Réflexions sur le manga éducatif

Educational manga account for a considerable amount of the Japanese comic book production. And yet, they are mostly ignored by academic studies. The moral virtues as they are portrayed by artists like Tezuka Osamu have played a crucial role in the legitimization of manga. Contrary to popular belief, children are not the sole readers of manga that aim to convey some form of knowledge. Through a brief history of the educational manga and the study of the evolution of its social status we aim to analyze the relation between manga and pedagogy. We believe that the “pedagogical” genre contributed to the legitimization of manga as a valid medium and cultural product. We will also explain the “dehierachization” of knowledge, which is an important aspect of manga.