Customer Reviews

The Manga Guide to Physics

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(0)
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This book is another in the series of Japanese Manga about science, this time introducing Newtonian physics. It has 232 pages, and a four page index. It is written by a physics professor, Hideo Nitta PhD, a professor at Tokyo Gakugei University. His stated purpose in writing the book is to "reach as many readers as possible who think 'physics is tough' and who 'don't like physics.'"

The chapters are cleverly divided into two sections, the first following in a cartoon story a gifted athlete who does poorly in physics, as she learns how a knowledge of physics can improve her tennis game. The second portion of the chapter (usually called The Laboratory) is written in prose, and reviews the lessons learned in the Manga section and adds detail including the relevant equations and graphs. There are no problems given to work through. The book is not a text book.

The four chapters are:

Law of Action and Reaction
Force and Motion
Momentum
Energy

There are brief asides regarding trigonometry, calculus and vector analysis.

The scope of the book primarily involves Newtonian mechanics, and the background you need to understand the topic. Other areas of introductory physics such as electricity, magnetism, wave-particle dualism of matter, and basic atomic theory are not discussed. The index is quite comprehensive.

This book would be helpful to the visual learner, it might also provide insight to a student struggling with non-calculus based introductory physics. For those of us who took physics years ago, enjoyed it, and perhaps have forgotten why we enjoyed it, it provides an entertaining introduction to Newtonian/Galilean mechanics.

I think that this book would be an excellent introduction to physics for teens and adults alike. My initial impression of the book is probably tainted by my previous exposure to physics, which were presented in a complete flat and rigid way compared to the content of this book.

I believe that those who are not already through college undergraduate-level physics would benefit the most from this book. I'm certain that the presentation method is easier to accept and is certainly more interesting for all. I found that the first chapter labored a bit on the lesson, but that subsequent chapters went by rather efficiently. Then there was the "inner-geek" in me who loves continuous mathematics who wanted to argue that the ball-in-hand is not a static state but dynamic, though for the purposes of the book, the explanations were appropriate.

As far as the story goes as presented by the illustrations, I found a bit to dislike. The characters exhibited extremely wide ranges of emotions from seething rage to adoration, sometimes as quickly as within a couple of pages. While this may help boltser the effect of the lesson, I found it distracting and overstated. Of course, my opinion is based on my exposure to this kind of material, and this is a first of such trips into the realm of Japanese manga.

I would strongly like to offer the book to a 15-16 year old who is pre-high school physics and take their reaction as input to this review because I think that we'd have a profound effect compared to handing Cutnell's "Physics" 0471663158 (1088 pages) to a teenager. Interestingly, Cutnell's book also has a tennis racket and ball on the cover :D

In all, the book is a very good piece that is well presented and is interesting to read for its character development and story that convey most of the basics of physics in a unqiue and engaging way.

Perhaps if I was more into Japanese comics, I'd be more inclined to give it a higher rating. It would be a very interesting study to conduct a semester-long pair of physics courses involving high school sophomores where one group gets this book and the other gets a "classical" presentation of the fundamentals. If I were a kid, I'd know which group I'd want to be in for sure!

My understanding of many physics concepts is a bit fuzzy after so many years away from high school and college, so I enjoyed getting a good overview of many of the concepts that are so important to "how things work" in this world.

This is the third in the Manga series from No Starch Press that I've read... Electricity and Statistics are the other two. This one is my favorite, hands down. The story is creative, and the way the writer is able to mix in equations, vector mathematics, and simple yet easy-to-follow illustrations make the book a no-brainer purchase for anyone wanting to re-learn OR for anyone currently studying physics and not quite understanding many of the vague concepts.

Like the other books in the series, the manga/comic storyline is broken up with text-based instructions that help further cement the reader's understanding of the previous manga section they just read... things like a refresher on basic trigonometry are nice... Newton's Laws! Finally I have a little better understanding of how they can be used in real-world situations!

This was a fun book... the story was entertaining and the lessons given were just as useful. I'm looking forward to The Manga Guide to Calculus so I can relearn that subject, too!

Reviewed by Ken Rogers, GCPCUG Member

Should cartoon characters be smarter than their readers? Brilliantly mad scientists and charming absent-minded professors may be stock characters in the comics, but their intellects always seem more fantastic than realistic. A cartoon character with realistic scientific intellect - someone who might remind us of our high school physics teacher, or that lab partner who always seemed one step ahead of you - can too easily remind us of our own intellectual shortcomings, and spoil the casual fun that is at the heart of comics' appeal.

This absence of ordinary genius in comics is what makes Ryota and Megumi, the main characters in The Manga Guide to Physics, so remarkable. The latest in the delightful series of manga technical guides from TREND-PRO and No Starch Press, The Manga Guide to Physics uses a tutor-student relationship to explain complex scientific concepts with real-world examples. Ryota, the tutor, is a schoolboy science whiz who has to be the most unremarkable character I've ever seen in a manga comic. Clean-cut, dressed in a conservative suit and tie, ever polite and reserved - if manga characters were soft drinks, Megumi would be a glass of tepid water. Megumi, the frustrated student-athlete who pleads with Ryota to provide her with physics lessons, is only slightly more colorful - call her a decaffeinated, sugar-free soda.

Both tutor and student are ordinary, but the same cannot be said of their lessons. Make no mistake; The Manga Guide to Physics is a serious work of technical writing. If you don't find vector diagrams and algebraic equations inherently appealing, you'll find this book more than challenging at times. Yet Ryota explains the mysteries of Newton's three laws of motion with the ease of a newscaster reading from a teleprompter, and while Megumi clearly struggles at times she is able to master the material by book's end.

Watching these two unremarkable characters breeze through this remarkably difficult subject could easily be alienating - Ryota could seem aloof and condescending, Megumi annoyingly perky. Yet the relationship that develops between them makes for an appealing story. Ryota awkwardly approaches Megumi after her loss in a tennis match to Sayaka, her rival on the court as well as the classroom. Recognizing and respecting Ryota's knowledge, Megumi politely but forcefully insists that he become her tutor. Ryota feeds off Megumi's eagerness and launches into his fast-paced lessons with confidence. His respect for Megumi's curiosity prevents him from ever talking down to her, and his repeated use of sports analogies shows he understands how best to relate with his student. Megumi's appreciation for Ryota's knowledge and patience keeps her engaged in their lessons, and being the bold one she is the first to acknowledge their mutual attraction. An embarrassed Ryota at first angrily rebukes her observation, but Megumi convinces him to not feel threatened and enjoy their relationship. Ryota and Megumi may indeed be smarter than their readers, but their charming, genuine relationship provides a perfect complement to the technical information provided in the text.

And it bears repeating that The Manga Guide to Physics is a serious, weighty piece of technical writing - Physics for Dummies this is not . While it is certainly no substitute for a physics text, The Manga Guide to Physics is a wonderful introduction to the subject for manga fans with an interest in science.

I'm going to tell you flat out: I hated Physics. How did hatred start? Well, I had never taken a physics class in my life until this semester in college. My pre-med adviser told me to take Physics with Calculus since Universities will see that I challenged myself. I was like: Sure, I like Calc, and people say that Physics is all math, right? Wrong! Okay not completely wrong, but if you don't understand the basic concepts of physics you're kinda screwed. And my professor explained the concepts POORLY by just putting a billion derivations of formulas via calculus and expecting us how to apply it in problems. Then I take my first test, which I BOMBED! I am a 4.0 student and I studied my butt off for this test and got a 55. O_O So yeah, I really started to hate physics.

Then as I was browsing online for physics prep books I came across this little book. My eyes couldn't believe it, cuz I ADORE manga, and decided to see if this book could fill in the missing links that my professor didn't explain. Luckily I found this badboy at my library and read the whole thing in a day, and I was like: So that's what my professor has been trying to tell me! It gave real world situations, which help me understand more. And I love the art. A real eyeopener. I was even ahead of the class when we got to the topic of momentum. It is such a good book and I recommended to my friend who is in my class, but he just laughed at me (he doesn't read mangas or comics, so he doesn't appreciate). It helped me on my second test and I got an 83: Not the best grade but when you start out with a 55, then 83 is a blessing. In any case, I have a test tomorrow, and although some of the stuff isn't in the book (according to the author he had to cut out a chapter) There is still plenty of stuff that is helping me study, and I hope to get higher.

Bottom Line?: Buy it or see if your library (or one in your county) has the book. Even if you don't read comics, it is an easy read and it helps you understand the basic concepts of physics. I'm recommending it to my friend who is taking this class next semester and she loves mangas as much as I do, and I am sure this will help her. After reading this book, I kinda like physics, not the class, but the stuff behind it. It is rather interesting.

The Manga Guide to Physics presents a simple, but quite effective, introduction to the topics of mechanics, such as Newton's Laws, and energy. The manga style lends itself quite well to the presentation of the various topics.

The book begins by discussing the three laws of motion: inertia, acceleration, and reaction. With the basic topics down, it moves on to more complex ideas, such as momentum and the transfer of energy. These ideas are all explained with copious examples and pictures to reinforce the concepts that are being taught. There is also a longer, more detailed explanation of each idea at the end of each chapter, to expand on what was said during the chapter.

There are few downsides to this book, as physics is best explained with lots of pictures and examples, but occasionally I found myself needing to reread sections due to the amount of information being presented.

Despite the differences from the traditional textbook, I highly recommend The Manga Guide to Physics to any beginner or veteran looking for an less complicated way to review the basics of physics. Overall, I believe Hideo Nitta and Keita Takatsu have created a very high quality guide that is successful at both teaching physics and being enjoyable to read.

I bought this for a high school physics teacher. Some of her students were having difficulties assimilating content from the textbook or class notes, but loved manga. These books present the basic concepts using narrative, comedy, and thoughtful examples. It isn't all comic, with many pages dedicated to illustrating concepts and problems.

A great gift for any teens starting physics.

What do tennis, roller-blading, baseball, bicycling, roller coasters, the fosbury flop, and nature walks all have in common? Physics! The Manga Guides take complex subjects and explain them within an engaging "manga" (Japanese comic book) illustrated story, to help make your learning fun. The Manga Guide to Physics is a well-indexed, 227-page book, where the lead character, Megumi is upset because, although she does well at tennis, her Physics class isn't going so well. And the pretty Sayaka -- her rival on and off the court, doesn't mind rubbing it in. When she finds Ryota, the science geek at her school, out on the tennis court running some physics experiments, Megumi (call her "Megu") comes up with a plan: maybe if he can help her learn physics better, she can get good enough at tennis to beat Sayaka!

Ryota agrees after Megu pretends to be hurt by one of his awkward throws of a tennis ball. She isn't very convincing, so why is he helping her? Are they learning more about the laws of attraction than those covered in a Physics class? Each chapter continues their story as they run various experiments -- which the comic format showcases excellently, in easy-to-understand ways -- while Megu (and you!) learn more about physics. They cover all the various aspects of Newtons Three Laws, including acceleration, inertia, vectors, and momentum, along with kinetic, potential, and mechanical energy, as well as conservation of energy. At the end of each subject, there is a brief summary and extension of the subject covered, with titles like, "Wait a second, what's all this sine and cosine stuff?" Despite the complexities of physics (at least, that's how I remember it from high school), all of these areas are covered quite painlessly in the book.

I really enjoyed the book! If you are going to be studying Physics anytime soon, you should definitely order The Manga Guide to Physics quick, and get ahead of everyone else in your class, easily and enjoyably. Plus, it could help with your tennis game, too!

My family has an interest in science and my kids also love manga. They've been reading educational manga since they were young. Mostly biographies. Science manga seems like a natural.

The author, Hideo Nitta PhD, explains the math and concepts of Newtonian physics clearly. The fact that cartoons can be used to show motion and direction makes the visual parts of this book easy to understand. Each of Newton's Laws of Motion are broken down into smaller chunks and illustrated well, then there is a short section showing the basic applicable formulas and explaining how those work.

The manga story part is sweet and cute with a nice amount of visual humor. The girl is a tennis player who has a rivalry with another tennis player on her team who seems better at physics as well as tennis, the boy helping her is a silver medalist in the physics Olympics who has a talent for explaining things. Both are absolutely likable.
The layout is set up like an English book instead of being "back to front" like a lot of mangas. This is less important to my kids than it is to me since they've been reading manga for so long. For me, this made it very easy to read.

How effective is this method of teaching basic physics concepts? My interest is casual, I read some of the popular books and watch science shows. I was able to really understand the concepts and enjoyed reading this a lot. My son loves this book, and is currently reading another book in this series. I wish that they had been taught like this in school, it would have been easier to remember and grasp.

I really like this, and recommend it not just for kids who have an interest in science, but also adults who are discovering an interest through shows like Nova who want a better understand of the fundamentals of physics.

There are so many genres of Japanese comics that it doesn't come as a surprise that there's a series dedicated to teaching subjects that are normally taught in schools.

The Manga Guide to Physics is a great introduction to physics. It has a very simple but entertaining storyline, one about the lead Megumi trying to learn physics so that she can defeat her opponent in a tennis match. Compared to thick physics textbooks, it's certainly a more interesting way to learn physics.

The different concepts of physics are explained and illustrated by using real life examples. You get to learn about how forces work in a tennis match, the safety distance to keep while driving a car, how to get yourself back to the space shuttle using just a wrench, etc. The situations are not too complex, but always towards explaining a certain concept, and does so effectively.

There are four chapters, namely Law of Action and Reaction, Force and Motion, Momentum and Energy. The content is presented one part in manga format, and after each chapter a summary which is more technical in text format with diagrams.

This is a helpful and engaging teaching tool, one that successfully tackles a seemingly intimidating and dense subject as physics. I showed the book to my colleague who used to be a physics teacher and he was very impressed.

This book is highly recommended to anyone interested in learning physics.

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No Starch Press, the publisher, also offers a PDF version of the book for sale on their website.