Multi-Modal - Compare/Contrast Naruto Vol. 1 & American Born Chinese

Hello Everyone,

In today's blog I am going to do a little compare/contrast of two popular Manga books: Naruto Vol. 1 The Tests of the Ninja by Masashi Kishimoto and American Born Chinese by Gene Lucn Yang. Both books are of the Manga, Graphic Novel genre and are directed towards young readers.


Text and Dialogue:

I found the narration in American Born Chinese to be very easy to follow and very well written. This is in contrast to Naruto, which I found to be harder to follow and poorly translated. Whereas American Born Chinese was written in very good English, Naruto seemed to be a more crude translation to English, and often the wording didn't make sense.

The Balloons in American Born Chinese were very easy to follow and it was very easy to distinguish who was speaking because the balloons had leads that pointed directly to the speakers. Yet, in Naruto I found the balloons to be very hard to follow because the balloons were often times not even close to the speaker and the little arrow leading off of the balloon did not point to the speaker very distinctly.

I took notice in American Born Chinese that Emanata was not used to show internal thoughts of characters, but was used in a kind of "classic Batman" kind of style in which actions such as busting loose from a pile of stones would read: crumble, or wack or whomp. In Naruto I noticed that emanata was most used for the main character, Naruto, to emphysize his internal thoughts and emotions. This includes !!!'s and !?? kind of actions above the characters heads.

One similarity between the two books was the fact that there lettering was done in a San Serif font, making the text in both books easy to see and read.


Visual Features:

I found the characters in American Born Chinese to be not quite as "cartoonish" as the characters in Naruto; with the exception of Cousin Chin-Kee of course. The characters in Naruto for the most part, all had the typical anime haricuts that are spiked and unusual, whereas the characters in American Born Chinese looked more like normal people. I also felt that the objects and scenery in American Born Chinese were less cartoonish than those of Naruto. Also, having color pictures in American Born Chinese did a great deal to improve the visual appeal of the book. Perhaps if Naruto were illustrated in color it would have been much more enjoyable to look at.

When taking a look at the depicted action in Naruto I noticed that it was often very difficult to follow what was going on in the pictures. It seems to me that this is because the pictures are in black and white and the typically, the pictures depicting action were very hecktic and hard to decode.


General Layout and Design:

I noticed in both novels that the borders around the panels were a simple, black border. Also, the gutters in Naruto were significantly larger/wider than those of American Born Chinese. For the most part, both books had very standard, rectangular panels. Yet, there were a few scenes in American Born Chinese that made interesting use of space by using different shaped panels that fit together to form one, larger picture. Yet, i noticed the use of internal splash pages in Naruto, as well as the use of Open Panels.


Angles and Frames:

In American Born Chinese I noticed a good mix of different frame shots. There were many different shots represented including: close-ups, head shots, full-figure shots, longshot, etc. Yet, there was a lot of close-up and head shots used in the book. In contrast, there were more longshot and extreme longshots used in Naruto. There were very few close-ups used in Naruto, but there were many uses of Head-shoulder shots.


Rhetorical Techniques applied in text, visuals, and designs:

In American Born Chinese there was a lot emphasis put on identification and empathizing with individuals have a defining characteristic that makes them different from those around them. I believe that the main lesson to be learned from American Born Chinese is to learn to be OK with who you are, not trying to become something that you are not. This story also uses a somewhat complex combination of seeming unrelated story lines that don't come together until the very end. This aspect of the novel made it very interesting to follow the stories, wondering when and how the stories would come together.
American Born Chinese is a graphic novel that has aspects that make it very realistic and others that make it somewhat satirical. The issue being addressed, being comfortable with who you are, is a very real issue people face and something that readers can relate to. Also, although the illustrations are done with cartoon style characters, they are relatively realistic in their appearances. Yet, the character of Chin-Kee, Danny's cousin, is portrayed as a very satirical rendition of an Asian person. Also, the Point of View of American Born Chinese is mostly that of an outsider, someone who doesn't feel as though they belong.
There were several rhetorical techniques employed in Naruto Volume 1 as well. For example, once again some readers will be able to empathize with the Naruto's character, who is an outcast and outsider. Naruto finds himself in an oppositional relationship with most of the other characters in the novel. Because he is shunned by the entire community for having a nine tailed, demon fox contained within him, Naruto sees no other option than to attain power and skill greater than all others in the clan to prove his worth within the group.
The structure of Naruto follows a fairly simplictic order, although there are some instances when there are references to aspects of the Shinobi ninja arts that are not explained until later in the novel. This aspect of the novel adds a little bit of complexity and disorder to the story line of the novel.


Overall, American Born Chinese and Naruto Volume 1 are two very different, but very enjoyable reads. I think that students would probably enjoy reading both of these books. As a teacher, I would probably not put a lot of emphasis on teaching proper writing structure, syntax, grammar, etc. into this book. Rather, I would probably focus more on themes and symbolisms in the book that could be used for literary analysis. Final thoughts: These are two very books that make for an enjoyable and fast read. Being so easy to read, these books could be good for struggling readers to help them become more enthusiastic about reading.

Stay Classy Kent State!

-Sam P.