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How NOT To Draw Manga Supersize Special
All your manga are belong to us!! Any book can show you "How to" -- this book shows you how not to. Join the only tongue-in-cheek instructional guide you will ever need to Anime Bimbos, Loners with Huge Swords, and Big, Gad-dumb Robots. Draw, Otaku, Draw!
- GenresArt
Paperback
Published September 21, 2004
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
July 4, 2023
(more like How to ABSOLUTELY Draw Manga!)
Despite the title, How NOT to Draw Manga actually teaches nothing about NOT drawing manga. Instead, it highlights the most common features theoretically found in the most popular manga but—because the creators are trying to promote originality—does not actually provide concrete examples as proof. The facts presented rely entirely on the reader's own prior knowledge of manga to make the jokes work, but mine must be more limited than I was aware, as I could only think of one or two manga serials that fit the proposed stereotypes.*
The book is written as a cynical "preaching to the choir" diatribe about how manga (and anime) serials are often mass-produced as though from a cookie-cutter but, despite pointing out the many repeated themes in manga, fails to actually teach anything about how to be ORIGINAL, or even why originality is superior to "tried-and-true." There are many ways to "not draw" in the manga style, but ironically the book fails to teach this. Even the characters admit that original ideas more often than not have a difficult time taking off. Why? Because people like familiar things and, even as formulaic as manga can get, fans enjoy seeing what works. Was the idea to make a completely ironic and self-defeating book? If not, I'm not so sure I get it.
If anything, How NOT to Draw Manga would better be used as a Cliffs Notes for manga and anime, demonstrating the similarities between many popular titles that, in their prime, were considered to be quite *gasp!* ORIGINAL. Is How NOT to Draw Manga simply a case of sour grapes? Maybe, but don't pick up this book if you think you'll learn how not to draw manga.
*at the time of review, 2006
Despite the title, How NOT to Draw Manga actually teaches nothing about NOT drawing manga. Instead, it highlights the most common features theoretically found in the most popular manga but—because the creators are trying to promote originality—does not actually provide concrete examples as proof. The facts presented rely entirely on the reader's own prior knowledge of manga to make the jokes work, but mine must be more limited than I was aware, as I could only think of one or two manga serials that fit the proposed stereotypes.*
The book is written as a cynical "preaching to the choir" diatribe about how manga (and anime) serials are often mass-produced as though from a cookie-cutter but, despite pointing out the many repeated themes in manga, fails to actually teach anything about how to be ORIGINAL, or even why originality is superior to "tried-and-true." There are many ways to "not draw" in the manga style, but ironically the book fails to teach this. Even the characters admit that original ideas more often than not have a difficult time taking off. Why? Because people like familiar things and, even as formulaic as manga can get, fans enjoy seeing what works. Was the idea to make a completely ironic and self-defeating book? If not, I'm not so sure I get it.
If anything, How NOT to Draw Manga would better be used as a Cliffs Notes for manga and anime, demonstrating the similarities between many popular titles that, in their prime, were considered to be quite *gasp!* ORIGINAL. Is How NOT to Draw Manga simply a case of sour grapes? Maybe, but don't pick up this book if you think you'll learn how not to draw manga.
*at the time of review, 2006
August 19, 2014
I love this book so much. It goes into detail about all the different tropes of anime and manga and playfully pokes at them.
Great read for anyone who loves the manga. Fantastic art to boot.
Great read for anyone who loves the manga. Fantastic art to boot.
February 23, 2015
Cute, funny, informative. I'm not wild about the art style but it's definitely worth the read if you're interested in manga.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews