Long Series - Modern-Day Epics?
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This is something I thought about a few weeks ago but didn't think it was interesting enough to make a topic for. Then, I saw razama's post:
The epic has been around forever. A very long story chronicling the feats of a hero or band of heroes. As Wikipedia says, " . . . the story is centered on heroic characters, and the action takes place on a grand scale, just as in epic poetry. Epics in this sense are majestic depictions that capture impressive struggles, such as stories of war, adventures, and other efforts of great scope and size over long periods of time."
What does that sound like? To be completely honest (this would kill all my English teachers), the first thing I think of when I read that description is One Piece. Heroic characters, a grand scale, impressive struggles, and takes place over a long period of time (both in the story and real life). And One Piece isn't an odd thing in the world of manga; series like Naruto, Bleach, Berserk, and many others all have the same basic qualities (with varying degrees of quality, of course).
Years ago in my Latin class in high school, we talked about epics and how they weren't really around anymore. At least, no new ones were made that could equal the gigantic pieces of literature from the past. (This was before Harry Potter, which I hate to call epic though I admit it might deserve the title.) Now, when I look at the most popular manga series, I see epics. After all, an epic has three main qualities - heroes, big events (involving the whole world or gods and whatnot), and great length. Doesn't every popular (shonen, at least) manga have all three?
I'm sure "cultured" (aka, snobbish) people may refuse to understand the comparison, but what about fans of manga? Do you think modern-day epics are being created in the world of manga? And comics in general, for the most part. (Except that most American comics still focus on small stories that don't last over a year.) Or is this comparison dirtying the term epic?
razama wrote...
Shonen animes are epics, so they are supposed to be long. They are stories within stories within an overal story. Some of the most famous pieces of literature are epics, such as the Epic of Gilgamesh. A story should be as long as it needs to be in order to tell the story of the characters involved.The epic has been around forever. A very long story chronicling the feats of a hero or band of heroes. As Wikipedia says, " . . . the story is centered on heroic characters, and the action takes place on a grand scale, just as in epic poetry. Epics in this sense are majestic depictions that capture impressive struggles, such as stories of war, adventures, and other efforts of great scope and size over long periods of time."
What does that sound like? To be completely honest (this would kill all my English teachers), the first thing I think of when I read that description is One Piece. Heroic characters, a grand scale, impressive struggles, and takes place over a long period of time (both in the story and real life). And One Piece isn't an odd thing in the world of manga; series like Naruto, Bleach, Berserk, and many others all have the same basic qualities (with varying degrees of quality, of course).
Years ago in my Latin class in high school, we talked about epics and how they weren't really around anymore. At least, no new ones were made that could equal the gigantic pieces of literature from the past. (This was before Harry Potter, which I hate to call epic though I admit it might deserve the title.) Now, when I look at the most popular manga series, I see epics. After all, an epic has three main qualities - heroes, big events (involving the whole world or gods and whatnot), and great length. Doesn't every popular (shonen, at least) manga have all three?
I'm sure "cultured" (aka, snobbish) people may refuse to understand the comparison, but what about fans of manga? Do you think modern-day epics are being created in the world of manga? And comics in general, for the most part. (Except that most American comics still focus on small stories that don't last over a year.) Or is this comparison dirtying the term epic?
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Well, by the definition of epic, some shonens do fit into the category. Though the reasons that drove mangakas to create these stories are not the same as the ones that drove other artists to create the pieces we normaly associate with the epic genre.
When creating a shonen, one (generaly) focuses on one character or a cast of characters. Driving the plot of said main characters through a rising magnitude of events is the most obvious thing to do. Both in order to keep the interest of fans, and also of the artist himself.
So I believe it's only a coincidence that shonens could be considered epic stories.
When creating a shonen, one (generaly) focuses on one character or a cast of characters. Driving the plot of said main characters through a rising magnitude of events is the most obvious thing to do. Both in order to keep the interest of fans, and also of the artist himself.
So I believe it's only a coincidence that shonens could be considered epic stories.