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Shojo Manga-ka: Fujio Akatsuka

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Shōjo Manga-ka: Fujio Akatsuka (少女漫画家 赤塚不二夫) is a special anthology mook by Gambit Publishing, released on April 7, 2020. It chronicles the shōjo works of Fujio Akatsuka, with special focus given to ten particular titles throughout his career.

Overview[]

The ten key featured titles covered within the anthology's 320 pages happen to be:

Akatsuka's early kashihon works (starting withBeyond the Storm) are covered in write-ups as well, along with other short series and one-shots in the shōjo genre. 32 works in total are covered throughout the book. It also contains reprinting of 1 "phantom episode" each for Matsuge-chan and Ohana-chan, giving readers a taste of stories that never previously appeared in tankobon collections.

Furthermore, the anthology showcases the involvement that Akatsuka's first wife Tomoko had upon the development of Akko-chan; her original concept sketches for the character designs are included as material in chapter 1, as well as photos of Tomoko herself. Interviews by Fujio Pro artist Katta Yoshi and classic illustrator Setsuko Tamura give further insight on Akatsuka's career and stylistic choices.

As far as reprinted manga would go, the press release stated of an effort to use highest-quality scans of any original drawings as possible except when the manuscripts are missing, or where the art had to be redone by assistants due to deterioration in the picture quality over the years. In the case of Akko-chan, the original printings and art style are mostly used, except in the case where Kankichi has his redrawn appearance for the two chapters he is featured in. Though when it comes to the quality of other reprints, nearly all are based from the Fujio Akatsuka Complete Works DVD-ROM set while the two "phantom episodes" were scanned from magazine copies.

There is also some debate about the possible misnomer in the title, as Akatsuka had always intended on being a gag manga artist and had only started in shojo to break into the industry, as well as the fact that the height of his shojo career came before the launch of Akko-chan (although it became the most popular title itself) and that many girl-geared titles afterwards were more in the simplistic gag vein.

Book sections[]

Prologue: The "Character Picture Book", a profile section featuring brief information and digitally colored images of the shojo protagonists present in the reprinted titles.

  1. "Fujio and Tomoko's "Akko-chan's Got a Secret!"" (pages 9-59): Covers the history of Akko-chan with three reprinted chapters, as well as containing the aforementioned art gallery of Tomoko's designs and an interview by Fujio Pro's Tatsuya Matsuki about the contributions she had made to Akatsuka manga. There is also other commentary about Akatsuka's usage of characters.
  2. "Kashihon Shojo Manga-ka Fujio Akatsuka" (pages 73-86): Covers the works that Akatsuka wrote for Akebono and Wakaki Shobo through the late 1950s.
  3. "Akatsuka Shojo Manga Masterpieces" (pages 90-188): Covers select popular shojo titles of Akatsuka from the late 1950s to 1960s (Matsuge-chan, Ohana-chan, Happy-chan, Kibimama-chan, and Good Morning with Mi-tan), with some of their stories reprinted.
  4. "Short-Term Akatsuka Shojo Manga" (pages 201-232): Covers various one-shots from the 1950s to 1960s, as well as two brief write-ups on 1960s Akatsuka serials that hadn't made it into the "Masterpieces" section. The end of the chapter contains an interview with Fujio Pro art chief Takayoshi Minematsu/Katta Yoshi.
  5. "Akatsuka Shojo Gag Manga Masterpieces" (pages 237-318): Highlights three more chaotic, gag-oriented shojo works from the later 1960s (Jajako-chan, Hippie-chan, Hennako-chan) with samples of their stories, as well as the 1970s work Tsumannaiko-chan. The end of the chapter contains an interview with Setsuko Tamura.

Characters Profiled in the "Picture Book" opening section[]

  • Atsuko Kagami and her mirror (Akko-chan's Got a Secret!)
  • Moko and Kankichi (Akko-chan's Got a Secret!)
  • Matsuge Kawai (Matsuge-chan)
  • Sachiko/"Happy-chan" and Koro (Happy-chan)
  • Ohana-chan
  • Kimiko Haruno (Kibimama-chan)
  • Mi-tan and Chibira (Good Morning with Mi-tan)
  • Jajako-chan
  • Hennako-chan
  • Hippie-chan and Fu
  • Tsumannaiko-chan and Bu-Wani

Other Works Covered[]

1950s[]

Kashihon Titles[]

One-shots[]

1960s[]

Series[]

One-shots[]

Reprinted Chapters[]

  • Matsuge-chan (2 stories): "A New Years' Gift of a Hula Hoop" (January 1959, previously unreprinted), "Shoes in the Azuki Porridge" (March 1961)
  • Ohana-chan (2 stories): "Who Made This Doll" (March 1961), "April Fools" (April 1960, original title: "A Birthday on April Fools' Day", previously unreprinted, originally in color but rendered in monochrome for this book)
  • Happy-chan (1 story): "Happiness and a Puppy" (April 1960)
  • Akko-chan's Got a Secret! (3 stories): "The First Errand from the Mirror Country" (June 1962), "Art in Autumn is a Huge Mess" (October 1963) , "Kankichi-kun and the Silent Night" (December 1964)
  • Jajako-chan (6 stories):
  • Kibimama-chan (2 stories): "Kibimama Has Arrived" (October 1965), "A Burnt Dress" (December 1965)
  • Good Morning with Mi-tan (3 stories): "To the Human World" (January 1967, original title: "Good Morning with Mi-tan" ), "A Severe Baby" (March 1967) , "I Want to Return to Heaven" (April 1967, first of two chapters with such a title)
  • Hennako-chan (2 stories):
  • Hippie-chan (3 stories):
  • Tsumannaiko-chan (2 stories):

Works Excluded from the Book[]

While the book includes many shojo titles to sample, these are the ones pointedly not covered in its pages either due to space, lack of research and available reprints, or copyright issues. Any one-shots or series that Akatsuka participated in as part of U.MIA (eg: Angel in the Dark) are already not covered, due to his minimal involvement as part of the trio. Any "Asuka Izumi" and "Fujitaro Ishizuka" works that Akatsuka co-produced with Shotaro Ishinomori are similarly excluded due to Ishinomori having more of a hand in them.

The numerous short Shojo Book-serialized competition manga also do not receive mention, due to many of them never being reprinted as well as their brevity.

Most which are "unknown" can be figured to probably be left out due to space, but may still be glaring omissions due to their own notable places in Akatsuka's body of work (such as Kyuhei and Sister) or having had reprints to properly showcase their story elements.

  • Yacchan: Likely due to being small "obi manga"
  • Mako-chan (1957): Also an obi manga
  • Mako-chan (1958 one-shots): Never previously reprinted
  • Masami-chan: Although Akatsuka did the artwork, the authorship credit is not his. It has also never been reprinted.
  • The Thousand Cedar Tree House: Although Akatsuka did the artwork, the authorship credits are not his and it has not been reprinted.
  • Moving Portrait: Never previously reprinted
  • Brooch and Ballet Shoes: Never previously reprinted
  • Mami-chan: Akatsuka only did the artwork and adaptation, as the writing is not his. Like other derivative or co-authored works, it has never seen reprint.
  • The Cheerful Family: Never previously reprinted
  • Sacchan (1958): Never previously reprinted; the 1959 Sacchan is often listed with this one's release date as a misnomer by Fujio Pro
  • P-ko's Summer Vacation Tomboy Diary: Never previously reprinted
  • Marippe-sensei: Derivative work; only partially reprinted in the DVD-ROM set.
  • Hoop of Hula-chan: Never previously reprinted
  • Pako-chan's New Year: Never previously reprinted
  • The Mean Taki-chan: Never previously reprinted
  • The Secret of Katsuko: Never previously reprinted
  • Tan-chan, Stop!: Never previously reprinted
  • Tenpei and Sister and its sequel White Kappogi: Reprinted in the DVD-ROM set and eBookJapan collections, but left out of here for unknown reasons.
  • What is Mama Doing Now: Unknown reasons, although it was only ever partially reprinted in the DVD-ROM set.
  • Sunset Angel: Derivative work, only partially reprinted in the DVD-ROM set.
  • Chabashira: Unknown reasons; previously reprinted in the DVD-ROM set and eBookJapan collections.
  • I'll Do it This Year!: Previously reprinted in the DVD-ROM and eBookJapan, but also left out.
  • Gathered in the Living Room : Unknown reasons, but also previously represented through the DVD-ROMs and eBookJapan.
  • Yuki's Blue Eyes : Unknown reasons, but represented in reprints in the DVD-ROM collection and eBookJapan.
  • Opposite Address 3: Likely due to being a collaboration with Jiro Tsunoda, with some of the characters bearing his touch. It was also only partially reprinted before, in both the DVD-ROM set and the "Tearful Akatsuka" and "1000 Pages" anthologies.
  • The Replacement Housekeeper: Unknown; previously reprinted in the 1960s eBook collection, and at the end of the Akebono reprints of Kibimama-chan and the DVD-ROM digitization.
  • Bokeko's Summer Vacation Diary: Unknown but previously reprinted as extra material in the Akebono "Complete Works" version of Jajako-chan, as well as the DVD-ROM digitization.
  • New-derella: Never previously reprinted
  • Kyuhei and Sister: Unknown reasons, but represented through previous reprints with Akebono, the DVD-ROM digitization, and eBookJapan.
  • Tecchan is Back to Fighting: Unknown reasons, although the fact it did not last too long as a serial (having been replaced by Hippie-chan) may not have made it a priority for inclusion. It was previously represented in reprints in the Akebono edition of "I'm Kemugoro" as well as the DVD-ROM digitization of the volume.
  • Sorrowful Manga: Princess New-derella: Never previously reprinted
  • Jamako: Never previously reprinted
  • St. Harenchi Girls' School: Possibility of royalty or authorship issues, in being that it was an open collaboration between Akatsuka, Mitsutoshi Furuya, and Keiji Yoshitani. It was reprinted as extra content in the Akebono tankobon of Hennako-chan, and the DVD-ROM digitization of such.
  • Harenchi Masterpiece Series : Unknown reasons, reprinted as extra content in the Akebono tankobon of Happy-chan, and in the DVD-ROM digitization of such.
  • All Night Decco: Never previously reprinted, and also wound up having more of the touch of Mitsutoshi Furuya for both its story and art.
  • Adventurer Miru-chan: Never previously reprinted
  • Jajako (5th grade one-shot): Only previously reprinted in the Akebono Bunko release and nowhere else
  • Masegaki: Unknown, but reprinted as an extra in the "1970s" DVD-ROM book. Prototype to below work.
  • Naughty Angel: Possible reasons unknown, aside from likely a lack of space or it not feeling "shojo" enough from its ecchi nature compared to the preceding serial (Tsumannaiko-chan).
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