BIG HELP NEEDED, OPINION QUESTIONS :)

Name: Anonymous
Country: America/ U.S.A

1. I began reading manga after my friend introduced me to Tokyo Mew Mew and Fruits Basket. I read the former thinking it was cute, short, and mainly entertainment. The plotting was fast and I was frustrated at the loose ends it let but mainly enjoyed it. Fruits Basket on the other hand I took more for emotional enjoyment. The situations were extreme and while the premise sounds cute it got dramatic real fast. I enjoyed learning many stories from many characters in this format that were vastly different. Each story was like a magnified value of the author and that was interesting to read magnified emotions and values like that. mostly it is for fun but sometimes it gets me thinking about nuances in people's personalities and is kind of a catharsis when I read emotional scenes close to my heart. It's interesting, creative and a better way to get the drama of a soap opera than watching those clunky messes.

2. Sort of. After being introduced to Manga/Anime I wasn't really interested in anything else Japan had to offer until we got to choose a country to research their deitites. well I am way into mythos so I checked it out and was interested. Their cultural differences , their history and value system are just intriguing. along with the snacks they offer. (Banana popsicles you can peel..... never getting over that)

3. Not really, no. some can offer new viewpoints and questions to ponder but some I take purely as innocent entertainment like "Yotsuba" a manga about a cute girl doing cute things and one of the few slice of life I read.

4. I think that Japan would still be Japan but as far as I know Manga and Anime are a big identifier for Japan outside itself. It's one of the few things that I guess it has in common with outside countries because it is an obvious one that invades a lot of cultures. It's very important for accumulating outside civilian interest I guess.

5. Hmm. This last one is tough because I never really thought of it. I guess as an outlet for emotions and ideals in their simplest forms because whenever I watch Anime and Manga that is something that I always notice. Galileo wrote books and did demonstrations for the common people to understand by using a medium they could easily access and learn from. Manga probably started by wanting to artistically get across ideals without being to political about it.... wait I just got too political about it.... and the whole entertainment thing too...

Well I hope this was of help and hope you do great on your project