Customer Reviews

The Manga Guide to Electricity

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The irrepressible Japanese Manga is back, this time talking about electricity. The series from the No Starch Press uses the genre of Japanese cartoons to teach serious topics in science and technology.

The book starts with an overview of the physical nature of electricity, a description of positive and negative charge, and the units used to measure electricity including the difference between current flow (amperage) and current force (volts). It introduces electricity in the many forms we use and experience daily, including static electricity, direct current as found in flashlights, and electrical circuits such as one finds in buildings. It introduces Ohm's law, the basic relationship between current flow, current force, and the resistance of the electrical conductor.

It then proceeds to discuss many other practical topics including the relationship between current, resistance, and heat generation, and how electricity generates magnetic fields. Fleming's right- and left-hand rules are described. Basic components of circuits found in devices such as MP3 players or televisions are presented. These include coils, capacitors, and solid state devices such as diodes, transistors, temperature and optical sensors.

There is a six page index. There are no problems to solve in the book, it has no significant math. One of the strengths of the series that while the basic concepts are introduced through the story told via the cartoons, additional information of a more detailed nature is available at the end of each chapter. This provides an opportunity for the reader who is interested in further study on a topic. e.g. after the story in the cartoon section describes the chemical reactions that provide energy for dry cell batteries, the prose at the end of the chapter discusses the variety of ways in which power plants powered by heat, nuclear processes, wind, and water create energy for our use.

This is a cleverly written book, quite practical in nature. (It even discussed circuit breakers!) It is an excellent introduction for the young student interested in learning more about electricity, and would also be appropriate for the adult with no math or science background.

I picked this book up for fun. I already know a lot about electricity. I have been known to read electron tube spec sheets and circuit designs for fun and amusement. I've been known to scrounge around at ham radio festivals and used book stores looking for old design manuals or tech books. So, I didn't buy this book because I needed/wanted to learn the material. I already know it.

The book looked like a fun way to introduce the topic to a new generation. Guess what? I think it is. It was originally drawn and written in Japan a few years ago and was only recently translated into English. The story line is okay, but it won't rank up there with Watchmen and the like. This isn't a graphic novel. However, it is interesting enough to make a subject that can sometimes be difficult to absorb for new learners more accessible.

The book begins with the assumption of no real background in electricity or electronics. It then builds up to a pretty solid foundation in basic theory and gives a clear understanding of how electricity works and can be created, influenced, and corralled by an engineer or circuit designer to do specific tasks. The book doesn't teach actual circuit design, but it does give a very clear introduction to very important concepts and components including voltage, potential, current, resistance, Ohm's Law, capacitance, batteries, magnetism, diodes, rectification, motors, both alternating and direct current, and even the main types of electricity generation in use.

Each chapter starts with a part of a graphic tale that introduces specific concepts for that chapter in a clear and fun manner. Then, to make sure the conceptual understanding can be made solid, each chapter has an additional and more traditional text and diagram section with a more detailed explanation of each concept.

If you know anyone, especially someone who enjoys manga, whether a teenager or a kid at heart, or just someone who appreciates art with their text, who also is interested in a solid and interesting basic introduction to electricity, this book is well worth the read. I recommend it highly and am going to take a closer look at the entire series of manga guides that is still growing.

Like the rest of the incredible Manga Guide Series, this guide to electricity provides fun and excellent pedagogy, making the best use of comics and simple diagrams to teach sophisticated topics. But there are two significant factors, which make this excellent guide exceptional, even within this excellent series: 1. This isn't something that high school or college made you learn--this is an easy and necessary explanation of the basic physical concepts of electricity/electronics which an increasing number of hobbyists and DIY'ers must know to supplement their experience with kits and solderless breadboards; 2. This guide explains the everyday electronic objects like transformers, power generating equipment and sensors which every member of modern society encounters, and must understand to be an informed citizen. It also succeeds in presenting the basic concepts of DC, AC, and Semiconductor electronics with no math beyond basic arithmetic, which makes this book especially non-threatening (but somewhat limits its scope). I cannot think of a single individual inhabiting the world today who couldn't benefit from a basic understanding of electronics, and this simple fun Manga Guide provides this knowledge painlessly.

--Ira Laefsky

I wish I had something like this back when I was in school! This
translated series from No Starch is impressive - it uses Manga
characters to provide a good overview of the basics of electricity.
While I'm somewhat familiar with most of the concepts covered here,
it's always interesting to learn something in a new format. This book
provides discussion in two formats: graphical and straight text. The
book is broken into Manga sections, with the main character, Rereko,
having to take a trip to Earth to learn about electricity. In each
section, she learns from a tutor named Hikaru, and the information she
obtains (and the reader) is cumulative, building on previous sections
information. The cartoon format makes the sections easy to read (and
quick, too), and I'm impressed with the author and illustrator because
they've managed to create a story that manages to entertain and teach.


What I really like about the book, though, are the text discussions
squeezed between the cartoon sections. These sections are more like
what you'd get in a textbook, but they still manage to be easy to read
and follow. For example, one section provides a fairly accurate
explanation of how power is generated by steam, water, and nuclear
power plants - and even wind turbines. For a student, this is some
great information and could probably be very useful for things like
science fairs and presentations.

(FYI: The discussions on AC and DC power generation, how they differ,
and why they operate as they do is worth the price of the book... this
can be a confusing subject for students - it was for me - and I think
this book gives just enough coverage to clear the confusion and let a
reader move forward with his/her own study.)

No Starch has a Manga Guide to Physics which I'm looking forward to -
if it teaches and entertains as well as this book, it should be
another hit for No Starch. If you're a parent or teacher and have a
student (or students) who are struggling with this concept OR have a
growing interest, this book is a great investment.

I bought this book because I'm having trouble understanding physics concepts at school, like what volt would mean and a.c generators. I like this book because it explains everything very clearly, and the pictures help to imprint it in the mind, plus the story line links everything together so its coherent and can be read in one go.

I seriously recommend this book for anyone who is interested in physics or is very muddled up in the basic concepts (It also covers a little bit of chemistry when it talks about electrolysis and making a cell).

It's good quality book and can even entice my little sister (who doesn't like to read) to pick it up even though she isn't even taking physics.

Based on the previous reader reviews, I was expecting The Manga Guide to Electricity to be similar to The Cartoon Guide to Physics where a lot of cartoons are used in conjunction with a loose storyline to present physical concepts one might expect in a textbook treatment of the subject. To highlight the strengths of The Manga Guide to Electricity and why I think it is a great book for eager students let me share my experience with the Cartoon Guide to Physics (CGP). When I first read the CGP I had completed one university course in physics. There were sections of the CGP I understood which were presented in a humorous and fun way. I cannot say that the CGP helped me learn physics or instill a deeper understanding of physics. It was entertaining, and there was a period of time as a student when I would unwind between homework and studying for exams by reading sections of the book. It was useful to reinforce concepts I had been studying and, once I understood a concept, the humor became more apparent. As a learning tool the CGP had value for the committed student, but in my estimation the target audience was expected to have more than just a budding interest in physics. I still have my physics textbook which I reference occasionally and next to it on the shelf, collecting dust, is the CGP.

When my nine-year-old son began asking thoughtful questions about electricity and electronics I wanted to sneak a good introductory book on the subject into his reading pile, something that might answer some of his questions ("Where does electricity come from?", "How does electricity work?", "Is electricity really like water?", "How does electricity make light?"). I ordered this book based on the reviews, expecting something like the Cartoon Guide to Physics with a youth savvy Japanese bent. I expected it to be entertaining and dish out the required electrical and electronic factoids found in those other books on the shelf in the juvenile science section of the local library, i.e. information is given, but little understanding is conveyed nor effort expended to teach the reader in a way that will last beyond the next glossy page of gee-whiz techno babble.

As my son says, this book is awesome! Anyone from middle school through university with an interest in learning about basic electricity and electronics and who has a rudimentary knowledge of science would find this book of value. High school students with an interest in learning robotics or radio should consider this a must read. If you are at university and you chose to take an elective from the Electrical Engineering department to round out your liberal arts degree you might benefit from reading this on the side. If you are a parent and you want to explain how a toaster works to your young inventor, you will enjoy this book. If you are a teacher trying to help your class pull together that science project that involves lighting an LED, you might find this book a good tool to establish a common level of knowledge among the group.

The book was originally written and published for Japanese high school students. One of the strengths of this book is that the author engages the reader as an earnest student who is motivated to think and learn. The protagonist is an active participant in the learning process and her appropriately timed questions motivate instructional narrative and pull the reader into the learning experience. The text has since been translated into English by Arnie Rusoff. The translation is excellent. As an adult, I see elements of the Japanese culture within the story. As in the Karate Kid movies, the student must perform work for the master teacher to not only show respect, but also to compensate, in a small way, for the value of the education received. In several cases these "house keeping" elements add to the humor of the original (and to the credit of the translator, this humor comes through without effort into the English translation). These same cultural elements may offend some parents who are sophisticated enough to connect the cultural dots and are proud to enforce their world view on everyone else.

The technical discussion begins with practical first principles (Volts, Amps, Watts) and progresses through semiconductor devices. The cartoon ends with bipolar transistors, and the concluding text section pulls in field-effect transistors. One section of note is a short six-page discussion of temperature and optical sensors. High school students cooking up their own robotics experiments will find this a good first introduction.

Other reviewers have described the combination of manga and short sections of text which review the theory presented in the cartoon section and add depth. I wholeheartedly agree with a previous reviewer that this author has struck a "healthy balance between instruction and entertainment." The cartoon motivates the instruction and provides a refreshing graphical format for learning an abstract subject that requires the student to form mental models and images to achieve a level of confidence in the underlying principles. This is a serious, in-depth work of technical writing and is an excellent example of a publisher pulling together all available resources to create a technical book for novices that rewards the reader with a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment that comes from absorbing well crafted literature. The author, illustrator, editors, translator and production team deserve kudos for this enjoyable book.

Electricity is a central feature of modern life on planet Earth... but, even more so on the planet, Electopia, in The Manga Guide to Electricity. This is a problem for Rereko, who is failing her electricity courses in school. So she is sent to Earth (where we learn electricity at a remedial rate, apparently) to learn up on the whole electrical thing, along with Yonosuke, a "transdimensional walkie-talkie and observation robot (a.k.a. little cute teddy bear robot who makes frequent entertaining wisecracks).

When she appears in Japan in front of Hikaru, who does electrical research at the local university, they work out an arrangement to learn more ASAP so she can get back to her planet before anything (else) goes wrong. Of course, everything immediately starts to go wrong. Plus, living with a young, handsome student could cause some problems of their own... but maybe not what you would think. Like when the electrical power goes out, and they are left alone... in the dark... wait, who is that sneaking up behind her?!?

The Manga Guide to Electricity teaches the basics of electrical theory, electrical circuits, how electicity is used, how it is generated, and more. The author, Kazuhiro Fujitaki, is an electrical engineering professor and author who helps with electrical engineers professional testing. Given his background, you might expect the book to be difficult to get through, but it is really very clear, easy to understand, and fun to read.

I really enjoyed the book, and now I know why getting shocked from a battery (eeeek!) feels differently from getting shocked from an electrical socket (EE-AA-EE-AA!!!). Anyone studying electricity, from children to adults, would benefit from The Manga Guide to Electricity, which is also great for otaku, manga fans, or science geeks.

Cutest Textbook EVER! Very practical and easy to understand even for someone with little or no math or physics background.

Rereko is your average high-school girl from Electopia, land of electricity, and has just failed her final electricity exam. Now she has to go to Earth summer school to pass. An illustrated collection of insights examines everyday electrical devices and how they operate, pairing real-world examples with tips on how electricity functions, voltage relationships, capacitance and more. Any library strong in visual science guides will find this a winner.

Books that aim to be both educational and fun often fail to reach one of these goals by trying too hard to attain the other. In other words, they're usually either text-heavy snoozefests or lightweight fluff. Fortunately, The Manga Guide to Electricity is an exception to this rule. Striking a healthy balance between instruction and entertainment, it is a perfect introductory guide for young readers with an interest in graphic literature - comics, if you will - and a curiosity about electricity.

Most of the book is composed of cartoons drawn in the Japanese style of manga. All of the familiar characteristics of manga - faces exploding from the panel in excitement and surprise, abrupt changes in tone, a fascination with exotic foods and clothing - are employed to tell the story of Rereko, a teenaged girl from the world of Electopia. Seems Rereko's been neglecting her studies of late, so her teacher orders Rereko to surrender her summer vacation and spend time on our world studying the basics of electricity. Upon her arrival Rereko meets Hikaru, an electrical engineering professor with a kind heart and a messy apartment. Hikaru's patience and clean-cut appearance contrast nicely with Rereko's outlandish personality and clothing.

Assisted with a series of illustrations and an odd little robot named Yonosuke, Hikaru walks Rereko through the basics of electricity - voltage, current, resistance, circuits, valence electrons, magnetic fields, generators, turbines, capacitors, diodes, semiconductors. Each lesson is followed by a section of traditional text that explains the preceding chapter's concepts in more detail. And make no mistake - this is a serious, weighty work of technical writing. Acting as the reader's surrogate, Rereko openly and frequently expresses her confusion and curiosity, to which Hikaru responds with an unfailing patience that invites Rereko's, and the reader's, participation.

It's doubtful the work could stand alone as a work of manga -- the artwork is like good wallpaper, noticeable but not memorable. Yet Rereko and Hikaru's growing relationship provides a storyline strong enough to hold the reader's interest through even the most complex technical passage. As an introductory guide to electricity, The Manga Guide to Electricity works very well.