Mangasplaining might be the best way to get into manga

Though I’ve always loved comic books, manga has long been an embarrassing blind spot for me. The source material of a lot anime that I loved was Japanese comics. I didn’t know that manga existed, but I did realize that there were many more fans than the ones I read. Did read. I would note the earnest hubbub of the Barnes & Noble manga section and wonder, How do they know this? What do they know? The answer was yes. It was just a matter of finding the right guide.

Mangasplaining is the introduction to manga that I’ve been looking for all this time. Hosted by Christopher Butcher, Deb Aoki, David Brothers, And Chip Zdarsky, the podcast is a book club where Butcher, Aoki, and Brothers introduce Zdarsky — who is the writer of Batman and Daredevil, but also an infant manga-reader with almost zero experience in the form — to a new book every week.

The show’s appeal is in its focus as a grand tour of all there is to see in the world of manga available to English readers. Every episode sees Zdarsky introduced to one comic by one of three panelists. Then, all the experts discuss the comic, culminating in the final question: Was Chip impressed?

Mangasplaining is an ideal manga guide because it’s hosted by a bunch of friendly comics geeks; it just feels like a bunch of adults talking about stuff they’re interested in. This may sound a little anticlimactic, but manga — due to the sheer volume and variety of series out there — is mostly covered by enthusiasts. And enthusiast coverage is not always the most accessible, as it’s geared toward an audience that’s knowledgeable, passionate, and very much in the tank for the topic at hand.

MangasplainingIt may not be the most comprehensive manga guide that isn’t for everyone (this site does a great job at this!) But it is a good one! Does help that it’s hosted by people who, like myself, have been deeply immersed in the American comics industry. While the show doesn’t really concern itself with comparing the two forms — a good thing! — there’s a certain ease and confidence that their background brings to the conversation, and an understanding of the varied approaches there are to combining prose with art and the effect they can have on the reader.

There are three seasons. Mangasplaining It also avoided one of the biggest pitfalls that many novice guides slip into. That is, where to next. After all the popular “good first manga” picks. Part of this is due to the fact that it’s a podcast, which gives the hosts room explore all sorts of books in all sorts of genres: shonen, seinen, josei, boys’ love, sports, food, action, horror, sci-fi. Don’t know what some of those words mean? You’ll learn! It’ll be great! But also with dozens of episodes under his belt, Chip Zdarsky, the “newcomer,” is now quite well-versed in manga, and the show starts becoming about developing your taste in addition to exploring new frontiers.

It is one of the most beautiful things about this country. Mangasplaining: It’s become one of my favorite book clubs to read along with, but it’s also given me a foundation where I feel free enough to NotFollow the instructions and dive in to whatever interest you. I now feel like I can appreciate manga like I do other art I’m already into, learning the names of my favorite mangaka, the genre tropes I can expect to find and would like to avoid, and the books I can recommend to my Refer to your friends.

So yeah, I’m a manga fiend now, stacking my shelves with every Naoki Urasawa volume I can find and a staunch advocate of the wildly affordable Shōnen Jump app. I’m a little less surprised by the manga my coworkers recommend, and better at figuring out if the stuff they like is what I would like, too. And every week, I’ve got four funny, knowledgeable, and curious guides ready to show me something new, reminding me why I love comics so much in the first place.