The Revolution Will Be Animated

November 18, 2008 by Frank Gannon | Filed Under Culture, Entertainment 

Manga, literally, means “whimsical pictures.”   But whimsy isn’t the word that comes to mind for the latest incarnation of this historic Japanese form of cartoon and comic illustration.

While the most characteristic contemporary themes have involved sex, violence, and science fiction, the current rise in Communist Party membership has spawned a revival of anti-capitalist literature.  A manga version of Das Kapital will roll off the presses early next month.

As the Telegraph reports today:

The appearance of the famous economic treatise in the form of a comic is the latest sign of a resurgence of leftwing literature in Japan as the world’s second largest economy sinks into recession.

Sales of Kanikosen, the 1929 proletarian tale of factory workers rising up against evil capitalist oppressors, have surged from an annual trickle of 5,000 to more than 507,000 so far this year, as reported in the Telegraph last month.

East Press  the Tokyo-based publishing company which will publish the comic version Das Kapital on December 5  also released a manga version of Kanikosen last year, resulting in sales of more than 200,000.

Manga has long been elevated to an art form in Japan, with its most high-profile fans including the prime minister Taro Aso.

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