The Bans Of Manga During The Vietnam War

Many people know about the Japanese comics that are manga. Full of distinctive illustrations as well as a vast assortment of stories unique to the style. But what they may not know is just how much manga has changed over the years. Many world issues have greatly influenced the comics; one highly significant event being World War II. It may seem that some comics would not make much of a difference through such a war, and it’s true that World War II was devastating to all of the Japanese. However, the war did seem to affect manga, and mainly positively. Throughout the war, the government placed certain bans on what was acceptable content for the media, which changed what manga would consist of both during, and after, the bans were in place.

In the years 1915 and 1923, Japanese magazines, inspired by Western comics, were created. They provided entertaining pictures and stories for young readers. This is where manga originated. According to Encyclopedia Britannica, during 1931 to 1932, the Japanese began to expand into China, and, by 1937, Japan had control over most of northeastern China. During this time, manga, influenced by war, started to mainly consist of stories about soldiers going to battle, often showing the characters taking up arms. This encouraged readers to look up to Japanese soldiers for their sacrifice and bravery (Aoki). In September of 1939, the Japanese were still at war with China. However, Great Britain and France went to war with Germany, encouraging the Japanese to enter World War II (Royde-Smith). According to Anime News Network, Germany has highly influenced Japanese manga because of her involvement in the war. German names, words, and even German fighting styles and weaponry are common in

According to Nakar’s writing, as the 1950's began, the Japanese were defeated in World War II. They then quickly changed to conform to Western standards. Many believe that they purposely overlooked their defeat or chose to only recall their role as targets to their enemies. However, most manga of the time did just the opposite. The comics continued to glorify their country's participation in the war, and created memories of victory for the Japanese (Nakar). During the poverty after the war, comic books provided an inexpensive form of entertainment for Japanese children as noted by Cultural Anthropologist Matt Thorn. Rather than tell jokes, manga comics conveyed stories. Osamu Tezuka published New Treasure Island, which sold an unprecedented 400,000 copies (Thorn). Post-war manga was highly influenced by Dr. Tezuka Osamu, who also created the comic Shintakarajima in 1947. It became so popular that he went on to create many more stories, as well as quite a few TV series. The popularity of Dr. Tezuka's manga publications after the war increased the audience for manga art. All types of Japanese citizens began reading manga, not just comic book lovers (Hernandez). Many young artists from Japan followed his lead and published manga books in the same style as his for years to