Actualités

British Bishops Use "Manga-Styled" Art to Attract Youth

In the latest attempt to expand the definition of manga, the National Office for Vocation of the Bishops Conference of England and Wales has created a campaign around what it calls "manga" illustrations. Father Paul Embery, the office's director, says, "We have chosen the Manga cartoons for the 2007 campaign, because we hope it will appeal to young people under twenty as well as people in their thirties." The "Called Today" website and posters depict five characters based on real people who chose priesthood or consecrated life.

Native Japanese manga have directly covered religious matters and worked with religious organizations in the past. "The God of Manga" Osamu Tezuka himself created a classic manga series on Buddha and consulted with the Vatican on In the Beginning: The Bible Stories anime series. Group TAC and Toei Animation produced three movies based on the writings of Ryuho Okawa, the founder of The Institute for Research in Human Happiness. More infamously, the AUM Shinrikyo cult, best known for the 1995 Tokyo subway gas attacks, established an AUM MAT ("Manga Anime Team") studio to create in-house animation and manga promoting its cause.

Source: The Indian Catholic