Minori Kimura

Minori Kimura (樹æ' みのり, Kimura Minori) 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.

She made her professional debut in 1964 at the age of 14 with her story Picnic, serialized in the Spring Special issue of Ribon, published by Shueisha. From that point, she continued writing stories during her school breaks which were published in magazines such as COM and Ribon Comic. During the 1960s and early 1970s, the settings for her stories were varied, including places like Auschwitz, Vietnam, and the slums of Rio de Janeiro, and they covered topics interesting to young girls, elaborately drawing out the feelings and motivations of her characters.

After graduating from college, she took a short break from publishing before returning with Gift (贈り物, Okurimono), published by Shogakukan in Bessatsu Shōjo Comic in 1974. The story discussed the struggles of elementary school life. She then published This Side of the Rape Blossom Field (菜の花ç•'のã"ちら側, Nanohana Hatake no Kochiragawa), the story of four young college girls living together. This story caused her to gain popularity, and from that point she generally published in shōjo, seinen, and ladies manga magazines from Akita Shoten and Kodansha.

In recent years, she has published fewer works, with most of her releases being reprints of older works. She has also create several health-related manga. One of her works finished its run in 2008 in Mugenkan, a magazine published by Asahi Shimbun Shuppan.

§Reception

Kimura has been called "one of the most brilliant and largely forgotten members of the Fabulous Fortyniners" by Matt Thorn, an anthropologist noted for his work on shōjo manga.

§Works

• Picnic (1964, Ribon, Shueisha)
• Rain (雨, Ame) (December 1966, Ribon, Shueisha)
• Little Brother (おとうと, Otōto) (September 1969, COM, Mushi Pro)
• The First Day of Liberation (解æ"¾ã®æœ€åˆã®æ—¥, Kaihō no Saishō no Hi) (Mayâ€"June 1970, COM, Mushi Pro)
• To the Sea (海へ, Umi e) (September 1970, Ribon Comic, Shueisha)
• Carnival (カルナバル, Karunabaru) (October 1970, Ribon Comic, Shueisha)
• Winter Fireworks (冬の花火, Fuyu no Hanabi) (February 1971, Ribon Comic, Shueisha)
• The Flying Box Which Couldn't Fly (跳べないとび箱, Tobenai Tobihako) (May 1971, Ribon, Shueisha, collected in Seasons in My Pocket (ポケットの中の季節, Poketto no Naka no Kisetsu))
• Big Sister's Wedding (おねえさã‚"の結婚, Oneesan no Kekkon) (September 1971, COM, Mushi Pro)
• Happy Talk (ã"うふくな話, Kōfuku na Hanashi) (December 1971, COM, Mushi Pro)
• Letter from Uruguay (ウルグアイからの手紙, Uruguai kara no Tegami) (May 1973, Monthly Funny, Mushi Pro, collected in Seasons in My Pocket 2 (ポケットの中の季節2, Poketto no Naka no Kisetsu TsÅ«))
• Gift (October 1974, Bessatsu Shōjo Comic, Shogakukan
• Unseen Autumn (見えない秋, Mienai Aki) (November 1974, Bessatsu Shōjo Comic, Shogakukan)
• Rape Blossoms (菜の花, Nanohana) (January 1975, Bessatsu Shōjo Comic, Shogakukan)
• Wingless Bird (翼のない鳥, Tsubasa no Nai Tori) (Aprilâ€"May 1975, Bessatsu Shōjo Comic, Shogakukan)
• Sick Day (病気の日, Byōki no Hi) (August 1975, Ribon Comic, Shueisha)
• Our Beginning (わたしたちの始まり, Watashi-tachi no Hajimari) (September 1975, Bessatsu Shōjo Comic, Shogakukan)
• This Side of the Rape Blossom Field (November 1975-January 1976, Bessatsu Shōjo Comic, Shogakukan)
• Early Spring (早春, Sōshun) (Spring 1976, Ribon Deluxe, Shueisha)
• The People Living in the Stars (星に住む人びと, Hoshi ni Sumu Hitobito) (November 1976, Bessatsu Shōjo Comic, Shogakukan)
• That and This Side of the Rape Blossom Field (菜の花ç•'のむã"うとã"ちら, Nanohana Hatake no Mukō to Kochira) (March 1977, Bessatsu Shōjo Comic, Shogakukan)
• My Alien (わたしの宇宙人, Watashi no UchÅ«jin) (1 May 1977, Big Comic Original, Shogakukan)
• If the Rape Blossom Field Is also Clinging to the Night (菜の花ç•'は夜もすがら, Nanohana Hatake wa Yoru mo Sugara) (October 1977, Bessatsu Shōjo Comic, Shogakukan)
• Suitable Maidens (カッコーの娘たち, Kakkō no Musume-tachi) (April, June 1978, Mimi, Kodansha)
• Dog Dog Dog Tales (犬・ã'ã‚"・ケン物語, Ken Ken Ken Monogatari) (Mayâ€"June, September 1978, Princess, Akita Shoten)
• Many Thanks for Supporting "Nanohara Hatake" (菜の花ç•'は満å"¡å¾¡ç¤¼, Nanohara Hatake wa Man'in Onrei) (December 1978, Bessatsu Shōjo Comic, Shogakukan)
• Flight (April 1979, Seventeen, Shueisha)
• Marta and Leeza (マルタとリーザ, Maruta to RÄ«za) (December 1979 - February 1980, Manga Shōnen, Asahi Sonorama)
• Kain of the Beach (海辺のカイン, Umibe no Kain) (June, August, November 1980 and January, March 1981, Mimi, Kodansha)
• Bad Girl (悪い子, Warui Ko) (August 1980, Petit Comic, Shogakukan)
• John B's Summer (ジョーン・Ｂの夏) (Summer 1980, Petit Flower, Shogakukan)
  • a revised version of this story was published in the 1 July 1981 issue of The Boys and Girls SF Manga Complete Collection (å°'å¹´å°'女ＳＦマンガ大全集, Shōnen Shōjo Esuefu Manga DaizenshÅ«)
• PyÅ«gurumun (ãƒ"ューグルムン) (January - March 1981, Petit Comic, Shogakukan)
• Azami's Flower (あざみの花, Azami no Hana) (August, December 1981, February 1982, Comic Tom, Ushio Publishing)
• Warped Mirror (æ­ªã‚"だ鏡, Yuganda Kagami) (Early Spring Special 1982, Bonita, Akita Shoten)
• Mother's Daughters (母親の娘たち) (January - June 1984, Bonita Eve, Akita Shoten)
• Takako Doi Graffiti (土井たかã"グラフティ, Doi Takako Gurafuti) (December 1989, Scola Magazine, )
• An Outside View series (シリーズ・横からの構図, ShirÄ«zu: Yokokara no Kōzu) (October 1990 - August 1992, Human Sexuality)
• Their Crimes (彼らの犯罪, Karera no Hanzai) (December 1992, Rosa)
• Parents Kill (親が・殺す, Oya ga Korosu) (March 1993, Rosa)
• The Entrance to Dreams (夢の入り口, Yume no Iriguchi) (September 1993, Bell Rosa)
• Toward a World Without Sexual Harassment (セクシュアル・ハラスメントのない世界へ, Sekushuaru Harasumento no Nai Sekai e) (May 2000, Tokyo Women's Foundation)
• After Seeing You Off (見送りの後で, Miokuri no Ato de) (2006, Mugenkan, Asahi Shimbun Shuppan)
• The People Living in the Stars (2007, Mugenkan, Asahi Shimbun Shuppan, remake of her 1976 series)

Sources:

§References