On the great new manga news/reviews blog, the Manga Critic, Kate Dacey brings up the old “OEL” (Original English Language) manga authenticity debate. Oftentimes this discussion turns into one of irritation, if not condemnation, towards anyone who applys the word “manga” towards a non-Japanese comic (not this article — Kate’s a classy lady). I don’t get the vitriol, but I do get the frustration in regards to classification and filing. Anyway, I really don’t want to get sucked into this debate again, but one of the quotes that Dacey includes perpetuates a misconception that I want to clear up:
“OEL Manga is a marketing term. Tokyopop made it up to sell their originally written comics just so they wouldn’t be put with the regular comics.”
As someone who was in the trenches at the start of this trend, as an editor, and later as a writer, I’d like to say once and for all that OEL was most certainly not coined by Tokyopop. Tokyopop just called all of its works “manga.” The company’s line was/is not to have a distinction in classification between books created in Japan, Korea, Europe or the Americas. “OEL” was first coined, if I remember correctly, by the folks on the Anime on DVD manga forums, as many folks didn’t like (and still don’t like) Tokyopop’s blanket usage of the term. The term caught steam online, not because any company wanted to perpetuate it, but because readers (at least those who take the time to discuss it online)want some distinction. In retrospect, Tokyopop sort of shot itself in the foot with the naming debates by building its “OEL” expansion on the success of its “100% Authentic” campaign, thereby implying its own product is “inauthentic.”
Also, Tokyopop was not the first company to apply the word “manga” to a non-Japanese product. What Tokyopop DID do was make manga synonymous with the serialized, 5 x 7.5, B&W, 192 page graphic novel. Ironically, this format and aspect ratio isn’t even used in Japan, but was rather based on Korean manwha trim sizes, which happens to be an ideal compromise between Japan’s two most common tankubon aspect ratios, making a 1-size-fits-all approach possible.
Oh dear… I’ve gone and worked myself up a bit! I know I said I didn’t want to get into this old debate, but there’s one final point I’d like to suggest that those who bring up this discussion be sure to include, and that’s the longform storytelling format. With RARE exception, OEL titles don’t last longer than a couple of volumes, where by and large, the manga titles we know are generally from a handful to several dozen volumes in length. I would argue that the longform, melodramatic stories afforded by serialized fiction are just as much a part of manga’s appeal as anything relating to the art, and thus far, that’s been very hard to reproduce outside of the Japanese system. (Superhero stories are serialized, yes, but they sprawl without the focus of a single authorial voice, like you have with manga). After all, you can’t very well afford to spend 50 pages on a secondary character’s flashback when you’re not even certain you’ll get a volume 2 or 3 to fully resolve your protagonist’s story. As it stands, there is almost zero trust by readers that an OEL series will extend beyond a volume or two (with rare exception, no one’s even trying to make series more than a couple volumes at this point); it’s a shame that we’re stuck with that reality now, as one thing that the Japanese system shows is that most manga take at least a couple of volumes for the creators to find their footing (which I can certainly attest to!). But now we’re not really talking manga at all, but rather the viability of serialized graphic novels as a business model…
All right, that’s enough of that.
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Thanks for the schooling! I wasn’t certain who coined the term “OEL,” though I’d seen it used most frequently in conjunction with Tokyopop’s books, so I assumed, as Lori did, that it was original to Tokyopop. My main point in quoting her was to remind readers that marketing makes a big difference in how a product is received–but you’ve made the point much more forcefully and clearly than I did! I will update the post with a trackback to this essay.
[...] 5/5/09: Return to Labyrinth writer (and former Tokyopop editor) Jake Forbes posted a thoughtful response to this piece at Gobblin.net. In it, he clarifies the origin of the term “OEL”: As [...]
Hmm, I always wondered who actually started using that term, and I’ll be honest when I say that I don’t use “manga” as a blanket term – I like differenciating between Japanese manga, Korean manwha etc.
And on a total side-note, is there any confirmed release date for RTL volume 3 in the UK? I live in Scotland and so the idea of everyone else getting to read it and not me is infuriating…because the longer it takes to be released, the more tempted I’ll be to scour the internet for spoilers and scans and such. But I want the book itself! *cries*
…Excuse that. It’s just really, really annoying. Amazon.co.uk doesn’t even have a release date for it.
That’s some very helpful information, thank you! I never heard the terms “OEL” or “Amerimanga” before I started following an anime/manga forum. RTL was my first manga, but just because the binding was on the left didn’t make it any less entertaining.
On a side note, I never realized that Japanese manga were normally long! Three of the 7 Japanese series I have are under 3 volumes. I guess I’m not very diverse yet.
RE: Scotland,
I don’t know the UK release date, but I know it must be frustrating. If it was up to me, it would be a simultaneous worldwide launch!
RE: Kelly,
There are many factors that determine a series’ length in Japan, but for “mainstream” shonen and shojo stuff serialized in anthology magazines, they generally run for as long as they are popular or until the creator runs out of steam. In these cases, less popular series often get rushed endings or no endings at all. Of course, there are plenty of exceptions — certain genres and demographics (“art” manga, yaoi and josei, for example) tend to prefer shorter formats.
…Wow, the fact that you are familiar with the term “josei” blows my mind. You, sir, are awesome.
I don’t even know half those terms and people call me a manga maniac. Suddenly, though, it doesn’t bother me as much.
Fallen,
Well, seeing as I’ve worked in the manga industry for 9 years, I should know! I confess that the only Josei series I really read for enjoyent was Kimi wa Pet. The TV drama is great too!
-J
[...] lesson: Jake Forbes clears up a misconception about the term OEL manga and has an interesting take on the standard manga format as [...]
I’m really glad you brought up the point about longform storytelling. It’s absolutely what hooked me into manga. Honestly, I was surprised and dismayed when I attended a panel given by a Tokyopop OEL artist who told us that TP would not even consider an original comic for publication that wasn’t intended to be complete in three volumes. Obviously I can understand their trepidation concerning the market, but I thought at the time that they might be shooting themselves in the foot since imposing a restriction like that automatically rules out the kind of slow-building, epic storytelling that many of us specifically read manga for. I don’t want to blame Tokyopop for all of OEL’s ills–that hardly seems fair–but I think it’s unreasonable for anyone to expect the work of OEL creators to stand up against what comes over from Japan when their hands are tied like that.
yeah, like i said in my rant, fusing over a foreign world doesnt help any. So far, most all this debate has be with non artists or many that dont work in the manga feild. So what if one person calls it manga or another doesnt? The point is if you like it read it, if you dont like it, find something else and go on with your day.
I always wondered if OEL came from the AoD forums, because I can’t recall any publisher ever labeling their books like that (maybe they do now though, I don’t know). I remember there being some debate even over that term when Tokyopop started publishing a German series, so a few people started using MIC, or Manga-Inspired Comic. I was always a little glad the additional nitpick never caught on.
Surely there’s more to the appeal of manga than just its sheer longevity. The only thing close to a western equivalent of that is in webcomics, where you can have:
*A single author, or at least a consistent team (check)
*Multiple volumes, or at least the ability to become multiple volumes (check)
*A cheap means of distribution before the print version that only allows the cream to float to the top (?!)
There is a DISTINCT difference between anything made OEL / Western and the Manga market — Anything that manages to make it across the ocean and few a few translation barriers has to be good. We don’t see all the crap that gets made IN Japan, just all the crap that gets OUT. We expect long volumes because by the time a work “escapes”, it’s already got several years of storytelling under its belt for everyone else to catch up on.
Likewise, in webcomics, you don’t get into print without not only drawing a lot, but also surviving for that long online without succumbing to the stresses involved while building up a large enough fanbase to support yourself. It’s not a perfect match — it takes a lot longer to produce those multi-volume stories than it looks, and readers might get fed up with how much “slower” OEL / webcomics take to make compared to premade manga that’s just waiting to be translated by comparison — but there are distinctions.
I’m still struggling to find a good word for “webcomics in print” that don’t quite fall under western or manga — “indie” is closest, but it’s no cigar — but if you’re going to going to tell me that readers are looking for longevity vs. merely good long-form storytelling… well, I think you’re missing the difference between what’s actually left Japan vs. what’s still there.
Rachel,
I totally agree with what you’re saying about the “average manga series” longevity being a total misconception based on western countries being able to cherry pick. But I do think that when the manga boom really hit America, the fact that these works could be consumed in big lengthy chunks without the 32 pages a month wait that comics consumers were used to is what brought in new readership. Of course, localizing 200 page books and creating them with new artists from scratch are obviously two very different ballgames…
And I completely agree with your webcomic reasoning. That’s absolutely the way the vetting ground of the future (and present!) as comics move foreward. I don’t think there’s a need to come up with a “webcomics” in print term, as it probably won’t be long before digitally distributed comics is the norm.
[...] Manga Village team, Kate Dacey, and Jake Forbes on the question of OEL [...]