Sora ga Suki!

Sora ga Suki! (Japanese: 空がすき!, lit. 'I Love the Sky!' or 'I Like the Sky!') is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Keiko Takemiya. It was originally serialized in the manga magazine Shūkan Shōjo Comic in two parts: from March to May 1971, and from August to October 1972. It was later published as a collected edition by Shogakukan, and was the first manga series by Takemiya to be published in this format. Sora ga Suki! follows a teenaged con artist in Montmartre who develops a friendship with the son of one of his marks. It is heavily influenced by musical theater, with characters expressing their feelings and emotions through dance and song lyrics, and its largely male cast composed of bishōnen (lit. "beautiful boys", a term for androgynous male characters) was atypical for shōjo manga (girls' manga) of the era. Sora ga Suki! was Takemiya's breakthrough work as a manga artist, and her first critical success as a creator.

Sora ga Suki!
Cover of the second collected volume
空がすき! (I Love the Sky!)
Genre	Comedy^[1]
Created by	Keiko Takemiya
Manga
Published by	Shogakukan^[a]
Imprint	Flower Comics
Magazine	Shūkan Shōjo Comic
Demographic	Shōjo
Original run	March 1971 – October 1972
Volumes	2 (List of volumes)
Sequels
Marude Haru no Yō Ni (1972) NOEL! (1975)

Plot

Part 1

 

Montmartre, the setting of first part of the series

Fourteen-year-old con artist Tag Parisian (タグ・パリジャン, Tagu Parijan) arrives in Montmartre, where he quickly charms the denizens with his skill at music, singing, and dancing. He integrates himself with a famous local pianist and is hired to teach piano to Genet Hortense (ジュネ・オルタンス, June Orutansu), the upper-class son of the local police chief. Genet becomes aware of Tag's deception, and says he will remain silent if Tag agrees to be his friend. As Tag and Genet gradually grow closer, Tag begins to target Genet's wealthy mother for his next scheme. Torn between his life as a con artist and his friendship with Genet, he decides to leave Montmartre.

Part 2

Sometime after Tag's departure, Genet has been transferred to a boarding school in Paris where he suffers under the social dominance of student Solmon Correll (ソルモン・コレル, Sorumon Koreru), the son of the mayor of Paris. He reunites with Tag, now selling poems written by a beggar named Bollocks (ボロックズ, Borokkuzu) that Tag misrepresents to buyers as written by "Claire Peynet" (クレール・ペイネ, Kurēru Peine), a famed poet. He sells a poem to a wealthy American businessman, who reveals he is aware that the poem is a forgery; the businessman wishes to verify the authenticity of a statue of The Bath of Venus owned by Solmon's father that is on display at the Louvre, and hires Tag to steal it. Tag accepts the job and steals the statue, which is determined to be a forgery made by Solmon. Bollocks reveals that he is in fact Claire Peynet, and that he holds the genuine statue, which he returns to the Louvre. In an epilogue, Tag and Genet are shown living happily together.

Production

Development

In September 1970, Keiko Takemiya began drawing a manga tie-in for the television series Majoha Hottona Otoshi-goro [ja] in Shūkan Shōjo Comic, and took a brief hiatus at its conclusion at the end of the year to plot out her next serialization.^[2] Feeling confined by the creative constraints of writing an adaptation, she began to plan for her next work to be an original series.^[3] In her planning, Takemiya broadly focused the story of the series around two concepts – a manga musical and a shōjo manga (girls' manga) series that featured a bishōnen (lit. "beautiful boy", a term for androgynous male characters) as its protagonist.^[4]

Takemiya selected Paris as the setting for the series; at the time, she had developed an interest in Paris and was collecting film soundtracks of movies set in the city.^[5] As Takemiya had never been to Paris,^[3] she purchased a variety of books and other materials related to the city for use as reference to incorporate its customs and culture into the series, particularly in regards to drawing clothing and buildings that were location-accurate.^[6]

The central characters of Sora ga Suki! were created before Takemiya conceived of the story, with Takemiya rationalizing that once the characters were established, they alone would be enough to appeal to readers.^[7] She chose the surname "Parisian" for Tag not only as a reference to Paris, but also because it was a last name that was clearly fake, and thus indicated his status as a con artist.^[5] She designed Genet, whose name is a reference to French writer Jean Genet,^[8] to contrast Tag: upper-class compared to Tag's low-born status, a police chief's son versus a con artist.^[5] The supporting characters, such as Genet's father, follow typical archetypes common in shōnen manga (boys' manga).^[8]

Release

When Takemiya submitted Sora ga Suki! to Shūkan Shōjo Comic editor Junya Yamamoto [ja], she was chastised for creating a story with male protagonists – shōjo manga of the era featured female protagonists almost exclusively^[9] – but the series was accepted for publication.^[10] Takemiya speculated that the series was accepted because its depiction of male characters was seen as more palatable than that of Sanrūmu Nite, a shōnen-ai (male–male romance) manga she had published in the December 1970 issue of Bessatsu Shōjo Comic.^[11]

It was determined that Sora ga Suki! would begin serialization in the March 1971 issue of Shūkan Shōjo Comic and run for ten chapters, with an agreement made between Takemiya and Yamamoto that the series would be extended if it was received well by readers.^[12] However, the response was ultimately deemed insufficient thus ending the series with its tenth chapter in the May issue that same year.^[12] Following the conclusion of the series, Shūkan Shōjo Comic received an influx of letters from readers expressing disappointment that Sora ga Suki! had ended.^[10] Reflecting on these fan letters, Takemiya stated in her 2019 memoir The Boy's Name Is Gilbert:

While I was grateful for the response from fans, I also felt like, 'it's too late! If you had said something earlier, they might have extended the series!' I was a little irritated.^[b]

In response to these letters, Sora ga Suki! resumed serialization with a second part of the series starting in the August 1972 issue.^[13] However, Takemiya was no longer as enthusiastic about the series as she had previously been.^[14] The second part similarly ended after ten chapters, with the final installment published in the October 1972 issue of Shūkan Shōjo Comic.^[13]

Collected volumes

In October 1974, Sora ga Suki! was published as two tankōbon (collected edition) volumes by Shūkan Shōjo Comic publisher Shogakukan, under their Flower Comics imprint. It was the first manga by Takemiya to be published in this format.^[15] The first volume contains Rakuyō no Ki (落葉の記, 'The Chronicle of Fallen Leaves'), a 16-page preview of what would become her 1976 manga series Kaze to Ki no Uta (lit. 'The Poem of Wind and Trees'). The preview was included at the end of the volume without notice or explanation. Takemiya said she wanted to "expose" a part of Kaze to Ki no Uta, and she was curious to see how readers would react to it.^[15]

Multiple collected volume editions of Sora ga Suki! have been published:

• Sora ga Suki!, published by Shogakukan (Flower Comics), collected as:
  • Volume 1, released October 1, 1974 (ISBN 4-09-130021-9)^[16]
  • Volume 2, released December 1, 1974 (ISBN 4-09-130022-7)^[17]
• Sora ga Suki!, published by Shogakukan (Keiko Takemiya Works), collected as:
  • Volume 1, released October 15, 1978 (ISBN 4-09-178205-1)^[18]
  • Volume 2, released December 15, 1978 (ISBN 4-09-178206-X)^[19]
• Sora ga Suki!, published by Shogakukan (Shogakukan Bunko), collected as:
  • Volume 1, released February 1984 (ISBN 4-09-190736-9)^[20]
  • Volume 2, released May 1984 (ISBN 4-09-190737-7)^[21]
• Sora ga Suki!, published by Kadokawa Shoten (Asuka Comics DX), released September 1989 (ISBN 4-04-852128-4)^[22]
• Sora ga Suki!, published by Shōeisha (Masterpiece Manga Selection), released April 1995 (ISBN 4-88135-178-8)^[23]

Sequels

Marude Haru no Yō Ni (まるで春のように), a sequel to Sora ga Suki!, was published in a special issue of Shūkan Shōjo Comic in 1972.^[24] It is a 40-page one-shot depicting the events in a town visited by Tag. A second sequel, NOEL!, was published in two parts in the November and December 1975 issues of Bessatsu Shōjo Comic.^[24][25] The 120-page story continues the events of the original manga series. Both Marude Haru no Yō Ni and NOEL! were included in the 1978 collected edition of Sora ga Suki! published by Shogakukan.^[24]

Themes and analysis

Musical theater

Sora ga Suki! is influenced in plot and form by musical theater, with characters expressing their feelings and emotions through dance and song lyrics.^[6] In illustrating the series, Takemiya stated that she drew inspiration through the use of movement to indicate expression and meaning, and that she was particular about drawing motion lines that indicated character movement in order to communicate their emotions.^[11] Further, she felt she was able to express the vividness of youth by incorporating musical elements.^[6]

Shōnen-ai

The primary characters of Sora ga Suki! are all male, which was atypical for shōjo manga of the era.^[26] This, combined with the ambiguously homoerotic subtext attributed to the central friendship between Tag and Genet, led writer and sociologist Shunsuke Tsurumi to describe it as a shōnen-ai (male–male romance) manga.^[27] The second part of the series depicts a kiss between Tag and Genet; while it is depicted in-text as an expression of their friendship, it was nevertheless a taboo at the time for manga to portray male characters kissing.^[28] In the afterword of the 1984 collected edition, Takemiya described the kiss scene as "the most fun" she'd had as a manga artist since seeing her work in print for the first time.^[12] However, in her 2019 memoir The Boy's Name is Gilbert, she stated that she intended the kiss as an expression of the emotional drama between the characters, and that she ultimately viewed its inclusion as unnecessary in retrospect.^[29]

Reception and influence

Sora ga Suki! was Takemiya's breakthrough work as a manga artist.^[30] It was her first critical success as a creator and helped establish a fan base for her manga, some of whom began to visit her at the Ōizumi Salon, the nickname for the rented house she shared with manga artist Moto Hagio that became an important gathering point for shōjo manga artists in the early 1970s.^[31]

Manga artist Mineo Maya (Patalliro!) has praised Sora ga Suki! for pushing forward depictions of fashion in manga, specifically noting the black and white spectator shoes worn by Tag, and evaluates the series as unique for its era in this regard.^[32] Manga artist Chiho Saito (Revolutionary Girl Utena) became aware of Takemiya after reading Sora ga Suki! while in junior high school; at the time she had developed an interest in films and musicals after watching West Side Story, and was impressed that a musical could be depicted in manga. She credits Sora ga Suki! with helping inspire her to become a manga artist.^[33] Aiko Itō [ja] also became a fan of Takemiya's after reading Sora ga Suki! and began visiting the Ōizumi Salon in fall 1972, becoming Takemiya's assistant shortly thereafter. She studied under Takemiya and made her debut as a manga artist in 1973.^[34]

Notes

1. Collected editions of Sora ga Suki! have also been published by Kadokawa Shoten and Shōeisha.
2. Quoted in Japanese: "「ファンのこの反応をありがたいと感じつつも、『遅いよ！もっと早く言ってくれれば連載が延びたかもしれないのに！』と少しいらついていたのだけれども」"^[10]

References

1. Takemiya 2016, p. 70.
2. Nakagawa 2020, p. 204.
3. Nakagawa 2020, p. 205.
4. Nakagawa 2020, pp. 205–206.
5. Takemiya 2001, p. 130.
6. Takemiya 2019, p. 119.
7. Takemiya 2016, pp. 70, 129.
8. Takemiya 2001, p. 132.
9. Takemiya 2019, pp. 109–110.
10. Takemiya 2019, p. 120.
11. Takemiya 2019, p. 110.
12. Nakagawa 2020, p. 207.
13. Nakagawa 2020, p. 254.
14. Takemiya 2019, p. 151.
15. Nakagawa, Yūsuke (2019b). [How Reading Manga Changed With Book-Format Comics]. Gentosha Plus (in Japanese). Gentosha. Archived from the original on December 11, 2019. Retrieved January 15, 2021.
16. "空がすき! 1". Media Arts Database (in Japanese). from the original on January 14, 2023. Retrieved January 14, 2023.
17. "空がすき! 2". Media Arts Database (in Japanese). from the original on January 14, 2023. Retrieved January 12, 2023.
18. "空がすき! 1". Media Arts Database (in Japanese). from the original on July 31, 2022. Retrieved January 12, 2023.
19. "空がすき! 2". Media Arts Database (in Japanese). from the original on January 14, 2023. Retrieved January 12, 2023.
20. "空がすき 1". Media Arts Database (in Japanese). from the original on January 14, 2023. Retrieved January 12, 2023.
21. "空がすき 2". Media Arts Database (in Japanese). from the original on January 14, 2023. Retrieved January 12, 2023.
22. "空がすき!". Media Arts Database (in Japanese). from the original on January 14, 2023. Retrieved January 12, 2023.
23. "空がすき!". Media Arts Database (in Japanese). from the original on January 14, 2023. Retrieved January 13, 2023.
24. [Sora ga Suki! / Keiko Takemiya]. Otakuma Keizai Shimbun. 22 May 2014. Archived from the original on April 28, 2021. Retrieved January 15, 2023.
25. Takemiya 2016, p. 197.
26. Takemiya 2019, p. 109.
27. Tsurumi 1991, p. 382.
28. Nakagawa 2020, p. 206.
29. Takemiya 2019, p. 176.
30. Yamawaki 2016, p. 31.
31. Nakagawa 2020, p. 217.
32. Maya & Yamada 2021, pp. 65–66.
33. Saito 2016, p. 98.
34. Nakagawa 2020, p. 108.

Bibliography

• Maya, Mineo; Yamada, Marie (2021). "魔夜峰央×山田マリエ 父娘対談" [Mineo Maya × Marie Yamada: Father-Daughter Conversation]. 私たちがトキめいた美少年漫画 [Bishōnen Manga We Were Excited About]. Tatsumi Publishing [ja]. ISBN 978-4-7778-2720-6.
• Nakagawa, Yuuske (2020). 萩尾望都と竹宮惠子 [Moto Hagio and Keiko Takemiya] (in Japanese). Gentosha Shobō. ISBN 978-4-344-98586-5.
• Tsurumi, Shunsuke (1991). 漫画の読者として [As A Reader of Manga]. Chikuma Shobo. ISBN 4-480-74707-9.
• Takemiya, Keiko (2001). 竹宮惠子のマンガ教室 [Keiko Takemiya's Manga Class] (in Japanese). Chikuma Shobo. ISBN 978-4480888037.
• Takemiya, Keiko (2016). 竹宮惠子 カレイドスコープ [Keiko Takemiya: Kaleidoscope] (in Japanese). Shinchosha. ISBN 978-4-10-602269-2.
  • Saito, Chiho (September 16, 2016). "私にとっての竹宮惠子 (Keiko Takemiya, for me)". 竹宮惠子 カレイドスコープ [Keiko Takemiya: Kaleidoscope]. By Takemiya, Keiko. Shinchosha. pp. 98–99.
• Takemiya, Keiko (2019). 少年の名はジルベール [The Boy's Name Is Gilbert] (in Japanese). Shogakukan. ISBN 978-4-09-406713-2.
• Yamawaki, Asao (2016). "竹宮惠子作品の魅力的な「美少年」たち" [The Charming Bishōnen of Keiko Takemiya's Works]. In Kono Manga ga Sugoi! Editorial Department (ed.). 美少年の世界 [The World of Bishōnen Magazines] (in Japanese). TJ Mook. pp. 30–33.

External links

• Sora ga Suki! at Mangapedia