is a Japanese manga written and illustrated by

Akira Sasō is a Japanese manga artist and educator. He has won a Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize and two Japan Media Arts Awards, the latter for his manga '' Shindō'' (1997–98) and ''Maestro'' (2003–07). Biography Sasō was born in Takarazuka, Hyōgo, Ja ...

. The story depicts a 13-year-old piano child prodigy, Uta Naruse, who helps 19-year-old Wao Kikuna, enter a conservatory to study the piano.

Media

The manga was serialized in

Futabasha is a Japanese publishing company headquartered in Higashigokenchō, Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan.会社概要
" Futabasha. R ...

's ''

seinen is an editorial category of Japanese comics marketed toward young adult men. In Japanese, the word ''seinen'' literally means "youth", but the term "''seinen'' manga" is also used to describe the target audience of magazines like '' Weekly Ma ...

manga magazine 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 used ...

, ''

Weekly Manga Action is a Japanese seinen manga magazine published by Futabasha. It is currently published twice a month, on the first and third Thursday. The magazine was originally formed as and began publishing weekly from July 7, 1967. It is considered the f ...

''. The individual chapters were collected into four '' bound volumes'', which Futabasha released from May 28, 1998 to August 28, 1998. Futabasha re-released the manga into three volumes, which were all released on December 19, 2003. The manga was adapted into a novel by Koji Hagiuda, which Futabasha released on March 15, 2007.

Epic/Sony Records Epic Records Japan is a Japanese record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment Japan. Its founder was Shigeo Maruyama. Between 1978 and 1988 the label operated as a wholly owned subsidiary: Epic/Sony Inc. () was established in August 1978

released a soundtrack CD on March 21, 2007. The novel was further adapted into a

live action Live action (or live-action) is a form of cinematography or videography that uses photography instead of animation. Some works combine live-action with animation to create a live-action animated film. Live-action is used to define film, video ...

film, with Koji Hagiuda directing his own novel and screenplay written by Kousuke Mukai, which premiered in Japan on April 27, 2007.

Riko Narumi is a Japanese actress and model. Filmography Films Television Photobooks * ''12sai'' (Littele More, 28 June 2005) * ''14sai no Koibana'' (Shufunotomo, 23 March 2007) * ''Natural Pure'' (Kadokawa Media House, 12 June 2007) * ''Rico Days'' ...

was cast as Uta and

Kenichi Matsuyama is a Japanese actor. He is known for his affinity for strange character roles, and he is best known internationally for playing L in the 2006 films ''Death Note'', '' Death Note 2: The Last Name'' and '' L: Change the World'' in 2008, as well a ...

was cast as Wao. The

theme music Theme music is a musical composition that is often written specifically for radio programming, television shows, video games, or films and is usually played during the title sequence, opening credits, closing credits, and in some instances at so ...

was performed by Mito of Clammbon. VAP released the film's DVD on November 21, 2007.

Reception

The manga received the excellence award in the manga division for the 2nd

Japan Media Arts Festival The Japan Media Arts Festival is an annual festival held since 1997 by Japan's Agency for Cultural Affairs. The festival begins with an open competition and culminates with the awarding of several prizes and an exhibition. Based on judging by a ...

and the award for excellence for the 3rd Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize in 1999. ''

The Japan Times ''The Japan Times'' is Japan's largest and oldest English-language daily newspaper. It is published by , a subsidiary of News2u Holdings, Inc.. It is headquartered in the in Kioicho, Chiyoda, Tokyo. History ''The Japan Times'' was launched b ...

Mark Schilling commends Riko Narumi's performance as Uta, "which is forceful, but somehow mysterious, like the fierce-eyed girls painted by

Yoshitomo Nara is a Japanese artist. He lives and works in Nasushiobara, Tochigi Prefecture, though his artwork has been exhibited worldwide. Nara has had nearly 40 solo exhibitions since 1984. His art work has been housed at the MoMA and the Los Angeles Coun ...

." Chris Magee commends the film as "a truly touching and surprisingly grown up look at just how difficult it can be for people, young or old, to come to terms with their talents and strengths, but also their faults and their weaknesses."

References

External links

*
Adventures of Modern Comics: From Katsuhiro Ohtomo to Natsume Ono
(pg. 299-305) {{DEFAULTSORT:Shindo (manga) 1997 manga Seinen manga Music in anime and manga 2007 films 2007 Japanese novels Manga adapted into films Winner of Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize (Award for Excellence) Futabasha manga Japanese musical drama films Live-action films based on manga Works about pianos and pianists