13th Manga Division Critiques

MURAKAMI Tomohiko

Every work that was selected for the final screening is unique and reminds the jury of the depth and breadth of manga expression. I would also like to mention some other works that came up in the discussion. Young and middle-aged artists received many votes in the early stages, and in the end, the 'veterans' yielded to the young. JIN by MURAKAMI Motokazu, MOROHOSHI Daijiro's bio no mokushiroku, and MOBILESUIT GUNDAM THE ORIGIN by YASUHIKO Yoshikazu were excellent and are regarded as characteristic works. In particular, 5 minutes from the station by KURAMOCHI Fusako is an aspiring work that portrays human relationships in our Internet society, and has a high level of characteristic manga expression. It is a story about people's lives of different generations and professions in a small town, and how they are loosely related to each other. Another impressive work is IGARASHI Mikio's To Kamuroba Village. This story portrays a kind of utopia that is experienced by the hero who refuses money. A strange event caused by human imagination colors the world and imparts a peculiar feeling after reading the story.

Profile

MURAKAMI Tomohiko

Professor, Kobe Shoin Women's University

Born in Hyogo, 1951. MURAKAMI Tomohiko graduated from the School of Sociology of Kwansei Gakuin University. He is a critic and editor. After spending years in the Cultural News Department at the Osaka Headquarters of Sports Nippon Newspapers, he served as the managing director at Channel Zero Company and the editor in chief at "Play Guide Journal", an information magazine. He is currently a professor of the General Literature, the major of Literature at Kobe Shoin Women's University. Currently he is on the selection committee for the TEZUKA Osamu Cultural Prize and is a board member of the Japan Society for Studies in Cartoons and Comics. His major works includes "It's Only Comics" (Kosaido Bunko) and "Manga Kaitai Shinsho" (Seikyusha).