Shūzō Oshimi

Shūzō Oshimi (押見 修造, Oshimi Shūzō, born 1981) is a Japanese manga artist who publishes works primarily for Kodansha. He made his debut with Superfly in Kodansha's Monthly Shōnen Magazine. He is best known for his manga Drifting Net Cafe, The Flowers of Evil and Happiness. His works have been adapted into many different media including television drama, anime, and live action film. In 2001, he won the Tetsuya Chiba Award.

Shūzō Oshimi
押見 修造
Born1981
Gunma Prefecture, Japan
NationalityJapanese
OccupationManga artist
Notable work
The Flowers of Evil
Drifting Net Café
Happiness
Blood on the Tracks
AwardsTetsuya Chiba Award

Background

Oshimi's hometown is in the countryside of Kiryu, Gunma, which also served as the setting of his manga The Flowers of Evil.[1] While growing up there, the main places he would visit were the riverbank, the stairs of his junior high school, and the bookstore.[2] Oshimi currently resides in Tokyo.[3]

Career

Oshimi debuted with Superfly in Kodansha's Monthly Shōnen Magazine. He would go on to start his first series Avant-Garde Yumeko in the magazine. His works have been adapted into many different media, with Drifting Net Café and Inside Mari into television dramas,[4][5] The Flowers of Evil into an anime,[6] and Sweet Poolside into a live action film.[7] In 2001, he won the Tetsuya Chiba Award.[8]

Influences

In his childhood Oshimi would read modernist poems from authors like Sakutarō Hagiwara and Mitsuharu Kaneko.[9] Oshimi also thought that surrealist artists like André Breton, Max Ernst, and Paul Delvaux were cool.[10] His favorite artist is Redon.[11] and he also likes Francisco Goya.[12] In his youth, Oshimi heavily identified with the protagonist of Tetsu Adachi's Song of Cherry Blossoms and it would later influence his manga The Flowers of Evil.[13]

Themes

Oshimi's narrative style consists of stories presenting quirky, clumsy main characters, usually a boy and a girl couple, and how their relationship unfolds as the narrative progresses. He also presents uncommon, uncomfortable and, sometimes, disturbing situations through which the protagonists take part. This narrative style has been seen in all of the author's works, including his best-known work, The Flowers of Evil.

Oshimi likes to explore themes such as coming-of-age and perversion, combined with his experiences in his youth. He thinks that the end of adolescence is hard to define, and is up to an individual to discover, such as in The Flowers of Evil.[14] He also believes that perversion is a characteristic of every person that is surrounded by stigma which he wants people to think about.[15] Oshimi also wants to explore the female perspective in his gender-bender manga Inside Mari, because to him, girls are "half of the world".[16]

Works
  • Superfly (スーパーフライ, 2001) – Independent work, first published in the "Avant-Garde Yumeko" collection.
  • Midnight Paranoia Star (真夜中のパラノイアスター, Mayonaka no Paranoia Sutā)
  • Avant-Garde Yumeko (アバンギャルド夢子, Abangyarudo Yumeko, 2003) – Published by Kodansha, single-volume.
  • Sweet Poolside (スイートプールサイド, 2004) – Published by Kodansha, single-volume.
  • Devil Ecstasy (デビルエクスタシー, 2005–2006) – Published by Kodansha, 4 volumes.
  • Yūtai Nova (ユウタイノヴァ, 2007–2008) – Published by Kodansha, 2 volumes.
  • Drifting Net Café (漂流ネットカフェ, Hyōryū Netto Kafe, 2008–2011) – Published by Futabasha, 7 volumes.
  • The Flowers of Evil (惡の華, Aku no Hana, 2009–2014) – Published by Kodansha, 11 volumes.[17]
  • Shino Can't Say Her own Name (志乃ちゃんは自分の名前が言えない, Shino-chan wa Jibun no Namae ga Ienai, 2011–2012) – Published by Ohta Publishing, single-volume.
  • Inside Mari (ぼくは麻理のなか, Boku wa Mari no Naka, 2012–2016) – Serialised in Manga Action, published by Futabasha,[18] 9 volumes.[19]
  • Happiness (ハピネス, 2015–2019) – Published by Kodansha.[20] [21]
  • Blood on the Tracks (血の轍, Chi no Wadachi, 2017–)

References
  1. Oshimi, Shuzo (8 May 2012). The Flowers of Evil Vol. 1. Vertical. ISBN 978-1-935654-46-9.
  2. Oshimi, Shuzo (10 July 2012). The Flowers of Evil Vol. 2. Vertical. p. 158. ISBN 978-1-935654-47-6.
  3. Oshimi, The Flowers of Evil Vol. 2, p. 126
  4. Manry, Gia. "Drifting Net Cafe Drifts Into Dramafication". Anime Vice. Archived from the original on February 20, 2015. Retrieved 20 February 2015.
  5. "Shuzo Oshimis Inside Mari manga gets live action series". Anime News Network. Retrieved 14 January 2018.
  6. "The Flowers of Evil Suspense Manga Gets Anime". Anime News Network. Retrieved 20 February 2015.
  7. "Sweet Poolside Manga by Flowers of Evil's Oshimi Gets Live-Action Film". Anime News Network. 1 September 2013. Retrieved 20 February 2013.
  8. Flowers of Evil, Volume 9. ISBN 193913028X.
  9. Oshimi, The Flowers of Evil Vol. 1, p. 140
  10. Oshimi, The Flowers of Evil Vol. 2, p. 34
  11. Oshimi, The Flowers of Evil Vol. 1, p. 44
  12. Oshimi, The Flowers of Evil Vol. 2, p. 96
  13. Oshimi, Shuzo (23 October 2012). The Flowers of Evil Vol. 3. Vertical. p. 68. ISBN 978-1-935654-48-3.
  14. Oshimi, The Flowers of Evil Vol. 3, p. 172
  15. Oshimi, The Flowers of Evil Vol. 1, p. 172
  16. Oshimi, Shuzo. Inside Mari Volume 1. Crunchyroll. p. 194.
  17. "The Flowers of Evil". Vertical. Retrieved 11 April 2015.
  18. "Crunchyroll Adds Inside Mari, Silver Nina, Love Theory Manga - News". Anime News Network. 6 January 2014. Retrieved 8 January 2014.
  19. ぼくは麻理のなか 9 [Inside Mari 9] (in Japanese). Futabasha. 28 September 2016. Retrieved 10 September 2016.
  20. "Flowers of Evil's Shūzō Oshimi to Launch Happiness Manga". Anime News Network. 7 January 2015. Retrieved 22 January 2015.
  21. "Shūzō Oshimi's Happiness Manga Ends in March". Anime News Network. 8 February 2019. Retrieved 9 May 2019.
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