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International Manga Symposium in Kyoto

This weekend in Kyoto, the Japan Society for Manga Studies (also known as the Japan Society for Studies in Cartoon and Comics) will be holding a symposium on the status of manga around the world. This will be the seventh symposium held by the society, which was formed in 2001 to promote academic study of manga by experts from a wide variety of fields.

The first day of the event, held at Kyoto Seika University, will feature a collection of research presentations by professors and instructors. The presentation topics include a comparison of manga readers and the readers of Franco Belgian comics, a study of the anti-Korean manga Ken Kan Ryuu (Hating the Korean Wave) and how other nations have viewed it, and more.

The second day of the event will take place at the Kyoto International Manga Museum, and will feature three different symposiums focusing on the popularity, social impact, and influence of manga in the United States, Europe, and East Asia respectively. The special guests participating in the United States portion of the program are Kyoto Seika University professor and manga columnist Matt Thorn, Viz Media Executive Vice President Hyoe Narita and Tokyopop General Manager Masashi 'Sho' Matsuhashi.

Source: Anime! Anime!