Big Comic Original
Encyclopedia
is a Japan
ese seinen
manga
magazine published by Shogakukan
, aimed at an older adult and mostly male audience. It is a sister magazine to Big Comic
, the biggest difference being that it goes on sale twice a month in the weeks Big Comic doesn't. Cover artwork usually features a dog or cat, and a haiku. The dozen or so manga serials running at any given time feature a wide variety of material, from historical dramas and suspense to sports and romance, with relatively little science fiction or fantasy.
Launched in 1972, it has published over 1000 issues, typically running to about 350 pages in a black-and-white, saddle-stapled format, selling for 280 yen (2010). More than 83% of readers are reported to be over 30 years old, with female readers comprising about a quarter of the total. Most readers are company employees. Circulation in 2010 was reported at 729,750 copies.
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese seinen
Seinen
is a subset of manga that is generally targeted at a 20–30 year old male audience, but the audience can be older with some manga aimed at businessmen well into their 40s. In Japanese, the word Seinen means "young man" or "young men" and is not suggestive of sexual matters...
manga
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
magazine published by Shogakukan
Shogakukan
is a Japanese publisher of dictionaries, literature, manga, non-fiction, DVDs, and other media in Japan.Shogakukan founded Shueisha which founded Hakusensha. These are three separate companies, but are together called the Hitotsubashi Group, one of the largest publishing groups in Japan...
, aimed at an older adult and mostly male audience. It is a sister magazine to Big Comic
Big Comic
is a semimonthly seinen manga magazine published since 1968-02-29 by Shogakukan in Japan. It was originally launched as a monthly magazine, but switched to twice monthly on the 10th and 25th beginning in April 1968. It is paired with sister magazine Big Comic Original, going on sale in the weeks...
, the biggest difference being that it goes on sale twice a month in the weeks Big Comic doesn't. Cover artwork usually features a dog or cat, and a haiku. The dozen or so manga serials running at any given time feature a wide variety of material, from historical dramas and suspense to sports and romance, with relatively little science fiction or fantasy.
Launched in 1972, it has published over 1000 issues, typically running to about 350 pages in a black-and-white, saddle-stapled format, selling for 280 yen (2010). More than 83% of readers are reported to be over 30 years old, with female readers comprising about a quarter of the total. Most readers are company employees. Circulation in 2010 was reported at 729,750 copies.
Manga artists and series
- Mitsuru AdachiMitsuru Adachiis a Japanese manga artist. After graduating from Gunma Prefectural Maebashi Commercial High School in 1969, Adachi worked as an assistant for Isami Ishii. He made his manga debut in 1970 with Kieta Bakuon, based on a manga originally created by Satoru Ozawa...
- Bōken ShōnenBoken Shonenis a manga series of short stories by Mitsuru Adachi which appeared about once a year in Shogakukan's Big Comic Original between 1998 and 2006. The title translates to "Adventure Boys." All seven stories deal with grown men, each dealing with some aspect of his past. Some of the stories have slight...
- JinbēJinbeis a romance manga by Mitsuru Adachi. It appeared irregularly in the manga magazine Big Comic Original from 1992 through 1997, and was republished in one tankōbon volume in May 1997. In 1998, it was adapted as an 11-episode television drama series by Fuji TV.Jinbē is the story of the relationship...
- Bōken Shōnen
- George AkiyamaGeorge Akiyamais a Japanese manga artist known for dealing with controversial and incendiary topics in many of his works.-Biography:Akiyama quit high school and moved to Tokyo to become a manga artist. After working briefly as a book wholesaler, he became an assistant for manga artist Kenji Morita...
- HaguregumoHaguregumois a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by George Akiyama. It has been serialized by Shogakukan in Big Comic Original since 1973 and collected in 91 tankōbon as of April 2010. Haguregumo received the 1979 Shogakukan Manga Award for general category.It was adapted into a movie in 1982 by...
- Haguregumo
- Yoshiie Gouda
- Kuuki Ningyo (Air DollAir Dollis a 2009 Japanese drama film directed by Hirokazu Koreeda. It is based on the manga series Kuuki Ningyo by Yoshiie Gōda, which was serialized in the seinen manga magazine Big Comic Original, and is about an inflatable doll that develops a consciousness and falls in love. The movie debuted in the...
)
- Kuuki Ningyo (Air Doll
- Mitsuo HashimotoMitsuo Hashimoto (manga artist)is a Japanese manga artist. After winning an honorable mention at the 11th Tezuka Awards in 1976 for his work Mīnya no Negai, he made his professional debut the following year in a special issue of Weekly Shōnen Jump with his work...
- Station
- Kenshi HirokaneKenshi Hirokaneis a Japanese manga artist. He graduated from Waseda University with a degree in law, then worked for Matsushita Electric for four years, before making his manga debut in 1974 with Kaze Kaoru....
- Human CrossingHuman Crossing, is a Japanese manga written by Masao Yajima and illustrated by Kenshi Hirokane. The manga is about a series of unrelated stories of people's life and their lessons in life...
(story by Masao Yajima) - Like Shooting Stars in the Twilight
- Human Crossing
- Ichimaru
- Okami-sanOkami-sanis a seinen sports manga by about a woman who becomes the manager of a stable of sumo wrestlers. It was published by Shogakukan in Big Comic Original from 1990 to 1999 and collected in seventeen tankōbon volumes. It received the 1993 Shogakukan Manga Award for general manga.- External links :* at...
- Okami-san
- Shin'ichi Ishizuka
- Gaku: Minna no YamaGaku: Minna no Yamais a Japanese mountaineering manga written and illustrated by Shin'ichi Ishizuka. It has been serialized by Shogakukan in Big Comic Original since 2003, and collected in thirteen bound volumes as of November 2010. It depicts the adventures of a volunteer with an alpine search and rescue team in the...
- Gaku: Minna no Yama
- Hideo Iura
- Bengoshi no KuzuBengoshi no Kuzuis a Japanese manga written and illustrated by Hideo Iura about Takeda Masami, a new lawyer and fellow lawyer Kuzu Motohito, who Takeda is teamed up with, and how they deal with different court cases. It was serialized in Big Comic Original...
- Bengoshi no Kuzu
- Eiji Kazama
- Kaze no DaichiKaze no Daichiis an ongoing golf manga written by Nobuhiro Sakata and illustrated by Eiji Kazama. It has been published by Shogakukan in Big Comic Original since 1991 and collected in 52 tankōbon volumes as of August 2010...
(story by Nobuhiro Sakata)
- Kaze no Daichi
- Kenichi Kitami
- Tsuribaka NisshiTsuribaka Nisshi' is a fishing manga by Jūzō Yamasaki and Kenichi Kitami that has been serialized in Big Comic Original since 1979. It won the 28th Shogakukan Manga Award in 1983...
(story by Jūzō YamasakiJuzo Yamasakiis a Japanese manga artist.His best known work is Tsuribaka Nisshi with art by Kenichi Kitami. Yamasaki originally wrote screenplays for Toei, but was laid off and decided to pursue a career in manga instead...
)
- Tsuribaka Nisshi
- Kō KojimaKo Kojimais a Japanese manga artist. He is best known for penning Sennin Buraku , the longest running comic by a single artist...
- Hige to Boin (running since 1974)
- Nakayama Masaaki
- PS Rashomon (with Masao Yajima)
- Shinji MizushimaShinji Mizushimais a Japanese manga artist. He is best known as an author of baseball manga, such as Yakyū-kyō no Uta, Dokaben, and Abu-san. He is a two-time recipient of the Shogakukan Manga Award.-Biography:...
- Abu-sanAbu-sanis a baseball manga by Shinji Mizushima that has been serialized in seinen manga magazine Big Comic Original since 1973. It tells the story of fictionall baseball player '. Despite enjoying a long serialization spanning over 30 years, it has received no anime or live-action adaptations. In 1977, it...
(running since 1973)
- Abu-san
- Motoka MurakamiMotoka Murakamiis a Japanese manga artist who writes primarily shōnen manga. He won the Kodansha Manga Award for shōnen for Gakuto Retsuden in 1982 and the Shogakukan Manga Award twice, for shōnen for Musashi no Ken in 1984 and for general manga in 1996 for Ron, serialized in Big Comic Original from 1991 to 2006...
- Ryuu – Ron (1991–2006)
- Yuji Nishi
- Andonatsu (story by Terry Yamamotō)
- Osamu Uoto
- Genmai Sensei no Bentō boku (scenarios by Masaki Kitahara)
- Naoki UrasawaNaoki Urasawais a Japanese manga artist.-Early life:He graduated from Meisei University with a degree in economics. In 2008, Urasawa had a guest teaching post at Nagoya Zokei University, where he taught classes on manga.-Manga career:...
- Master KeatonMaster Keatonis a Japanese manga series created by Hokusei Katsushika and Naoki Urasawa. It was serialized in Big Comic Original between 1988 and 1994 and ran for 18 volumes . An anime adaptation of the series aired between 1998 and 1999 in Japan on Nippon Television...
(with Hokusei Katsushika) - MonsterMonster (manga)is a seinen manga written and illustrated by Naoki Urasawa, published by Shogakukan in Big Comic Original between 1994 and 2001, and reprinted in 18 tankōbon volumes. It was adapted by Madhouse as a 74-episode anime TV series, which aired on NTV from April 7, 2004 to September 28, 2005...
- Pineapple ArmyPineapple Armyis a Japanese manga series written by Kazuya Kudo and illustrated by Naoki Urasawa. It was originally serialized in Shogakukan's Big Comic Original from 1986 to 1988. The individual volumes were published in 8 tankōbon by Shogakukan. The manga is licensed in France by Glénat, in Spain by Planeta...
(story by Kazuya KudoKazuya Kudo-Selected works:* Mai, the Psychic Girl with Ryoichi Ikegami* Nobunaga with Ryōichi Ikegami* Pineapple Army with Naoki Urasawa with Takao Saito with Yasuichi Oshima with Taku Kitazaki with Kiyokazu Chiba...
) - PlutoPluto (manga)is a manga series by Naoki Urasawa published in Shogakukan's Big Comic Original from 2003 to 2009. It has been licensed for release in English by Viz Media, under the name Pluto: Urasawa x Tezuka. Takashi Nagasaki is credited as the series' co-author...
- Master Keaton
- Takatoshi Yamada
- Dr. Kotō ShinryōjoDr. Koto Shinryojois a manga series by Takatoshi Yamada that was serialized in Shogakukan's Weekly Young Sunday until the magazines cancellation, at that point it moved to Big Comic Original in 2008....
(moved from Young Sunday)
- Dr. Kotō Shinryōjo