I've only fairly recently found out about "OEL" manga and wondered what actually makes manga, manga, and not just comics. Is it the aesthetic? the use of KiShoTenKetsu? the country that it's made? What. Some oel resemble manga more in its presentation than others I've found but, and it's usually just the creator telling you that it's manga. I guess it's up to the individual to decide; comics are comics. While writing my light novel I came upon this quandary thinking to myself what is it that makes it a light novel? why am I calling it that and not just a y.a novel and my reasoning is that I wanted the manga aesthetic, and imagery projected into the readers minds. I don't know if I'm right in that but that's what I settled on.
Those are all great points. Part of my fascination with OEL is that it does force you to think about what makes a manga a "Manga" (Same for the even greater niche of English-language light novels). When you're living through an art movement it can be difficult, maybe impossible, to draw boundaries and categorize what's happening - we don't have the perspective to parse what's currently happening. But you make a good point- sometimes it really is "just the creator telling you that it's manga."
I've seen a (somewhat rare) inverse of this on Japanese manga websites, usually from hobbyists, who say their work isn't "manga" since their inspiration comes from American comics or Korean webtoons. Usually they're full-color works, horizontal speech bubbles, some even read left-to-right. And then I know the world of Webtoons is has its own art movements and influences that I'm unaware of since I just haven't had the time to explore it. It's all exciting stuff. I have no idea how the art of manga will evolve but all of these new, interconnecting pieces make it incredibly interesting
I've only fairly recently found out about "OEL" manga and wondered what actually makes manga, manga, and not just comics. Is it the aesthetic? the use of KiShoTenKetsu? the country that it's made? What. Some oel resemble manga more in its presentation than others I've found but, and it's usually just the creator telling you that it's manga. I guess it's up to the individual to decide; comics are comics. While writing my light novel I came upon this quandary thinking to myself what is it that makes it a light novel? why am I calling it that and not just a y.a novel and my reasoning is that I wanted the manga aesthetic, and imagery projected into the readers minds. I don't know if I'm right in that but that's what I settled on.
Those are all great points. Part of my fascination with OEL is that it does force you to think about what makes a manga a "Manga" (Same for the even greater niche of English-language light novels). When you're living through an art movement it can be difficult, maybe impossible, to draw boundaries and categorize what's happening - we don't have the perspective to parse what's currently happening. But you make a good point- sometimes it really is "just the creator telling you that it's manga."
I've seen a (somewhat rare) inverse of this on Japanese manga websites, usually from hobbyists, who say their work isn't "manga" since their inspiration comes from American comics or Korean webtoons. Usually they're full-color works, horizontal speech bubbles, some even read left-to-right. And then I know the world of Webtoons is has its own art movements and influences that I'm unaware of since I just haven't had the time to explore it. It's all exciting stuff. I have no idea how the art of manga will evolve but all of these new, interconnecting pieces make it incredibly interesting
What a great, in-depth review. For the record, I absolutely love this comic.
Thank you! I appreciate you stopping by and reading my review. Bitemark is definitely a hidden gem, I'm glad others have enjoyed it!