It’s a Bird ! It’s a Plane ! It’s Manga Woman …… !

We visited the Kyoto International Manga Museum on Sunday and were surprised and delighted by the Japanese teen boys and girls who, each Sunday (apparently), weather permitting, assemble to play and pose for each other (and for us) in the self-made costumes of their favorite manga characters.  Japanese manga, if you don’t know about them, are comic book literature at a creative  and esthetic level that qualifies as art 

compared with our mass market comics.  Some of the finest illustrators in the world have taken to it, and Japanese of all ages and sophistication read them.  And, yes, there are porno manga (so I heard....), but you have to go to special bookstores to find those. 

Anyway, here are a few pics of the kids having fun. 

We’re supposed to ask before taking pics, so I did and then I did.  It was a hoot.

Here's my favorite storybook character, in or out of costume......