Recommendations of the Editorial team
Mangas are the best-selling comic genre in Germany today. While some are amazed at them, the bookcase is already seaming at others. On Saturday (September 27th) the Manga Day The millions of fans of the Japanese picture stories, which are always read backwards, new fabric.
Last year there were 1200 shops and libraries, 870,000 free manga editions were distributed. This year there is a total of 28 reading samples, including German stories, new products from the publisher and classics this year, analogous to the goodies at the free comic day.
Anyone who wants to look at the hype for mangas from a different perspective is the right place at “Tokyo these days” by Taiyō Matsumoto. It is told by the not exactly low-friction but productive relationship between manga editors and manga artists. At the same time, history is also a melancholic snapshot of life in the Japanese metropolis.
What is it about? Kazuo Shiozawa was a manga editor for many years, but now has to experience how his magazine is set. However, he also takes the personal catastrophe as a starting point to get something new. He meets different draftsmen, develops ideas to realize a “perfect manga”.
In addition to Shiozawa, there are two other protagonists at the center of the plot. Matsumoto shows her attitude towards life and art and confronts her with the breakage of her everyday life, her unfulfilled dreams and the question of meaning. The sketchy images, mostly in black and white, fades into an intimate chronicle of aging, friendship and manga lifestyle. “Tokyo these days” is also a tribute to the culture of the small magazines and a poetic reflection on the eternal development of Tokios.
At Reproduct have currently published two volumes of the three -part work. We show a neckline.
All pictures: 2025 Taiyo Matsumoto / Shogakukan