"Good and Evil"

One of the most vital things in understanding manga (Japanese comics) or even Japanese fiction and Japanese culture in general is to understand one basic concept: nobody is just black or just white, just good or just evil.

Characters in manga - a form of reading I love - are never simple. That's one of the things I like about it. If they're evil, there's always a very human reason why and they always have moments of surprising humanity. And their evil is often complex. If they're good, they're never perfect. They have flaws and selfish moments and they're not always prepared for what's in front of them.

This is vital in understanding me. I'm not perfect - far from it. I can be selfish; I can be sarcastic and callous; I can be too fiery; I can be too opinionated or teasing. I'm not a villain, but I'm not always a hero either.

Nobody is.

Equally important, however, are two ideas. First, the concept of improvement through intellect, willpower, and determination. Intellect is important to Japanese culture, and that can be seen in everything we artistically produce. Our fight scenes are strategic, for example. And geniuses are highly valued.

But only one thing is more highly valued, and that is willpower - the ability to keep going whatever the cost.

That's concept one. But concept two is just important: the highly Buddhist idea that redemption is possible. Genuine repentance can bring about true redemption in any given person, no matter how evil they have been.

All these concepts can be seen liberally in Japanese fiction, and in particular in Japanese manga.