Chiisakobee

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Alternative Titles

Japanese: ちいさこべえ

Information

Type: Manga

Volumes: 4

Chapters: 44

Status: Finished

Published: Sep 3, 2012 to Feb 9, 2015

Genre: Drama

Demographic: Seinen

Serialization: Big Comic Spirits

Authors: Mochizuki, Minetaro (Art), Yamamoto, Shuugorou (Story)

Statistics

Score: 7.46¹ (scored by 749 users)

¹ indicates a weighted score.

Ranked: #3350²

² based on the top manga page. Please note that 'R18+' titles are excluded.

Popularity: #6542

Members: 2,985

Favorites: 33

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7.46

Ranked #3350Popularity #6542Members 2,985

MangaBig Comic SpiritsMochizuki, Minetaro (Art), Yamamoto, Shuugorou (Story)

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Volumes: /4

Chapters: /44

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Synopsis

A new interpretation of Yamamoto Shuguro's period novel Chiisakobee, transplanting the Edo era in the original with a modern setting.

A young carpenter, Shigeji, who lost his parents and his father's building company called Daitome in a fire, swears to himself he will rebuild the company according to the words of his father, Tomezoh, "What is important for people throughout the ages is humanity and strength of will." He hires Ritsu, who has no place to go, as an assistant at Daitome. Some children from an orphanage, who lost their home, also show up at Daitome. The bearded young carpenter's decision to take over his family's business is a drama filled with the milk of human kindness.

(Source: MU)

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Background

Chiisakobee won the 17th Japan Media Arts Festival Excellence Award in 2013.

The series was published in French by Le Lezard Noir in 2015, and in Spanish by ECC Ediciones in 2016.

More characters
Characters

Ritsu

Main

Shigeji

Main

Fukada, Yuko

Supporting

Reviews

Dec 15, 2018

Avid_Reader

Recommended

This should have been longer.

See, I haven't read the original novel, and I'm pretty sure hardly anyone outside Japan has, so I can only base my review on what's in front of me (the manga, obviously). But even then I can't help but feel that quite a few important things were lost while trimming the story down to a short series of comic books.

By itself, the story is still pretty good. Sure, it might be an aesop, the kind that's easily seen through, but its themes, aptly summed up with "humanity and strength of will", are timeless and will always grab your attention, no matter ... the era, which is even demonstrated by deliberately changing the setting to a far more modern one. And it wraps up nicely, too - at least that which seems to be the main issue, that which revolves around Shigeji, Ritsu, Yuuko and the kids. But even then, there are hints of there being more, as there are some "incidents" thrown in that are brought to light and dealt with swiftly, like the episode with the thieving boy or the one with the apprentice who left. Or even the issues Shigeji and Masaru may or may not have with each other. Incidents like that are thrown in sometimes, which make the story feel somewhat episodic, actually taking away some of the enjoyment.

Which is a shame, because much of the enjoyment comes from the characters dealing with those around them, especially with those that aren't the main cast. If that is cut away, what remains more or less amounts to insignificant characters or even gag characters, like the second-youngest girl, the one with the inflated ego, or Daitome's secretary, whose only defining trait seems to be ugliness. Still, what remains is enough to thoroughly enjoy every panel, which is why, I'm repeating myself here, it's a shame that there wasn't more space for more content.

All of this is at least somewhat remedied by the approach Minetaro Mochizuki had with his art here. You fellow readers are probably more used to pages or panels that are overloaded with art or with text, or otherwise utilizing the available space to the fullest. This isn't the case here; Mochizuki seems to be pretty lax here with filling in the blank space. Backgrounds are scarce, oftentimes it's just white space, but the things in focus are that much more detailed to make up for it. Mix that with close-up views, which also double as chapter openers, and you have a composition that takes a while to get used to, but then becomes fun to explore. Which makes me think it's a great thing to be able to read this as a comic book.

Which in turn makes me think all the more that it's a shame it couldn't be longer. Sorry, I can't stop harping on it.

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Jan 3, 2021

SIOPAOBUN

Recommended

An examination of times during and after grief, with the strength of will and humanity.

Adapting and reinterpreting a period novel of the same name, Minetaro Mochizuki has absolutely outdone himself. Although still taking influence from Hisashi Eguchi’s art and sporting that Wes Anderson brand of self-conscious quirkiness, the style presented in Tokyo Kaido has finally been fully realized to become Mochizuki’s own, succeeding in a nice balance of artistry and narrative. In the transition from text to comic medium, Chiisakobee takes full advantage of the format. There’s no shortage of good spreads and meticulous composition capturing snippets of time. It’s retrospective, taking its endearing characters ...

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Apr 9, 2022

drazorback

Mixed Feelings

ORIGINAL REVIEW IN FRENCH BELOW

Chiisakobé is the adaptation of an age-old Japanese novel, transposed into a contemporary bled where the hero, who has been given the panoply of total vintage hipster, is a carpenter responsible for taking over the family business following a fire that led to the death of his parents. Without knowing the original work, it seems quite obvious that this is a transposition as various events seem anachronistic, even in a society sometimes as patriarchal and traditional as Japan. Thus, a few slaps or spankings appear as relics from another age, and even when these gestures are questioned, they end -problematically- by ... being dubbed by history (by extrapolating and amplifying: we find the old adage "beat your wife, if you don't know why, she will know"). For the somewhat critical and alert reader, it seems precisely that the discrepancy between modernized decorum and archaic behavior produces a dissonance that is not without mental fruitfulness, through the art of contrast (these gestures potentially appear all the more shocking that they are located in a modern setting, supposedly more sanitized, comprehensive and benevolent).

The story itself deals with timeless subjects: mourning, education, work, love... Which may explain the ease of transposition, moreover. But as such, Chiisakobé, despite some incongruous elements (the carpenter's home becomes a refuge for several colorful orphans, which is easier to imagine in a post-war or crisis period than in the 21st century), is often content to unfold well-known patterns: debt problems to overcome (and they will be... by ellipse), mourning to digest and, mainly, a love triangle, which places us much more side of the young Ritsu, a kind of adoptive mother of the children of the household, a woman devoted to maintenance and domestic chores, rather than that of the beautiful Yuko, a more dynamic woman who clearly has a crush on our head Hipster. Here again, everything follows without taking a big risk, with a vision that is still quite backward-looking (in the end, the choice falls on the housewife rather than her more independent counterpart). Despite everything, by its delicate line, quite sensual in its way of anchoring (inking?) the slender bodies, and by light touches of humor, far too timid, we end this short saga without suffering too much either. With all the same a feeling of relative emptiness, but good.

_________________________________________________________________

Chiisakobé est l'adaptation d'un roman japonais séculaire, transposé dans un bled contemporain où le héros, à qui on a donné la panoplie du totale hipster vintage, est un menuisier chargé de reprendre l'affaire familiale suite à un incendie ayant entraîné la mort de ses parents. Sans connaître l’œuvre originale, il apparaît assez évident qu'il s'agit ici d'une transposition tant divers évènements semblent anachroniques, même dans une société parfois aussi patriarcale et traditionnelle que le Japon. Ainsi, quelques claques ou fessées apparaissent comme des reliquats d'un autre âge, et quand bien même ces geste sont-ils questionnés, ils finissent -problématiquement- par être adoubé par l'histoire (en extrapolant et amplifiant : on retrouve le vieil adage "bats ta femme, si toi, tu ne sais pas pourquoi, elle le saura"). Pour le lecteur un tant soit peu critique et alerte, il semble justement que le décalage entre le décorum modernisé et les comportements archaïque produit une dissonance qui n'est pas sans fécondité mentale, par art du contraste (ces gestes apparaissent potentiellement d'autant plus choquants qu'ils se situent dans un cadre moderne, supposé plus aseptisé, compréhensif et bienveillant).

L'histoire en elle-même traite de sujet intemporels : deuil, éducation, travail, amour... Ce qui peut expliquer la facilité de transposition, d'ailleurs. Mais à ce titre, Chiisakobé, malgré quelques éléments incongrus (le domicile du charpentier devient un refuge pour plusieurs orphelins hauts en couleurs, ce qu'on imagine plus aisément dans une période d'après-guerre, ou de crises, qu'au XXIème siècle), se contente de souvent de déplier des schémas bien connus : problèmes de dettes à surmonter (et ils le seront... par ellipse), deuil à digérer et, principalement, un triangle amoureux, qui nous place bien d'avantage du côté de la jeune Ritsu, sorte de mère d'adoption des enfants du foyer, femme dévouée à l'entretien et aux tâches domestiques, plutôt que de celui de la belle Yuko, femme plus dynamique ayant clairement le béguin pour notre Hipster en chef. Là encore, le tout se suit sans prendre de gros risque, avec une vision encore assez passéiste (in fine, le choix se porte sur la femme au foyer plutôt que sur son pendant plus indépendant). Malgré tout, par son trait délicat, assez sensuel dans sa manière d'ancrer (encrer?) les corps grâciles, et par de légères touches d'humour, bien trop timides, on finit cette courte saga sans non plus trop souffrir. Avec tout de même un sentiment de vacuité relative, mais bon.

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