Kiriko Nananan

Kiriko Nananan
魚喃 キリコ
Born(1972-12-14)December 14, 1972
Yoshida, Niigata, Japan
DiedDecember 25, 2024(2024-12-25) (aged 52)
AreaManga artist
PseudonymToko Iwase
Notable works

Kiriko Nananan (Japanese: 魚喃 キリコ, Hepburn: Nananan Kiriko; December 14, 1972 – December 25, 2024) was a Japanese manga artist. She was known for her realistic josei work featuring understated artwork with a sense of detachment. In addition, she affiliated herself with the "La nouvelle manga" movement. Nananan died on December 25, 2024; her death was not announced until a year later.

Biography

Nananan was born on December 14, 1972, in the town of Yoshida in Nishikanbara District, Niigata (now Tsubame, Niigata).[1] She had wanted to become a manga artist since she was five years old. She would copy manga for children, girls and adults, and adapt them into her own style.[2] After pitching her manga to several publishers,[2] Nananan's debut work Hole was published in the monthly magazine Garo in 1993.[1] She drew Hole while studying at the Nippon Design Welfare College.[3] Three of her works have been made into live-action films: Blue (2002), Strawberry Shortcakes (2006), and Pumpkin and Mayonnaise (2017).[3] She portrayed Toko in the live-action film adaptation of Strawberry Shortcakes under the stage name Toko Iwase (岩瀬 塔子, Iwase Tōko).[1][4] Along with Ryo Fukawa, she also hosted the NHK Radio 1 program Doyō no Yoru wa Kētai Tanka.[5] At the 2008 Angoulême International Comics Festival, Nananan won the Prix de l'école supérieure de l'image.[6]

She died on December 25, 2024, at the age of 52. Tokyo News Service announced her death the following year, at the request of Nananan and her family.[7]

Style

Nananan said she was obsessed with seeing everything in-between the lines. She used the spaces in the panels and the backgrounds as characters to suggest feelings such as hope or emptiness. It is for this reason that, unlike most manga artists, she did not have assistants do the details for her, since the little details played an important role in her stories. She drew each panel so that it can be isolated, like a picture on a poster or a T-shirt, rather than drawing her manga as a series of boxes. She has stated that drawing one panel can sometimes take up to four hours, repeating the same picture dozens of times.[2]

Nananan said her stories and characters were only partially fictional, and believed they are all true-to-life. She based her characters' thinking on how she thinks, then linked everything together with fictional events. She felt she could not have writing assistants either since she was the only one who could tell her stories.[2] Nananan cited the manga Pink by Kyoko Okazaki as an inspiration over her work.[8]

Nananan was affiliated with "La nouvelle manga", a movement combining the aesthetics of Franco-Belgian comics and manga.[9]

Works

  • Water – short stories / Magazine House, 1996 / ISBN 4-8387-1006-2[10]
  • Blue – Magazine House, 1997 / ISBN 4-8387-0896-3[11]
  • Itaitashii Love (痛々しいラヴ) – short stories / Magazine House, 1997 / ISBN 4-8387-0937-4[12]
  • Haruchin (ハルチン) – one-page gag serial / Magazine House, 1998 / ISBN 4-8387-0967-6[5]
  • Kabocha to Mayonnaise (南瓜とマヨネーズ) (also known as Pumpkin and Mayonnaise and Everyday) – short stories / Takarajimasha, 1999 / ISBN 4-7966-1634-9[13]
  • Strawberry Shortcakes (also known as Sweet Cream & Red Strawberries) – Shodensha, 2002 / ISBN 4-396-76292-5[14]
  • Tanpenshū (短編集) – short stories / Asuka Shinsha, 2003 / ISBN 4-87031-540-8[15]
  • 15 – co-author / Seigensha, 2004 / ISBN 978-4-86-152004-4[16]
  • Candy no Iro wa Aka (キャンディーの色は赤。) – Shodensha 2007, serialized in Feel Young / ISBN 978-4-39-676412-8[17]
  • Tokyo no Otokonoko (東京の男の子) – with Nyū Ōkubo and Marie Abiko / Ohta Publishing, 2008 / ISBN 978-4-77-831119-3[18]
  • Chiisana Suzie (ちいさなスージー) – picture book / Shodensha, 2009 / ISBN 978-4-39-643023-8[19]
  • Tachihara Michizō Shishū: Boku wa Hitori de Yoru ga Hirogaru (立原道造詩集 僕はひとりで夜がひろがる) – illustrator / Parco Publishing, 2010 / ISBN 978-4-89-194820-7[20]
  • Nananan Kiriko Mishūroku Sakuhinshū (魚喃キリコ 未収録作品集) – Tokyo News Service, 2020 / ISBN 978-4-06-520259-3, 978-4-06-520296-8[17]

References

  1. ^ a b c 漫画家・魚喃キリコさん、昨年に死去 52歳 代表作「blue」「南瓜とマヨネーズ」など. Modelpress (in Japanese). December 25, 2025. Retrieved December 25, 2025.
  2. ^ a b c d Nananan, Kiriko (September 2004). "[info] Entretien avec Kiriko Nananan". École Européenne Supérieure de l'Image (Interview) (in French). Interviewed by Peeters, Benoît. Translated by Quentin, Corinne. Tokyo. Retrieved February 17, 2010.
  3. ^ a b 魚喃キリコ原作の映画「南瓜とマヨネーズ」明日公開 女優・武田梨奈「今年一の恋愛映画」. Book Bang (in Japanese). Shinchosha. November 10, 2017. Retrieved December 25, 2025.
  4. ^ Weissberg, Jay (February 27, 2007). "Strawberry Shortcakes". Variety. Retrieved December 25, 2025.
  5. ^ a b 魚喃キリコ. Comic Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. Retrieved December 25, 2025.
  6. ^ El Penedo, Nico (December 6, 2007). "Angoulême 2008". AnimeLand (in French). Retrieved December 25, 2025.
  7. ^ Hodgkins, Crystalyn (December 25, 2025). "Strawberry Shortcakes, Blue Manga Creator Kiriko Nananan Dies at 52". Anime News Network. Retrieved December 25, 2025.
  8. ^ 魚喃キリコのプロフィール. Web the TV (in Japanese). Kadokawa Corporation. Retrieved December 26, 2025.
  9. ^ Vollmar, Rob (March–April 2007). "Frédéric Boilet and the Nouvelle Manga Revolution". World Literature Today. 81 (2). University of Oklahoma Board of Regents: 37. ISSN 0196-3570. JSTOR 40159298.
  10. ^ "Water". Media Arts Database (in Japanese). Agency for Cultural Affairs. Retrieved December 25, 2025.
  11. ^ Thompson, Jason (July 3, 2012). Manga: The Complete Guide (Google Books). Del Rey Books. p. 66. ISBN 978-0-345-53944-1.
  12. ^ 痛々しいラヴ. Media Arts Database (in Japanese). Agency for Cultural Affairs. Retrieved December 25, 2025.
  13. ^ 魚喃キリコ「南瓜とマヨネーズ」映画化！臼田あさ美、太賀、オダジョーが出演. Comic Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. March 4, 2017. Retrieved December 26, 2025.
  14. ^ "Strawberry shortcakes". Media Arts Database (in Japanese). Agency for Cultural Affairs. Retrieved December 25, 2025.
  15. ^ 短編集. Media Arts Database (in Japanese). Agency for Cultural Affairs. Retrieved December 25, 2025.
  16. ^ "15" (in Japanese). Seigensha. Retrieved December 26, 2025.
  17. ^ a b 幻の未発表＆未収録作品をまとめた『魚喃キリコ 未収録作品集』上下巻同時リリース. Real Sound (in Japanese). April 30, 2020. Retrieved December 26, 2025.
  18. ^ 東京の男の子 (in Japanese). Ohta Publishing. Retrieved December 26, 2025.
  19. ^ ナナナンキリコが挑む初絵本「ちいさなスージー」. Comic Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. April 8, 2009. Retrieved December 26, 2025.
  20. ^ 魚喃キリコ×夭折の詩人。詩集に描き下ろしイラスト40点. Comic Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. April 1, 2010. Retrieved December 26, 2025.
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