Model
Digital Document
Publisher
Florida Atlantic University
Description
I discuss Keiji Nakazawa's Barefoot Gen and Katsuhiro Otomo's Akira manga
(Japanese comics) series in light of theoretical approaches to comics and graphic novels
that were developed by Will Eisner and Scott McCloud. Chapter one summarizes the
fusing of traditional Japanese scroll art and Western comics that would create manga and
describe the cultural conditions after World War II that drove this fusion. The chapter
also describes the principle of closure that this form relies so heavily on. Chapter two
discusses how manga have directly dealt with the repercussions of World War II; it is
focused primarily on Barefoot Gen. Chapter three examines how censorship and taboos
have hindered discussions ofthe war in Japan, how this censorship contributed to the
terrorist attacks of Aum Shinrikyo, and how manga such as Akira have used subtle codes
and references to introduce to Japan further discuss the true legacy of World War II.
(Japanese comics) series in light of theoretical approaches to comics and graphic novels
that were developed by Will Eisner and Scott McCloud. Chapter one summarizes the
fusing of traditional Japanese scroll art and Western comics that would create manga and
describe the cultural conditions after World War II that drove this fusion. The chapter
also describes the principle of closure that this form relies so heavily on. Chapter two
discusses how manga have directly dealt with the repercussions of World War II; it is
focused primarily on Barefoot Gen. Chapter three examines how censorship and taboos
have hindered discussions ofthe war in Japan, how this censorship contributed to the
terrorist attacks of Aum Shinrikyo, and how manga such as Akira have used subtle codes
and references to introduce to Japan further discuss the true legacy of World War II.
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