Gekiga, Japanese for "dramatic pictures," was a response to manga by artists who wanted to create something more serious than the kid-oriented manga. Eventually, Tezuka picked up influences of this style and modified his own work. Because of Tezuka's place in the mainstream, this style became wide-spread, kicking off the golden age of manga (1970s through 1980s). As shonen manga became more commercialized, however, it began to lose the gekiga influence, and manga in the gekiga style have become alternative and under-ground.
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