The Discovery of Anime and Manga - (Asian Hall of Fame) by Phil Amara & Oliver Chin (Hardcover)

About the Book

Enjoy the first English children's picture book on how Japanese animation and comics were created! Amazingly illustrated, this storybook features a bilingual Japanese translation. This is the third adventure in our series on cool inventions created in Asia. The cute red panda Dao makes history come alive by transporting the kids Emma and Ethan back in time. Together they learn how fantastic creations came to be and zip back to the future!

Now learn about Japanese animation and comic books! See how comics in newspapers, magazines, and books became TV shows, movies, and games. These entertainment spread worldwide and influenced artists everywhere.

This quest features 100 of your favorite characters and creators: from Osamu Tezuka's Astro Boy to Hayao Miyazaki's Totoro, to Speed Racer, Sailor Moon, and Pokémon. Iconic and best-selling series are brought to life with the amazing artwork of Juan Calle, a big anime and manga fan himself.

Book Synopsis

Enjoy the first English children's picture book on how Japanese animation and comics were created! Amazingly illustrated, this storybook features a bilingual Japanese translation.

This is the third adventure in our series on cool inventions created in Asia. The cute red panda Dao makes history come alive by transporting the kids Emma and Ethan back in time. Together they learn how fantastic creations came to be and zip back to the future! This dynamic journey explores the evolution of Japanese animation and comic books.

Published in newspapers, magazines, books, and graphic novels, comics became TV shows, movies, and games. These entertainment brought Japanese pop culture across the globe and influenced artists everywhere.

This quest features 100 of your favorite characters and creators: from Osamu Tezuka's Astro Boy and Rumiko Takahashi's Ranma 1/2 to Hayao Miyazaki's Studio Ghibli and Totoro. Mazinger, Speed Racer, and Doraemon are joined by Sailor Moon, Dragon Ball, and Pokémon. Mobile Suit Gundam, Akira, and Ghost in the Shell meet Full Metal Alchelmist, One Piece, and One Punch Man. Iconic and best-selling series are brought to life with the amazing artwork of Juan Calle, an otaku (big fan) himself.

Adults and kids can learn about the categories shonen, shojo, and mecha (giant robots), use a handy glossary, and draw inspiration to create their own amazing stories. Teachers and librarians will find this a great addition to their comic book and graphic novel collections.

"The Discovery of Anime and Manga bursts from the page with energy and color. Informative and entertaining, it's a beautifully rendered concise introduction to manga and anime for not only children, but comics fans of all ages." - Dr. Dale Jacobs, Department of English, University of Windsor, Canada

From the Back Cover

"Children will be inspired by the bold, colorful illustrations by Juan Calle and will enjoy picking up details about Asian culture through the book's exuberant story telling." - Sampan

Review Quotes

"I will never forget watching My Neighbor Totoro with my daughter and the worlds that the film ushered in for me. I had never experienced moving images, sounds, pictures, music in quite that way before and the potentials and powers of animated film strongly impacted me as a scholar. It was then that I recognized that anime and manga had the kind of beauty that Susan Sontag described about as 'a beauty with adjectives, arranged on a scale of ascending value and incorruptibility.' In Amara and Chin's The Discovery of Anime and Manga told through stunning illustrations by Calle, they offer a detailed, storied account of the evolution of anime and manga in Japan and eventually around the world. From whimsical drawings in the early twentieth century to kamishibai tales told in on street corners to the ubiquity of adults and children drawing anime and manga embodying otaku in their everyday lives. Everyone should read this history book to get a true understanding about the significance of not just anime and manga, but the power of multimodality on how we think and learn."
--Dr. Jennifer Rowsell, Professor of Literacies and Social Innovation, University of Bristol, School of Education

"Brimming with colorful, dynamic illustrations...The Discovery of Anime & Manga is an eye-opening tour." - Midwest Book Review

"In the book we see iconic Japanese anime characters such as Astroboy, Doraemon, Dragon Ball, My Neighbor Totoro, Sailor Moon, Pokemon, One Piece, One Punch Man and more. This makes the book not only fun for children, but also for adults, as they can flip through and remember beloved childhood characters. The story moves along with bright bold illustrations by Juan Calle. Each page is a love letter to manga, making this a delightful read for children and parents." - Sampan

About the Author

Phil Amara was an editor at Kitchen Sink Press and Dark Horse Comics, and writer of the The Nevermen comic book series and the book So, You Wanna Be A Comic Book Artist?: How To Break Into Comics! The Ultimate Guide For Kids. Currently he is a elementary school teacher in Massachusetts.

Oliver Chin is the author of the popular annual children's book series Tales from the Chinese Zodiac. This remains the only series in English on the animals of the Lunar New Year, which is increasingly celebrated worldwide. He presents at schools, libraries, and museums nationwide and teaches artists of all ages how to create their own comic books.

Juan Calle is a Science illustrator from UC Santa Cruz, and art director at Liberum Donum Studios, based in Bogotá, Colombia. Juan created Immedium's children's book Good Dream, Bad Dream and illustrated The Year of the Rooster. Liberum Donum has worked for Weldon Owen publishing and Capstone Press, on titles for young audiences such as Show me How series, Papermania!, How to be a Werewolf, How to be a Zombie, and How to Draw Incredible Dinosaurs. The team works for the advertising and entertainment industry, and creates 2D and 3D animation for movies and TV, and visual development and concept art for video games.