JpPlaza.com - Japanese in Mangaland | Ebooks

In recent years, Japanese manga and anime are no doubt becoming increasingly popular not only in Asian countries but in Europe and America as well. Please excuse me for presenting my own work as an example. Crayon Shin-chan, in its manga form, has already been translated into several languages, such as Catalan, Spanish, German, and English. And now, the TV anime based on my work is being shown on TV channels worldwide, therefore allowing me to fraternize with people from all over the world. For instance, I recently met three of my readers who had won a contest in Catalonia, Spain, and had come to Japan, and we had a quite long conversation. Through this conversation, I came to clearly understand how my works are actually being read. Apparently, having read Crayon Shin-chan and other Japanese manga, as well as having watched the anime on TV, they had been “willing to learn more about Japanese culture and language, and been dying to come to Japan,” the country were I was born and grew up. At last, they won the contest and their dream came true. Meeting them was a great experience for me too. I don’t think I will ever forget their smiling faces.

However, following a deeper conversation with them, it became clear that not only they, and not only Crayon Shin-chan manga, but many young people from Europe and America are thrilled by manga and anime of different kinds, so thrilled in fact that they want to learn more about Japan, a phenomenon which may be hard to believe for the Japanese. In this small “manga revolution” even though many young people, influenced by manga and anime, want to learn about Japan, I have heard that most books introducing Japan are stiff and boring for the young. Nevertheless, owing to the recent publication of books, like my friend Marc Bernabe’s Japanese in MangaLand, it seems this gap is finally being filled in. I have been asked to introduce this Japanese course, a book based on the idea that anybody “can learn while having fun.” Since it has been written by such an interesting and fun person as Marc, I am sure it will be a book that anybody can enjoy. By all means, read this book, learn Japanese, have fun, and fulfill your dreams to the very end.

(Source: Japanese in Mangaland book)