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Here is a page from a classic manga **ドクタースランプ** :
<https://i.stack.imgur.com/3llww.png> In this chapter the professor shows
Arale a camera than can look into the future.

In the bottom frame Arale says to him that this reminds her of **ドラエモン** , to
which he replies 「あれはマンガ！」, and then the narrator says 「あんたもマンガだ！！」. What does
the last phrase mean exactly? Is it a shortening of "you're in a manga too!",
or does マンガ here mean "a manga character" (again in a shortened version
perhaps?), or what? Is it just like how in English you can call a cartoon
character a cartoon? (at least I think you can)
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2016-05-20T00:13:49.690
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question
manga
「あんたもマンガだ！！」 - how to understand it?
「あんた」 is a shortening of ”あなた" (you) and マンガ is an exaggerated way to write
漫画, which refers to comic books as you know.

So in this case, Arale is saying that "Doraemon" is only a comic book who
isn't real, to which the narrator is saying to Norimaki Senbei that he is part
of a comic too. The line doesn't literally mean "manga character", but it
amounts to the same idea.

I haven't read Dr. Slump too much but from what I have seen, it is pretty
self-referential and jokes like this are somewhat common.
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> 「あんたもマンガだ！！」

is not a **_shortening_** of another phrase per se. That would only be a "fast
and convenient" explanation that people (myself included, I admit) tend to use
with Japanese-learners in answering questions like this. This is just how we
speak and we are not omitting any words either intentionally or
unintentionally.

Saying that is a shortening of something like 「あんたもマンガのキャラだ！！」 might appeal
and satisfy many, but it simply is not.

Here, 「マンガ」 refers to "everything pertaining to manga" and that would
naturally include manga characters. What matters in this context is whether
something/someone belongs in the manga world or the real world.

Translation, however, is another matter altogether. If the sentence "You're
manga, too!" made sense, take it. If it sounded better to say "You're a manga
character, too!!", take that instead.

Finally, the advanced learners should know that this type of statement used in
fiction is called 「メタ[発言]{はつげん}」. That is when a character talks to the
readers and such. In this case, the narrator is talking to a character. In
theory, this should not be possible, but it is practiced in some fiction.
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2016-05-20T01:05:42.477
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answer