Saturn Apartments
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is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by
Hisae Iwaoka Hisae Iwaoka (岩岡ヒサエ, born 17 July 1976, Chiba Prefecture) is a Japanese manga artist. Career Iwaoka started her career as a professional manga artist in the early 2000s, when she released several short stories to critical acclaim. In ...
. ''Saturn Apartments'' was serialized in
Shogakukan is a Japanese publisher of dictionaries, literature, comics ( manga), non-fiction, DVDs, and other media in Japan. Shogakukan founded Shueisha, which also founded Hakusensha. These are three separate companies, but are together called the H ...
's ''seinen'' manga magazine ''
Monthly Ikki was a monthly ''seinen'' manga magazine published by Shogakukan. It tended to specialize in underground or alternative manga, but it had its share of major hits as well. The magazine started in 2000 as a spin-off of Shogakukan's ''Weekly Big ...
'' from November 2005 to June 2011. It has been collected into seven ''
tankōbon is the Japanese term for a book that is not part of an anthology or corpus. In modern Japanese, the term is most often used in reference to individual volumes of a manga series: most series first appear as individual chapters in a weekly or ...
'' volumes.
Viz Media 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 ...
licensed the series for English-language publication in North America.


Plot

The story is set in a distant future, where the Earth has been evacuated and humanity now inhabits a man-made ring-shaped city orbiting 35 kilometers above the planet's surface. The ring is divided into floors, of which there are three; the first being the living space of everyday workers, the second being dedicated to agriculture, and the third being the dwellings of the upper class. The plot follows the life of a young man called Mitsu, whose job as a window cleaner allows him a glimpse into the lives of the ring's inhabitants, as he attempts to learn more about his father's disappearance while working in the same job.


Characters


Window Cleaners

; :Mitsu works as a window cleaner because he takes joy in it and because he wants to learn about his father's ill disappearance at work. He tends to be of a very calm nature, and he is very dedicated to his job, something he is aware of as being a dangerous and low-paying occupation. He is somewhat inexperienced and insecure of himself. ; :Jin is Mitsu's superior and occasional supervisor who has had plenty more experience working as a window cleaner. He tends to speak gruffly and is externally of a brash nature, however he is caring for his co-workers. He lives with his wife, Haruko and his a close friend of Tamachi (even though they dislike admitting it). ; :A co-worker of Mitsu who has a grudge with him for "replacing Tamachi" and for "having it so easy" in terms of work.


Other Characters

; :Jin's wife. Haruko is frail and prone to blackouts due to what is described as an autoimmunity deficiency caused by a lack of sunlight in the lower levels. In a flashback it's revealed she dislikes hospitals due to an accident that led to her sterility. This doesn't stop Haruko from being cheery and from participating in public agriculture. ; :A family of three that occasionally house Mitsu. The family is integrated by the bald and boisterous Mr. Kageyama, his wife, and their daughter Fuyo. ; :Tamachi worked as a window cleaner until he had to take up his family's business in the upper levels. He was the former partner of Aki (Mitsu's father). It's revealed that he has a slight feud with Jin. Tamachi frequently hires Jin to clean windows above gardens. He works in a bio-gas plant and lives with his wife. ; :An acquaintance of Mitsu who works as a "falling objects researcher" . She was originally mistaken as a man by Mitsu. She and her pet cat live outside of the ring on a small cabin, and the exposure to solar radiation gives her constant sunburns.


Publication

''Saturn Apartments'', written and illustrated by
Hisae Iwaoka Hisae Iwaoka (岩岡ヒサエ, born 17 July 1976, Chiba Prefecture) is a Japanese manga artist. Career Iwaoka started her career as a professional manga artist in the early 2000s, when she released several short stories to critical acclaim. In ...
, was serialized in
Shogakukan is a Japanese publisher of dictionaries, literature, comics ( manga), non-fiction, DVDs, and other media in Japan. Shogakukan founded Shueisha, which also founded Hakusensha. These are three separate companies, but are together called the H ...
's ''seinen'' manga magazine ''
Monthly Ikki was a monthly ''seinen'' manga magazine published by Shogakukan. It tended to specialize in underground or alternative manga, but it had its share of major hits as well. The magazine started in 2000 as a spin-off of Shogakukan's ''Weekly Big ...
'' from November 25, 2005 to June 25, 2011. Shogakukan compiled its chapters into seven ''
tankōbon is the Japanese term for a book that is not part of an anthology or corpus. In modern Japanese, the term is most often used in reference to individual volumes of a manga series: most series first appear as individual chapters in a weekly or ...
'' volumes, released from October 30, 2006 to August 30, 2011.
Viz Media 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 ...
licensed the manga for English-language publication in North America and as of May 2013, have released all 7 volumes of the series. ''Saturn Apartments'' is licensed in Taiwan by Taiwan Tohan and Kana in France.


Volume list

Chapters are called "floors".


Reception

Matthew Warner enjoyed the interesting world presented in the manga, and praised the 'simple, yet gorgeous art style'. Johanna Draper Carlson compares the protagonist, Mitsu, to
Charlie Brown Charles "Charlie" Brown is the principal character of the comic strip '' Peanuts'', syndicated in daily and Sunday newspapers in numerous countries all over the world. Depicted as a "lovable loser," Charlie Brown is one of the great American a ...
, as they both have rounded heads and small eyes, and are "dealing with a grim life". Later, she describes Mitsu as being a typical 'plucky young manga hero' who improves at his work, but is also noted for his talking to his upper-class clients. Greg McElhatton compares Iwaoka's artwork to
Travis Charest Travis Charest (born 1969) is a Canadian comic book penciller, inker and painter, known for his work on such books as ''Darkstars'', ''WildC.A.T.s'', ''Grifter/ Shi'', '' WildC.A.T.s/X-Men: The Golden Age'' and ''The Metabarons''. He is known f ...
and Sean Chen, praising the details of the work.
YALSA The Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), established in 1957, is a division of the American Library Association. YALSA is a national association of librarians, library workers and advocates whose mission is to expand the capacity of l ...
included the first volume of the series on their 2011 Great Graphic Novels for Teens list.


References


External links

* {{Monthly Ikki 2005 manga Science fiction anime and manga Seinen manga Shogakukan manga Viz Media manga