I can't even remember the last time I picked up a manga book. It was years ago, probably middle school, honestly. I remember borrowing one from a friend, struggling to read it, and quickly losing interest. I was a bit apprehensive whenever being assigned to read 5 Centimeters Per Second, but I figured I would give it another try. I mean, its not like I had a choice this time, right?
The plot of 5 Centimeters Per Second (which google has been hilariously autofilling to 5 centimeters dilated, really?), was pretty straightforward and easy to follow. Nothing was really off-the-wall crazy, which surprised me. Call me biased, but typically when I think of manga I think of the crazy, weird stuff.
Anyway, for the rest of this posting, I'd like to discuss to the experience of reading a manga. It was definitely weird, and a little frustrating at times. However, I'm glad I got to experience doing so. I'm sure many of my future students will be interested in reading this genre of literature, now, I at least have a basic background so I understand what it is that they are doing.
The experience of being frustrated was also humbling. It really made me think about how my future students are going to feel when I throw literature at them. I'm sure many of them will be confused, frustrated, and wanting to give up. It just goes to show how everyone has their own tastes and personal interests, and these things need to be accounted for when teaching.
As far as using a manga in the classroom, I would be interested in exploring that idea further. I know from trolling internet forums that it is not uncommon for explicit ideas to be present in manga. I'd definitely need to do a thorough screening of something before putting it in my students' hands. However, I think there is value in using different genres of literature in the classroom, and I'm sure manga has a place alongside many others.
"The experience of being frustrated was also humbling." I'm glad you felt this way. When I was teaching in the high school, I often asked my students to tell me what it was that they were interested in reading--what their hobbies and interests were. When possible, I'd try to incorporate this into my own lessons. I learned a great deal from them when I made the decision to do this.
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