Yumiko Shirai (born (1967-03-15)March 15, 1967) is a Japanese manga artist. She is best known for her manga Wombs, winner of the 2017 Nihon SF Taisho Award.

Yumiko Shirai
Born(1967-03-15)March 15, 1967
Ehime Prefecture, Japan
OccupationManga artist
LanguageJapanese
Period21st century
GenreFeminist, science fiction
Notable worksWombs
Notable awardsNihon SF Taisho Award
Website
yumikoubou.com

Biography

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Born in Ehime Prefecture,[1] nYumiko Shirai is a graduate of the Kyoto City University of Arts and the Oil Painting Department of the Faculty of Fine Arts.[1]

In 2007 her manga Tenken, published as a doujinshi (self-publication), won the encouragement award in the manga category at the 11th Japan Media Arts Festival.[2][3] It was then published as a magazine by Sanctuary Publishing in 2008.

From 2009 onwards Yumiko Shirai created the manga Wombs, published as a monthly series in the pre-publication magazine Monthly Ikki by Shogakukan.[4][5] Following the magazine's demise, Wombs continued to be published online, and the author took five years to deliver the fifth and final volume.[6] In 2010, Wombs was included in the jury selection for the 14th Japan Media Arts Festival in the maga category.[7][8]

From 2013 to 2015 she published a new series, Rafnas, in the magazine Monthly Action from Futabasha, which was in turn part of the jury's selection for the manga category.[9]

In 2017 Wombs was awarded the 37th Nihon SF Taisho Award joining the exclusive club of manga to have received this prize, which rewards a work of SF from all the arts.[10]

In 2017 Yumiko Shirai became a member of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of Japan.[11][12]

In 2020, Yumiko Shirai began publishing a series entitled Wombs Cradle, a prequel to Wombs, which was published on publisher Futabasha's pre-publication website.[13]

In 2021 the Wombs series was translated and published in French by Akata [fr] and was met with a positive reception, with critics noting that the manga renewed the themes of science fiction.[14][15][16][17][18]

Techniques and influences

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Yumiko Shirai creates her sketches on paper before finalising them using graphics software such as Painter, Photoshop[19] and Clip Studio Paint. Shirai said she was influenced by Yoshikazu Yasuhiko's manga Arion, but also by authors such as Moto Hagio, Yumiko Oshima and Mutsumi Hagiiwa.[19]

Awards

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  • 2007: encouragement in the manga category at the 11th Japan Media Arts Festival for Tenkensai.
  • 2010: jury selection in the manga category of the 14th Japan Media Arts Festival for Wombs.
  • 2015: jury selection in the manga category of the 19th Japan Media Arts Festival for Rafnas.
  • 2017: 37th Nihon SF Taisho Award for Wombs.
  • 2017: Ehime culture award for Love Face.[20]

Works

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Books

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  • « Tenken Festival » (Éditions Sanctuaire, 30 juillet 2008,ISBN 978-4-86113-921-5)
  • Wombs, Shogakukan, Ikki Comix, 5 volumes in total
    1. 2010,ISBN 978-4-09-188494-7
    2. 2011,ISBN 978-4-09-188539-5
    3. 2012,ISBN 978-4-09-188583-8
    4. 2013,ISBN 978-4-09-188626-2
    5. 2016,ISBN 978-4-09-188687-3
  • Yumiko Shirai Early Shorts, Shogakukan, Ikki Comix, 2010,ISBN 978-4-09-179107-8
  • Rafnas, Futabasha, Action Comics, 2 volumes in total
    1. 2014[21] ISBN 978-4-575-84466-5
    2. 2015[22] ISBN 978-4-575-84589-1
  • Lune de miel d'Iwa et Niki, Akita Shoten, Bonita Comics, 2017[23] ,ISBN 978-4-253-26068-8
  • Osaka Circular Barrier City, éditions Akita Shoten, Bonita Comics, 3 volumes
    1. 2018[24] ISBN 978-4-253-26431-0
    2. 2019[25] ISBN 978-4-253-26432-7
    3. 2019[26] ISBN 978-4-253-26433-4
  • Wombs cradle, éditions Futabasha, Action Comics, 2 tomes au total
    1. 2021[27] ISBN 978-4-575-44005-8
    2. 2021[28] ISBN 978-4-575-44006-5

Anthologies

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Illustration works

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Wombs". Ikki (in Japanese). July 20, 2024. Archived from the original on July 23, 2013. Retrieved July 20, 2013.
  2. ^ "平成19年度[第11回]文化庁メディア芸術祭 受賞作品". 2013. Archived from the original on July 23, 2013. Retrieved July 21, 2024.
  3. ^ "Tenken-sai". JAPAN MEDIA ARTS FESTIVAL. Retrieved July 21, 2024.
  4. ^ "2010年10月23日 – 弓工房blog". yumikoubou.blog.fc2.com. Retrieved July 21, 2024.
  5. ^ "SHIRAI Yumiko". manga-news.com (in French). Retrieved July 21, 2024.
  6. ^ "Akata présente Wombs, le nouveau manga de science-fiction signé Yumiko Shirai (RAFNAS)". AnimeLand (in French). January 22, 2021. Retrieved July 21, 2024.
  7. ^ "Appealing works by female artists". JAPAN MEDIA ARTS FESTIVAL (in Japanese). Retrieved July 21, 2024.
  8. ^ "平成22年度[第14回]文化庁メディア芸術祭 審査委員会推薦作品 > 審査委員会推薦作品一覧". archive.is. July 23, 2013. Archived from the original on July 23, 2013. Retrieved July 21, 2024.
  9. ^ "RAFNAS". JAPAN MEDIA ARTS FESTIVAL (in Japanese). Retrieved July 21, 2024.
  10. ^ 日本SF作家クラブ. "第37回日本SF大賞・最終候補作が決定しました! – SFWJ:日本SF大賞". SFWJ (in Japanese). Retrieved July 21, 2024.
  11. ^ "第37回日本SF大賞贈賞式 – 弓工房blog". yumikoubou.blog.fc2.com. Retrieved July 21, 2024.
  12. ^ "一般社団法人 日本SF作家クラブ 会員名簿". 日本SF作家クラブ公式Webサイト (in Japanese). Retrieved July 21, 2024.
  13. ^ "Wombs Cradle – Manga série". manga-news.com (in French). Retrieved July 21, 2024.
  14. ^ "Wombs T. 1 – Par Yumiko Shirai – Akata". ActuaBD (in French). Retrieved July 21, 2024.
  15. ^ "Wombs de Yumiko Shirai, un Utérus comme arme de guerre". Comixtrip (in French). Retrieved July 21, 2024.
  16. ^ "Wombs – Yumiko Shirai – la chronique BD". Avoir Alire - aVoir-aLire.com (in French). Retrieved July 21, 2024.
  17. ^ Rédaction, La (March 29, 2021). "3 mangas écrits par des femmes à commander d'urgence à votre libraire". Madmoizelle (in French). Retrieved July 21, 2024.
  18. ^ "Le manga Wombs de Yumiko Shirai annoncé par Akata, 22 Janvier 2021". manga-news.com (in French). Retrieved July 21, 2024.
  19. ^ a b "2007年度文化庁メディア芸術祭マンガ部門で同人作品としては初めて奨励賞を受賞した『天顕祭』白井弓子さん". manganavi.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved July 21, 2024.
  20. ^ "愛媛県庁/愛顔のえひめ知事表彰式(愛顔のえひめ文化・スポーツ賞)について 6月13日開催" (in Japanese). Retrieved June 20, 2017..
  21. ^ "ラフナス 1" (in Japanese). 双葉社. Retrieved September 17, 2021.
  22. ^ "ラフナス 2 完" (in Japanese). 双葉社. Retrieved September 17, 2021.
  23. ^ "イワとニキの新婚旅行" (in Japanese). 秋田書店. Retrieved September 17, 2021..
  24. ^ "大阪環状結界都市 第1巻" (in Japanese). 秋田書店. Retrieved September 17, 2021..
  25. ^ "大阪環状結界都市 第2巻" (in Japanese). 秋田書店. Retrieved September 17, 2021..
  26. ^ "大阪環状結界都市 第3巻" (in Japanese). 秋田書店. Retrieved September 17, 2021..
  27. ^ "WOMBS CRADLE 上" (in Japanese). 双葉社. Retrieved September 17, 2021..
  28. ^ "WOMBS CRADLE 下 完" (in Japanese). 双葉社. Retrieved September 17, 2021..
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