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

Joe Tracz and Ian Stokes serve as showrunners on Season 3, and executive produce with Eiichiro Oda, who wrote the manga series, as well as Tomorrow’s Marty Adelstein and Becky Clements; Tetsu Fujimura; Chris Symes; Christoph Schrewe; and Steven Maeda. —Selome Hailu, Variety, 3 Nov. 2025

Both the Death Note manga and this 37-episode adaptation are staggeringly original and deviously entertaining, a brilliant, gory dark comedy that fully capitalizes on its premise. —Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 30 Oct. 2025

Toriyama is a familiar name to anime fans worldwide, as the creator of Dragon Ball, one of the most popular manga and anime series of all time. —Rhi Easby, Rolling Stone, 30 Oct. 2025

Many of these movies are based on Japanese manga, anime and games, which have been popular for decades, but seen their global recognition supercharged by streaming. —Liz Shackleton, Deadline, 29 Oct. 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