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1. Within the world of manga, there are many genres. Name one. Do you like reading that kind of manga? Why?
2. There are many famous manga artists in Japan. Tell us about one of them. What title or titles did he/she write? Why is his/her work so popular do you think?
3. Tell us the title of a manga that has become a popular TV show or movie. Was the adaptation any good? Why?
4. When you were a child, what was your favorite manga? Who wrote it? What was it about? Why did you like it?
5. Tell us the name of a famous manga character. Describe him/her/it. Describe what they do in the story.
6. Graphic novels exist across the world but sales in other countries are far lower per capita than they are in Japan. Why is the medium of the graphic novel so popular in Japan compared to other countries?

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Question 1

Seinen. I like reading dark manga stories such as "Death Note". They have interesting stories and characters. They are also written and animated for adults.

Question 2

Osamu Tezuka. He is famous for "Astro Boy". In addition to creating the popular Astroboy series, he also penned the unfinished Phoenix series before he passed away in 1989. His art has an iconic cartoonish style that almost resembles the style of his idol, Walt Disney. He has been dubbed "the father of manga" as he spurred the manga revolution in Japan.

Question 3

"Death Note" has been adapted to a live action movie with real-life actors. It was released on Netflix a few years ago. It was ok. It doesn't compare to reading the real story though. I think that live acting is not a good medium for manga stories.

Question 4

I didn't read manga until I moved to Japan eight years ago. I'm not sure what manga existed when I was a child. I probably would have read "Dragon Ball", if it had existed then.

Question 5

Son Goku is a fictional character and main protagonist of the Dragon Ball manga series created by Akira Toriyama. He is based on Sun Wukong, a main character in the classic Chinese novel Journey to the West. His origin story also shares some similarities with that of Superman. Goku first made his debut in very first Dragon Ball chapter titled Bulma and Son Goku, originally published in Japan's Weekly Shōnen Jump magazine on June 19, 1984 as an eccentric, monkey-tailed boy who practices martial arts and possesses superhuman strength. He meets Bulma and joins her on a journey to find the wish-granting Dragon Balls. Along the way, he finds new friends who follow him on his journey.

Question 6

I think that graphic novels are more popular in Japan, because they are a quick read. You can finish a manga book in minutes. Japanese people work long hours and don't have a long time to read long written novels. I also believe that there are so many talented artists in Japan producing interesting characters for their stories.

Tough Vocabulary

- English -	- Japanese -
penned	書きました
adapted	適合しました
protagonist	主人公
similarities	類似点
superhuman	超人的