I will admit, I have read many times more english novels than I have manga, owning over several hundred novels myself and having borrowed lots more from libraries. It is very interesting to compare a novel to a manga and to see how each of them spread out in their own. I found this while I was searching my computer for another file, I typed it up last year for some reason, and I feel like I might as well post it up for the sake of it, or for people new to the manga scene and wants to know the differences between each.
It is an interesting fact that the first manga I bought was .hack//Legend of the Twilight Bracelet Volume 1, which I returned because I thought it was a novel. If I had known more about the differences back then, I might have gone to reading manga a good year before I actually started.
The Differences Between a Manga and a Novel
Manga
- Contain graphics and sets a scene unlike novels which makes the reader form their own idea of the setting. (Harry Potter was a good example – the only similar thing to my mind was Quidditch)
- Features only a dialogue between characters.
- Requires a greater artistic knowledge then novels do.
- Can usually be read in a much shorter space of time then novels
Novel:
- Contains only/99.9% text and does not use graphics to set the scene, allowing the reader to use their imagination of characters and settings.
- Features conversation and other language which attempt to portray everything from events, setting etc which manga can use graphics to portray.
- Requires lesser artistic ability but instead requires the use of greater language skills.
- Take much much longer to read than a manga usually, a good novel can take 6+ hours to read. (I managed to read Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows in one day, around 7-8 hours… good read through :D)
I recommend that anyone who enjoys novels but also wants to read some manga, go for it! It is a completely different style of writing to novels so you will experience a new form of reading. Most libraries would have sample manga that you can read, and in the end, there is no harm trying anything!
Alternatively, you can get a mix of them both, which are called Light Novels, which consist of both Novels and the occasional artwork to bring bits and pieces of both genres together. I can safely say that, studying both English and Japanese, that both forms have made me enjoy studying languages much more, and allowed me to achieve a higher standard of work through them.
