“Sports” is a common genre in manga. There have been numerous sports manga over the decades, many focusing on martial arts. However, none of them were written in Bangla or created by Bangladeshis.
Bashap—the first sports manga written in Bangla—centers around a boy named Shobdo Shomudro discovering Bangladeshi martial art Bashap. The manga was officially permitted by Bangladesh Bashap Association on April 8, 2018.
Bashap is a Bangladeshi form of martial which focuses on defense techniques.
Traditionally, manga are comics created in Japan or by creators in the Japanese language, conforming to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century. However, there are many derivations of it such as Manhwa (Korean manga) and Manhua (Chinese manga).
Sisters Shahnuruma Shantona and Shahrina Shantuma are the creators of the manga Bashap. It is being serialized on the Manga Stage website, the first Bangladeshi manga platform.
Talking about Bashap, Shantona and Shantuma said they are both trained in Bashap and wanted to combine their passion for manga and the Bangladeshi martial art form. They aspire to raise awareness about this martial art so more people will come forward to learn self-defense.
