''Wombs'' (stylized as ''WOMBS'') 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 . It 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 Hit ...

's ''

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 April 2009 to October 2010, and later directly published via volumes, with the fifth and last one released in January 2016. In 2016, ''Wombs'' won the Grand Prize of the 37th

Nihon SF Taisho Award The is a Japanese science fiction award. It has been compared to the Nebula Award as it is given by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of Japan or SFWJ. The Grand Prize is selected from not only Science Fiction novels, but also various SF mo ...

Synopsis

On the planet of Hekiou, there is a continuing war between the first wave of immigrants and the second. An important section of the military uses a native creature, the Niebass, to give its soldiers translocation abilities. These soldiers are all women, with the alien creature transplanted into their wombs. Some people see this practice as a violation of human women by aliens, and Mana Oga's boyfriend has a similar perspective on the matter. Mana Oga is a new soldier in this section, and the story follows her and the other women in her group who accept the alien creatures into their wombs in order to defend their homes.

Publication

''Wombs'', written and illustrated by , debuted in

's ''

'' on April 25, 2009. The series was regularly published in the magazine for sixteen chapters until October 25, 2010, and it was then directly released via volumes, although the first chapter of the third volume was published by the magazine in advance on April 25, 2012. The five ''tankōbon'' volumes of ''Wombs'' were released from January 29, 2010, to January 29, 2016.

Volumes

Reception

''Wombs'' was one of the Jury Recommended Works at the 14th

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 ...

in 2010. The series won the 37th

by the

Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of Japan Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of Japan, or SFWJ (Japanese official name: , ''Nihon SF Sakka Club'') is an organization of SF-related people, professional or semi-professional. It was formerly a friendship organization, but it is a general inco ...

(SFWJ). The manga was nominated for the 48th

Seiun Award The is a Japanese speculative fiction award given each year for the best science fiction works and achievements during the previous calendar year. Organized and overseen by , the awards are given at the annual Nihon SF Taikai, Japan Science Fict ...

in the Best Comic category in 2017. The manga was nominated for the Grand Prize of the 12th and 16th

Sense of Gender Award The Sense of Gender Awards are annual awards given by the Japanese Association for Gender, Fantasy & Science Fiction since 2001 for the science fiction or fantasy fiction published in the Japanese language in the prior year which best "explore an ...

in 2012 and 2016, respectively.

References

External links