[Essay] Manga as a Form of Teaching 21st Century Literature, in the Context of The Philippines

Manga as a Form of Teaching 21st Century Literature, in the Context of The Philippines' MATATAG Curriculum

[The following is an essay I wrote for my Master's class. Its an essay that I wrote with an immense passion, joy, and drive due to the fact that its close dear to my heart as an educator and an advocate in the promotion of literacy to 21st century students, and a manga fan. Now I'm sharing it for everyone to read.]

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The MATATAG curriculum was launched and implemented in 2023 as the new direction of the Department of Education (DepEd) towards improving the quality of basic education in the country as a way to improve on the previous curriculum and to focus on foundational skills, balanced cognitive demands, and to teach 2 lst-century skills.

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Among the revised plan is the focus of teaching basic literacy to students as early as Key Stage 1 (Kinder — Grade 3) which would be accomplished by using multimodal texts like picture books, short stories, folk tales, and fables as tools for foundational literacy and critical thinking skills. The guide specifies that by the end of Grade 3, students should be fluent in reading familiar, developmentally appropriate texts. The reduction of cognitive load in order to make reading accessible for young learners is called visual scaffolding. Since Children’s books often combine words, illustrations, design, and layout to tell stories, children recall stories better because images anchor memory and help decode meaning (Crawford, et al., 2024) .

THE PROBLEM

However, students in Key Stage 2 (Grades 4, 5, 6) are expected to read longer prose selections, middle-grade novels, and simplified Filipino classics prose in order to build upon the foundational literacy skills and improve on applied and critical literacy such as analyzing, synthesizing, and evaluating ideas in sustained reading. The curriculum requires students at this stage to read and comprehend as they transition from children’s literature and books without prerequisite readings that prepare them to understand narratives without the visual guides that they are used to from children’s literature. Farrar, et al. (2024) highlights the problem that Children’s books are crucial in early literacy because they combine words and images, scaffolding comprehension and reducing cognitive load. When Key Stage 1 students transition to novels in Key Stage 2, it is challenging because novels remove visual scaffolding. The research highlights that children often need explicit instruction in visual literacy to bridge this gap.

MY PROPOSED SOLUTION

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“Manga” is the Japanese term for comic books or graphic novels, characterized by black-and-white artwork, right-to-left reading order, and a wide range of genres appealing to all ages. It is both a cultural art form and a global entertainment medium, distinct from Western comics in style, format, and storytelling.

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In the 21st century, manga is among the most influential genres in pop culture. One can simply look at certain details in the students’ habits to support this claim: their presence in anime and cosplay conventions and events, and dressing-up as their favorites characters in anime, which are mostly based from manga stories adapted in animated form, wearing clothes and accessories like clothing, pins and keychains based on manga characters and designs, and even physical gestures and linguistic expressions like the “JoJo pose” and saying “Bankai” (translated to “Final release”), which are references to the manga “JoJo’s Bizarre Adventures” and “BLEACH”, respectively.

According to a recent market research, manga is one of the highest-selling and most popular reading formats among young people in the Philippines, with industry reports and cultural studies confirming its strong demand and influence and the presented data only counting physical sales, with other significant data like digital sales, online reads, and unlicensed distribution not accounted for.

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Given its influential reception among both young and adult readers, I argue that manga can serve as the transitional literature between Children’s books and novels as they include both attractive and unique visual designs that help students to picture the characters and settings, as well as the rich and deep storytelling and themes that can be found in novels. McQueen (2022) highlights that comics and graphic novels are not “lesser” forms of literature but legitimate educational tools that motivate students, improve comprehension, and prepare them for more complex texts like novels, especially for students who lack motivation to read longer, traditional novels.

Granted an argument could be made that not all manga contain themes and moral lessons that are compatible with societal expectations and ideal values that teachers would like to teach their students, and that teachers and curriculum designers should consider a filtering system should it be implemented, there are certainly no shortage of works that are suitable for students to read.

Panels from Volume 1 of Witch Hat Atelier by Shirahama Kamome, published by Kodansha

An example is Witch Hat Atelier by Shirahama Kamome, which is a manga that features an artstyle that children would find endearing, especially for those who are exposed to fairy tales, but also tells the story of a female-majority cast of characters who seek to pursue their passion, and also addresses in-story issues which mirrors contemporary, real-life problems in society like gender-based discrimination, lack of accessibility to those with disabilities, and social inequality.

Panels from Volume 1 of Cells At Work!by Akane Shimizu, published by Kodansha

Another example is Cells At Work! by Akane Shimizu that anthropomorphizes the cells of the human body, turning them into characters who fight pathogens, deliver oxygen, and keep the body functioning. It blends comedy, action, and biology, making science engaging and accessible. The story dramatizes everyday biological processes like immune responses, clotting, and allergies, through battles and adventures, essentially teaching young children human biology, physiology, and anatomy in an engaging format.

The integration of manga into the teaching of 21st Century Literature for Key Stage 2 students offers a viable and innovative solution to the challenges posed by the transition from visually scaffolded children’s books to text-heavy novels. The MATATAG curriculum emphasizes foundational literacy and critical thinking, yet the abrupt removal of visual aids in middle-grade texts risks disengagement and comprehension difficulties. Manga, with its unique blend of visual storytelling and complex narrative structures, provides the necessary bridge, retaining the accessibility of images while gradually introducing students to sustained reading and thematic depth.

Moreover, manga’s cultural relevance and popularity among Filipino youth ensure that its inclusion in the classroom is not only pedagogically sound but also socially resonant. Its implementation would demonstrate that manga and other graphic novels can simultaneously entertain and educate, fostering both literary appreciation and subject-specific knowledge. By carefully curating age-appropriate titles, educators can harness manga’s motivational power to cultivate applied literacy, critical analysis, and creative synthesis that are skills essential for thriving in the 21st century. Thus, manga should not be dismissed as a mere pop-cultural artifact but embraced as a legitimate educational medium. Its potential to scaffold comprehension, sustain engagement, and prepare learners for the demands of advanced literature makes it a strategic tool in realizing the MATATAG curriculum’s vision of balanced cognitive development and lifelong literacy.

Sources:

6Wresearch (2024). Philippines manga market (2025–2031): Industry & growth. 6Wresearch.

Crawford, P., Roberts, S., & Lacina, J. (2024). Picturebooks and young children: Potential, power, and practices. Early Childhood Education Journal, 52(7), 1273–1279.

Department of Education. (2023). MATATAG curriculum guide: English Grades 2–10. Department of Education, Republic of the Philippines.

Farrar, J., Arizpe, E., & Lees, R. (2024) Thinking and learning through images: a review of research related to visual literacy, children’s reading and children’s literature

McQueen, B. J. (2022). Tooned in to reading: Comic books and graphic novels as reading motivation (Doctoral dissertation, Trident University International).

Merriam-Webster. (n.d.). Manga. In Merriam-Webster.com dictionary.

Swami, P., & Sharma, D. K. (2024). Mapping the story of manga: Graphic novels and the cultural boom in Japan and world. International Journal of English Literature and Social Sciences, 9(1), 171–176.