Comments on: Read Gothic Sports Chapter 1

by: Gothic clothes

Tue, 14 Apr 2009 14:52:53 +0000

I agree. What would be the difference between writing left to right and right to left? The answer is none. Just because of the lay out of it is different to that of other comics doesn’t mean therefore that the comic is better or worse… If the same comic was written out left to right and vice versa would you really be able to tell and say one is better than the other due to apparent “authenticity” I think not.

by: davy

Mon, 11 Feb 2008 00:26:56 +0000

by: Nike

Wed, 09 May 2007 14:15:15 +0000

Most artists don’t even think about the direction. They just draw like they are accustomed to.
In German competitions the right-to-left direction is part of the rules for example. So, if you take part in competitions you have to draw right-to-left, if you want to be published in magazines you have to draw right-to-left….
Believe me, the reason for this reading direction hasn’t anything to do with the aim of being “authentic”! (;
As you said, they are all Comics in the end…
I must confess that I don’t care about directions. It doesn’t have an influence on the content!
Why changing the habit?

PS: Sorry for my bad english! >_

by: Elae

Fri, 04 May 2007 23:31:45 +0000

The typical reason would be because… manga is right-to-left because Japanese is right-to-left. If your language is left-to-right, why would you draw your comic backwards? Manhwa, for example, is very clearly manga-influenced, but Korean is left-to-right, so, logically, manhwa is as well.
I don’t see why drawing it in the Japanese direction would make it any more “manga”. They’re all comics in the end. You can be influenced by manga without trying to somehow be more “authentic”, right? ^^; Reading direction isn’t a stylistic choice manga artists make… they do it because that’s how the language works. So why copy it?

by: Ortwin

Fri, 04 May 2007 22:28:08 +0000

About the reading direction: What good reason is there to use the western one? From our point of view in Germany, all Manga are in the Japanese reading direction. We have gotten used to that. So when we make Manga ourselves, we make them that way, too. It would be more confusing if it was in the western reading direction because that would make it stand out. It’s also easier to turn pages this way for me as I am left handed.

by: michael

Fri, 13 Apr 2007 23:54:52 +0000

Andre, appreciate the info. And I get what you’re saying. Sorry, I went off on a rant there.

by: Rikki Simons

Thu, 12 Apr 2007 22:59:58 +0000

I got yer gothic sports right here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QZXSMLoG0fw

Lovely art.

by: Andre

Thu, 12 Apr 2007 21:05:03 +0000

Michael, I think the artist in question is female. Writing for a teenage female audience. Which means it would probably have some kind of focus on things teen girls would like. Like say, characters they can relate to, around their age and gender. The art in Gothic Sports is pretty tame, and quite cute. Versus say, the most recent issue of Supergirl.

I mean what do you expect? Bearded Prospectors?

by: michael

Thu, 12 Apr 2007 20:51:24 +0000

the Japanese trend towards near infatuation with teenaged girls continues to skeeve me out.

by: mario boon

Thu, 12 Apr 2007 20:18:16 +0000

I got this last year in french on the concept alone!
Wonderfully drawn too.I believe the artist is only 22! *sigh*

by: Gothic Sports - Publishers Weekly « Deutsche Mangaka - the German-language Global Manga Scene

Thu, 12 Apr 2007 16:48:05 +0000

[…] Looks like the new preview of Gothic Sports caught the attention of some of the big bloggers! You can find mention of it at Publishers Weekly’s The Beat. While it does get some pretty good feedback, the question of format is immediately brought up, to no great surprise. “Global manga” tends to be (severely!) frowned upon in the US when they go so far as being written in the Japanese reading direction. […]

by: Matthew Craig

Thu, 12 Apr 2007 14:42:23 +0000

No - the pages are in the right orientation now. The comic is formatted like an original Japanese comic - reading right to left instead of left to right, and with the spine on the right hand side.

It’s in the Asian format, which is what I find odd (and which raises the questions above).

God, Tokyopopples are quick to send friend requests, aren’t they?

//\Oo/\\

by: Andre

Thu, 12 Apr 2007 14:35:23 +0000

Matthew– TP’s web department goofed…
There’s a thread about it here
http://messageboard.tokyopop.com/forums/showthread.php?t=8652
I’m planning to get the book myself soonish…. it looks fantastic, and is one of their German manga titles.

The page orientation thing should be fixed soon

by: Dave F.

Thu, 12 Apr 2007 14:15:11 +0000

It’s interesting - I’ve noticed that quite a goodly number of manga establish their premise within a page or two. It can seem as contrived and forced as any Western comic conceit, but certainly seems to serve the purpose of letting the reader know the score instantly.

by: Matthew Craig

Thu, 12 Apr 2007 14:03:13 +0000

Firstly, bloody hell! That’s some nice work. Would have liked to have seen some actual sport, though - I’ve a feeling it’s going to be good.

Second of all: for why is the comic in the Japanese right to left format? I mean, is that because they expect to sell to Asian territories? And is that why I’ve seen vertically-streched speech bubbles in other OEL manga?

And is it a verismilitude too far, or are neomangaka REALLY that divorced from the Western tradition?

SO. MANY. QUESTIONS.

//\Oo/\\