The Manga Approach Scores Early Success

Initially, we were skeptical, mostly because we didn't understand it and still don't claim to fully "get it." But whether we get it or not is irrelevant, it appears the Navy is scoring some big points with its comic book approach to teaching nuclear safety.

The first hour was manga madness for "CVN 73," the Navy’s 200-page comic starring the USS George Washington. The aircraft carrier is scheduled to arrive in Yokosuka this August and will be the first nuclear-propelled ship forward-deployed to Japan.

Sailors handed out about 800 copies of "CVN 73" in three hours in the manga’s first day of distribution. More will be handed out at upcoming open base events, said Waterman, a spokesman for Commander U.S. Naval Forces Japan.

"The response has been phenomenal," Waterman said. "People told me that if we passed out a brochure or a tri-fold, they wouldn’t read it. But with a manga, we’re speaking their language."

Interesting development. The reported demographics and the expected demographics don't match up, apparently more older people showed up than expected, and fewer younger people. That is a good thing, kids don't vote.

We noted one manga blogger called it propaganda, and stars and stripes mentioned it (not by name) as the sole source of criticism. The stars and stripes articles also lists a few websites where the manga can be downloaded in English, but my DNS was unable to resolve at this time.

Could be the Navy found a way to reach out to the Japanese people effectively. We are curious how many total copies were distributed, and a running tally of that number would also be useful. In other words, will it works its way into manga culture, or be a one time event? Should be interesting to see what happens over time in this marketing strategy.