Year 24 group
Encyclopedia
refers to one of two female manga artist
groups which are considered to have revolutionized shōjo manga (girls' comics). Their works often examine "radical and philosophical issues", including sexuality and gender issues, and many of their works are now considered "classics" of shōjo manga. Many of those in the first group, , also known as the Forty-Niners, were born in Shōwa
24 (1949). The exact membership is not precisely defined, but includes Yasuko Aoike
, Moto Hagio
, Riyoko Ikeda
, Yumiko Ōshima
, Keiko Takemiya
, Toshie Kihara
, Ryoko Yamagishi
, Minori Kimura
, Nanae Sasaya, and Mineko Yamada. A second group, known as , includes Wakako Mizuki, Michi Tarasawa, Aiko Itō, Yasuko Sakata
, Shio Satō
, and Yukiko Kai.
The Year 24 Group significantly contributed to the development of subgenres in shōjo manga, and marked the first major entry of women artists into manga. Thereafter, shōjo manga would be drawn primarily by women artists for an audience of girls and young women. The Year 24 Group used bildungsroman
genre conventions in their works. Stylistically, the Year 24 Group created new conventions in panel layout by departing from rows of rectangles that were the standard of the time and using panel shape and configuration to convey emotion, and softening or removing panel borders. At around the same time as the year 24 group were creating manga, shōjo manga magazines began serialising on a weekly basis.
Moto Hagio and Keiko Takemiya lived in the same apartment in Ōizumi in Nerima, Tokyo
from 1970 to 1973, in a situation similar to Osamu Tezuka
's Tokiwa-so
. Takemiya's friend Norie Masayama lived nearby and was described by Moto Hagio as Takemiya's "brain staff". Masayama was not a manga artist herself, but she introduced Takemiya to male homosexuality for women via Barazoku
and Les amitiés particulières
, which inspired Takemiya and Hagio to create shōnen-ai works. Until that time, shōjo manga was written mainly by male manga artists, such as Osamu Tezuka with his Princess Knight
, and their attempts by female manga artists to write manga for girls were relatively new. Fortunately their manga were welcomed by girls, women, and men. Their actions and success paved the way for the appearances of many female manga artists like Rumiko Takahashi
.
Comiket
, the world's largest comic convention, was started by the dojinshi
circle , which began as a group for studying the works of Moto Hagio
.
Works by Hagio and Satō were included in the shōjo manga anthology Four Shōjo Stories
, published in North America by Viz Communications
in 1996.
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...
groups which are considered to have revolutionized shōjo manga (girls' comics). Their works often examine "radical and philosophical issues", including sexuality and gender issues, and many of their works are now considered "classics" of shōjo manga. Many of those in the first group, , also known as the Forty-Niners, were born in Shōwa
Showa period
The , or Shōwa era, is the period of Japanese history corresponding to the reign of the Shōwa Emperor, Hirohito, from December 25, 1926 through January 7, 1989.The Shōwa period was longer than the reign of any previous Japanese emperor...
24 (1949). The exact membership is not precisely defined, but includes Yasuko Aoike
Yasuko Aoike
is a Japanese manga artist, born on July 24, 1948 in Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi. Most of her works are shōjo manga, predominantly focused on romance, adventure, and light comedy, and many of them contain elements of shōnen-ai. She is included in Year 24 group....
, Moto Hagio
Moto Hagio
is a manga artist born on May 12, 1949 in Ōmuta, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan, though she currently lives in Saitama Prefecture. She is considered a "founding mother" of modern shōjo manga, especially shōnen-ai. She is also a member of the Year 24 Group...
, Riyoko Ikeda
Riyoko Ikeda
is a Japanese manga artist and singer. She is included in the Year 24 Group. She was one of the most popular Japanese comic artists in the 1970s, being best known for The Rose of Versailles.- Biography :...
, Yumiko Ōshima
Yumiko Oshima
is a female Japanese manga artist and a member of Year 24 group.She made her debut in 1968 with Paula's Tears in Weekly Margaret.She received the 1973 Japan Cartoonists Association Award for excellence for Mimoza Yashiki de Tsukamaete...
, Keiko Takemiya
Keiko Takemiya
is a Japanese manga artist. She is included in the Year 24 Group. She resides in Kamukura, Kanagawa Prefecture. Takemiya was one of the female authors who in the early 1970s pioneered a genre of girls' comics about love between young men; in December 1970 she published a short story, "In the...
, Toshie Kihara
Toshie Kihara
is a Japanese shōjo manga artist and member of the Year 24 Group. She made her professional debut in 1969 with Kotchi muite Mama! in Bessatsu Margaret, and has since written mainly historical manga...
, Ryoko Yamagishi
Ryoko Yamagishi
is a female Japanese manga artist. She is considered to be one of the Year 24 Group. She studied ballet as a child, which plays a part in many of her works. When she read the manga of Machiko Satonaka in 1964, she decided to pursue becoming a manga artist. Although her parents did not agree with...
, Minori Kimura
Minori Kimura
is a female Japanese manga artist, born 11 November 1949 in Saitama Prefecture, Japan. She is often counted among the Year 24 Group, a nebulous group of female manga artists considered to have revolutionized shōjo manga....
, Nanae Sasaya, and Mineko Yamada. A second group, known as , includes Wakako Mizuki, Michi Tarasawa, Aiko Itō, Yasuko Sakata
Yasuko Sakata
Yasuko Sakata 坂田 靖子 is a manga artist who belongs to the Post Year 24 Group. She was born on the 25th of February, 1953 in Osaka, Japan. Her official debut was with the work Saikon Kyousou Kyoku 再婚狂騒曲, published in Hana to Yume in 1975. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, she was involved in the...
, Shio Satō
Shio Sato
was a Japanese manga artist. Satō was a member of the Post Year 24 Group, a group of female manga artists considered influential in the development of shōjo manga. She also wrote under the pen name . She made her professional debut in 1977 with the publication of Koi wa Ajinomono!? in Bessatsu...
, and Yukiko Kai.
The Year 24 Group significantly contributed to the development of subgenres in shōjo manga, and marked the first major entry of women artists into manga. Thereafter, shōjo manga would be drawn primarily by women artists for an audience of girls and young women. The Year 24 Group used bildungsroman
Bildungsroman
In literary criticism, bildungsroman or coming-of-age story is a literary genre which focuses on the psychological and moral growth of the protagonist from youth to adulthood , and in which character change is thus extremely important...
genre conventions in their works. Stylistically, the Year 24 Group created new conventions in panel layout by departing from rows of rectangles that were the standard of the time and using panel shape and configuration to convey emotion, and softening or removing panel borders. At around the same time as the year 24 group were creating manga, shōjo manga magazines began serialising on a weekly basis.
Moto Hagio and Keiko Takemiya lived in the same apartment in Ōizumi in Nerima, Tokyo
Nerima, Tokyo
is one of the 23 special wards of Tokyo, Japan. In English, it calls itself Nerima City.As of August 1, 2007, the ward has an estimated population of 703,005 , and a density of 14,443 persons per km². 12,897 foreign residents are registered in the ward. 18.4% of the ward's population is over the...
from 1970 to 1973, in a situation similar to Osamu Tezuka
Osamu Tezuka
was a Japanese cartoonist, manga artist, animator, producer, activist and medical doctor, although he never practiced medicine. Born in Osaka Prefecture, he is best known as the creator of Astro Boy, Kimba the White Lion and Black Jack...
's Tokiwa-so
Tokiwa-so
was an apartment where Osamu Tezuka and many young manga artists once lived before they became famous. Tokiwa-sō was a small, inexpensive apartment in Toshima-ku, Tokyo. Residents included Shotaro Ishinomori, Fujio Akatsuka, Fujiko Fujio, Yoshiharu Tsuge...
. Takemiya's friend Norie Masayama lived nearby and was described by Moto Hagio as Takemiya's "brain staff". Masayama was not a manga artist herself, but she introduced Takemiya to male homosexuality for women via Barazoku
Barazoku
is Japan's first male gay magazine commercially circulated.There had been a member-only magazine called Adonis and its extra issue Apollo in around 1960. It began publication in July 1971 by Daini Shobō's owner's son and editor , who is not gay....
and Les amitiés particulières
Les amitiés particulières (film)
Les amitiés particulières is a 1964 film adaptation of the Roger Peyrefitte novel Les amitiés particulières directed by Jean Delannoy. It starred Francis Lacombrade as Georges, Didier Haudepin as Alexandre and Michel Bouquet as Père de Trennes. It was released in English as This Special Friendship...
, which inspired Takemiya and Hagio to create shōnen-ai works. Until that time, shōjo manga was written mainly by male manga artists, such as Osamu Tezuka with his Princess Knight
Princess Knight
is a Japanese manga that ran through four serializations from 1954 to 1968, as well as a 1967 Japanese children's animated series. It was dubbed into English and brought over to Western audiences in 1970, where it was called Choppy and the Princess. In 1973, this series was dubbed in Portuguese and...
, and their attempts by female manga artists to write manga for girls were relatively new. Fortunately their manga were welcomed by girls, women, and men. Their actions and success paved the way for the appearances of many female manga artists like Rumiko Takahashi
Rumiko Takahashi
is a Japanese manga artist.Takahashi is one of the wealthiest individuals, and the most affluent manga artists in Japan. The manga she creates are popular worldwide, where they have been translated into a variety of languages...
.
Comiket
Comiket
, otherwise known as the , is the world's largest self-published comic book fair, held twice a year in Tokyo, Japan. The first Comiket was held on December 21, 1975, with only about 32 participating circles and an estimated 600 attendees. Attendance has since swelled to over a half million people....
, the world's largest comic convention, was started by the dojinshi
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...
circle , which began as a group for studying the works of Moto Hagio
Moto Hagio
is a manga artist born on May 12, 1949 in Ōmuta, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan, though she currently lives in Saitama Prefecture. She is considered a "founding mother" of modern shōjo manga, especially shōnen-ai. She is also a member of the Year 24 Group...
.
Works by Hagio and Satō were included in the shōjo manga anthology Four Shōjo Stories
Four Shojo Stories
Four Shōjo Stories is a shōjo manga anthology released by Viz Media in February 1996. It contains two stories by Keiko Nishi, and one each by Moto Hagio and Shio Satō. This was one of the first shōjo titles released in English in North America.-Plot:PromiseThe brother and father of Reiko, a...
, published in North America by Viz Communications
VIZ Media
VIZ Media, LLC, headquartered in San Francisco, is an anime, manga, and Japanese entertainment company. It was founded in 1986 as VIZ LLC. In 2005, VIZ LLC and ShoPro Entertainment merged to form the current VIZ Media LLC, which is jointly owned by Japanese publishers Shogakukan and Shueisha, and...
in 1996.