Shopping Guide
In the early afternoon of June 2, a certain workshop was held whereat manga fans came together. They read a manga, commented on it, then passed it to each other. This workshop aimed to promote exchange, and it was planned by Manganight, a unit that creates communication through manga. The information they share and the events they organize are all about manga. Just manga, manga, and more manga.
The aim of this workshop was to make the participants engage in interaction through the gourmet manga selected by Manganight. The gathering was held at Suido Cafe in Edogawabashi, Tokyo. Each participant had to choose one manga only relying on food names such as “puttanesca” or “tempura soba” written on the cover, as all the manga had blank covers on them to hide the name of the work, and read it for an hour.
Then, they had to write scenes or quotes they liked from the manga on “Comic Leafs,” memo papers shaped like speech bubbles. After having finished reading the manga they chose, they lined their manga on the table, and this time, not knowing who wrote the Comic Leafs, they had to choose one from the shuffled manga that aroused their interest.
After choosing, there came the spoilers, where the writers of each Comic Leaf had to share their thoughts on the work. And, together with their thoughts, they all had to pass on the manga they chose. It was very impressive that upon receiving the manga, everyone naturally cracked a smile.
After the end of the event, there were participants who were reluctant to part with the work they first read, saying, “If you read it once, you’ll want to read more.” It was truly an ingenious set up in which people wanted to read both the manga they chose for themselves and manga recommended by others.
Yasuhiro Yamauchi, a representative from the organizer of the event, Manganight, said, “Through workshops, reading, and selling merchandise, we would like to continue providing ways to enjoy manga other than being absorbed in reading them on one’s own. Creating a situation where we connect people with manga is part of a larger plan, that is, seeking a new form of manga. For instance, one of Manganight’s products is a design fabric that uses kakeami, a way of expression in manga. We were thinking that by detaching kakeami, a mere expression method, from the story, we might be able to show a different aspect of manga other than it being ‘reading material’ to the people who look at it.” Indeed, one wouldn’t think the kakeami on this fabric is a manga expression technique, it only looks like a designed pattern.
Can they deconstruct manga techniques from the existing concepts and discover a new form of manga? It is also possible that they won’t find anything. Nevertheless, Manganight continues challenging themselves and reaching to the clouds.
“But, of course,” Yamauchi said with a smile, “The best about manga is that you can freely read the pages you like anytime you like. We are checking out works in almost every genre.” Manganight is looking deeper into the things they love with the attitude of a mathematician deliriously engaged in a big problem or an archaeologist aiming for the discovery of the century.
Manganight:
http://manganight.net/ (Japanese)
This is a Tokyo Otaku Mode original article.
