Earlier this month, Kotaku published an explainer on how anime art has changed in Japan over the decades. Now, let’s have a look at how some manga characters have evolved.
Recently, a topic about how manga characters changed since their debut appeared on Japan’s largest web forum 2ch, with net users pointing out that some manga used to look cuter. It’s only natural for characters to evolve, and it happens any and everywhere. Heck, just compare Steamboat Willie and Mickey Mouse.
What is interesting is to see how these changes reflect not only artists’ trends of the time, but also show how the artist matures and comes into his or her own as a creator. You can see them developing their signature characters and style.
A few years ago, several wonderful comparisons appeared on Japanese video site NicoNico Douga. Many of the manga are from the 1980s and 1990s. You might have seen these contrasts. You might not have. I don’t know! Below are juxtapositions that show how characters, both well-known and not so well-known, have developed.
You might like the earlier incarnations better. You might like the later ones. Have a look and judge for yourself. Note that the old images are on the left, and the newer renditions are on the right.
You can watch the comparison clips via YouTuber kn9677 in the links below.
初期と後期（現在）で絵が大きく変わったと思うマンガ集 その１ [kn9677]
初期と後期（現在）で絵が大きく変わったと思うマンガ集 その２ [kn9677]
初期と後期（現在）で絵が大きく変わったと思うマンガ集 その３ [kn9677]
Comments
4 responses to “How Manga Characters Change And Evolve”
Oro?
You.
I like you.
Mixed bag there. Some have less detail i guess to save costs while others refine the characters to copy the stard proportions. Alot less shading as well.
I remember back in the day, watching the Ah! My Goddess OVA and thinking it was pretty great so I decided to check the manga, as the OVA is just a snippet of the whole story. I picked up the first volume, opened to the first page and went NOPE. You can see the transformation in the first linked video.