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マンガでわかる [Manga de Wakaru]
The Manga Guide to Electricity
Rereko is just your average high-school girl from Electopia, the land of electricity, but she's totally failed her final electricity exam! Now she has to go to summer school on Earth. And this time, she has to pass.
Luckily, her ever-patient tutor Hikaru is there to help. Join them in the pages of The Manga Guide to Electricity as Rereko examines everyday electrical devices like flashlights, heaters, and circuit breakers, and learns the meaning of abstract concepts like voltage, potential, current, resistance, conductivity, and electrostatic force.
The real-world examples that you'll find in The Manga Guide to Electricity will teach you:
What electricity is, how it works, how it's created, and how it can be used
The relationship between voltage, current, and resistance (Ohm's law)
Key electrical concepts like inductance and capacitance
How complicated components like transformers, semiconductors, diodes, and transistors work
How electricity produces heat and the relationship between current and magnetic fields
If thinking about how electricity works really fries your brain, let The Manga Guide to Electricity teach you all things electrical in a shockingly fun way.
Luckily, her ever-patient tutor Hikaru is there to help. Join them in the pages of The Manga Guide to Electricity as Rereko examines everyday electrical devices like flashlights, heaters, and circuit breakers, and learns the meaning of abstract concepts like voltage, potential, current, resistance, conductivity, and electrostatic force.
The real-world examples that you'll find in The Manga Guide to Electricity will teach you:
What electricity is, how it works, how it's created, and how it can be used
The relationship between voltage, current, and resistance (Ohm's law)
Key electrical concepts like inductance and capacitance
How complicated components like transformers, semiconductors, diodes, and transistors work
How electricity produces heat and the relationship between current and magnetic fields
If thinking about how electricity works really fries your brain, let The Manga Guide to Electricity teach you all things electrical in a shockingly fun way.
232 pages, Paperback
First published December 25, 2006
26 people are currently reading
521 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews
September 9, 2016
I think it was a cute way to get across the basic principles that govern electricity. I'd recommend it to anyone who has an interest in the way electricity works. It works fine for adults, but if you have a kid who's maybe 10 or so who's getting into electricity and the types of kits they used to sell at Radio Shack, this would be a great way to explain the way electricity works. It's fun while being quite informative.
My bachelor degree is in Electrical Engineering, so for me this was a great refresher on topics I haven't touched in over a decade and a half. After each chapter is a text section that explains the topics in further detail if needed or desired.
If there are any negatives, there's only the gender role issues that some might take issue with. The main character needs to be tutored and so in exchange for the tutoring she cleans house and cooks for her male tutor.
My bachelor degree is in Electrical Engineering, so for me this was a great refresher on topics I haven't touched in over a decade and a half. After each chapter is a text section that explains the topics in further detail if needed or desired.
If there are any negatives, there's only the gender role issues that some might take issue with. The main character needs to be tutored and so in exchange for the tutoring she cleans house and cooks for her male tutor.
July 9, 2018
Well. I admit it. I like this kind of books that their main purpose is to simplify sciences. Even though some people may tend to prefer complexity as oppose to simplicity to show up their potential high level mentality, I think the simplicity is an indicator to geniality.
Albert Einstein once put it "If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough". Besides, this kind of books may seem to be written for beginners,sometimes children, in my point of view, using comics and illustrations to convey information is absolutely a successful way in education, saves time and efforts. Yes , it is likely to force students to adopt the teacher paradigm. However, if this paradigm was approaching the reality or, more accurately "the state of art "knowledge, why not?
Well done, Mr. Fujitaki.
Albert Einstein once put it "If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough". Besides, this kind of books may seem to be written for beginners,sometimes children, in my point of view, using comics and illustrations to convey information is absolutely a successful way in education, saves time and efforts. Yes , it is likely to force students to adopt the teacher paradigm. However, if this paradigm was approaching the reality or, more accurately "the state of art "knowledge, why not?
Well done, Mr. Fujitaki.
May 22, 2009
An excellent introduction to Electricity for Middle School/High schoolers. The math and schematics are interwoven as "explanations" in between the Manga story. And the level of complexity is surprisingly high given the cartoon format. Still, this is not a self study guide. My 11 year old took to it quickly and I got to spend time walking him through many of the explanations. It's a great teaching tool, though. This is a fun book.
April 14, 2009
When I reviewed The Manga Guide to Databases over two months ago, I wasn't sure I was going to review any of the other Manga books. I knew that No Starch was going to publish others, but the only ones I was aware of at the time dealt with statistics and calculus; not two of my favorite subjects. When the notice for The Manga Guide to Electricity hit my inbox though, I thought it looked like fun. I was right.
While I wasn't originally sure what audience the Databases book was written for, this Electricity book is securely written for the high school audience, though I suppose even younger students would benefit. The heroine of our story is an average high school student named Rereko who lives in the city of Electopia; a city totally run by electricity. Apparently, it's a big deal if you fail your electricity final and you live in a city where electricity is the main product. That's just what happened to Rereko. Sentenced to that most dreaded of fates for most students, summer school, Rereko has just one more shot at passing the exam and graduating. Enter her tutor Hikaru, who uses innovative and imaginative methods (such as manga) to help our young student "get it".
That's just the point of this book as well; to help students who might not otherwise be particularly interested in learning electricity (or at least not interested in the usual teaching texts) "get it" in a fun and playful manner. The book is formatted in the way I imagine the entire series is set up. The main "learning" text is presented as a typical manga comic book, and a summary section at the end of each chapter that is just plain text and diagrams. Let's imagine that you're taught a topic by a cartoon and then you're presented the same material in a more standard format to see if you really understand.
This is just how I pictured the Databases book; as a text that teaches you the basics in manga format and prepares you to learn more on the topic from "non-manga" materials. The No Starch Manga series aside, you can't expect to learn everything in manga, can you? Actually, the book superficially reminded me of my own first experience "learning" about electricity. In my case it was from a Reddy Kilowatt comic book in the fourth grade (back in the days when dinosaurs ruled the Earth). I vaguely recall a school field trip to my local electric plant and getting a Reddy Kilowatt lapel pin (which has probably long been relegated to the bottom of a landfill somewhere).
Our typical exposure to manga or anime in America, usually leads us to expect scantily clad, buxom women, spaceships, super powers, and explosions. When I published the Databases review on this blog, one of the comments I got was about the lack of "boobs" (the main characters seemed to be in elementary school in that book). Sorry. The older age group represented by the main character hasn't changed the presentation of material. No explosions, no super powers, no space ships, and no (apparent) breasts. In other words, nothing that would tremendously distract the audience from the topic at hand. Japanese manga is sometimes used as a way to educate, not only on factual topics, but on morality and ethics, particularly the value of cooperation and respecting others. You have to keep that sort of philosophy in mind when reading this book (since it was originally published for a Japanese audience).
The book won't teach you to be an electrician or an electrical engineer, but it will ground you solidly in how electricity works, including it's creation, how it's influenced, and manipulated. Concepts of current, capacitance, potential, voltage, and so on, are all well taught, including the primary methods used to generate electricity in the world today. The result of this book may be enough to help the reader pass an exam similar to what Rereko faces, and possibly for a few, it might spawn enough curiosity to explore the topic further.
Lest we forget, there's an actual storyline involved. OK, it's not an amazingly compelling storyline (no super powers or explosions, remember?), but Rereko still has to pass her final so she can graduate. During the process, she and "Sensei Hikaru" develop a friendship (and she discovers he's a lousy housekeeper). By the last page, we see the happy ending, and as Bogart says at the conclusion of Casablanca, "I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship"...and a pretty good book.
Original review, including relevant links, posted at A Million Chimpanzees.
While I wasn't originally sure what audience the Databases book was written for, this Electricity book is securely written for the high school audience, though I suppose even younger students would benefit. The heroine of our story is an average high school student named Rereko who lives in the city of Electopia; a city totally run by electricity. Apparently, it's a big deal if you fail your electricity final and you live in a city where electricity is the main product. That's just what happened to Rereko. Sentenced to that most dreaded of fates for most students, summer school, Rereko has just one more shot at passing the exam and graduating. Enter her tutor Hikaru, who uses innovative and imaginative methods (such as manga) to help our young student "get it".
That's just the point of this book as well; to help students who might not otherwise be particularly interested in learning electricity (or at least not interested in the usual teaching texts) "get it" in a fun and playful manner. The book is formatted in the way I imagine the entire series is set up. The main "learning" text is presented as a typical manga comic book, and a summary section at the end of each chapter that is just plain text and diagrams. Let's imagine that you're taught a topic by a cartoon and then you're presented the same material in a more standard format to see if you really understand.
This is just how I pictured the Databases book; as a text that teaches you the basics in manga format and prepares you to learn more on the topic from "non-manga" materials. The No Starch Manga series aside, you can't expect to learn everything in manga, can you? Actually, the book superficially reminded me of my own first experience "learning" about electricity. In my case it was from a Reddy Kilowatt comic book in the fourth grade (back in the days when dinosaurs ruled the Earth). I vaguely recall a school field trip to my local electric plant and getting a Reddy Kilowatt lapel pin (which has probably long been relegated to the bottom of a landfill somewhere).
Our typical exposure to manga or anime in America, usually leads us to expect scantily clad, buxom women, spaceships, super powers, and explosions. When I published the Databases review on this blog, one of the comments I got was about the lack of "boobs" (the main characters seemed to be in elementary school in that book). Sorry. The older age group represented by the main character hasn't changed the presentation of material. No explosions, no super powers, no space ships, and no (apparent) breasts. In other words, nothing that would tremendously distract the audience from the topic at hand. Japanese manga is sometimes used as a way to educate, not only on factual topics, but on morality and ethics, particularly the value of cooperation and respecting others. You have to keep that sort of philosophy in mind when reading this book (since it was originally published for a Japanese audience).
The book won't teach you to be an electrician or an electrical engineer, but it will ground you solidly in how electricity works, including it's creation, how it's influenced, and manipulated. Concepts of current, capacitance, potential, voltage, and so on, are all well taught, including the primary methods used to generate electricity in the world today. The result of this book may be enough to help the reader pass an exam similar to what Rereko faces, and possibly for a few, it might spawn enough curiosity to explore the topic further.
Lest we forget, there's an actual storyline involved. OK, it's not an amazingly compelling storyline (no super powers or explosions, remember?), but Rereko still has to pass her final so she can graduate. During the process, she and "Sensei Hikaru" develop a friendship (and she discovers he's a lousy housekeeper). By the last page, we see the happy ending, and as Bogart says at the conclusion of Casablanca, "I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship"...and a pretty good book.
Original review, including relevant links, posted at A Million Chimpanzees.
December 25, 2017
This is a very high quality book that explains the concept of electricity to the reader. My personal story is I had started ignoring the electricity terms as something confusing, to be taken for granted and "someone-else" will know better. So the labels in the electronic appliances, my houses energy consumption, electric appliance voltages like 120 V and 240 V etc, were household terms, but no intuitive meaning for them. This book changed that for me. I can understand what those terms mean now. I look at the batteries and have sense of how this is working. I am looking forward to my Solar setup to understand the energy usage. I appreciate how the Integrated Circuits work with the underlying concept of diodes, flow of electricity, concepts of physics and chemistry involved in what makes or creates electricity in the first place. This book opened up a universe for me.
June 18, 2017
They cover a lot of topics but each with shallow elaboration. Some are simpler to understand this way, but some concepts need more description to understand better. Good for a kid, but be ready to clear up their confusions when they arise.
June 28, 2017
There's not much of a "story" or character development in the manga bits, but the explanations are pretty good and backed up with more technical sections after every manga-story bit.
August 23, 2018
Very uneven: it goes from extremely basic to an info dump of advanced concepts at the end.
Much more exciting than just reading Wikipedia articles though.
Much more exciting than just reading Wikipedia articles though.
June 22, 2018
Manga makes learning easier! I always had trouble learning about electricity, but this guide made it understandable. The manga follows a student coming to earth from another world that is far more technologically advanced. The student learns from a researcher on Earth. The researcher teaches the student many concepts, allowing the reader (you) to learn with the student. I'd recommend this to anyone that wants a basic understanding of electricity, circuits, components, batteries, and generators.
I'm considering to look into some of the other books in this series too.
I'm considering to look into some of the other books in this series too.
October 27, 2018
I picked up this book out of a sense of nostalgia when reading the calculus version in high-school. But I figured it would be a fun way to learn some stuff that'd be useful for my new job. It was really fun, with a surprisingly well-written story and much more serious coverage than I expected. I was left at the end pretty satisfied with the material covered, and then jumped into a more advanced book with relative ease.
tl;dr
before: I know nothing about electronics
now: I can confidently make basic circuits, e.g. shake flashlight
tl;dr
before: I know nothing about electronics
now: I can confidently make basic circuits, e.g. shake flashlight
February 11, 2020
I thought this was going to be to shallow on the information, or not suited to manga which would make it hard to follow. In fact both worries were ill founded. Each chapter is dedicated to a specific topic which is explained easily within the art or natural dialogue. There's a couple page summary at the end of each chapter as a review. I could see this being quite good for anyone like myself, who has minimal experience with electricity. Probably best for a high school student or above learning level.
May 10, 2017
The best book I could learn all this stuff from without being bored to death. There's a significant informational load to it, and it's not all manga, as each chapter is followed by a recap and additional explanations in text form.
The best part about it was all the visual explanations, not just schematic drawings but also metaphoric explanations using comparisons with things like water.
A great introduction, and not just for kids.
The best part about it was all the visual explanations, not just schematic drawings but also metaphoric explanations using comparisons with things like water.
A great introduction, and not just for kids.
May 3, 2019
Very clever way to teach electricity. It covers a lot of ground in a couple hundred pages.
I have to say I didn't catch it all but it could be a nice supplement to a class on electricity.
And the pictures and story do help.
It would take me some drilling to remember all the equations and diagrams.
I have to say I didn't catch it all but it could be a nice supplement to a class on electricity.
And the pictures and story do help.
It would take me some drilling to remember all the equations and diagrams.
May 21, 2020
It's a decent elementary school level introduction to electricity. There are some terminology issues due to the translation. The units for mains voltage are wrong but that's typical of a book of this level.
July 27, 2017
More story than the physics guide...
Actually really helpful!
Actually really helpful!
May 14, 2020
Why didn't I read this back in 2003? :P
December 21, 2022
Didn't understand most of it but still was an good read.
April 19, 2023
This was, by far, the funnest way to refresh my calculus skills that I could imagine!
Want to read
May 5, 2015Rereko is just your average high-school girl from Electopia, the land of electricity, but she's totally failed her final electricity exam! Now she has to go to summer school on Earth. And this time, she has to pass
Luckily, her ever-patient tutor Hikaru is there to help. Join them in the pages of The Manga Guide to Electricity as Rereko examines everyday electrical devices like flashlights, heaters, and circuit breakers, and learns the meaning of abstract concepts like voltage, potential, current, resistance, conductivity, and electrostatic force.
The real-world examples that you'll find in The Manga Guide to Electricity will teach you:
What electricity is, how it works, how it's created, and how it can be used The relationship between voltage, current, and resistance (Ohm's law) Key electrical concepts like inductance and capacitance How complicated components like transformers, semiconductors, diodes, and transistors work How electricity produces heat and the relationship between current and magnetic fieldsIf thinking about how electricity works really fries your brain, let The Manga Guide to Electricity teach you all things electrical in a shockingly fun way.
**
February 17, 2015
A fun book to read, giving an understanding of what electricity is and how it works to power the electrical and electronic world around us.
In the story, a girl from another world is about to flunk her examination. She is asked to come to Earth and be giving a revision course on electricity. In the course of the story, she (and the reader) learns about what is electricity, the terms used to describe electricity, how is it used to generate, store and use electrical power.
With lots of easy to understand diagrams, this is a useful primer and guide book on electricity and should give the reader a good appreciation of it. Various boxes at the end of each chapter give more in-depth examples that should be helpful to be read also.
In the story, a girl from another world is about to flunk her examination. She is asked to come to Earth and be giving a revision course on electricity. In the course of the story, she (and the reader) learns about what is electricity, the terms used to describe electricity, how is it used to generate, store and use electrical power.
With lots of easy to understand diagrams, this is a useful primer and guide book on electricity and should give the reader a good appreciation of it. Various boxes at the end of each chapter give more in-depth examples that should be helpful to be read also.
February 16, 2023
As a teacher, I'm always on the lookout for supplemental reading for my students, especially in complex topics. So far, I have been most pleased with the Manga Guides series. While I doubt I could give this book to a struggling student and expect all their issues with the basic concepts of electricity to be cleared up, I found this volume to be a great starting point that covers some of the topics that need several views. The book contains helpful diagrams, thoughtful dialogue, and scientific descriptions, all of which work together to describe electricity in multiple ways for different kinds of learners. I recommend this book to learners who are struggling to learn scientific vocabulary or who are bored by the traditional text-book approach to studying.
July 6, 2016
Absolutely brilliant. I've been struggling with the topic for 20 years, and I have now a great foundation upon which I can build. I'd say up until 2/3rd of the book it's all good, after that one can feel that pushing feeling that the publisher had "ok guys, we need to fit this this and this in so just cut the crap", which wasn't good. But I really liked the concept of the book and already bought several others from the series.
March 12, 2012
A good introduction to, or refresher on, basic concepts involving electricity. The format of each chapter uses manga to introduce the basic concepts followed by text that repeats what was covered in the manga then goes into a bit more detail. I found this quite effective at getting across most of the topics covered, largely due to the repetition.
January 22, 2024
Sarebbe stato bello aver avuto questo manga per preparare l'esame di elettrotecnica... E invece... beh, un bel ripasso dei concetti, messi anche un po' più in chiaro. Una bella lettura nonostante l'argomento. Gli esempi sono spiegati nel dettaglio in modo da non lasciare nulla troppo in sospeso, ma non sono comunque troppo tecnici. Ci sta. Buona lettura.
February 15, 2016
A substantial review, along with fun presentation, of the basics of electricity that we learned—or should've learned—in high school. This impressed me enough to check out the other entries in the series.
Want to read
December 5, 2011This is my silent reading book at work. I got it as a review copy from the publisher.
June 18, 2012
Nice review - particularly like how they do the chemistry of batteries
August 30, 2013
Good Stuff
Read
April 8, 2016537 F9615 2009
January 22, 2017
Ho ripassato e imparato qualcosa di nuovo.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews