manga

noun

man·​ga ˈmäŋ-gə 

plural manga also mangas

: Japanese comic books and graphic novels considered collectively as a genre

The characters' faces beam the big-eyed, manically jolly winsomeness that in anime and manga signals contentment.

—Peter Schjeldahl

also : an individual comic book or graphic novel of the manga genre

This black-and-white manga is based on the Japanese animated TV series of the same name …

—Library Journal

Examples of manga in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The upcoming Black Mirror graphic novels will take their brand of digital dystopia to comic and manga platform InkyPen. —Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 15 Aug. 2025

That includes Crunchyroll’s plans to launch a digital manga service as part of its subscription tier later this year. —Todd Spangler, Variety, 12 Aug. 2025

This year's One Piece Day, the annual event in Tokyo, Japan celebrating the debut of Eiichiro Oda's manga series, came with some big reveals for Netflix's live-action show. —EW.com, 10 Aug. 2025

The manga series was released in 2021 and is still running. —Paul Tassi, Forbes.com, 19 July 2025

Word History

Etymology

Japanese, comic, cartoon, from man- involuntary, aimless + -ga picture

First Known Use

circa 1951, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for manga

• ganga
• pampanga

Kids Definition

manga

noun

man·​ga ˈmäŋ-gə 

: a Japanese comic book or graphic novel