Dojin Work
Encyclopedia
is a Japanese four-panel
comic strip
written and illustrated by Japanese
manga author
Hiroyuki
. The story revolves around a young girl named Najimi Osana who is about to make her debut into the dōjin
creation world with the help of her experienced friends. Aspects of what it is like to be a dōjin artist are common themes throughout the story. The manga
was first serialized in the Japanese seinen
manga magazine Manga Time Kirara Carat
on November 28, 2004, published by Houbunsha
. Since then, the manga has also been serialized in two other magazines published by the same company named Manga Time Kirara
and Manga Time Kirara Forward
. The manga ended serialization in Manga Time Kirara on February 9, 2008. An anime
adaptation aired on the Chiba TV
television network
in Japan between July 4, 2007, and September 19, 2007.
world. She was first tempted into becoming a dōjin artist after seeing how much one of her friends can make at a convention. Najimi loves to draw, though soon learns contrary to what she expected that this new world is anything but easy. As she attends more conventions and meets more people, Najimi eventually manages to find a group of very interesting friends. These friends already have some experience in the field and help her out along the way so that she can someday make a name for herself creating dōjinshi
.
comic strip
manga
series, written and illustrated by Hiroyuki
, was first serialized in the Japanese seinen
manga magazine Manga Time Kirara Carat
on November 28, 2004, pulished by Houbunsha
. The manga has made guest appearances in another manga magazine by the same publishing company called Manga Time Kirara
. Starting with the April 2006 issue of Manga Time Kirara Forward
, the manga has been serialized side-by-side in Forward and in the original serialization magazine, Carat. The manga ended serialization in Manga Time Kirara on February 9, 2008. As of October 2008, six bound volumes
of the series have been released in Japan.
series is produced by the animation studio
Remic and aired in Japan between July 4, 2007, and September 19, 2007. The series is directed by Kenichi Yatani
. The anime features a live-action segment towards the end of each episode in which voice actors
Kimiko Koyama and Momoko Saito try to create their own dōjinshi
. Should they fail to do so, the two are to pose in embarrassing costumes as a way of apologizing to the fans. Due to the live-action segment, the anime runs fourteen minutes including the opening and ending animations, which means the live-action segment runs ten minutes. The anime has been licensed by Media Blasters
, and they released the first English DVD on January 27, 2009.
s, by Maki and by Mai Mizuhashi
respectively, were released on July 25, 2007, by Media Factory
. The original soundtrack for the anime was released on September 21, 2007, also by Media Factory.
Yonkoma
thumb|right|150px|Traditional Yonkoma layout, a comic-strip format, generally consists of gag comic strips within four panels of equal size ordered from top to bottom...
comic strip
Comic strip
A comic strip is a sequence of drawings arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions....
written and illustrated by Japanese
Japanese people
The are an ethnic group originating in the Japanese archipelago and are the predominant ethnic group of Japan. Worldwide, approximately 130 million people are of Japanese descent; of these, approximately 127 million are residents of Japan. People of Japanese ancestry who live in other countries...
manga author
Mangaka
is the Japanese word for a comic artist or cartoonist. Outside of Japan, manga usually refers to a Japanese comic book and mangaka refers to the author of the manga, who is usually Japanese...
Hiroyuki
Hiroyuki
is a male Japanese manga creator from Nerima, Tokyo, Japan. He is notable for the creation of the four-panel comic strip manga Dōjin Work which is the first of his works to be adaptated into an anime. Hiroyuki is well known for the creation of many dōjinshi based on the Type-Moon visual novels...
. The story revolves around a young girl named Najimi Osana who is about to make her debut into the dōjin
Dojin
, often romanized as doujin, is a general Japanese term for a group of people or friends who share an interest, activity, hobbies, or achievement...
creation world with the help of her experienced friends. Aspects of what it is like to be a dōjin artist are common themes throughout the story. The 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...
was first serialized in the Japanese 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 magazine Manga Time Kirara Carat
Manga Time Kirara Carat
is a Japanese seinen manga magazine published by Houbunsha mainly consisting of four-panel comic strips. The first issue was released on January 18, 2003.-List of serialized titles:*A Channel*Chibi Debii!*Dōjin Work*H・R*Harumaki!...
on November 28, 2004, published by Houbunsha
Houbunsha
is a Japanese publishing company founded on July 10, 1950.-Manga Time magazines:*Manga Time*Manga Time Jumbo*Manga Time Lovely*Manga Time Family*Manga Time Special*Manga Time Original*Manga Home-Manga Time Kirara magazines:...
. Since then, the manga has also been serialized in two other magazines published by the same company named Manga Time Kirara
Manga Time Kirara
is a Japanese seinen manga magazine published by Houbunsha which mainly serializes four-panel comic strips. The magazine is sold monthly on the ninth...
and Manga Time Kirara Forward
Manga Time Kirara Forward
is a Japanese seinen manga magazine published by Houbunsha. The magazine is sold monthly on the twenty-fourth. Forward was the fourth magazine in the Manga Time Kirara line to be published, the first three being: Manga Time Kirara, Manga Time Kirara Carat, and Manga Time Kirara Max...
. The manga ended serialization in Manga Time Kirara on February 9, 2008. An anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
adaptation aired on the Chiba TV
Chiba TV
, doing business as , is a Japanese commercial terrestrial television broadcasting company headquartered at 11-25 Miyako-chō 1-chōme, Chūō-ku, Chiba serving Chiba Prefecture but spill-over is received in the neibouring prefectures. It is a member of the Japanese Association of Independent...
television network
Television network
A television network is a telecommunications network for distribution of television program content, whereby a central operation provides programming to many television stations or pay TV providers. Until the mid-1980s, television programming in most countries of the world was dominated by a small...
in Japan between July 4, 2007, and September 19, 2007.
Plot
Dōjin Work follows the life of a young girl named Najimi Osana and her exposure into the dōjinDojin
, often romanized as doujin, is a general Japanese term for a group of people or friends who share an interest, activity, hobbies, or achievement...
world. She was first tempted into becoming a dōjin artist after seeing how much one of her friends can make at a convention. Najimi loves to draw, though soon learns contrary to what she expected that this new world is anything but easy. As she attends more conventions and meets more people, Najimi eventually manages to find a group of very interesting friends. These friends already have some experience in the field and help her out along the way so that she can someday make a name for herself creating dōjinshi
Dojinshi
is the Japanese term for self-published works, usually magazines, manga or novels. Dōjinshi are often the work of amateurs, though some professional artists participate as a way to publish material outside the regular industry. The term dōjinshi is derived from and . Dōjinshi are part of a wider...
.
Characters
- Najimi is an innocent young girl in college who, after losing her job, decides to switch professions and starts attempting to create dōjinshiDojinshiis the Japanese term for self-published works, usually magazines, manga or novels. Dōjinshi are often the work of amateurs, though some professional artists participate as a way to publish material outside the regular industry. The term dōjinshi is derived from and . Dōjinshi are part of a wider...
, or fan-made mangaMangaManga 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...
. She is inspired after seeing her friend Tsuyuri sell her dōjinshi at a comic festival, and after meeting her childhood friend Justice again, who is also a dōjinDojin, often romanized as doujin, is a general Japanese term for a group of people or friends who share an interest, activity, hobbies, or achievement...
artist. Her dōjin circle is called Beauty Love House, and Najimi uses the pseudonymPseudonymA pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
Beauty Love when writing her dōjinshi. She gets easily embarrassed when she encounters people seeing her with inappropriate content. Najimi's name is a pun on the Japanese term , meaning "childhood friend".
- Tsuyuri is a dōjin artist, and creates her dōjinshi under the name . She is the only member of her dōjin circle which she named Panty Revolution. Her dōjinshi mainly consists of rape manga.
- Justice is a popular dōjin artist who often sells tens of thousands dōjin at a single event, though does not earn much money due to production costs and the low price he sells his dōjin for. He is a childhood friend of Najimi. He appears to be highly protective to Najimi, to the point of getting very annoyed when noticing any man getting close to her. Also, Tsuyuri called Justice a "father figure" when he was overprotective of Najimi when Junichirō wanted to ask her out. In the anime, he is seen has having a "kiddy relationship" with Sōra, however, in the manga, he is shown having an almost pedophiliac relationship with her, including becoming very "tense" and wanting to rub her when she fell and her panties were exposed. He also went crazy after seeing her panties (after Sōra's declaration of love, and her kiss; before that, seeing them had no effect on him) that "even the pain...is transforming into a feeling of joy", until only holding the hand that touched Sōra's bloomers could calm him. It is never quite stated what their relationship is, since Justice seems to have feelings for Najimi, but he tells Sōra he loves her very often.
- Sōra is a little girl that is rarely seen without Justice. She is the youngest main character by far, as Justice, Tsuyuri, and Najimi are all in college and Sōra is the only one apparently too young to participate in Justice's dōjinshiDojinshiis the Japanese term for self-published works, usually magazines, manga or novels. Dōjinshi are often the work of amateurs, though some professional artists participate as a way to publish material outside the regular industry. The term dōjinshi is derived from and . Dōjinshi are part of a wider...
browsing. Her relationship with Justice is often portrayed as somewhat inappropriate, and it has been stated that Justice makes all the cute outfits Sōra wears. Sōra also gave Justice her first kiss, which he suddenly realizes is his first kiss as well. Sōra has stated many times that she loves Justice, and is going to get married to him. She wants to set up Najimi with Junichirō so Najimi will not be in the way of Justice and Sōra's relationship.
- Junichirō is a young man around Najimi's age who she first met in an adult gameErogeAn or Ero-ga is a Japanese video or computer game that features erotic content, usually in the form of anime-style artwork. Eroge originated from galge, but unlike galge, they feature erotic/pornographic content.-History:...
store while she was buying one such game to help her with drawing her dōjinshiDojinshiis the Japanese term for self-published works, usually magazines, manga or novels. Dōjinshi are often the work of amateurs, though some professional artists participate as a way to publish material outside the regular industry. The term dōjinshi is derived from and . Dōjinshi are part of a wider...
. He later became her first customer the first time she was selling her dōjinshi, though he was the only customer at the time. Later when Najimi gets a job at a cosplay restaurantCosplay restaurant, are theme restaurants and pubs that originated in Akihabara, Tokyo, Japan around the year 1999. They include and , where the service staff dress as elegant maids, or as butlers. Such restaurants and cafés have quickly become a staple of Japanese otaku culture. Compared with service at normal...
, he comes every day, which makes Justice believe he is a stalker due to him showing up around Najimi so often. He does in fact have a crush on her, and has to persevere against Justice's antics to get close to her.
- Kaneru is an office lady in her twenties who enjoys drawing dōjinshiDojinshiis the Japanese term for self-published works, usually magazines, manga or novels. Dōjinshi are often the work of amateurs, though some professional artists participate as a way to publish material outside the regular industry. The term dōjinshi is derived from and . Dōjinshi are part of a wider...
as her hobby, but has poor skills in drawing and creating them. Najimi declares her to be a rival after they both fare poorly in sales at the Comic Market. Tsuyuri artificially encourages this rivalry in the belief that it will make Najimi a better artist and author. Kaneru also misinterprets Justice's and Junichirō's relationship not as antagonistic over Najimi, but a yaoiYaoiIn careful Japanese enunciation, all three vowels are pronounced separately, for a three-mora word, . The English equivalent is . also known as Boys' Love, is a Japanese popular term for female-oriented fictional media that focus on homoerotic or homoromantic male relationships, usually created by...
love affair.
- Ryūichirō is Junichirō's older brother who works in a publishing company as an editor for a manga magazine. He often gets stressed over his job if he cannot make a deadline.
Manga
The Dōjin Work four-panelYonkoma
thumb|right|150px|Traditional Yonkoma layout, a comic-strip format, generally consists of gag comic strips within four panels of equal size ordered from top to bottom...
comic strip
Comic strip
A comic strip is a sequence of drawings arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions....
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...
series, written and illustrated by Hiroyuki
Hiroyuki
is a male Japanese manga creator from Nerima, Tokyo, Japan. He is notable for the creation of the four-panel comic strip manga Dōjin Work which is the first of his works to be adaptated into an anime. Hiroyuki is well known for the creation of many dōjinshi based on the Type-Moon visual novels...
, was first serialized in the Japanese 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 magazine Manga Time Kirara Carat
Manga Time Kirara Carat
is a Japanese seinen manga magazine published by Houbunsha mainly consisting of four-panel comic strips. The first issue was released on January 18, 2003.-List of serialized titles:*A Channel*Chibi Debii!*Dōjin Work*H・R*Harumaki!...
on November 28, 2004, pulished by Houbunsha
Houbunsha
is a Japanese publishing company founded on July 10, 1950.-Manga Time magazines:*Manga Time*Manga Time Jumbo*Manga Time Lovely*Manga Time Family*Manga Time Special*Manga Time Original*Manga Home-Manga Time Kirara magazines:...
. The manga has made guest appearances in another manga magazine by the same publishing company called Manga Time Kirara
Manga Time Kirara
is a Japanese seinen manga magazine published by Houbunsha which mainly serializes four-panel comic strips. The magazine is sold monthly on the ninth...
. Starting with the April 2006 issue of Manga Time Kirara Forward
Manga Time Kirara Forward
is a Japanese seinen manga magazine published by Houbunsha. The magazine is sold monthly on the twenty-fourth. Forward was the fourth magazine in the Manga Time Kirara line to be published, the first three being: Manga Time Kirara, Manga Time Kirara Carat, and Manga Time Kirara Max...
, the manga has been serialized side-by-side in Forward and in the original serialization magazine, Carat. The manga ended serialization in Manga Time Kirara on February 9, 2008. As of October 2008, six bound volumes
Tankobon
, with a literal meaning close to "independently appearing book", is the Japanese term for a book that is complete in itself and is not part of a series , though the manga industry uses it for volumes which may be in a series...
of the series have been released in Japan.
Anime
The Dōjin Work animeAnime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
series is produced by the animation studio
Animation studio
An animation studio is a company producing animated media. The broadest such companies conceive of products to produce, own the physical equipment for production, employ operators for that equipment, and hold a major stake in the sales or rentals of the media produced...
Remic and aired in Japan between July 4, 2007, and September 19, 2007. The series is directed by Kenichi Yatani
Kenichi Yatani
is a Japanese animation director.-Anime involved in:*Cardcaptor Sakura: Episode Director *Dōjin Work: Director*El Hazard: The Wanderers: Storyboard *Renkin 3-kyuu Magical? Pokahn: Director*Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-Ohki OAV 2: Director...
. The anime features a live-action segment towards the end of each episode in which voice actors
Seiyu
Voice acting in Japan has far greater prominence than in most other countries. Japan's large animation industry produces 60% of the animated series in the world; as a result, Japanese voice actors, or , are able to achieve fame on a national and international level.Besides acting as narrators and...
Kimiko Koyama and Momoko Saito try to create their own dōjinshi
Dojinshi
is the Japanese term for self-published works, usually magazines, manga or novels. Dōjinshi are often the work of amateurs, though some professional artists participate as a way to publish material outside the regular industry. The term dōjinshi is derived from and . Dōjinshi are part of a wider...
. Should they fail to do so, the two are to pose in embarrassing costumes as a way of apologizing to the fans. Due to the live-action segment, the anime runs fourteen minutes including the opening and ending animations, which means the live-action segment runs ten minutes. The anime has been licensed by Media Blasters
Media Blasters
Media Blasters is an entertainment corporation founded by John Sirabella and Sam Liebowitz, based in New York City. They are in the business of licensing, translating, and releasing to the North American market manga compilations and anime and live-action movies and television series to home-video...
, and they released the first English DVD on January 27, 2009.
Music
The opening and ending theme maxi singleMaxi single
A maxi single or maxi-single is a music single release with more than the usual two tracks of an a-side song and a b-side song.-The first maxi singles:...
s, by Maki and by Mai Mizuhashi
Mai Mizuhashi
is a female Japanese singer from Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan. She sang the opening theme for the anime Kamisama Kazoku and the ending theme for Hitohira. She also sang the second ending theme song of Pokémon Diamond and Pearl, "". She also sang the ending theme, "Yumemiro Otome" for "Doujin Works".-...
respectively, were released on July 25, 2007, by Media Factory
Media Factory
is a Japanese publisher. It was founded on December 1, 1986, and its headquarters are situated in Shibuya, Tokyo. It is a subsidiary of Recruit Co., Ltd...
. The original soundtrack for the anime was released on September 21, 2007, also by Media Factory.