How manga made me a writer
A look back at manga that shaped the way I tell stories.
pictures taken by creator
I got into manga during my first year of Middle School. Unlike some kids, I didn’t take the bus home because my house was in the next state. Our parents were still working, so my sister pick me up and took me to Barnes & Noble for the first time a store full of books. The question on my mind was what would be interesting to read that won’t bore me to tears? While browsing the bookshelves, I found a book that had the same name as a show I’ve been watching late at night on Saturdays.
My First Manga
Inuyasha by Rumiko Takahashi
Inuyasha is an action-adventure romance and comedy manga. Kagome, a normal schoolgirl, finds herself in ancient Japan. A powerful jewel sparks a conflict with demons, pulling her into a quest alongside the half-demon Inuyasha to recover its scattered shards.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vYzP9e5OEio
What drove me to watch it was the opening sequence of Kagome leaping into a well and arriving in an unknown world. It looked interesting and different to me. It’s on late at night, so I wasn’t supposed to watch it, but I did, anyway.
Even reading it again now from the beginning, it still captures me. We open on Inuyasha, stealing a jewel. An arrow pierces him through his chest into a tree by a girl who looks like a Kagome. Her dying wish sent us into the present.
That scene alone raises several questions.
Who is Inuyasha?
Who is this woman who sealed him into the tree?
what does it have to do with the Kagome?
This gave me a reason to keep watching, but the characters made me want more.
. Kagome is kind with a sassy attitude, while Inuyasha is brass and selfish. But the two are stuck together to retrieve the jewel, and it’s fun watching the relationship change along the way.
That was when I started to really enjoy reading. But I was watching the show and reading the book. I had to pick one because I knew what was going to happen next, so there wasn’t much a surprise when I was reading it in the book or watching it on TV. So I chose a different manga by the same author.
Ranma ½ by Rumiko Takahashi
I love this book so much, I practically worn down the cover.
Ranma 1/2 is an action comedy romance about Ranma, who is engaged to Akane. One of the daughters of the anything- goes dojo school of martial arts. They both get into conflicts with outrages characters were anything goes, with challenges that should have nothing to do with martial arts like ice skating. Ranma is also cursed to turn into a girl when his in contact with cold water.
The characters are students, but it’s a lot wackier than Inuyasha. Ms. Takahashi cranked up the comedy with eccentric characters and things Ranma and Akane have to deal with. Plus, with an additional transformation of turning into a girl. The situation changes depending on his gender too.
One if those characters is Ryoga. He challenges Ranma to a fight back at their home time only for Ranma to walk out on him. He follows him all the way to his current residence for revenge. We find out later that Ranma made it to their showdown, but it took Ryoga 4 days to get there, while Ranma waited for 3 days for him. Ryoga has a horrible sense of direction.
It’s also the manga that made me aspire to be a writer. It was so fun reading it. And I thought I could show people what I think through my writing, in an interesting and fun way. Through stories.
DN Angel by Yukiru
The next manga I started reading, I saw a commercial for it on TV. The manga was called DN Angel, a manga that was from a different author from the last two books.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jrfhqGhAb8
DN Angel is an action, comedy, romance and drama about Daisuke Niwa, an ordinary middle school student. Rejected by his crush, he awakens his alter ego, the phantom thief Dark.
The first part of the story is a personal journey. But after volume 3, the story shifts into being about magic in the paintings and the mysteries of his other self.
One of my favorite scenes of the manga is when Dark confronts Daisuke about his feelings and tells him that his first love doesn’t need to be his only love. A lot of things I watched involving romances only with the first love being the only one and the only one they’ll ever be with. So it left an impression on me.
It’s a book that’s been hiatus for a long time. I only have volume 1 through 13
Great number to end on. It’s different from the other two I read, as its story is a little complicated. But just like the others, I got interested in the characters. Daisuke was more timid as a main character compared to Inuyasha and Ranma.
From Fan To Writer
These mangas I mentioned impacted my inspirations as a writer. Inuyasha took place in the past of Japan, which was something I knew little about, so it just made it seem like a mysterious world to me. This made me think about setting stories at different periods and places in time to take the reader to a place they never been.
Ramen1/2 had a cast of characters that would get the leads in all kinds of trouble. Only for them to get out of it in creative ways. This showed me how important side characters are. How they can change the main characters and influence the story.
DN Angel story focused on Daisuke as a character before going into the main plot. This made his actions understandable, while leaving room to explore other characters and the major story. I believe characters make a story and what can make a story different from others like it.
What I’m writing now
The short story I’m writing: The Web Forms One has at least some elements I mentioned. It takes place in the past of Japan, the main characters have two personalities, and the other characters play a big role in their story.
A spider received a new life in a recently deceased human body; however, the body’s spirit persists. Saku has some unfinished business she cannot remember. Now the two of them need to discover the reason for her death, or tragedy may strike the people they care for.
These were only three of the manga that I read for the first time and they have affected my writing in different ways. They tell me the things I enjoy. I end up writing them in my story, making them a bit more unique. It’s not just those mangas but plenty of other books, video games, and movies. They influenced my writing in great and not so great ways.
Write what you love
There are lots of things that we have seen based on other stories. Or have distinct elements of them put into it. My advice is to always write something that you enjoy. I believe it’s always a good idea to look back on why you like reading and why you want to write.
If you are interested here, the link to my story. The Web Forms One. Part 1 | by GB Hall | Medium
or here https://www.gbwynn-hall.com/blog-2-3/thewebformsone to read it for free.
