"Phantom Manga Writer" Produces First New Work in Twelve Years

Taku Tsumugi, also known as the "phantom manga writer," is drawing attention for the publication of her latest work, her first in twelve years despite an ardent fan base. "My Gardener," a comic published by Amushobô, went on sale December 7.

Tsumugi debuted in 1982 at the age of seventeen with "An Expected Visitor," published by Shûeisha in Monthly Margaret, a girls' magazine. She brought a breath of fresh air to the genre of girls' comics and created a unique world through a soft, fine touch to her pictures and suggestive, lingering strokes. Her popularity quickly rose following this with "Hot Road," also serialized in Monthly Margaret. Her fresh depictions of the inner side of real life boys and girls, the readers, garnered her overwhelming support among junior and senior high school students. Since 1995, however, she has not written any significant works.

The theme of this book is unconditional love. It is a light-hearted look weaving the day-to-day events of the heroine, a sixteen-year-old girl named Sana, and the family, friends and pet dog who make up her world. In the midst of this lurks a number of factors causing Sana to feel insecure, and leading her to search for a way to calm her feelings of anxiety and nervousness. When she comes to an understanding of the "unconditional love" which her stepfather talks about, she is finally able to find peace of mind.

Ardent readers since "Hot Road," primarily women now in their thirties, have been pre-ordering or placing advance requests at bookstores one after another, so even before the book went on sale, a second printing had already been set.

*Some of the book titles are tentative translations.
Copyright(c) 2007 Shinbunka all rights reserved.