is a Japanese

manga Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...

series written and illustrated by

Mitsurō Kubo is the pen name of , a Japanese manga artist, writer, and radio personality. She is the co-creator of the 2016 anime series ''Yuri on Ice''. Biography Kubo was born on September 19, 1975 in Sasebo, Nagasaki Prefecture. As a child she developed ...

. It was serialized in ''

Evening Evening is the period of a day that starts at the end of the afternoon and overlaps with the beginning of night. The exact times when evening begins and ends depend on location, time of year, and culture, but it is generally regarded as beginn ...

'' magazine from 2008 to 2010, with its chapters collected into four ''

tankōbon is the 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 cultur ...

'' volumes by

Kodansha is a Japanese privately-held publishing company headquartered in Bunkyō, Tokyo. Kodansha is the largest Japanese publishing company, and it produces the manga magazines ''Nakayoshi'', ''Afternoon'', ''Evening'', ''Weekly Shōnen Magazine'' an ...

. It was adapted into a

Japanese television drama , also called , are television programs that are a staple of Japanese television and are broadcast daily. All major TV networks in Japan produce a variety of drama series including romance, comedy, detective stories, horror, jidaigeki, thriller ...

in 2010 and a live-action film in 2011.

Plot

Yukiyo Fujimoto is a temp worker living in

Tokyo, Japan Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

. He has never held a steady job or had a girlfriend. As he is about to turn 30, he is suddenly contacted by several women from his past: former co-worker and music enthusiast Aki Doi, younger friend and amateur photographer Itsuka Nakashiba, previous love interest Natsuki Komiyama, and former high school classmate and juvenile delinquent Naoko Hayashida. Yukiyo realizes that he is experiencing what is called his "moteki," a Japanese slang term for a period of time (usually the one-and-only period of time) where one becomes popular with the opposite sex. The term derives from a combination of the verb 'moteru' – i.e. to "have it" in the sense of "be popular", and 'ki', meaning "period".

Media

Manga

Written and illustrated by Mitsurō Kubo, ''Moteki'' was serialized in the bi-weekly ''

'' magazine from November 11, 2008 to April 13, 2010. The chapters were collected into four ''

'' volumes and published by

between March 23, 2009 and May 21, 2010. With a special volume 4.5 released on September 7, 2010.

Vertical Vertical is a geometric term of location which may refer to: * Vertical direction, the direction aligned with the direction of the force of gravity, up or down * Vertical (angles), a pair of angles opposite each other, formed by two intersecting s ...

have licensed the manga for a North American release in October 2017.

TV series

A live-action TV series of ''Moteki'' began airing in Japan on

TV Tokyo JOTX-DTV (channel 7), branded as and known colloquially as , is a television station headquartered in the Sumitomo Fudosan Roppongi Grand Tower in Roppongi, Minato, Tokyo, Japan, owned and operated by the subsidiary of listed certified b ...

on July 16, 2010. The live-action adaption features

Mirai Moriyama is a Japanese actor and dancer. Life and career Moriyama started training in dance when he was 5 years old. He trained in jazz dance, tap dance, ballet and hip-hop, and he appeared in several stage roles. He officially made his stage debut with ...

as Yukiyo Fujimoto,

Maho Nonami Maho Nonami (野波麻帆 ''Nonami Maho'' born 13 May 1980 in Tokyo, Japan) is a Japanese actress, best known for her role in the critically acclaimed ''2LDK''. Filmography Film * 1997 ''Rebirth of Mothra II'', Yuna * 1998 ''Begging for Love'' ...

as Aki Doi,

Hikari Mitsushima is a Japanese actress, singer and model. In 2017 she was the vocalist and dancer in Mondo Grosso's videos for "Labyrinth", which has garnered over 32 million views on YouTube as of 2 February 2022, and "In this World". Career She began her mus ...

as Itsuka Nakashiba,

Rio Matsumoto is a Japanese actress, model and singer. She has had a prolific career in television drama series since the mid-1990s and since 2003 has also been in several films. She was formerly known as Megumi Matsumoto (松本恵). Acting career Televis ...

as Natsuki Komiyama, and

Rinko Kikuchi (born ; January 6, 1981) is a Japanese actress. She was the first Japanese actress to be nominated for an Academy Award in 50 years, for her work in ''Babel'' (2006). Kikuchi's other notable films include '' Norwegian Wood'' (2010), which sc ...

as Naoko Hayashida.

Film

A live-action film of ''Moteki'' was released on March 23, 2012, with Mirai Moriyama reprising his role as Yukiyo Fujimoto,

Masami Nagasawa is a common Japanese given name and can be given to either sex. Possible writings *惟美, meaning "Considerate beauty" *真己, meaning "True self" or "Truth, Snake" *昌美, meaning "Prosperous beauty" *雅美, meaning "Gracious beauty" *� ...

as Miyuki Matsuo,

Kumiko Asō , better known by her stage name , is a Japanese actress. She is also a model and has participated in several commercials. Career In 1995, Asō made her film debut in ''Bad Guy Beach''. With her role in the 1998 film '' Dr. Akagi'', she receive ...

as Rumiko Masumoto,

Riisa Naka is a Japanese actress. She was given a Best New Talent award at the 2009 Yokohama Film Festival. Naka became famous by appearing in ''Hachi One Diver'' (2008) and played the lead, Hana Adachi, in '' Yankee-kun to Megane-chan'' (2010). Personal l ...

as Ai, and Yōko Maki as Motoko Katsuragi.

Reception

''Moteki'' was nominated for the 3rd

Manga Taishō The is a Japanese comics award recognizing achievement in manga. It is awarded annually to a manga series published in the previous calendar year of eight or fewer collected volumes in length. The Manga Taishō was founded with the aim of re ...

. The film adaptation earned at the Japanese box office. Mirai Moriyama won the

Mainichi Film Award for Best Actor The Mainichi Film Award for Best Actor is a film award given at the Mainichi Film Awards. Award Winners References {{film-award-stub Film awards for lead actor Awards established in 1947 1947 establishments in Japan Actor An actor ...

for his performance in the film. It was nominated for four awards at the 35th Japan Academy Awards; Masami Nagasawa for Best Actress, Kumiko Asō for Best Supporting Actress, Taiseki Iwasaki for Music, and Yūsuke Ishida for Editing.

References

External links

* * * * {{Series in Evening 2008 manga 2010 Japanese television series debuts 2010 Japanese television series endings Japanese sex comedy films Japanese television dramas based on manga Kodansha manga Live-action films based on manga Manga adapted into films Romantic comedy anime and manga Seinen manga TV Tokyo original programming Vertical (publisher) titles Films directed by Hitoshi Ōne Japanese romantic comedy films