Manga and the reading of manga have frequently been subject to criticism. However, manga now often appear within textbooks, signaling a shift from practices that attempted to distance children from manga to practices where manga materials are accepted into school libraries and are being utilized as educational materials. The shift has even progressed to the extent that educational manga are being used in high-school classes and in university courses.

The author would like to encourage the transition from manga reading to educational manga reading. Specifically, the author wishes to utilize manga as textbooks for Japanese language courses and to establish reading circles for educational manga at elementary schools. This paper calls for further investigation of manga.

 The author argues for the recognition of manga as reading materials suitable for morning reading sessions at junior and senior high-school. To that aim, teachers themselves should read manga and should include them in their reading lists. This paper suggests using works like a “Biography of Educational Manga” for investigative study. The paper also proposes comprehensive lessons that integrate the use of manga, such as “Kasai no Hito” and “Mori no Asagao”, as educational materials. Essay writing could also be incorporated.

 Practices of manga reading and educational manga will spread as more teachers come to regard manga as reading materials.