu!pearl

  - Anime Shopper's Guide to San Francisco:  a travelogue of the anime/manga
stores in the Bay Area.  Maintained by Steve Mah at
smah@sdcc13.ucsd.edu.

  - Anime Shopper's Guide to Sydney:  a travelogue of the anime & manga stores
in Sydney.
Maintained by Iain Sinclair at axolotl@socs.uts.edu.au.

  - Anime Shopper's Guide to Tokyo:  a travelogue of the anime & manga stores
in Tokyo.
Maintained by Jeff Okamoto at okamoto@hpcc01.corp.hp.com.

  - CD List:  a list of anime & manga related Compact Discs.
Maintained by Steve Pearl at pearl@remus.rutgers.edu.
UUCP address:  ..!rutgers!remus.rutgers.edu!pearl

  - FTP Script List:  a list of all the manga translations available through
anonymous FTP, and then some.  Maintained by Kenneth Arromdee at
arromdee@cs.jhu.edu.

  - Manga FTP Site list: A list of currenly known ftp sites with
manga/anime content.  Maintained by Matt Pyson at mrp105@psuvm.psu.edu

  - Hayao Miyazaki mailing list:  a mailing list for fans of the works of
Hayao (Nausicaa, Shuna's Journey) Miyazaki.  Discussion of
alternative/progressive manga and anime is also welcome.
To subscribe, send mail to listserv@brownvm.brown.edu.  The mail
should have the following text in the first line:
    subscribe nausicaa yourlogin@youraddress Firstname Lastname

  - National Anime BBS Watch:  a list of U.S. BBSes with anime or manga content
in them.  Maintained by Chet Jasinski.  Chet doesn't have an Internet
address, but can be contacted through Steve Pearl at
pearl@remus.rutgers.edu.

  - Rec.arts.manga mailing list:  a mailing list for manga fans (basically a
mailing list echo of the rec.arts.manga newsgroup).  To subscribe,
send e-mail to rec-arts-manga-request@darwin.sura.net.  The mail should
have the following text in the first line:
    subscribe rec-arts-manga yourlogin@youraddress Firstname Lastname

 - Shampoo mailing list: a mailing list for fans of the character Shampoo from
the Ranma 1/2 manga series by Rumiko Takahashi.  To subscribe,
send e-mail to shampoo-request@calvin.sfasu.edu.  To post,
send e-mail to shampoo-l@calvin.sfasu.edu.

  - Urusei Yatsura mailing list:  a mailing list for fans of Urusei Yatsura
and Maison Ikkoku and of the works of Rumiko Takahashi in general.
To subscribe, send e-mail to urusei-yatsura-request@panda.panda.com.
The mail should have the following text in the first line:
    subscribe urusei-yatsura yourlogin@youraddress Firstname Lastname


      REC.ARTS.MANGA
      ==============

        Edited by
     Steve Pearl
      August, 1993


This FAQ, as well as many other FAQ's appearing on the net, is posted
to news.answers.  You can ftp FAQ's mentioned in this document from
rtfm.mit.edu:/pub/usenet.  If you do not have ftp, send a message to
"mail-server@rftm.mit.edu" with the word "help" in the body.  The
server will send you instructions on retrieving the files via email.

This is a monthly posting to familiarize new readers with the
rec.arts.manga newsgroup.  If you have any questions, additions or
corrections, please send them to:

Internet: pearl@remus.rutgers.edu    or Steve Pearl
CI$: >internet: pearl@remus.rutgers.edu 359 Lloyd Rd
GEnie:  S.PEARL6 Aberdeen, NJ 07747-1826

Changes to this posting since January, 1993:
[None]

DISCLAIMER 1: To the best of our knowledge, the editor is not
associated with ANY of the companies or organizations mentioned below.

DISCLAIMER 2: The opinions expressed on this post do not necessarily
represent the opinions held either by the editor or any organization
he's affiliated with.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TABLE OF CONTENTS:

o WHAT IS REC.ARTS.MANGA?
o HOW TO USE REC.ARTS.MANGA (For NEW UseNet users)
o DEFINITIONS

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
o WHAT IS REC.ARTS.MANGA?

A newsgroup for the discussion of manga and related subjects.

DESCRIPTION:

        Discussion about manga, a term used to denote the popular
        art and its artstyle that is derived originally and
        primarily from Japanese graphic novels, and any comics or
        art (from any country) with strong manga influence.
        (most notably manga from Taiwan and Hongkong, which is
        known as ManHwa in Chinese)
       
CHARTER:

        This newsgroup will provide a forum for discussion
        related to manga, the Japanese storytelling art form,
        plus comics and other arts with strong manga influences.

        The topics that are to appear in this newsgroup may include:
         - information on how and where to get manga material
         - reviews of manga
         - discussion about the artstyle, stories, and history of
           manga
         - fan translation of manga stories
         - discussion of manga-related products
         - reporting and discussion of any news about manga.
         - discussion about how to do manga
         - social/philosophical implications and impact of manga
         - manga art in society : commercial packaging, advertisements, etc
         - the influence of manga to other art forms

Although in it's broadest definition (under which this newsgroup was
created) manga includes most forms of animation and comics, we
recommend that people interested in American or Asian animation check
out the newsgroups rec.arts.animation and rec.arts.anime and likewise,
people interested in non-asian comics check out the rec.arts.comics
hierarchy.  I'm sure that the readers of rec.arts.comics would be
dismayed to realize that their hierarchy should be moved under
rec.arts.manga and we in no way mean to impose on any other
newsgroup.


o HOW TO USE REC.ARTS.MANGA (For NEW UseNet users)

If you're a new NetNews reader and don't know the correct protocol and
etiquette for posting messages, the following files accessible in the
news.announce.newusers newsgroup are recommended reading:

- "A Primer on How to Work With the Usenet"
- "Rules for posting to Usenet"
- "Emily Postnews Answers Your Questions"

Some basic tips to reduce the signal-to-noise ratio:

- If you don't see postings about a subject you're interested in (and which is
  related to this newsgroup), don't gripe, POST AN ARTICLE ABOUT THAT SUBJECT!
  If you receive no reply in a week, TRY AGAIN!  Fires don't always start with
  the first spark.

- If you feel the need to insult someone, do it by electronic mail, or better
  yet, write a scathing message and then throw it away.  Please don't do it
  here.  It's irritating to the bystanders, and harmful to your public image.

- Before you submit a follow-up to a message, read the rest of the messages in
  the newsgroup to see whether someone has already said what you want to say.
  If someone has, don't repeat it.  If you're answering a question, mail your
  answer to the person and suggest that they summarize to the network.  This
  way the net will only see a single copy of the answers, no matter how many
  people answer the question.

- If you post a question, please remind people to send you the answers by
  mail and at least offer to summarize them to the network.

o DEFINITIONS

The following are short descriptions of terms and abbreviations common in this
newsgroup.

.Z:
Suffix for compressed text files.  See Compressed Text.

3x3:
Sazan Eyes (three eyes), a popular monster/magic/myth manga by Yuzo Takada.

AMG:
Ah My Goddess, a popular romance fantasy manga, by Kozuke Fujisima.

Anime:
Japanese word for animation, pronounced "ah-nee-may"

Anonymous FTP: 
A method to log into a remote machine without needing an account, and extracting
software from it.  A list of machines with manga resources available through
anonymous FTP is given later on.  If you want to use anonymous FTP but don't
know how, ask your local System Administrator.

Bishonen:
"beautiful male" manga, female oriented manga with a more 'soft' art
style than the standard. Males are androgynous to effeminately
rendered.

Compressed text: 
Text files compressed with the Unix compress(1) program.  This is done to long
text files (like manga scripts) to save disk storage space.  In order to view
such a file, you must first run uncompress(1) or an equivalent program in order
to convert it back to its original form.  You could also use zcat(1) to view the
contents of the file without decompressing it.

FAQ: 
Frequent Asked Questions. r.a.m. offer the following FAQ lists for the
new netters.

1) An introduction to the newsgroup and its slang.
   (That is the article you are reading now.)
2) FAQ:  Answers to common questions.
3) Manga Guide: A 2 part guide to the best (and not so best)
     manga available.
4) Manga Resources:  Where to get manga. 

Those lists are posted on rec.arts.manga once every month.

FSS:
Five Stars Story, a popular sci-fi mecha manga, by Mamoru Nagano.

FTP:
See Anonymous FTP.

FYI: 
For Your Information

GIF:
GIF is a format developed at CompuServe to store color computer graphics in a
compact, machine independent format.  To view a GIF file you need a program that
reads the GIF file and produces an image in the format used by your computer
system.  The /gifstuff directory in the ix3.ucc.utexas.edu anonymous FTP site
contains GIF viewers for Amiga, Apple II and IIgs, Macintosh, MS-DOS, Sun, and
X.  If you can't find what you're looking for, you can ask in the appropriate
newsgroup for your computer, or in alt.graphics.pixutils.

"H":
see Hentai

Hentai:
Japanese for pervert.

IMHO: 
In My Humble Opinion

JIS:
A code which allow Japanese characters (kana) to be transfer among western
computer networks.  You would need a special program/decoder to read the
original Japanese character on your computer.

JPEG:
A new kind of scheme for graphic compression.  You would need a decompression
program or a viewer program for viewing JPEG just as you would for a GIF file.

KOR: 
Kimagure Orange Road, a popular romance comedy manga, by Izumi Matsumoto.

Manga:
Pronounced "man-gah".  A type of Japanese artform which has it's roots
in Ukiyo-e wood prints and other traditional art.  In it's popular
vculture form of Asian sequential art and graphic storytelling, manga
can be found in most Japanese bookstores.  The manga style of artwork
is even finding it's way into American comics

Manga CD: 
CD that is produced for the sole reason of listening while reading the
corresponding manga title.

Mailing list: 
A method of communication between fans of a given subject without the need of a
newsgroup.  A member of a mailing list sends e-mail to a machine called a
"mailing list server", which in turn sends copies of the e-mail to all the
members of the mailing list.  To subscribe to the mailing list, send e-mail to
the mailing list server.  The first line of the e-mail should look like this:
subscribe list-name yourlogin@youraddress Firstname Lastname

Mecha:
Roughly, Japanese for "mechanicals".  Most of the so-called "giant robot" manga
are known as mecha manga.

Model kit: 
Scale model.  It follow The most popular varieties of these are:
injection-molded - this is the typical polyestyrene scale model
most people are familiar with.
garage kits - usually done from plastic resin (for mecha) or vinyl
(for character models).  These tend to be VERY expensive
(They generally start at $40 and can easily reach ten times as
much!)

OAV:
Original Animation Video.  Made for video productions.

Otaku:
Japanese for "fanboy", a slang to describe someone who is obsessed with one
specific hobby.  Not in common usage in Japan.

OVA:
See OAV.

R.A.A.
rec.arts.anime, a usenet newsgroup for the discussion of anime.

R.A.M.
rec.arts.manga, a usenet newsgroup for the discussion of manga.

SASE: 
Self Addressed and Stamped Enevelope

Script:
An English-text script for a particular manga.  Very useful for Japanese-
impaired manga fans.

Shojo: 
Young Girl, commonly use to describe manga with a particular styles that 
were targeted for young girls.

Shonen: 
Young Boy, commonly use to describe manga with a particular styles that 
were targeted for young boys.

Synopsis: 
A text description of manga, possibly with some snippets of dialogue thrown in.
Unlike translations, a synopsis does not require the approval of the legal owner
of the manga before it is made publicly available.

Usenet Manga Titles List:
A compiled list from the combined efforts of rec.arts..manga.  It lists all the
Japanese manga magazines with its current running manga titles.

UY:
Urusei Yatsura, a popular sci-fi romance comedy manga, by Rumiko Takahashi.

VGA:
Video Girl Ai, a popular fantasy romance manga, by Masakazu Katsura

end.

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