Ask John: Should There Be Christian Manga?

Question:
You must be aware about the growth of Evangelical Christianity in the United States and its ever-growing influence in American society. How would you respond if, by surprise, Evangelical Christians are beginning to create anime or manga titles with Christian themes? Is there anything wrong with Evangelicals creating anime or manga?

Answer:
I object to the misuse of the term “manga,” as I define it, but I don’t particularly have an opinion on the creation or existence of overtly Christian manga-influenced comics. In fact, Japan has already established a precedent for manga and anime that promote specific religious principles or have religious subject matter. Osamu Tezuka penned a manga biography of Buddha, and Yoshikazu Yasuhiko created a manga biography of Jesus. Anime films including Ougon no Hou and Eien no Hou illustrate the religious principles of Kofuku no Kagaku. I’m not familiar with any Japanese manga that overtly encourage specific religious doctrine, but I have little doubt that such manga probably exist. Although not technically manga, Makoto Fujimura, Michael C. Sack, and Kenji Yagi’s illustrated inspirational book Kokoro no Tobira wo Akeru ~ Restaurant of the Soul was simultaneously published in Japan and America in April 1999. On the American front, Zonderkidz has just announced plans to begin publishing Christian themed “manga” in America next year. Yet the closest to actual Japanese comics Zonderkidz books get is a translated Korean comic, and Zonderkidz acknowledges that its use of the description “manga” refers only to publishing format (the size and price of the books), not content. The best known and most successful religious “manga” in America is the Christian themed “Serenity” by RealbuzzStudios.

As a proponent of visual art and expressive communication, I’m pleased to see religious messages conveyed in an obvious but unconventional and progressive fashion. I commend the initiative of using the comic art form to deliver a message to a new audience. However, I do object to RealbuzzStudios’s assertion that, “Manga is the Japanese style of comic storytelling, putting greater emphasis on emotion and character than American-style comics.” Setting aside the assumption that manga contains more emotional and character development than “American-style comics,” which is an over-reaching generalization, I disagree with the statement that manga are “Japanese-style comics.” I believe that manga are specifically and exclusively Japanese comics. Any artist of any ethnicity can create comics influenced by or in the style of Japanese comics, but such works should be accurately labeled as manga-influenced comics; or a new categorical description should be created for them. Regardless of content, ethnicity, age, style, or quality, a comic is a comic. But an American comic is not a manga. The term “manga” does not define style, content, or quality. Terms like “manga” and “manhwa” identify only a comic’s nationality. The English language classification “manga” means “comic of Japanese origin.” I don’t have any objections to religious themed comics, or comics created in emulation of Japanese manga, but I do object to any comic being classified as a Japanese comic when it’s not a Japanese comic. Likewise, I don’t condone any Japanese, American, or any other non-Korean comic being described as a “manwha.” I eagerly advocate creative, philosophical, political, and religious expression through visual art like comics and animation. I also urge the accurate and precise use rhetoric and descriptive nouns like “manga” and “anime.”