I’ll never forget the opening music video style sequence that begins the first episode of the classic 80s anime Bubblegum Crisis. It was one of my earliest encounters with anime and it’s always stuck in my head because of the cheesy pop rock soundtrack and fast paced Sci-Fi action.
If it wasn’t for the Bubblegum crisis collection on VHS; given as a gift for my Birthday, things could have been very different. I may never have become so fascinated with anime, manga or even Japanese culture in general.
This was also my first taste of the character designs of Kenichi Sonoda, who also went on to become a manga artist. I am a big fan of Sonoda’s work especially his designs for Bubblegum Crisis and New Gall Force. They have a kind of retro yet still futuristic style to them, influenced by the time period in which they were created. Many of these designs feature big and sometimes punk-like hair styles. The fashion in general is very 80s sci-fi chic; even the technology has a slightly naive vision about it.
Sonoda’s manga Gunsmith Cats became another favourite of mine, although that was only after I had seen the anime OVA (Original Video Animation) based on his comic book series. In fact my interest in manga originated from my growing appetite for anime and was something I came across as I looked for more and more titles that took my fancy. I started to notice certain artists names and began to see the close ties that both media have to one another. There are many anime that are based on manga and some anime or even video games will inspire a manga in the wake of their release.
A big name manga artist whose work has been adapted into anime multiple times is Masamune Shirow. His most famous creation is no doubt Ghost In The Shell which has been made into several big screen movies and even a TV series. It is a huge franchise and my all time favourite in both manga and anime forms. Although they are very different visually- both incarnations appeal to me in different ways. I love the extremely detailed black and white drawings of Shirows manga, as well as the more vibrant digitally coloured animation present in the films and the TV series Ghost In The Shell: Stand Alone Complex.
The main reason I enjoy manga so much is it inspires my own creative output, especially drawing. I think the fact that most manga is in black and white makes it a great reference point for doing line drawings; both from or simple shaded drawings. The How to Draw Manga series of books are also great sources forreferences and were quite popular for a time.
Words and images by Paul Woolford. Instagram: @paulwoolf0