Ayako (manga)

Ayako (奇子) is the name of a manga trilogy by Osamu Tezuka. It was serialized in Big Comic, a manga magazine published by Shogakukan. It is licensed in North America by Vertical. It is also licensed in France by Delcourt/Akata and in Italy by Hazard Edizioni.

The story is about a post-World War II Japanese family, the Tenge, who have to cope with economic and family tensions while the country is under reconstruction.

Plot

Jiro Tenge (天外仁朗, Tenge Jirō), one of the eldest sons of the moderately wealthy Tenge family, has become an agent working for the United States, and his secret murders are discovered by Ayako Tenge (天外奇子, Tenge Ayako), his youngest sister. This problem is aggravated by her discovery of terrible incestuous affairs in her own family; the wife of her older brother is actually her mother, who has to frequently have sex with Ayako's father, the family patriarch Sakuemon. To hide these secrets, the familyâ€"under pressure from Sakuemon and his eldest son Ichiroâ€"decides to keep Ayako locked up in the basement for the rest of her life.

Despite the efforts of her mother and younger brother Shiro, she lives for nearly two dozen years under the family's house, while great political and social changes occur above her. Ayako eventually leaves the basement after growing into a beautiful and attractive woman, and seeks affection from others while remaining terrified of the outside world. This sets off a chain reaction of events which spells tragedy for the Tenge family.

See also

• Osamu Tezuka
• List of Osamu Tezuka manga
• Osamu Tezuka's Star System

References

1. ^ "Osamu Tezuka's Ayako Manga Listed by Amazon". Anime News Network. February 13, 2010. Archived from the original on January 16, 2010. Retrieved February 16, 2010. 
2. ^ "ISBN (13): 978-84-96172-64-7". 

Further reading

• Santos, Carlo (7 Dec 2010). "AyaK-ON! - RTO". Anime News Network. 

External links

• Ayako (manga) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia
• Ayako at TezukaOsamu.Net (Japanese)
• Ayako at TezukaOsamu@World
• TezukainEnglish page
• Akata (publisher's) site (French)