So you want to be an Otaku? Well, here's everything you need to know about Manga comics

Manga are Japanese comic books. But before going any further, let's get one thing straight-manga is not only for kids. In Japan, people of all age groups and all sorts of backgrounds read manga. There is a manga out there for everybody, and a person can always find a story of his or her taste.

Types of Manga

Generally, manga is divided into 5 basic types- shonen (boy's manga), shojo(girl's manga), josei (women's manga), seinen (men's manga) and kodomo (children's manga). Each type is characterized by a particular set of genres. For example, shonen manga usually has action and adventure as their primary themes; while shojo manga generally has a more romantic theme. Other kinds, such as shonen-ai (boy love), shojo-ai (girl love), hentai(erotic), etc., also exist.

How to read Manga?

Manga is read from right to left, due to the fact that Japanese is read from right to left. The same rule applies to the panels and the speech bubbles as well. While it might be a bit confusing at first, the reader will eventually get used to it-to the point that when someone picks up an English comic book, it might make the person feel slightly disoriented to be reading from left to right.

Find out more about animated version of Manga or simply Anime

The more popular manga generally gets adapted into anime, that is, an animated version of the manga, usually divided into seasons- just like TV shows. While in most cases the manga's storyline would be far ahead of its anime, there have been cases where a new storyline was created for the anime version- which can cause confusion for someone who is both reading the manga and watching the anime simultaneously.