Straight From The Heart: Gender, Intimacy and the Cultural Production of Shojo Manga is a study of the portion of the manga industry aimed at girls and young women, the world of shojo manga. The book was researched and written by Jennifer S. Prough and was published by the University of Hawai'i Press in 2011.
The core of the shojo manga world, according to Prough, is ningen kankei, human relations. Through her interviews with artists, editors and academics the term was at the center of the purpose for and driver of the industry. From the stories with their core of characters emotional relations with each other, the cooperative creative bonds between an artist and her editor and the topical input the readers are able to apply to the industry its self.
The book is split into five over all chapters. The first chapter provides an over view for the topics the book discusses and the path that lead the author to do her research. The second chapter provdes a rough overview of the history of modern manga following its genesis in the post war recovery years. She provides a more detailed history into the rise in significance of the shojo genre from being half of the industry that aimed at girls to becoming a driving force behind post recovery consummrism and product character saturation.
The third chapter details the relationship between the reader and the magazines. Reationships that rely in participatory dialog between both parties. This symbiosis has become integral in the health and continuation of the manga industry by providing consummer feedback that helps determine emerging trends and desires. It also works to instill a sense of community between the faceless publisher and the audience, fostering brand loyalty. Finally it works as the training ground for future generations of artists through its system of amateur manga competitions with the possibility of becoming an artists for that magazine.
The fourth chapter delves into the mechanics of the industry its self and the reasons people enter it in the first place on the corporate side of things. This chapter details the gender disparity that permeates Japan's businesses as a whole but see's a unique reality in shojo manga. The reality that the ultimate decisions for the tone of the industry are dictated by middle aged men that rely on a revolving force of young women to help bridge the gap with their readers. The women, typically unable to pursue managerial career paths, are anticipated and expected to remain with the company for a number of years before marrying and rearing children.
The final chapter touches on the rise of sexualization in shojo manga. It examines if the manga its self is a product of cultural changes or a catalyst. Sexualization that emerged in the 1990's with the advent of enjo kosai, compensated dating, in which girls were renting themselves off too older men for dates, dinner or sex in order to fulfill their materialistic desires. Beyond the increase of sexuality in shojo manga, could it also be considered pat of the increased materialism that helped to spawn enjo kosai through its continued exposure of consumerism to its readers?
This was a well thought out and interesting read into the rise and modernity of shojo manga. At close to 150 pages worth of information it doesn't dictate a detailed history of the industry. It touches on key points in the shojo industry and manga over all. Instead it focuses on the concept of ningen kankei. The efforts that drive the industry to connect on a personal level with its audience as a way to attract their attention and to determine how they will evolve. The book focuses on the view point of the industry almost exclusively from the corporate side of things, with little information about the lives of the artists. It focuses on how the industry works to increase its readers, develop the next generation of artists and plot its course for the future, predicting what will be popular in six months.
That said at times the author became repetitive, constantly circling back to the original thesis and base idea's, working hard to underline them through all of her research and interviews. The point was driven home quite thoroughly but it would have been nice to see some expansion on other aspects of the industry. It would have been nice to have gone into the process of expanding a popular manga into a wider media mix of drama, anime, games, etc. More details of interviews with artists would be nice as well, but she stated early on that it was difficult for her to have much meaningful contact with them. Due in part to many of them having incredibly busy schedules and the active roll of editors in restricting public access to them.
The biggest thing I came away from in the book was how the entire manga industry is a colossal enterprise with essentially one goal in mind, profit. It has established creative and unique ways of fostering its continued viability and at the same time seemingly locking itself into ritual stagnation. The industry as the whole seems to be unique in how it approaches and relies on direct interaction with and feedback from its audience, partially allowing the audience to determine its direction. After decades of following the same procedures though, are the readers really determining the direction or are they acting based upon the patterns that have been established over the years?
The core of the shojo manga world, according to Prough, is ningen kankei, human relations. Through her interviews with artists, editors and academics the term was at the center of the purpose for and driver of the industry. From the stories with their core of characters emotional relations with each other, the cooperative creative bonds between an artist and her editor and the topical input the readers are able to apply to the industry its self.
The book is split into five over all chapters. The first chapter provides an over view for the topics the book discusses and the path that lead the author to do her research. The second chapter provdes a rough overview of the history of modern manga following its genesis in the post war recovery years. She provides a more detailed history into the rise in significance of the shojo genre from being half of the industry that aimed at girls to becoming a driving force behind post recovery consummrism and product character saturation.
The third chapter details the relationship between the reader and the magazines. Reationships that rely in participatory dialog between both parties. This symbiosis has become integral in the health and continuation of the manga industry by providing consummer feedback that helps determine emerging trends and desires. It also works to instill a sense of community between the faceless publisher and the audience, fostering brand loyalty. Finally it works as the training ground for future generations of artists through its system of amateur manga competitions with the possibility of becoming an artists for that magazine.
The fourth chapter delves into the mechanics of the industry its self and the reasons people enter it in the first place on the corporate side of things. This chapter details the gender disparity that permeates Japan's businesses as a whole but see's a unique reality in shojo manga. The reality that the ultimate decisions for the tone of the industry are dictated by middle aged men that rely on a revolving force of young women to help bridge the gap with their readers. The women, typically unable to pursue managerial career paths, are anticipated and expected to remain with the company for a number of years before marrying and rearing children.
The final chapter touches on the rise of sexualization in shojo manga. It examines if the manga its self is a product of cultural changes or a catalyst. Sexualization that emerged in the 1990's with the advent of enjo kosai, compensated dating, in which girls were renting themselves off too older men for dates, dinner or sex in order to fulfill their materialistic desires. Beyond the increase of sexuality in shojo manga, could it also be considered pat of the increased materialism that helped to spawn enjo kosai through its continued exposure of consumerism to its readers?
This was a well thought out and interesting read into the rise and modernity of shojo manga. At close to 150 pages worth of information it doesn't dictate a detailed history of the industry. It touches on key points in the shojo industry and manga over all. Instead it focuses on the concept of ningen kankei. The efforts that drive the industry to connect on a personal level with its audience as a way to attract their attention and to determine how they will evolve. The book focuses on the view point of the industry almost exclusively from the corporate side of things, with little information about the lives of the artists. It focuses on how the industry works to increase its readers, develop the next generation of artists and plot its course for the future, predicting what will be popular in six months.
That said at times the author became repetitive, constantly circling back to the original thesis and base idea's, working hard to underline them through all of her research and interviews. The point was driven home quite thoroughly but it would have been nice to see some expansion on other aspects of the industry. It would have been nice to have gone into the process of expanding a popular manga into a wider media mix of drama, anime, games, etc. More details of interviews with artists would be nice as well, but she stated early on that it was difficult for her to have much meaningful contact with them. Due in part to many of them having incredibly busy schedules and the active roll of editors in restricting public access to them.
The biggest thing I came away from in the book was how the entire manga industry is a colossal enterprise with essentially one goal in mind, profit. It has established creative and unique ways of fostering its continued viability and at the same time seemingly locking itself into ritual stagnation. The industry as the whole seems to be unique in how it approaches and relies on direct interaction with and feedback from its audience, partially allowing the audience to determine its direction. After decades of following the same procedures though, are the readers really determining the direction or are they acting based upon the patterns that have been established over the years?
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