Showa: A History of Japan
Showa: A History of Japan | |
![]() Cover of the first publication | |
コミック昭和史 (Komikku Shōwa-shi) | |
---|---|
Genre | Historical |
Manga | |
Written by | Shigeru Mizuki |
Published by | Kodansha |
English publisher |
|
Demographic | Seinen |
Original run | 1988 – 1989 |
Volumes | 8 |
Showa: A History of Japan, known in Japan as Comic Showa-shi (Japanese: コミック昭和史, Hepburn: Komikku Shōwa-shi, lit. 'A Comics History of the Showa Era'), is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Shigeru Mizuki. An autobiographical work, it describes the author's experiences growing up during the Shōwa period. Mizuki served in the Japanese army, and his series is critical of Japanese and American militarism.[1]
Release
The manga was originally released by Kodansha as Shōwa-shi: Comic (昭和史: コミック, Shōwa-shi: Komikku) between November 1988 and December 1989.[2][3] The manga was republished as Comic Showa-shi by Kodansha from August 1, to November 4, 1994,[4][5] and a box with all the eight volumes was released on December 14, 1994.[6] An adaptation titled Kamishibai Shōwa-shi (紙芝居昭和史, lit. 'A Kamishibai Story of the Showa Era') was written by Kōji Kata and published on August 19, 2004, by Iwanami Shoten.[7]
In February 2013, Drawn & Quarterly announced it would publish the manga under the title Showa: A History of Japan.[8] The company released Showa 1926-1939 in October 2013, Showa 1939-1944 in May 2014, Showa 1944-1953 in November 2014, and Showa 1953-1989 in September 2015.[9]
Reception
It received the 1989 Kodansha Manga Award for the general category.[10] In 2014 and 2016, respectively, the first edition and the fourth edition of Showa published by Drawn & Quarterly were nominated by the Harvey Awards in the category "Best American Edition of Foreign Material".[11][12] It was also nominated at the Eisner Award in the category Best U.S. Edition of International Material—Asia in 2014 for Showa 1926-1939,[13] and it won it in 2015 and 2016 for Showa 1939-1944 and Showa 1953-1989 respectively.[14][15]
Comics critic Paul Gravett elected Showa: A History of Japan the third best manga published in North America in 2014, asking "What a better way to tell an epic modern history lesson than in these multi-layered, accessible manga?"[16]
Ian Scheffler of the Los Angeles Times praised the "knack for narrative" and "ability to convey the mood of a nation" expressed by the author.[17]
References
- ^ Mizuki, Shigeru (November 2013). Showa 1926-1939: A History of Japan. Mizuki Publishers. ISBN 9781770461352. Archived from the original on May 30, 2014. Retrieved April 7, 2015.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ 昭和史 : コミック 第1巻 (関東大震災~満州事変) (in Japanese). National Diet Library. 1988. Retrieved August 3, 2014.
- ^ 昭和史 : コミック 第8巻 (高度成長以降) (in Japanese). National Diet Library. 1989. Retrieved August 3, 2014.
- ^ コミック昭和史(1)関東大震災~満州事変 (in Japanese). Kodansha. Retrieved August 3, 2014.
- ^ コミック昭和史(8)高度成長以降 (in Japanese). Kodansha. Retrieved August 3, 2014.
- ^ コミック昭和史 全8巻セット (in Japanese). Kodansha. Retrieved August 3, 2014.
- ^ 過去の出版物 平成16(2004)年 (in Japanese). Mizuki Production. Retrieved August 3, 2014.
- ^ "Drawn & Quarterly Adds Shigeru Mizuki's Showa Manga". Anime News Network. February 4, 2013. Retrieved August 3, 2014.
- ^ "Products by Shigeru Mizuki". Drawn & Quarterly. Retrieved July 11, 2015.
- ^ Joel Hahn. "Kodansha Manga Awards". Comic Book Awards Almanac. Retrieved April 5, 2009.
- ^ "The 2014 Harvey Award Nominations Are Revealed". IGN. Ziff Davis Media. July 16, 2014. Retrieved August 3, 2014.
- ^ "One-Punch Man, Showa: A History of Japan Nominated for Harvey Awards". Anime News Network. July 6, 2016. Retrieved October 17, 2016.
- ^ "Suehiro Maruo's The Strange Tale of Panorama Island Manga Nominated for Eisner Award". Anime News Network. April 15, 2014. Retrieved November 29, 2014.
- ^ "Shigeru Mizuki's Showa Manga Wins Eisner Award". Anime News Network. July 11, 2015. Retrieved October 17, 2016.
- ^ "Shigeru Mizuki's Showa 1953-1989: A History of Japan Wins Eisner Award". Anime News Network. July 23, 2016. Retrieved October 17, 2016.
- ^ Gravett, Paul (December 28, 2014). "PG Tips No.41: My Best Comics & Manga of 2014: Year in Review". paulgravett.com. Retrieved December 5, 2015.
- ^ Scheffler, Ian (November 7, 2014). "Review: Shigeru Mizuki's 'Showa' draws a graphic portrait of Japan". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 2, 2023.
External links
- Showa: A History of Japan (manga) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia
- v
- t
- e
- Karyūdo no Seiza by Machiko Satonaka (1982)
- P.S. Genki Desu, Shunpei by Fumi Saimon (1983)
- Akira by Katsuhiro Otomo (1984)
- Okashi na Futari by Jūzō Yamasaki (1985)
- Adolf by Osamu Tezuka and What's Michael? by Makoto Kobayashi (1986)
- Actor by Kaiji Kawaguchi (1987)
- Bonobono by Mikio Igarashi and Be-Bop High School by Kazuhiro Kiuchi (1988)
- Showa: A History of Japan by Shigeru Mizuki (1989)
- The Silent Service by Kaiji Kawaguchi and Gorillaman by Harold Sakuishi (1990)
- Kachō Shima Kōsaku by Kenshi Hirokane and Waru by Jun Fukami (1991)
- Naniwa Kin'yūdō by Yūji Aoki (1992)
- Parasyte by Hitoshi Iwaaki (1993)
- Tetsujin Ganma by Yasuhito Yamamoto (1994)
- Hanada Shōnen Shi by Makoto Isshiki (1995)
- The Ping Pong Club by Minoru Furuya (1996)
- Dragon Head by Minetarō Mochizuki (1997)
- Gambling Apocalypse: Kaiji by Nobuyuki Fukumoto and Sōten Kōro by Hagin Yi and King Gonta (1998)
- Wangan Midnight by Michiharu Kusunoki (1999)
- Vagabond by Takehiko Inoue (2000)
- 20th Century Boys by Naoki Urasawa (2001)
- Zipang by Kaiji Kawaguchi (2002)
- Tensai Yanagisawa Kyōju no Seikatsu by Kazumi Yamashita (2003)
- Basilisk by Masaki Segawa (2004)
- Dragon Zakura by Norifusa Mita (2005)
- Mushishi by Yuki Urushibara (2006)
- Big Windup! by Asa Higuchi (2007)
- Moyasimon: Tales of Agriculture by Masayuki Ishikawa (2008)
- Oh My Goddess! by Kōsuke Fujishima (2009)
- Giant Killing by Masaya Tsunamoto (2010)
- March Comes In like a Lion by Chica Umino and Space Brothers by Chūya Koyama (2011)
- Vinland Saga by Makoto Yukimura (2012)
- Gurazeni by Yūji Moritaka and Keiji Adachi and Prison School by Akira Hiramoto (2013)
- Shōwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjū by Haruko Kumota (2014)
- Knights of Sidonia by Tsutomu Nihei (2015)
- Kōnodori by Yū Suzunoki (2016)
- The Fable by Katsuhisa Minami (2017)
- Sanju Mariko by Yuki Ozawa and Fragile by Saburō Megumi and Bin Kusamizu (2018)
- What Did You Eat Yesterday? by Fumi Yoshinaga (2019)
- Blue Period by Tsubasa Yamaguchi (2020)
- Yuria-sensei no Akai Ito by Kiwa Irie (2021)
- Police in a Pod by Miko Yasu (2022)
- Skip and Loafer by Misaki Takamatsu (2023)
- Medalist by Tsurumaikada (2024)