It is undeniable that manga, or comics from Japan, is a global phenomenon, mainly thanks to the wide range of topics it covers. Of course, as far as genres are concerned, you can find everything in Japanese comics, from action to love stories, from horror to everyday life stories. Therefore, it should not be surprising that there are a large number of titles that, in one way or another, deal with agriculture.
In this article, we will list a couple of interesting manga titles in which agriculture is one of the key elements, which you can verify yourself. Some of these titles are available in English, and some have their own animated or feature adaptations.
Manga titles: recommendation “Bolje zemlje”
Silver spoon
The Silver Spoon is certainly one of the most popular titles on this list, and for good reason. Namely, the author of this manga, Hiromu Arakawa (荒川 弘), is also the creator of one of the most popular titles currently published in Serbia, “The Steel Alchemist” (鋼の錬金術師). It should be noted that Arakawa grew up on a farm in Hokkaido, in a family of dairy farmers, and has first-hand experience in dairy production and cow breeding.
Therefore, “Silver Spoon” is a title especially dear to her heart. The 15-volume series follows the main character named Juugo Haćiken, who enrolls in a rural agricultural high school in order not to move away from his parents. The comic follows his life, where he slowly gets used to a new environment, a new society and new challenges. Certainly, a good part of the manga contains Juug’s farming, and his efforts to learn everything related to agriculture in the current environment.
Mojashimon: Stories from Agriculture (もやしもん)
Slightly shorter than “The Silver Spoon”, with its 13 volumes, and equally famous as “The Steel Alchemist”, “Moyashimon” is a story with supernatural elements that also puts agriculture in the foreground. The author of the manga, Masayuki Ishikawa (石川 雅之), chose the story to take place at an agricultural college. The main character, Tadajasu Sawaki, has the ability to see microorganisms and communicate with them. This brings him into interesting situations during the series, both with professors and other students, and with the microorganisms themselves.
Ishikawa’s goal was to present microorganisms to readers in such a way that they could understand what they were talking about. In order to reach a good level of credibility, he researched microorganisms by reading hundreds of books and manuals in the library. Technical and professional terms made his work process difficult, but in the end he managed to reach such a quality of storytelling that during a short period his manga was even the most read in Japan.
The story of how the female knight who came to my house and ended up living in the countryside
This series with a long name began its life as a series of short stories written by the author under the pseudonym Sakita (裂田). The manga adaptation was undertaken by the author under another pseudonym, Kakashi Akino (秋乃かりし). The story itself is both fantastic and surprisingly realistic. Namely, young Kanđi Saeći, after studying, leaves his job in the office to return to the countryside and take over his parents’ farm. Saeči grows vegetables in the middle, which are slowly decaying – until, one day, he is joined by Kristina, a mysterious girl dressed in knight’s armor who claims to have come from another world. Although this series is essentially a romantic comedy, it touches on very important issues in Japan, such as the fact that fewer and fewer young people are engaged in agriculture and that this economic branch is largely neglected in the 21st century.
GREEN: I want to be a farmer’s wife (GREEN: I want to be a farmer’s wife)
“GREEN” is a love story for a more mature audience, written by author Tomoko Ninomiya (二ノ宮 知子). The story is simple; A girl from Tokyo moves to a small town, with a romantic view of farm life. As such, she meets a young farmer who is struggling to maintain his business. With that, she offers him a seasonal job on his farm, hoping to learn something about farming and working with herbs. Over time, sincere love appears between them.
Unlike the other series listed so far, GREEN is a shade more serious. He treats the theme of love between two completely incompatible people with respect, and at the same time, he also presents life in the countryside, as well as work with cultivated plants, with a touch of respect.
When a manga editor quits his job and moves to the countryside, he finds himself in a different world.
Another series with a long title, “When the manga editor started a new life in the village” lasted only four volumes. The screenwriter with the pseudonym Kumagae (クマガエ) and cartoonist Hisio Miyazawa (宮澤 ひしを) have created an interesting story that covers the subject of Skorojevics in the field of agriculture.
The series follows a manga magazine editor, Yohei Sakuma. Sakoma, nicknamed “The Godfather”, impulsively decides to quit his job and move to the countryside to grow rice. His wife finds out relatively late, and then escapades follow where the married couple makes non-stop mistakes while working in the fields.
Software: Hotpot.ai
The reason for the popularity of these manga is much the same as for other series from Japan. Namely, the authors (and often the editors themselves) always research the topic they are dealing with in detail. In this way, they reach a high level of credibility in the story. At the same time, it always takes place through the prism of interpersonal relationships, realistic stories with strong emotions expressed through situations that we all experience. And they often touch on the problems that modern society has. These can be, for example, the declining birth rate in the countryside or insufficient investment in agriculture.
Precisely because of this, these stories can comfortably interest Serbian comics fans as well as farmers. Yes, even if they contain characters and locations from a culture on the other side of the planet that differs in many ways from ours.
Sources: Wikipedia, My Anime List, Manga Updates, Anime News Network, Anime Planet, Kodansha
Source: boljazemlja.com
