I saw in a manga **ミIナト** meaning _minato_ a name but I don't know what the
character between **ミ** and **ナ** means and the usage of it

and theres another one too **おまさてI** and theres like 3 lines below it's
written downwards

I'm not sure if its a mi katakana or what[![enter image description
here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/vW5NU.jpg)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/vW5NU.jpg)

and what does that **S** like symbol mean? [![enter image description
here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/5ZHKe.jpg)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/5ZHKe.jpg)
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2020-09-29T17:49:21.080
80894
2020-09-30T00:50:48.433
2020-09-29T21:22:02.563
816
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question
manga kana
What does this symbol "I" mean in a manga? What is its usage?
こんばんは、that symbol is the same as this one: ー, but when the text is written
verticaly, it turns into that. The function of this symbol is to prolong the
sound of vowel. In your case ミーナト can be read as miinato, but if it didn't had
this symbol, like ミナト, it would be read as minato.

Hope you understand, Nickzus.
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2020-09-29T21:46:21.217
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2020-09-29T21:46:21.217
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answer
* This vertical bar is a long vowel marker written vertically. Here, it just indicates "Minato" is pronounced with some accent. In English it would be "Mii-nato!" or something. Maybe the speaker said "Minato" slowly and loudly to draw attention, or maybe the speaker is not a native Japanese speaker. You can see the same symbol after おまたせ.
  * These S-like symbols are "wave dashes". They are usually used in place of long vowel markers in manga, light novels, etc (See [What is the difference between the wave dash 〜 and long vowel marker ー when marking long vowels?](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/11660/5010)). However in this context, they are probably used in place of ellipsis (`･･･`) used to indicate the speaker is at a loss of words.
  * By the way, this `っ` is another way of indicating the speaker cannot say something. See: [What does ending a statement with 「っ」signify when coupled with 「・・・」?](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/5867/5010) and [What does the little っ (tsu) signify when at the end of a word?](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/1457/5010)
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2020-09-30T00:50:48.433
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2020-09-30T00:50:48.433
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answer