Anime and manga in Japan: Culture and Travel Context

Anime and manga are perhaps Japan's biggest pop cultural exports to the world. Anime refers to Japan's hand-drawn and computer animation industry while manga refers to Japanese comics and graphic novels. Anime and manga are popular around the world, and are a major drawcard for many travellers visiting Japan.

While many Japanese terms have been adopted by anime and manga fans in the English-speaking world, their original meaning in Japanese is often different from the meanings that were adopted in English.

In Japanese, the words anime (アニメ) and manga (Kanji: 漫画; Hiragana: まんが; Katakana: マンガ) are generic terms for all animated works and comics respectively. However, when used in English, they are used to refer specifically to works produced for the Japanese market. Also, in Japanese, the term otaku (オタク) is a derogatory term referring to someone who is obsessed with something to the point of eschewing social interaction, even though English speakers usually use it as a neutral term to refer to fans of anime and manga.

Also, keep in mind that while English speakers use ecchi (エッチ) to refer to things that are sexually suggestive but not explicit, in Japanese the term refers to things that are explicitly sexual in nature. For instance, the verb form エッチする (ecchi suru) means "to have sex".

Tokyo/Nakano. Upper floors of Nakano Broadway building are packed with anime/manga related shops.

16 Kami-shi Yanase Takashi memorial house Anpanman museum & Poem and Marchen gallery (香美市立やなせたかし記念館 アンパンマンミュージアム＆詩とメルヘン絵本館). Museum for the manga artist of Anpanman fame. "Poem and Marchen" was a magazine he served as the editor in chief. (updated Nov 2020)

22 Tokyo Skytree Town Campus, 8F solamachi, Tokyo Skytree Town 1-1-2 Oshiage, Sumida-ku, Tokyo, ☏ +81 3-6658-5888. 10:30-18:00. Future experience space of Chiba Institute of Technology. The full-scale MACROSS Frontier "Valkyrie VF-25F" is on display. Free. (updated Jan 2021)

Anime pilgrimages (聖地巡礼, seichi junrei) are trips to locations that became the models for manga and anime. Some smaller cities consider anime pilgrimages as an effective way to boost tourism.

23 Tachikawa. The city is the model of the Toaru series' main stage, Academy City, with elements from the monorail to parks being used in the anime. Though, apart from enjoying the similarity of street sceneries, Tachikawa is generally a satellite city of Tokyo. (updated Feb 2021)

24 Papal Palace, Avignon (Palais des Papes), Place du palais des papes. The palace where the Popes of Avignon ruled during a period when the Papacy was divided, with a Pope in Rome and another in Avignon. The Papal Palace is a key location during the Document of Constantine Arc of A Certain Magical Index III.

This cultural overview is an excerpt of a community travel guide. Confirm current access, schedules and prices with the venue before planning a visit.

Source and licence

Text adapted from Anime and manga in Japan by Wikivoyage contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0. Paragraphs have been selected and abridged, and formatting adjusted. This adapted text is shared under the same licence. Contributor history.