July 14, 2008
iPhone boost Japanese manga
The newly released Apple iPhone is making a hit all over Asia.
But in Japan – where the mobile phone was introduced Friday, selling out the same day – a special feature is being stressed. Among its many capabilities, the iPhone can display popular Japanese “manga,” or comics. UPI Asia reports.
"At the Digital Publishing Fair held in Tokyo as part of the Tokyo International Book Fair on Sunday, software company Celsys was demonstrating the phone’s prowess with manga. With a touch of the finger, a user can move the comics back and forth or flip them 90 degrees.
This is just the latest method by which avid comic readers can get their daily manga dose. Many people read them online. Of all the digital content purchased online, amounting to nearly 40 billion yen (over US$375 million) last year in Japan, about two-thirds was manga or other comics. "
... In a booklet called "Inside Out: A Mini Encyclopedia of Contemporary Japanese Culture" published by the Foreign Press Center, comics and animation are referred to as "showcases for the strikingly rich imagination of Japan's artists, that serve as vehicles to project Japanese culture around the world."
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