Maichan's Manga Library

[maichan]

OR, Other Manga in my collection of books to read or that I have read.

Hopefully one day I will get around to reviewing each of these titles, but until that day arrives, I just wanted to share with you some of the other titles that are in my library. A few I have already shared with you, but the rest I haven't. Some you probably know, while others might be new to you. Maybe by seeing them here, you may become interested in learning more about them or even reading them yourself.

Somewhere in the dark recesses of my garage, there is a box or two with some titles that got me started on my foray into Japanese manga. If and when I get around to finding and opening those boxes I will share those books with you also.

In no particular order...

[maichan]

GON by Masashi Tanaka

Wikipedia:

Gon (Japanese: ゴン) is a Japanese manga series created by Masashi Tanaka. The Gon series features the completely wordless adventures of the irascible, tiny dinosaur and the title character, as he interacts with the natural world, depicted by Tanaka in lush, realistic detail. Gon somehow survived the extinction of his fellow dinosaurs and interacts with paleolithic animals.

Gon was most notable outside Japan for his appearance in the PlayStation version of Tekken 3. An animated TV series began airing in Japan on April 2, 2012. In 1998, the manga received an Excellence Prize at the Japan Media Arts Festival. The TV series is on Netflix.

I wasn't aware of the TV series... I'll have to look for it on Netflix.


20200426_171616 by Michael Foertsch, on Flickr


20200426_171648 by Michael Foertsch, on Flickr

[maichan]

WHAT'S MICHAEL by Makoto Kobayashi

Catchy title huh? With a title like that I just had to get it when I first saw it a number of years ago.

Wikipedia:

What's Michael? is a Japanese manga series created by Makoto Kobayashi. In 1984, it began its serialization in the Weekly Morning magazine. The manga shows Michael, an orange American Shorthair tabby cat, his feline friends, and other domesticated pets in a series of humorous episodes, although Michael is not a specific cat but rather a feline version of an everyman as he appeared in drastically different settings across chapters, even dying in some. It is currently released in the US by Dark Horse Comics. The manga was presented in the standard left to right American reading format.

In 1986, What's Michael? received the Kodansha Manga Award for general manga.

The manga was adapted into two anime OVA series in 1985 and 1988, and a 45-episode TV series in 1988–1989.

Originally I only bought a few issues and then let it drop, only to track down the missing issues from ThriftBooks in 2018/2019.


20200426_171920 by Michael Foertsch, on Flickr


Of course, as soon as I completed the collection, Dark Horse announced they were reprinting the stories in Omnibus fashion...


20200426_172016 by Michael Foertsch, on Flickr

[maichan]

LONE WOLF AND CUB by Kazuo Koike and Goseki Kojima

Wikipedia:

Lone Wolf and Cub is a manga created by writer Kazuo Koike and artist Goseki Kojima. First published in 1970, the story was adapted into six films starring Tomisaburo Wakayama, four plays, a television series starring Kinnosuke Yorozuya, and is widely recognized as an important and influential work.

Lone Wolf and Cub chronicles the story of Ogami Ittō, the shōgun's executioner who uses a dōtanuki battle sword. Disgraced by false accusations from the Yagyū clan, he is forced to take the path of the assassin. Along with his three-year-old son, Daigorō, they seek revenge on the Yagyū clan and are known as "Lone Wolf and Cub".

20200426_154708 by Michael Foertsch, on Flickr

[maichan]

NEW LONE WOLF AND CUB by Kazuo Koike and Hideki Mori

Wikipedia:

Dark Horse announced at the 2006 New York Comic Con that they have licensed Shin Lone Wolf & Cub, Kazuo Koike and Hideki Mori's follow-up to Lone Wolf and Cub, starring Ogami Itto's son Daigoro, the famous child in the baby cart, after the conclusion of the original revenge epic. In this new series, which picks up immediately after the climactic battle of the original series, the bodies of Ogami Itto and Yagyu Retsudo are left lying on the beach with Daigoro left alone standing over his father's body (since no one, for political reasons, dares to bury either body or take charge of Daigoro). A bearded samurai, Tōgō Shigetada of the Satsuma clan and master of the Jigen-ryū style of swordsmanship (based on the actual historical personage Tōgō Shigetaka, creator of Jigen-ryū), wanders onto the battlefield and assists Daigoro with the cremation/funeral of Ogami Itto and Yagyu Retsudo. Tōgō, who is on a training journey and also carries a dotanuki sword similar to Ogami's (and crafted by the same swordsmith), then assumes guardianship of Daigoro, including retrieving the baby cart and teaching/training Daigoro in Jigen-ryū.

The two soon become enmeshed in a plot by the Shogunate conceived by the ruthless Matsudaira Nobutsuna and spearheaded by his chief henchman Mamiya Rinzō (also based on an actual historical character) to topple the Satsuma clan and assume control of that fiefdom's great wealth, using Tōgō as an unwitting pawn. When Tōgō discovers that he has been tricked and used, he and Daigoro embark on the road of meifumado in a quest to kill the Shogun (which would force Matsudaira out into the open). However, Rinzō, who is not only a master of disguise but also Matsudaira's natural son, may have an even more devious plan of his own, including subverting the Shogun's own ninja and using opium to ensnare and enslave the Shogun himself. This series also introduces non-Japanese characters into the plotlines. Dark Horse began publishing the follow-up series, under the title New Lone Wolf and Cub, in June 2014; as of December 2016, all eleven volumes have been released.

20200426_172455 by Michael Foertsch, on Flickr

[maichan]

LADY SNOWBLOOD by Kazuo Koike and Kazuo Kamimura

Wikipedia:

Lady Snowblood is a manga written by Kazuo Koike and illustrated by Kazuo Kamimura, and serialized in Shueisha's Weekly Playboy. It was translated into English and published in four volumes by Dark Horse Comics between 2005 and 2006.

Lady Snowblood revolves around the title character, an assassin who seeks vengeance against the bandits who raped her mother and murdered her father, often using her sexual appeal to distract her foes.

The manga was adapted into a live-action feature film of the same name starring Meiko Kaji in 1973. It was followed by Lady Snowblood 2: Love Song of Vengeance in 1974. In 2001, the manga was reimagined as the science fiction action film The Princess Blade, starring Yumiko Shaku and Hideaki Itō.

20200426_172309 by Michael Foertsch, on Flickr

[maichan]

SAMURAI EXECUTIONER by Kazuo Koike and Goseki Kojima

Wikipedia:

Samurai Executioner, known in Japan as Kubikiri Asa (首斬り朝), is a 10-volume manga created by writer Kazuo Koike and artist Goseki Kojima, the same team that created the popular Lone Wolf and Cub series. The series was first serialized in Japan, from 1972–1976, arriving two years after Lone Wolf and Cub's start.

The story is set in the Edo period of feudal Japan. It revolves around Yamada Asaemon (山田 朝右衞門, Yamada Asaemon), nicknamed Kubikiri-Asa (literally "Neck-chopper Asa", often transliterated as "Decapitator Asaemon"), a ronin who is responsible for testing new swords for the shogun. The character is based on a real-life line of sword-testers who served the Tokugawa Shogunate up to the early 19th century. He is also frequently called upon to perform executions.

Many of the stories focus not on Asaemon, but on several of the people he meets in the course of his work. More often than not they are the stories of the criminals he executes, told as their last words before receiving the fatal stroke. As with Ogami Itto later, such encounters often give Asa pause for thought and reflection.

An English translation of the Samurai Executioner series by Dana Lewis and Marc Miyake was published in the United States by Dark Horse Comics beginning in 2004. The series was completed with the tenth volume, released on May 26, 2006.

Each volume is written with historical accuracy, although the characters themselves are fictional. In the back of each book, Dark Horse has provided a glossary to help define the many Japanese terms used to keep the stories authentic.

20200426_171340 by Michael Foertsch, on Flickr

[maichan]

PATH OF THE ASSASSIN by Kazuo Koike and Goseki Kojima

Wikipedia:

Path of the Assassin (Japanese: 半蔵の門, Hepburn: Hanzō no Mon, lit. "Hanzō's Teachings") is a gekiga manga created by the writer Kazuo Koike and the artist Goseki Kojima and published in Weekly Gendai magazine (Kodansha). Unlike their previous collaborations on Lone Wolf and Cub and Samurai Executioner, this story focuses on two historical figures from 16th-century Japan.

Path of the Assassin is the story of Hattori Hanzō, the master ninja whose duty it was to protect Tokugawa Ieyasu, who would grow up to become shōgun and unify Japan. The creators poetically describe the story as "Lifelong Friends, with the Same Dreams, Striving to Grow into a Rising River". The 20-volume series has been reprinted by Dark Horse Comics in a thicker 15 volume edition, translated into English and oriented in the original right-to-left reading format.

20200426_172727 by Michael Foertsch, on Flickr

[maichan]

BLADE OF THE IMMORTAL by Hiroaki Samura

I first picked up this manga when Dark Horse began publishing it in single issues in 1996, but for whatever reason I gave it up after a while, only to come back to it years later and collect the omnibus editions.

Wikipedia:

Blade of the Immortal (Japanese: 無限の住人, Hepburn: Mugen no Jūnin, lit. "The Inhabitant of Infinity") is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Hiroaki Samura. The series is set in Japan during the mid-Tokugawa Shogunate period and follows the cursed samurai Manji, who has to kill 1000 evil men in order to regain his mortality. The manga was originally published in Monthly Afternoon from June 25, 1993, to December 25, 2012.

A 2008 anime television series adaptation was produced by Bee Train. Also in 2008, the novel Blade of the Immortal: Legend of the Sword Demon was released in Japan by Kodansha. A live action film adaptation of the same name was released in 2017. A new anime adaptation by Liden Films premiered in October 2019.

In North America, the manga has been published by Dark Horse Comics. The first anime series was licensed by Media Blasters.

20200426_154253 by Michael Foertsch, on Flickr

[maichan]

YOTSUBA&! by Kiyohiko Azuma

"Enjoy Everything"

I love this series. One of my all time favorites. It makes me feel good just seeing images of the main character Yotsuba. This is a fun for all ages manga.

There are currently 14 volumes in the series, and hopefully more to come since the last book does say to be continued... It seems there are at least 4 more chapters in Japanese, so chances are good(?) we should see a volume 15.

I think this is the only manga where I have also purchased a Japanese version (Volume 1). I did that mostly to compare with the US version.

I previously discussed this series HERE back in October 2018.

YOTSUBA TRIVIA:
四葉(Japanese Kanji) 四つ葉, よつ葉(Kanji/Hiragana) よつば(Japanese Hiragana) ヨツバ(Japanese Katakana)
This name can be used as 四葉, 四つ葉 or よつ葉 with 四 (shi, yo, yo'.tsu, yo.tsu, yon) meaning "four" and 葉 (you, ha) meaning "blade, fragment, leaf, lobe, needle, piece, plane, spear."
As a word, Yotsuba (四つ葉) refers to a plant having four leaves on one stalk.
Fictional bearers of this name include Yotsuba Koiwai (小岩井 よつば), the lead character from Yotsuba&! (よつばと! in Japanese).
This name is rarely given to girls, if given at all.

Thus somewhat explaining Yotsuba's name in relation to her appearance - green hair and four ponytails, just like a four leaf clover.


20200427_172247 by Michael Foertsch, on Flickr

Wikipedia:

Yotsuba&! is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Kiyohiko Azuma, the creator of Azumanga Daioh. It has been serialized since March 2003 in the monthly magazine Dengeki Daioh by ASCII Media Works, formerly MediaWorks, and has since been collected in fourteen tankōbon volumes. It depicts the everyday adventures of a young girl named Yotsuba as she learns about the world around her, guided by her adopted father, their neighbors, and their friends. Several characters in Yotsuba&! were previously featured in a one-shot manga called "Try! Try! Try!" The phrase Yotsuba to means "Yotsuba and," a fact reflected in the chapter titles, most of which take the form "Yotsuba and [something]."

The manga was licensed for English-language distribution by ADV Manga, which released five volumes between 2005 and 2007. Volume six was originally set to release to in February of 2008, but was indefinitely delayed in order to focus on ADV's core business of anime. At New York Comic Con 2009, Yen Press announced that it had acquired the North American license for the series; it reprinted the first five volumes with new translations along with volume six in September 2009, and is continuing with later volumes.

Yotsuba&! is centered on Yotsuba Koiwai, a five-year-old adopted girl who is energetic, cheerful, curious, odd, and quirky—so much so that even her own adopted father calls her strange. She is also initially ignorant about many things that a child her age would be expected to know—among them doorbells, escalators, air conditioners, and even playground swings. This naïveté is the premise of humorous stories whereby which she learns about—and frequently misunderstands—everyday things.

At the start of the series, Yotsuba and her adoptive father, Yousuke Koiwai, relocate to a new city with the help of Koiwai's best friend, an impressively tall man nicknamed Jumbo. Yotsuba makes a strong impression on the three daughters of the neighboring Ayase family, Asagi, Fuuka, and Ena. Most of her daily activities and misadventures often originate from interactions with these characters.

The series has no consistent plot continuity—the focus of the stories is Yotsuba's daily voyage of discovery. Many chapters take place on successive days (for details, see List of Yotsuba&! chapters), so that the series follows, almost literally, the characters' daily lives. The tone can be summarized by the motto, used on chapter title pages and advertising: "Today is always the most enjoyable day" (いつでも今日が、いちばん楽しい日, Itsudemo kyō ga, ichiban tanoshii hi), or in the original translation, "Enjoy Everything".

List of Yotsuba&! chapters

Yotsuba&! is a manga written and drawn by Kiyohiko Azuma, and published in Japan by ASCII Media Works in the monthly magazine Dengeki Daioh. Eighty-two chapters have been published; 81 of these have been collected in twelve tankōbon volumes, with further chapters appearing in Dengeki Daioh to be collected in tankōbon format over time. The series was licensed in English by ADV Manga, with five volumes published; volume six was scheduled to be published February 2008 but was delayed indefinitely. Yen Press announced at New York Comic Con 2009 that they had acquired the North American license for the English release of the manga; volume six was released in September 2009 along with new translations of the first five volumes, with later volumes to follow. The series has been licensed in France by Kurokawa, in Spain by Norma Editorial, in Germany by Tokyopop Germany, in Italy by Dynit, in Finland by Punainen jättiläinen, in Korea by Daiwon C.I., in Taiwan by Kadokawa Media, in Vietnam by TVM Comics, and in Thailand by NED Comics.

Yotsuba&! follows the daily life of a young girl named Yotsuba Koiwai and her adoptive father, with each chapter taking place on a specific, nearly sequential day of a common year starting on Wednesday. The year was initially believed to be 2003, coinciding with the date of the manga's serialization, but Azuma has stated that the manga always takes place in the present day. This allows the appearance of products created after 2003, such as the Nintendo DS Mr. Ayase plays in chapter forty-two.

Official story dates through volume five are given by a small artbook, Yotsuba&! Illustrations and Materials, distributed in Japan with volume six and Yotsuba & Monochrome Animals; dates from volume six on are established by evidence within the series, such as statements by characters, and by statements by Azuma. The collected volumes have seven chapters each, spanning about a week in series time. The first five volumes cover a summer vacation period.

[maichan]

I AM A HERO by Kengo Hanazawa

This is the other series that I've discussed before, HERE beginning in September 2018.

Wikipedia:

I Am a Hero is a Japanese zombie manga by Kengo Hanazawa.

A live action film adaptation directed by Shinsuke Sato and starring Yo Oizumi, Kasumi Arimura and Masami Nagasawa, premiered at the Sitges Film Festival on October 13, 2015, was released commercially on April 23, 2016.

There are three spinoff manga written by the same author and set in the same universe called, I Am a Hero in Osaka, I Am a Hero in Ibaraki and I Am a Hero in Nagasaki.

The story begins with Hideo Suzuki, a 35-year-old manga artist assistant, whose life seems to be stuck around his exhausting but low-paying job, unfulfilled dreams, strange hallucinations and unsatisfying relationships. He sees himself as a supporting character in his own life, and has low self-esteem, resulting in frustration.

One day, the world as Hideo knows it is shattered by the presence of a disease (nicknamed ZQN) that turns people into homicidal maniacs who resemble and behave like zombies, and whose first instinct is to attack and devour the nearest human. Armed with only his sporting shotgun, he runs for his life, meeting strangers along the way. For a while, he and his companions struggle to stay alive, while questioning their moral choices. In the end, only three of them remain and drive all the way to the top of Mt. Fuji to be saved.

The manga is serialized in the Japanese manga magazine Big Comic Spirits published by Shogakukan starting in 2009. Shogakukan has compiled the chapters into 21 volumes so far starting from August 28, 2009. It is also published in Italy by GP Manga, in France by Kana, in Spain by Norma Editorial, in Mexico by Panini Manga, in Germany by Carlsen Manga, and in Indonesia by Level Comics. Dark Horse Comics acquired the U.S. rights, with plans for a 2-in-1 omnibus release starting in 2016.

20200427_171737 by Michael Foertsch, on Flickr

[maichan]

KITARO by Shigeru Mizuki
NonNonBa by Shigeru Mizuki

Kitaro is a fun, albite quirky series. I still enjoy it though.

I've known about Kitaro for many years, but didn't really get to know Kitaro until the Drawn & Quarterly publications came out (beginning with the bigger 432 page single volume).


20200426_160137 by Michael Foertsch, on Flickr

Wikipedia:

GeGeGe no Kitarō (ゲゲゲの鬼太郎), originally known as Kitarō of the Graveyard (墓場鬼太郎, Hakaba Kitarō), is a Japanese manga series created in 1960 by Shigeru Mizuki. It is best known for its popularization of the folklore creatures known as yōkai, a class of spirit-monster which all of the main characters belong to. This story was an early 20th-century Japanese folk tale performed on kamishibai. It has been adapted for the screen several times, as anime, live action and video games. The word "Ge Ge Ge" (ゲゲゲ) in the title is a cackling noise in the Japanese language.

GeGeGe no Kitarō focuses on the young Kitarō—the last survivor of the Ghost Tribe—and his adventures with other ghouls and strange creatures of Japanese mythology. Along with: the remains of his father, Medama-Oyaji (a mummified Ghost tribesman reincarnated to inhabit his old eyeball); Nezumi-Otoko (the rat-man); Neko-Musume (the cat-girl) and a host of other folkloric creatures, Kitarō strives to unite the worlds of humans and Yōkai.

Many storylines involve Kitarō facing off with myriad monsters from other countries, such as the Chinese vampire Yasha, the Transylvanian Dracula IV, and other such non-Japanese creations. In addition to this, Kitarō also locks heads with various malevolent Yōkai who threaten the balance between the Japanese creatures and humans.

Some storylines make overt reference to traditional Japanese tales, most notably the folk tale of Momotarō, in which the young hero defends a Japanese territory from demons with the help of the native animals. The Kitarō series The Great Yōkai War draws a great deal of influence from this story, with Kitarō and his Yōkai friends driving a group of Western ghouls away from an island.

While the character of Kitarō in GeGeGe no Kitarō is a friendly boy who genuinely wants the best outcome for humans and Yōkai alike, his earlier incarnation in Kitarō of the Graveyard portrays him as a much more darkly mischievous character. His apparent lack of empathy for humans combined with his general greed and desire for material wealth drives him to act in an unbecoming manner towards the human characters—often deceptively leading them into nightmarish situations or even to hell itself.

Drawn & Quarterly:

MEET ONE OF JAPAN’S MOST POPULAR CHARACTERS OF ALL TIME—KITARO, THE ONE-EYED MONSTER BOY

Meet Kitaro. He’s just like any other boy, except for a few small differences: he only has one eye, his hair is an antenna that senses paranormal activity, his geta sandals are jet-powered, and he can blend into his surroundings like a chameleon. Oh, and he’s a yokai (spirit monster)! With all the offbeat humor of an Addams Family story, Kitaro is a lighthearted romp in which the bad guys always get what’s coming to them.

Kitaro is bestselling manga-ka Shigeru Mizuki’s most famous creation. The Kitaro series was inspired by a kamishibai, or storycard theater, entitled Kitaro of the Graveyard. Mizuki began work on his interpretation of Kitaro in 1959. Originally the series was intended for boys, but once it was picked up by the influential Shonen magazine it quickly became a cultural landmark for young and old alike. Kitaro inspired half a dozen TV shows, plus numerous video games and films, and his cultural importance cannot be overstated. Presented to North American audiences for the first time in this lavish format, Mizuki’s photo-realist landscapes and cartoony characters blend the eerie with the comic.

Translated from the Japanese by Jocelyne Allen.

Once I got to know more about Kitaro, I became more interested in Shigeru Mizuki, and his other works.

Read about author/artist Shigeru Mizuki HERE.

Drawn & Quarterly:

THE FIRST ENGLISH TRANSLATION OF MIZUKI'S BEST-LOVED WORK

NonNonBa is the definitive work by acclaimed gekiga-ka Shigeru Mizuki, a poetic memoir detailing his interest in yokai (spirit monsters). Mizuki’s childhood experiences with yokai influenced the course of his life and oeuvre; he is now known as the forefather of yokai manga. His spring 2011 book, Onward Towards Our Noble Deaths, was featured on PRI’s The World, where Marco Werman scored a coveted interview with one of the most famous visual artists working in Japan today.

Within the pages of NonNonBa, Mizuki explores the legacy left him by his childhood explorations of the spirit world, explorations encouraged by his grandmother, a grumpy old woman named NonNonBa. NonNonBa is a touching work about childhood and growing up, as well as a fascinating portrayal of Japan in a moment of transition. NonNonBa was the first manga to win the Angouleme Prize for Best Album. Much like its namesake, NonNonBa is at once funny and nostalgic, firmly grounded in a sociohistorical context and floating in the world of the supernatural.

Translated from the Japanese by Jocelyne Allen.

20200427_183735 by Michael Foertsch, on Flickr

[maichan]

Onward Towards Our Noble Deaths by Shigeru Mizuki
Showa: A History of Japan series by Shigeru Mizuki

These are a must read. I've only made it through the first Showa book, but it's a fascinating story through the eyes and art of someone that experienced much of it first hand.


20200427_172949 by Michael Foertsch, on Flickr

Drawn & Quarterly

Onward Towards Our Noble Deaths
A LANDMARK PUBLISHING EVENT OF ONE OF JAPAN’S MOST FAMOUS CARTOONISTS

Shigeru Mizuki is the preeminent figure of gekiga/manga and one of the most famous working cartoonists in Japan today — a true living legend. Onward Towards Our Noble Deaths is his first book to be translated into English and is a semi-autobiographical account of the desperate final weeks of a Japanese infantry unit at the end of World War Two. The soldiers are instructed that they must go into battle and die for the honor of their country, with certain execution facing them if they return alive. Mizuki was a soldier himself (he was severely injured and lost an arm) and uses his experiences to convey the devastating consequences and moral depravity of the war.

Mizuki's list of accolades and achievements is long and detailed. Currently in Japan, the life of Mizuki and his wife has been made into an extremely popular television drama that airs daily. Mizuki is the recipient of many awards including Best Album award for his book NonNonBa (published in 2012 by Drawn & Quarterly) and Heritage Essential award for Onward Towards Our Noble Deaths, at the Angouleme International Comics Festival, the Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize Special Award, Kyokujitsu Sho Decoration, Shiju Hosho Decoration and the Kodansha Manga Award. His hometown of Sakaiminato honored him with the Shigeru Mizuki Road, a street in his town decorated with bronze statues of his Ge Ge Ge no Kitaro characters and the Shigeru Mizuki International Cultural Center.

Translated from the Japanese by Jocelyne Allen.

Showa: A History of Japan series

A FASCINATING PERIOD IN JAPANESE HISTORY EXPLORED BY A MASTER OF MANGA

Showa 1926-1939: A History of Japan is the first volume of Shigeru Mizuki’s meticulously researched historical portrait of twentieth century Japan. This volume deals with the period leading up to World War II, a time of high unemployment and other economic hardships caused by the Great Depression. Mizuki’s photo-realist style effortlessly brings to life Japan of the 1920s and 1930s, depicting bustling city streets and abandoned graveyards with equal ease.

When the Showa Era began, Mizuki himself was just a few years old, so his earliest memories coincide with the earliest events of the Era. With his trusty narrator Rat Man, Mizuki brings history into the realm of the personal, making it palatable, and indeed compelling, for young audiences as well as more mature readers. As he describes the militarization that leads up to World War II, Mizuki’s stance toward war is thoughtful and often downright critical – his portrayal of the Nanjing Massacre clearly paints the incident (a disputed topic within Japan) as an atrocity. Mizuki’s Showa 1926-1939 is a beautifully told history that tracks how technological developments and the country’s shifting economic stability had a role in shaping Japan’s foreign policy in the early twentieth century.

Translated from the Japanese by Zack Davisson.

A MASTER CARTOONIST AND WAR VET DETAILS JAPAN’S INVOLVEMENT IN WORLD WAR II

Showa 1939-1944: A History of Japan continues award-winning author Shigeru Mizuki’s autobiographical and historical account of Showa era Japan. This volume covers the final moments of the lead-up to World War Two and the first few years of the Pacific War; it is a chilling reminder of the harshness of life in Japan during this highly militarized epoch.

In Showa 1939-1944, Mizuki writes affectingly about the impact on the Japanese populace of world-changing moments including the devastating Second Sino-Japanese War, the attack on Pearl Harbor, and the first half of the Pacific War. On a personal level, these years mark a dramatic transformation in Mizuki’s life, too – his idyllic childhood in the countryside comes to a definitive end when he’s drafted into the army and shipped off to the tiny island of Rabaul in Papua New Guinea. His life becomes a constant struggle for survival, not only against the constant Allied attacks but because he must face the harsh discipline of the Japanese army officers. During his time in Rabaul, Mizuki comes to understand the misery and beauty of the island itself—a place that will permanently mark him and haunt him for the rest of his life.

Translated from the Japanese by Zack Davisson.

A SWEEPING YET INTIMATE PORTRAIT OF THE LEGACY OF WORLD WAR II IN JAPAN

Showa 1944–1953: A History of Japan continues award-winning author Shigeru Mizuki’s autobiographical and historical account of the Showa period in Japan. This volume recounts the events of the final years of the Pacific War, and the consequences of the war's devastation for Mizuki and the Japanese populace at large.

After the surprise attack at Pearl Harbor, Japan and the United States are officially at war. The two rival navies engage in a deadly game of feint and thrust, waging a series of microwars across the tiny Pacific islands. From Guadalcanal to Okinawa, Japan slowly loses ground. Finally, the United States unleashes the deathblow with a new and terrible weapon—the atomic bomb. The fallout from the bombs is beyond imagining.

On another front, Showa 1944–1953 traces Mizuki’s own life story across history’s sweeping changes during this period, charting the impact of the war’s end on his life choices. After losing his arm during the brutal fighting, Mizuki struggles to decide where to go: whether to remain on the island as an honored friend of the local Tolai people or return to the rubble of Japan and take up his dream of becoming a cartoonist. Showa 1944–1953 is a searing condemnation of the personal toll of war from one of Japan’s most famous cartoonists.

Translated from the Japanese by Zack Davisson.

THE FINAL VOLUME IN THE EISNER-NOMINATED HISTORY OF JAPAN.

Showa 1953–1989: A History of Japan concludes Shigeru Mizuki’s dazzling autobiographical and historical account of Showa period Japan, a portrait both intimate and ranging of a defining epoch. The final volume picks up in the wake of Japan’s utter defeat in World War II, as a country reduced to rubble struggles to rise again. The Korean War brings new opportunities to the nation searching for an identity.

A former enemy becomes Japan’s greatest ally as the US funnels money, jobs, and opportunity into the country, hoping to establish it as a bulwark against Soviet communist expansion. Japan reinvents itself, emerging as an economic powerhouse. Events like the Tokyo Olympiad and the World’s Fair introduce a new, friendly Japan to the world, but this period of peace and plenty conceals a populace still struggling to come to terms with the devastation of World War II.

The original Japanese edition of the series Showa: A History of Japan won Mizuki the prestigious Kodansha Manga Award; the English translation has been nominated for an Eisner Award.

Translated from the Japanese by Zack Davisson.

[Gaffey]

No shelfies?

[maichan]

No shelfies?

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