heart transplant

Yesterday I bought yet another copy of 'Kreko'. For those of you not in the know, Kreko is a magazine filled with mangas. Or rather, Kreko is a collection of mangas, not unlike Japan's 'Young Jump' comics; where they put loads of mangas in one comic. Value for money is the name of the game, I guess.

Anyhow, one of the mangas currently featured in Kreko is the ever famous 'Naruto' series. I've always been a fan of mangas; Dragon Ball, Eyeshield 21, Whistle, Slam Dunk, Yakitake! Japan, Satan 666..and the list goes on and on.. and even if I've already read them, if they're good (which they usually are, and 'good' is an understatement), I'll reread them. Over and over. The same goes for this Naruto series. I've read it over the internet and watched the anime. Still I can't resist reading it in Kreko. This got me thinking; what's with these mangas anyway..? Why are they so addictive? And how did they make them sooo good that even if you're reading for the umpteenth time, they still bring about the same emotions, enthusiasm, expectations and excitement as when you're reading them for the first time..?

The way I see it, mangakas put in a lot of heart in their work. While comics from the west are mostly drawn very nicely and have advanced storylines, mangas have a lot of heart. The heart (and emotions) of the mangaka is put together with the manga he or she presented to the readers, and most of the time (if not all the time), we feel it when we're enjoying their work. A skipped beat of the heart, the urge to shed a tear..these are all 'trails' left by a great mangaka in his/her work, for the readers to discover.

Be happy. Enjoy manga :)