Junko Mizuno
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is a
Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...
manga artist A is a comic artist who writes and/or illustrates manga. As of 2006, about 3,000 professional manga artists were working in Japan. Most manga artists study at an art college or manga school or take on an apprenticeship with another artist be ...
. Her drawing style is often termed as ''Gothic kawaii'' or ''
kawaii ''Kawaii'' is the culture of cuteness in Japan. It can refer to items, humans and non-humans that are charming, vulnerable, shy and childlike.Kerr, Hui-Ying (23 November 2016)"What is kawaii – and why did the world fall for the ‘cult of cu ...
noir'' style.


Art style

Mizuno's drawing style, which mixes childish sweetness and cuteness with terror and erotica, has often been termed a ''Gothic kawaii'' or ''kawaii noir'' style. However, Mizuno has stated that she does not feel comfortable about those terms, as she doesn't want to label her work with words because it keeps changing and is influenced by many different genres. Mizuno has stated that her work is influenced by
shōjo manga is an editorial category of Japanese comics targeting an audience of adolescent females and young adult women. It is, along with manga (targeting adolescent boys), manga (targeting young adult and adult men), and manga (targeting adul ...
works; this influence is exhibited through her use of bright colorization and the large eyes she provides for her characters. Her art has a decidedly pop-art and
psychedelic Psychedelics are a subclass of hallucinogenic drugs whose primary effect is to trigger non-ordinary states of consciousness (known as psychedelic experiences or "trips").Pollan, Michael (2018). ''How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of ...
flair, and a sizable proportion of her published work is colored, rather than the black and white format typical of most Japanese comics. A part of Mizuno's oeuvre revolves around
fairy tales A fairy tale (alternative names include fairytale, fairy story, magic tale, or wonder tale) is a short story that belongs to the folklore genre. Such stories typically feature magic, enchantments, and mythical or fanciful beings. In most cult ...
, showing titles such as ''Cinderalla'', ''Princess Mermaid'' and ''Hansel&Gretel''. The story behind this is that after the release of ''Pure Trance'', Mizuno was approached by a ''Kinokuniya'' publisher who was interested in working with her because of her unique style. However, this publisher did not like the story of ''Pure Trance'' as it differed a lot from mainstream comics at the time. Because of this, he ask that she revise the original Cinderella tale in order to prove her story-telling skill and receive approval to write her own stories. Mizuno has stated that as she was just starting out her career as a professional artist, she decided to take the opportunity, and that while in hindsight she was not very comfortable with the situation, it was a good experience for her. Mizuno has participated in the
Angoulême International Comics Festival The Angoulême International Comics Festival (french: Festival international de la bande dessinée d'Angoulême) is the second largest comics festival in Europe after the Lucca Comics & Games in Italy, and the third biggest in the world after Lu ...
and
The Lakes International Comic Art Festival The Lakes International Comic Art Festival, often referred to as LICAF, is an annual comics art festival. Established in 2013, the not-for-profit festival takes place for a weekend in October each year. From 2013 until 2021 LICAF took place in ...
. In 2007 Mizuno's work was on display at the
Merry Karnowsky Merry Akane Karnowsky is a Los Angeles art dealer and gallerist of Japanese and Polish-German ancestry. Karnowsky was born in Eastern Washington State and educated at Pitzer College - Claremont, California. In 1997, she opened The Merry Karnows ...
Gallery in Los Angeles, in an exhibit titled ''Heart Throb'' and at Gallery Nucleus in
Alhambra The Alhambra (, ; ar, الْحَمْرَاء, Al-Ḥamrāʾ, , ) is a palace and fortress complex located in Granada, Andalusia, Spain. It is one of the most famous monuments of Islamic architecture and one of the best-preserved palaces of the ...
,
California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
in an exhibit titled ''Tender Succubus''. In 2014, Mizuno held an exhibition of her work titled ''Belle: the Art of Junko Mizuno'' at the Atomica Gallery in
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
.


Merchandise

In addition to her
comic a Media (communication), medium used to express ideas with images, often combined with text or other visual information. It typically the form of a sequence of Panel (comics), panels of images. Textual devices such as speech balloons, Glo ...
s, Mizuno designs
T-shirt A T-shirt (also spelled tee shirt), or tee, is a style of fabric shirt named after the T shape of its body and sleeves. Traditionally, it has short sleeves and a round neckline, known as a ''crew neck'', which lacks a collar. T-shirts are general ...
s,
calendar A calendar is a system of organizing days. This is done by giving names to periods of time, typically days, weeks, months and years. A date is the designation of a single and specific day within such a system. A calendar is also a physi ...
s,
postcard A postcard or post card is a piece of thick paper or thin cardboard, typically rectangular, intended for writing and mailing without an envelope. Non-rectangular shapes may also be used but are rare. There are novelty exceptions, such as wood ...
s, and other collectibles. Some of her designs were used in the documentary series ''
Japanorama ''Japanorama'' is a series of documentaries presented by Jonathan Ross, exploring various facets of popular culture and trends of modern-day Japan. Each episode has a theme, around which Ross presents cultural phenomenon, films, music, and art th ...
,'' which aired on
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
. Mizuno also provides the art that accompanies the horoscopes in ''
Shojo Beat ''Shojo Beat'' is a manga magazine formerly published in North America by Viz Media. Launched in June 2005 as a sister magazine for '' Shonen Jump'', it featured serialized chapters from six manga series, as well as articles on Japanese cult ...
'' magazine.
Last Gasp Last Gasp or The Last Gasp may refer to * Last Gasp (publisher) * ''Last Gasp'' (''Inside No. 9''), a TV episode * '' The Last Gasp'', a 2007 album by Impaled * ''The Last Gasp'' (novel) * "Last Gasp" (song) {{dab ...
and
Viz Comics VIZ Media LLC is an American manga publisher, anime distributor and entertainment company headquartered in San Francisco, California. It was founded in 1986 as VIZ LLC. In 2005, VIZ LLC and ShoPro Entertainment merged to form the current VIZ M ...
are the English-language publishers of her work. A handful of objects have been produced from Junko Mizuno's designs. These include vinyl figurines (produced by Fewture Models/Art Storm USA), plush animals, stationery (produced by Dark Horse USA), and original artwork T-shirts (made by Fine Clothing). In early 2009 Mizuno Garden launched a line of erotic products such as condoms and lube. In addition, the Viz editions of her graphic novels include stickers and postcards. In 2008, Hasbro announced a limited edition of My Little Pony based on her design for a charity auction.


Works

*''
Cinderalla , also known as ''Junko Mizuno's Cinderalla'', is a fantasy-horror manga written and illustrated by Junko Mizuno. It was published by Koushinsya; later an English version was released by Viz Media in 2002. It is one in a line of her new versio ...
,'' (Koushinsya, 1995); English ed. Viz, (2002). *"The Life of Momongo," story by Norimizu Ameya, ''Comic Cue,'' (East Press, 1998); reprinted in Chikao Shiratori, (ed.), ''Secret Comics Japan,'' (Viz, 2000). *''
Pure Trance is a '' shōjo'' (targeted towards girls) science-fiction manga by Junko Mizuno. Her debut manga, it appeared as a serial in the booklets of Avex Trax's ''Pure Trance'' techno compilation CD series. It was later collected into a bound volu ...
,'' (East Press okyo 1998); English ed. Last Gasp, (2005). *''
Hansel & Gretel "Hansel and Gretel" (; german: Hänsel und Gretel ) is a German fairy tale collected by the German Brothers Grimm and published in 1812 in ''Grimm's Fairy Tales'' (KHM 15). It is also known as Little Step Brother and Little Step Sister. Hanse ...
,'' (Koushinsya, 2000); English ed. Viz, (2003). *'' Junko Mizuno's Hell Babies,'' (Kenichi Kawai/Pan-Exotica, 2001). *'' Princess Mermaid,'' (Bunkasha, 2002); English ed. Viz, (2003). *'' Collector's File 002: Junko Mizuno's Illustration Book,'' (Viz, 2003). *'' Little Fluffy Gigolo Pelu,'' (Enterbrain, 2003-2005); English ed. Last Gasp (2009-). *'' Ravina the Witch,'' (Éditions Soleil, 2014).


Bibliography

*"Junko Mizuno's Fantasy World" (Interview conducted by Pushead), ''
Juxtapoz ''Juxtapoz Art & Culture Magazine'' (pronounced ''JUX-tah-pose'') is a magazine created in 1994 by a group of artists and art collectors including Robert Williams, Fausto Vitello, C.R. Stecyk III (a.k.a. Craig Stecyk), Greg Escalante, and Eric ...
'' #60 (January 2006), pp. 54–57. *"The Junko Mizuno Interview" (Interview conducted by Ema Nakao; questions and research by Kristy Valenti), ''
The Comics Journal ''The Comics Journal'', often abbreviated ''TCJ'', is an American magazine of news and criticism pertaining to comic books, comic strips and graphic novels. Known for its lengthy interviews with comic creators, pointed editorials and scathing re ...
'' #273 (January 2006), pp. 117–130. *"Interview with Junko Mizuno" (Interview conducted by Izumi Evers, translated into English by Andy Nakatani), in ''Cinderalla'', pp. 130–135. *"Interview: Junko Mizuno" (Interview conducted by Lora-Elly Vannieuwenhuysen)
''BCM''
#22 (December 2014), p. 56.


Notes


External links


Official site

jaPRESS
*(English) ''Otaku News'
Interview
with Junko Mizuno *(English) Jeremyriad.co
Interview
with Junko Mizuno *(English) ''Crunchyroll'
Interview
with Junko Mizuno *(English) ''Japanorama'
Interview
with Junko Mizuno {{DEFAULTSORT:Mizuno, Junko 1973 births Living people People from Tokyo Japanese illustrators Japanese women illustrators Women manga artists Manga artists from Tokyo Female comics writers Japanese female comics artists 20th-century Japanese women writers 21st-century Japanese women writers