An unusual exhibition has just opened in the hallowed chambers of London's British Museum, dedicated to Japanese manga. The fact that it is taking place is a tacit acknowledgement of the genre's emergence as a respected art form and officially sanctioned emblem of Japanese "soft power."
Wandering through the exhibits, I couldn't help but be reminded of "Sturgeon's law" -- the American science fiction writer Theodore Sturgeon's dictum that 90% of everything is trash. That certainly goes for manga, which is often infantile, vulgar and banal.
