The Rough Guide to Manga

As part of Penguin's extensive series of Rough Guide reference books, The Rough Guide to Manga claims to be "the ultimate handbook for exploring the world of Japanese comics." Can this possibly be true? Not really. What author Jason Yadao provides, however, is a surprisingly effective overview, succinct enough to be palatable for even the most casual fan.

Unless you're Frederik Schodt, billing any book as "the ultimate handbook for exploring the world of Japanese comics" is ambitious to say the least. The Rough Guide to Manga claims exactly that, burdening author Jason Yadao with an impossible task--one that he tackles valiantly, with mixed results.

The book opens with "Manga Chronicles," a brief history of comics in Japan, from twelfth-century e-makimono (narrative "picture scrolls") to Weekly Shonen Jump. This segues into "Manga Goes Global," which hurries over an awkward discussion of comics in South Korea and China before moving on to the story of manga's journey west. "A Manga Primer" is notable for its lesson on manga's unique visual language, which can often be confusing for new readers.

The book's meatiest section is "The Canon," an alphabetical listing of "fifty essential manga" described lovingly by the author. These write-ups are closer to book reports than reviews but they are written with such obvious enthusiasm, even a plot summary of Naruto becomes a fresh, compelling read.

Though Yadao urges readers to take the "canon" with a grain of salt, his selections are distinctive and nicely eclectic, covering each of Japan's major demographic categories in a wide variety of genres. This diversity is actually a bit of a surprise, since all three manga featured on the guide's cover are recent shonen series--a bias the book thankfully fails to uphold.

"Beyond Manga," a discussion of anime, video games, and live action adaptations of manga is frankly too short to be useful. More successful is "The Players," an alphabetical tour of mostly North American manga publishers in the market today. Unfortunately, this section is doomed to be dated from the start. Not even a year from its date of publication, several listed publishers are either defunct (Infinity Studios) or in mortal danger (Aurora Publishing, Go!Comi). Meanwhile, youthful powerhouse Yen Press has blown right past Yadao's cautiously optimistic, "So far, so good."

Yadao finishes things off with "The Information," a shortlist of publications and events of interest to manga fans, which brings us back to the real question: With so many books about manga available, what makes this one worthwhile?

Much of what Yadao accomplishes with The Rough Guide to Manga has already been done (and in more detail) by someone else. Those interested in the history of manga, would do better to pick up Schodt's Manga! Manga! The World of Japanese Comics. Those looking for series reviews will find many more of them in Jason Thompson's Manga: The Complete Guide. What Yadao does provide, however, is a concise yet thorough overview, offering just enough information on each of his chosen topics to be enlightening and easily digestible.

Though it fails to quite live up to its own hype, The Rough Guide to Manga provides a well-rounded starting point for new fans of the medium.

Melinda Beasi writes manga reviews for her blog, Manga Bookshelf, and Pop Culture Shock.