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Comics Questionnaire

I am no longer collecting responses to the questionnaire, but if you're interested in the questions, here they are. I have yet to tally all 2000+ responses, but you can see an early analysis here. PLEASE DON'T WASTE YOUR TIME FILLING IT OUT, BECAUSE THE "Submit Questionnaire" BUTTON HAS BEEN DISABLED!

Got a minute? I'd be profoundly grateful if you could help me with my research by filling out the following questionnaire about comics. I've surveyed more than a thousand Japanese readers about their manga-reading practices, but I still know very little about non-Japanese readers of sequential art. Although I know I can't get scientifically significant results with an online questionnaire like this, I figure every little bit helps. Because gender and sexual identity are an important aspect of my research, this survey is rated PG-13. If you are younger than 13 years old, get permission from a parent to fill this out. Also, please note that when I use the word "comics" in this survey, I use it to include manga, B.D., manwha, graphic novels–in short, any kind of sequential art except newspaper comic strips and editorial cartoons. Preliminary results of the survey can be seen here.

NOTE 1: Shôjo manga are manga that are first serialized in a manga magazine geared at girls or women. Manga such as Love Hina, Video Girl Ai, Oh, My Goddess, and Maison Ikkoku are not shôjo manga. Rule of thumb: if major female characters are portrayed with large breasts, then it's probably not shôjo manga. Female characters are not usually portrayed in a sexually titillating way in shôjo manga. If you're still confused, please read this.

NOTE 2: If you get an error message when trying to submit your response, please wait a few minutes and try again. It seems the software sometimes returns errors when two or more persons try to submit simultaneously.

NOTE 3: Once you have successfully submitted a response, please do not fill out and submit the questionnaire again! Multiple responses from a single person will skew the results.

Ready?

About you

  • Your sex at birth (as distinct from your gender)

  • Your gender identity (as distinct from your sex)
    On a spectrum of gender, with "100% feminine" at one end and "100% masculine" at the other, where do you see yourself?
  • What is your sexual identity? (Choose the one that describes you best)
  • How old are you?
  • Of what country are you a citizen? (If you have dual or multiple citizenship, please select all that apply.)
  • What country do you currently live in?
  • What is your primary language? (Please select only the one you feel most comfortable using.)

    If other, please specify:
  • Tell me about your education. (Choose the one that seems most appropriate.)
  • What do you do? (Choose the one that seems most appropriate)

About your comics reading

  • Have you read any comics (in any language, from any country) in the past 30 days?



  • On average, about how many pages of comics do you think you read per month? (A rough estimate is fine.)
  • In what language(s) do you read comics? (Select as many as apply. If you don't read comics, please leave blank.)

    If other, please specify:
  • What are some of your favorite comics (in any language, from any country)? List as many as ten. Please include the name(s) of the creator(s) if you can. Leave blank if you have no favorites. (If the title is not English, please write the title in the Latin alphabet and provide an English translation if you can. If the title is Japanese, there is no need to translate. This form cannot accept non-Latin characters.)
  • What do you consider to be the one genre that you read most often or in which you are most interested?

    If other, please specify. (Please do not type in a genre included in the list above--I know it may be difficult, but please choose just one favorite genre.)
    What other genre(s) do you enjoy? Choose as many as apply. (Do not include the favorite genre you selected above!)

    If other, please specify:
  • What do you look for most in a comic? Choose up to three elements, in order of importance. (If you don't read comics, please leave blank.)
    1.
    If other, please specify:
    2.
    If other, please specify:
    3.
    If other, please specify:
  • Has you ever been moved to tears when reading a comic?



  • Has a comic ever changed your life or the way you think?



    If the answer is "yes," what was the comic and how did it affect you?
  • When you read a comic, do you sometimes put yourself in the place of the protagonist, or do you always read objectively?



Questions about manga

  • If you read manga, please list some of your favorite titles (excluding shôjo manga). (This form does not accept non-Latin characters, so please do not try to write in kanji/kana.) If you don't like manga, please explain why here.
  • How often do you read shôjo manga (manga created for girls and/or women)?
  • If you read shôjo manga, please list some of your favorite titles. If you don't like shôjo manga, please explain why here. (If the reason is the same as the reason you don't like non-shôjo manga, please write "Same as above.")
  • How did you first encounter manga?

    If "Other," please specify:
  • If there are any manga you know of that you wish would be translated into a language you read, but which currently are not, please list them.
Thank you for your time! If you do not mind being contacted for a follow-up interview, please type in your e-mail address.

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Matt Thorn ()
Cultural Anthropologist
Associate Professor
Faculty of Manga
Kyoto Seika University