mediocre manga

Let me begin with explaining one perk of my new job: my staff pass doubles as a member's card to a large number of museums. This means that I can get into the special exhibitions for free, and luckily for me at the British Museum I didn't have to pay the 19.50 pounds for the recently closed Manga exhibition.

I know what you're going to say, "Wait I thought this exhibition is finished, why are you now making a review?" Don’t worry I am perfectly aware that this review probably won't make much difference in anyone's interest into seeing it (as this is now not possible), I just wanted to add my own opinions to the other reviews I have seen and hey I needed something to talk about for this blog after its very long hiatus.

First and foremost I would like to talk about my relationship with manga and anime – the topic of the aforementioned exhibition. What introduced me to the world of manga or 'pictures run riot' as so many have used this phrase in their reviews, was in fact - Sailor Moon. As a kid of the 90's I watched the English dubbed version as it streamed on our television screen and became obsessed with it. How could I not? Powerful young girls transforming into magical warriors, defeating bad guys by moonlight and winning love by daylight. This anime started my fascination with the media, having a lull in my tween and young teen years with people associating western fans with nerd-dom and geekhood, and the pressure from the community itself against young 'fangirls'. However as I came into my own, thereby embracing my 'nerdiness', I fell right back into the obsession. I consumed more anime including: Ouran High School Host Club, Madoka Magica, Kill la Kill, Full Metal Alchemist (the original and brotherhood), etc... Sailor Moon however has always been and will always be my favourite anime. It has even resulted in a small tattoo dedicated to the crescent moon mark that many of the characters have. Furthermore my adventure into reading manga resulted from re-watching Sailor Moon and finishing the Full Metal Alchemist series.

I have obviously only dipped my toes into the genre, but I believe I am enough of a fan to understand that this type of media is overflowing with an extreme amount of content, arguably too much to fit into a single exhibition and do it justice; although that is what the British Museum tried and mediocrely did at best.

The gallery begins oddly enough with a piece of western media, John Tenniel’s illustrations of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. This piece of British media was apparently a major influence to the field of manga, as there has been many reiterations of the story produced within the Japanese style. Though this piece of western media may have been a large influence on the genre, I believe to begin an exhibition about manga with western material underhands the significance of the material itself; especially because later in the exhibition the 'origins' of manga are explained through a 200 year old scroll. I would say that the British Museum could have easily chosen to use Alice in Wonderland as a bridge between western and Japanese art, however I would make a stronger argument towards the fact that it is an enormous marketing tool. This became even clearer to me when I visited the gift shop at the end of the exhibition, housing an entire section larger than that of many of the other manga, dedicated to the original illustrations by John Tenniel.

This marketing tool was however successful, at least for myself, as I did purchase a tote bag. Sue me... I love Alice in Wonderland. The reason I bought it however definitely connects to the fact that it didn't need to be a part of the exhibition to sell. This memorabilia will likely transfer over to the main gift shop once the special exhibition has finished, as I believe other ‘British’ iconographic literary figures have (prime example – Peter Rabbit).

The 'theme' (down the rabbit hole) is then tied into the rest of the exhibition with the 'manga-fied' rabbit creating a trail for visitors to follow. The rabbit leads you to the first introduction to manga, how to read the material (right to left) and then to the possible origin of the art-form (as touched upon earlier the 200-year old scroll) with this is another tie to the imagery of the rabbit as the illustration is a depiction of a rabbit and a frog wrestling.

This introduction also inherently ties to the underlying feeling of the exhibition, at least the one I garnered from it - simple and entry-level explanations for those who are not already familiar with Japanese media and art. Arguably this is what holds back the exhibition and alienates many visitors, as it is definitely geared towards 'newbies' rather than lovers of the art-form. I was initially excited as this exhibition is the largest outside of Japan of this particular topic, however ultimately underwhelmed with the outcome.

A positive that I could pick out straight away with this exhibition was the style and content within the labelling and panels, specifically that everything was very easy to read, and the stylization of the exhibition was clean and clear. This is something that the British Museum prides itself on, which I am actually aware of because I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to sit down with a few of the heads of interpretation at the museum and learn about the production of consumable content.

It was also nice to see recognizable anime and manga, including but not limited to: Astro Boy, Dragon Ball Z, Sailor Moon, Jo Jo's Bizarre Adventure, One Piece, One Punch Man, Attack on Titan, Bleach, Naruto, and Pokemon. I was however disappointed in the balance of spotlighting certain manga over others, for example Dragon Ball Z and Sailor Moon shared one very small wall of the exhibition, with 3/4 dedicated to DBZ and 1/4 for Sailor Moon.

The exhibition also went into some of the sub-genres of manga, including Shoujo and Shounen. The Shoujo sub-genre of manga primarily focuses on content geared towards girls (although boys do read it), with more romance-based plots and characters. This was touched upon in the gallery, but overwhelmingly the individual sections of the gallery focused on Shounen (genre focused on adventure based plots and were originally geared towards boys).

I know I am being completely biased in regards to which manga were showcased, however it would have been nice to see a more in-depth look into how Sailor Moon really popularized the Shoujo sub-genre in terms of the 'magical girl' trope. I do not remember if this trope was explored at all, possibly Sally the Witch (the supposed first known magical girl), but obviously not to the same degree as other genres of manga. The 'magical girl' trope could have been explored more prominently as it also had historical origins, like that of manga itself. Its origins have been regarded as with artistic depictions of Queen Himiko, the first known ruler of Japan. The imagery is reminiscent of the imagery used in 'magical girl' manga. See for yourself:

As I referenced above, Sally the Witch was possibly the first known use of the 'magical girl' trope and the first Shoujo series. Its art style can be seen to be influenced by the likes of Astro Boy and its story was highly influenced by the American television program: Bewitched. The 'magical girl' trope has had many iterations, becoming popularized/global with my favourite anime: Sailor Moon. It was then transformed again by Puella Magi Madoka Magica, which subverted the traditional view of the 'magical girl' of the likes of and the transformation magic of

Another very popular manga - domestically and internationally - that was not included in the exhibition, was Full Metal Alchemist. (Once again I know I am being biased, but I don't really care, the exhibition is done anyways...).

This was not only disappointing because the creator of the manga series is famously a woman, but also because I would have preferred the artist's depiction of herself as a bespectacled cow as a fun marketing image/logo rather than the eel dog.

This anime is also already widely known in the west, therefore it would have been the perfect tool to use in an introductory style exhibition for 'newbies' to the wider material, especially since the concept is based in many western ideas including alchemy and the philosopher's stone.

This also brings me to another critique of the gift shop, as it was blatantly obvious that although certain anime/manga were not prominent in the exhibition, they were in the gift shop. The most obvious example of this was an entire corner dedicated to Pokemon memorabilia, whereas the exhibition had only four small panels/images of the manga.

My favourite addition to the exhibition was the shelves filled with manga available to read in their intended book format. This gives the visitors not only a chance to read the Japanese media, but also is a bonus for the curators as visitors will most likely spend more time in the exhibition. In accompaniment to the physical copies of the manga there are also several QR codes to be able to read manga for free online, ultimately furthering the reach of the exhibition.

Just past these shelves is an enormous recreation of a titan head from the anime series and manga: Attack on Titan. Although the placement of this head was a bit awkward within the exhibition, it did give the visitors a chance to directly interact with the content and was an important 'social media' opportunity. The costume section and photo booth to manga-fy yourself only added to this 'social media' craze within exhibitions and the inherent 'family friendly' vibes – also placed within the gallery space.

One of the most prominent walls of the exhibition was the final semi-wall dedicated to Studio Ghibli. Now don't get me wrong, I am a huge fan of Studio Ghibli, but I did not see why it should be included in an exhibition about manga. I know why it was, as Studio Ghibli produces anime style films, but I think the main reason is once again its marketability and because western audiences are already aware of the studio's productions. The video feed of many of the studio's films and a behind the scenes documentary of many of the filmmakers being played on a loop could have been dedicated to more manga specifically. This seemed to be a continuous problem of the exhibition, primarily that its focus was split in too many directions, without enough focus on what the title of the exhibition suggests is the main content.

Overall I did enjoy the exhibition, specifically that so many different types of manga were actually shown, ranging from one about Buddha and Jesus being roommates, a section dedicated to manga with LGBTQ+ representation, and parts of the exhibition showcasing how different social and political facets in real life effect the production of manga.

I do believe however that this exhibition could have done so much more, and delved into many more topics for a more adult audience. The major thing about manga is that it can range from family friendly and children material, to extreme adult porn and the over-fetishization of women in their art styles. This juxtaposition would have been interesting if included, as it is not discussed in popular media. Unfortunately at the expense of being 'family friendly' this exhibition fell short in this regard.

Before finishing off this review I would also like to highlight and discuss some points made by other outlets that I agree with:

The Guardian: The presentation of the fundamentals of manga could easily be viewed as quite patronizing to the larger audience. The mixture of the old and contemporary of the Japanese art form was fundamentally not seamless, specifically with no bridges to close the gaps on how it formed, its influences, the material itself and what it has now influenced in modern media. This breakdown is how the exhibition should have been structured - a more progression style narrative arc would have worked much better for the material - or to even completely mix the old with the new. The exhibition itself simultaneously didn't go far enough or have enough structure based on this framework to make it more cohesive.

Moreover the question of 'Why wasn't this at the V&A?' not only came to my mind before seeing this exhibition but also when I left. This exhibition might have been a better fit for the focus of the V&A, being more aligned with design and the progression towards modern interpretation. On the other hand the British Museum is more well known for its focus on ancient treasures and civilizations. The British Museum should probably stick to what it is known for and leave the rest for other institutions who might be more capable for certain topics.

Time out: Summing up manga is too tall an order for one exhibition. Manga is just too big a topic, it can be for kids or it can be violent pornography, it can be Pokemon or it can be a historical epic. Manga reflects every aspect of society, whether that be politics or sexuality. Nonetheless this exhibition is a suitable launching pad for further exploration into the mass-media phenomenon.

Last but certainly not least, I would like to discuss something that not only connects to this blog, but also was inherently missing from the exhibition. FEMALE CREATORS!!! Women in manga have had the greatest impact on their medium, more so than women have had in any other form of sequential art. This success is due in large part to the genre and audience diversity of manga overall, which unfortunately was not really touched upon in the exhibition as a contrast to western media (comic book culture dominated historically by male creators - take DC and Marvel for instance). Outside of Japan, you sometimes encounter the stereotypes that manga artists and fans are mainly men, but this couldn't be further from the truth - many of the best artists are in fact women - something the British Museum did not acknowledge in this exhibition. The 'big name' manga of the exhibition were dedicated to male creators, including but not limited to - Attack on Titan, Dragon Ball Z and Astro Boy. I know that gender wasn't an inherent focus for the exhibition, but I believe the creators are an enormous part of the media - not just in the introduction to the exhibition, but in the effect on the material and wider audiences.

If I was to give this a star rating I would probably give it a 3/5 stars at best. I would have seen it again, but just to remind you I could have seen it again for free...

As always....see ya later gals!