March has been a rough month for me at work and elsewhere, so I’ll be a little relieved once it’s finally over. But what’s really great about March nearing its end? The time has come for the monthly manga giveaway here at Experiments in Manga! To coincide with March’s Manga Moveable Feast, which focuses on historical manga, this month I will be giving away a new copy of Shigeru Mizuki’s semi-autobiographical, award-winning work Onward Towards Our Noble Deaths as published by Drawn and Quarterly. As always, the giveaway is open worldwide!
Because historical manga is such a broad topic, Khursten, the host for this month’s Feast, has come up with three broad categories of historical manga to help participants focus: autobiographies and biographies (which is fairly straightforward), historical retellings and reimaginings (“stories that have some historical basis”), and period pieces (stories that “try to capture the culture and the ‘spirit’ of the period they wish to portray.”) It’s probably not too surprising, but I enjoy reading manga from all of these categories. Onward Towards Our Noble Deaths, although fictionalized, is an example of the first category. As for retellings, I’m particularly fond of Takehiko Inoue’s Vagabond (which itself is based on a historical novel) and Osamu Tezuka’s Message to Adolf. I’ve previously professed a love for “samurai manga” (series like Satsuma Gishiden and so on) which often amount, at least in part, to Edo era period pieces.
So, you may be wondering, how can you win Onward Towards Our Noble Deaths?
1) In the comments below, tell me about your favorite historical manga. If you don’t have a favorite, or have never read historical manga, you can mention that.
2) For a second entry, simply name a historical manga that hasn’t been mentioned yet by me or by someone else.
3) If you’re on Twitter, you can earn a bonus entry by tweeting about the contest. Make sure to include a link to this post and @PhoenixTerran (that’s me).
It’s as easy as that! Each person can earn up to three entries for this giveaway. You have one week to submit your comments. If you have trouble leaving comments (Blogger sometimes has issues), or if you would prefer, you can e-mail me your entries at phoenixterran(at)gmail(dot)com. I will then post the comment in your name. The winner will be randomly selected and announced on April 3, 2013. Good luck to you all!
VERY IMPORTANT: Include some way that I can contact you. This can be an e-mail address, link to your website, Twitter username, or whatever. If I can’t figure out how to get a hold of you and you win, I’ll just draw another name.
Contest winner announced—Manga Giveaway: Historical Manga Winner
1. I’ve been really enjoying Kouta Hirano’s “Drifters”. It’s a really interesting take on the historical samurai story.
2. “Blade of the Immortal” would count, too, eh? That’s an oldie but a goodie. Beautiful artwork, compelling story.
3. Retweeted your entry about the contest @bunnycartoon! :D
I’m very fond of Kaze Hikaru. Loosely historical but still a lot of fun
I think I’ve only read two historical manga: “A Drifting Life” by Yoshihiro Tatsumi and “Nonnonba” by Shigeru Mizuki and I loved them both. If I were to choose I’d probably go with “A Drifting Life” because of its complexity, informativity and importance in the world of manga.
sprealtezari(at)yahoo(dot)com
I love historical manga!
Right now my favorite is probably Ooku, which falls into the re-imaginings category. Oh wait- Heart of Thomas counts as historical, so that’s actually my favorite. Moto Hagio is perfect.
Other great ones available(ish) in English: Emma, and Sakuran.
aircdrewood at gmail dot com
My favorite is Ooku by Fumi Yoshinaga. I had to remind myself it wasn’t actually a history it was so steeped in true elements during the reign of the shogun.
A less obvious choice is Sakamichi no Apollon (Kids on the Slope) by Yuki Kodama. It makes the late 60s in Japan feel palpable and features poignant references to the post World War II era and American occupation, while also grappling with a changing society led by young adults.
1. Ooku – gorgeous art, brilliant premise, exquisite execution
2. Lone Wolf and Cub – fantastic. epic.
hastyteenflick at gmail dot com