Can You Learn Storytelling from Anime & Manga?
On Google, anime is defined as:
A style of Japanese film and television animation.
Manga is defined as:
A style of Japanese comic books and graphic novels.
Both these content types are typically aimed at kids and adults.
The first part of that statement may seem like common sense:
‘Kids? Of course! Comic books and cartoons are definitely for little children.’
The second part of that sentence may come as a shocker:
‘What kind of grown man still consumes cartoons?’
I believe anime and manga are secret weapons to develop storytelling skills.
If you run a YouTube channel, have a speech coming out, or want to tell better stories in conversations…
Then read on.
All Content is Good Content
One of the first lessons I bring up in my book, Art & Science of Storytelling, is:
- There is no such thing as bad content for a storyteller.
A few years ago, I was obsessed with watching people lose their shit at fast-food restaurants.
The customer had been waiting for 25 minutes and had enough.
So, they began going back and forth with the workers.
Some YouTube channels created compilation videos of those encounters.
I watched all of them.
I thought I was wasting a lot of time watching stuff like this.
A few years later when I was writing my book, Showtime, I opened with the main character having a bad encounter in a fast-food restaurant.
I was able to tap into a lot of the emotions that I felt watching those compilation videos.
In the long run, I wasn’t wasting my time watching content that was supposed to be useless.
For a storyteller, all content is good content.
We can always leave with something that will benefit our narrative.
Even anime and manga.
East vs West
Eastern content is a lot different than Western content.
One example can be found in Jackie Chan’s movies.
He was a star in the East and the West.
In Western movies, there are higher production costs that can often make up for the lack of storytelling.
Where in Eastern movies, the production costs aren’t as high, but the storytelling is riveting.
We become more creative when we are resourceful.
A lot of the Eastern content has a completely different spin to storytelling.
They have drama, in-depth storylines, and can create a long series that never gets tiring.
I’m not saying that Eastern content is better than Western content.
I’m just saying that it’s DIFFERENT.
When we have a wide range of perspectives, it becomes easier to tell better stories.
Anime and manga allow us to get different perspectives which will benefit us in the long run.
The Benefit of Consuming Cartoons
Nowadays, cartoons are synonymous with entertainment for little kids.
But when cartoons were first becoming a thing, they were mainly entertainment for adults.
You heard that correctly.
Research Walt Disney and see how he targeted adults when he was first marketing his cartoons.
Cartoons allow your mind to expand.
Animators can do things with cartoons that physical humans cannot do.
After consuming a cartoon, it’s easier to be flexible with our writing.
I may get flak from hardcore manga and anime fans for this: but I love Dragon Ball Z.
Whenever I’m not feeling creative, I’ll watch a quick DBZ episode.
- I see Kamehamehas.
- Super Saiyans.
- Planets and galaxies being destroyed.
Then I come back to my life.
It’s hard not to feel creative after that.
Many of these animes and mangas are so creative that consuming it makes us feel creative.
Anime & Manga Are Realistic Too
I used to know this kid named Calvin who would always consume Japanese entertainment.
I remember him reading books with these girls who had big eyes and little mouths.
Something about them looked so REAL.
These types of cartoons were definitely different.
Kim Possible looks like a straight-up cartoon to me.
But a lot of manga and anime characters looked like humans in cartoon form.
The story didn’t end so well for Calvin.
He was once caught with Hentai.
Aka: Japanese cartoon porn.
You were busting a nut to a cartoon Calvin??
All joking aside, when we consume content that is creative, but still seems somewhat grounded in reality, we are more invested.
It doesn’t seem like pure fantasy.
A lot of these anime’s have compelling storylines.
Attack on Titan felt like a Game of Thrones drama with its storytelling.
Don’t knock the hustle until you have tried it.
Consume All Types of Content
For some folks, anime and manga may never be their thing.
They don’t see the point.
‘I don’t plan to be a fiction author, so why bother?’
I can understand that perspective.
However, I would counter with this:
- Consuming fiction content still teaches you different ANGLES to deliver your real-life experiences.
If we just give a recollection of the facts, that’s boring.
But if we are delivering the main points of the lecture with characters, conflicts, and vivid settings, then it becomes engaging.
Manga and anime teach the art of building suspense.
Just like laughs are the weapon for the comedian, dreaded suspense is the weapon for the storyteller.
Even if you don’t plan to be a fiction author, fiction will still equip you with tools to better deliver a set of nonfiction talking points.
Expanding my Arsenal
It’s impossible to predict the type of stuff I consume.
- Cooking videos.
- Documentaries.
- Tv shows.
- Movies.
- The news.
And as of late, cartoons.
I’m a big fan of out-of-world cartoons like Courage the Cowardly Dog, Ed Edd n Eddy, and Invader Zim.
As of late, I’ve been seeing the appeal of anime and manga.
I haven’t quite delved into manga yet…
If it’s anything like anime, then I can see the appeal.
Anime has a beautiful blend of out-of-world storylines plus realistic characters.
The 2-in-1 combo makes for a powerful storytelling experience.
For more insights into storytelling, check out the Art & Science of Storytelling Book:
✨Ebook
✨Paperback/Kindle
✨Audiobook
– ArmaniTalks 
