I voted for "not bothered", because I never gave it much thought, and figured I don't really care.

But I kind of wish I voted for "but they are comics." Because essentially they are the same thing (I do consider comics and graphic novels the same thing too)

I can see that there are enough differences in style, coloring & demographic as well as reading direction, binding, pricing and online availability that you want to make a distinction to be clear.

I always called manga 'manga' for the above reasons.
But if someone asked what manga was I'd say it was a comic or type of comic and not give it a second thought.

I still can see the point of calling it manga to distinguish it the same way you would distinguish a comic strip or superhero series.
But in the end they're all drawn stories and a sub-group of comics.
Saying they're completely different from comics seems a bit elitist.
People don't insist on call Persepolis 'bandes dessinées' just because it's from France (actually some do but that's a different story)

Comics are so varied how can you at least not say they overlap. (Calvin Hobbes, Peanuts, Cathy, Farside, B.C., Archie, Ghost World, 300, Road to Perdition, V for Vendetta, Sin City, The Crow, X-men, Batman).

Quote from Sleepy_Sheepy

Eh, manga ARE comics, just from Japan. Same argument from me, if movie I like is made in Finland, I'm still just going to call it a movie, not an elokuvassa just because it's made in another country. If we called everything by the name of the country it came from, I bet half of your household items would be in Chinese.

I get that it's handy to call it manga, it's the specific TYPE of comic you read, but it's a comic.

this. like the anime/cartoon poll, only time i do refer to it as anime/manga is when i'm emphasizing it's country of origin.

I think "comic" and "manga" are used interchangeably in Japan, so saying mangas are comics isn't much of a stretch for me. :/ (and honestly, the straight up definition of manga is comics anyway, no nation of origin attached)

However, if its just casual conversation then I'll differentiate them. Unless the person has never heard of the word before, saying "manga" is just easier than saying "Japanese comics".

Hmm, this one doesn't bother me as much as anime/cartoon's, but I still think they're different.

manga is comic. it's just a comic from a different country. it's just that the world comic has been associated with American comics thats all.
by saying it's manga then people will automatically think it's from japan which is more convenient. it's got to the point where comic piratically means works from the west.

it's like saying graphic novels and comic books. they are essentially the same thing with just minor artistic and writing difference

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Manga are comics from Japan, so there's no reason to get annoyed when they're called that. Although I usually call the Japanese ones manga and the American ones comics, its more force of habit than anything else.

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It doesn't bother me...
I call them comic, manga it is a kind of comic anyway...

[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v319/ciberrt/bam.jpg[/img]

I agree with most people here. Manga = Comic, just like Anime = Cartoon / Animation. The difference (in most cases) are the styles, depending on where in the world it comes from. Even within a country there are many styles. A chair is a chair no matter where in the world it's made.

When it comes to animation I see why people absolutely insist on calling it anime, due to the quantity of animation Japan produces. But they're still animated series / movies / whatever just like the simpsons or any disney movie. Comics on the other hand are widely produced in Europe as well, but that does not make 'em something else than comics when it comes to definitions.

Speaking 'bout different conventions then manga =/= american comic.

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To be honest, only English speakers make a difference. In Chinese, Japanese, and Korean, manga=manhwa=manhua=comic=graphic novel. There's no difference. The end.

Not at all. The word "manga" can pretty easily (and accurately) be translated to "comics," so I see no reason to make any distinction.

All distinctions are specifically made in English-speaking countries; Asian countries don't have the distinction. And while I do think the connotative distinction is a helpful one, there's no reason to get upset if someone uses the words interchangeably.

Same goes for people who call anime "cartoons" or "animation."

hate it when theyre referred to as the same thing. makes me so mad >:-( . how can everyone say theyre different. the style of drawing, the way its read,the different genres that they have (im pretty sure every comic is only about another random superhero...is there ANY romance comic?), and where they come from.

but i can relate to the people that say theyre the same thing. yeah it does have block formats, yes they both have bubbles, yes they both turn into animations, but they are fundamentally different!!!! how can they be put into one group?

its just a pet peeve. 😐

Quote from wittleD

hate it when theyre referred to as the same thing. makes me so mad >:-( . how can everyone say theyre different. the style of drawing, the way its read,the different genres that they have (im pretty sure every comic is only about another random superhero...is there ANY romance comic?), and where they come from.

but i can relate to the people that say theyre the same thing. yeah it does have block formats, yes they both have bubbles, yes they both turn into animations, but they are fundamentally different!!!! how can they be put into one group?

its just a pet peeve. 😐

...all about super heroes? No romance comics? That shows how little you know about comics that aren't from Japan. Sure Japanese comics have shoujo, but western comics are just as diverse. Not all comics have block formats either, or bubbles...

If you read some western comics, you would see that they are fundamentally the same as Japanese comics.

[img]http://kofk.de/C2C51774.png[/img]

theoretically one can argue that manga are comics. They are japanese comics. That how the Japanese translate it into, comics! Look it up. There is a difference between American Comics and Japanese comics but that doesn't mean it's not a comic

defination of comic book: A book or magazine that uses sequences of drawings to tell a story or series of stories, primarily in serialized form, usually fiction

defination of manga: The Japanese term for comic book

look it up, it's on the web! It's in dictionaries and it's in books! Look it up!

Comics are comics are comics, regardless of language or origin. Favoring one language or style over another doesn't change the fact that they are the same medium. I'm honestly surprised, and kind of disturbed, that a good percentage of the votes think otherwise.

"When we remember we are all mad, the mysteries disappear and life stands explained."

• Samuel Clemens/Mark Twain

Poll's over

A just ruler amongst tyrants