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[[quoteright:300:[[Manga/{{Garo}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/garo_gekiga.png]]]]
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Gekiga is a style of alternative {{Manga}} started in the [[TheFifties early 1950s]]. The style was largely pioneered by Creator/YoshihiroTatsumi, who eventually coined the term to further differentiate it from the other comics of the day.

"Manga" means "humorous pictures"; "gekiga" was designed as a parallel word meaning "dramatic pictures", reflecting the fact that gekiga was intended for older readers (manga at the time was aimed almost exclusively at pre-teens) and was much more serious than the other Japanese comics of the day. The drawing style and the stories had a stark realism to them and often depicted the struggles of the everyday man in Japan.

Eventually the style and its growing influence among {{Mangaka}} lead to Creator/OsamuTezuka writing in the style as well. Many of Tezuka's works near the end of his career are Gekiga or influenced by it such as ''Manga/{{Phoenix}}'' and ''Manga/{{Adolf}}''. Tezuka embracing the style led to an even stronger boom in the realm of experimental comics, and eventually the boom in adult-oriented anime in the 1980s.

Eventually the influence of gekiga began to fade as Japanese comics became more and more commercialized; mainstream comics for adult readers eventually developed into {{Seinen}}. Currently the term refers to modern alternative manga, as well as the 60's and 70's originals.

[[folder:Artists who draw Gekiga]]
* Creator/KazuichiHanawa
* Creator/HoseiHasegawa
* Creator/SeiichiHayashi
* Creator/HiroshiHirata
* Creator/KeiIchinoseki
* Creator/RyoichiIkegami
* Creator/SeisakuKano
* Creator/IkkiKajiwara
* Creator/KaijiKawaguchi
* Creator/NoboruKawasaki
* Creator/KazuoKoike
* Creator/GosekiKojima
* Creator/MasahikoMatsumoto
* Creator/TakumiNagayasu
* Creator/KenjiNanba
* Creator/TakaoSaito
* Creator/ShiratoSampei
* Creator/MasaakiSato
* Creator/{{Kyuugou}}
* Creator/KatsumiShimomoto
* Creator/MitsuyoshiSonoda
* Creator/JiroTaniguchi
* Creator/YoshihiroTatsumi
* Creator/BuichiTerasawa
* Creator/OsamuTezuka
* Creator/ShigeruTochibori
* Creator/TadaoTsuge
* Creator/YoshiharuTsuge
* Creator/NaokiUrasawa
* Creator/BaronYoshimoto
[[/folder]]
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!!List of Gekiga works:

* ''Manga/AcidTown''
* ''Manga/CryingFreeman''
* ''Manga/GokuMidnightEye''
* ''Manga/{{Golgo 13}}''
* ''Manga/KamuiDen''
* ''Manga/TheLegendOfMotherSarah''
* ''Manga/LoneWolfAndCub''
* ''Manga/SamuraiExecutioner''
* ''Manga/{{Sanctuary}}''
* ''Manga/TheSilentService''
* ''Manga/SpaceAdventureCobra''
* ''Manga/{{Zipang}}''
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