is a short, debut

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 ...

work by Ken Akamatsu, the creator of '' Love Hina''. The manga was published on September issue of

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 ...

’s Magazine Fresh on September 10, 1993. Ken Akamatsu later received Kodansha’s "Freshman Manga Award" ( Japanese: /) and Special Jury Award (Japanese: ) for this work. The manga was re-published on 20 May 2001.

Plot summary

The narrative revolves around a

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

student named Shinya Matsumoto and his love story, which takes place in the summer vacation. Shinya unexpectedly encounters a car accident, which results in a mother and son being taken to a hospital. The son, Daisuke Kirishima, is completely fine while his mother, Reiko Kirishima must stay in the hospital for three weeks and is unable to look after her son thereafter. Reiko’s younger sister, Yuki Kirishima, visits the hospital but she turns out to be Shinya’s classmate and love interest. Yuki, who needs to care for Daisuke Kirishima, faces problematic situation as there is no place for Daisuke to settle down. Shinya suggests that he will provide room for Daisuke to live and Yuki visits his house on regular basis to care for them. Shinya then starts a romantic relationship with Yuki.

Main characters

; :The male

protagonist A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a st ...

. He is a high school student who originally lives alone. He undertakes the task of caring for Yuki Kirishima’s nephew Daisuke after the car accident. During the summer period he develops a relationship with Yuki. ; :The female protagonist. Yuki is Shinya’s classmate. She visits Shinya’s house regularly to look after Shinya and her nephew. She is good at

cooking Cooking, cookery, or culinary arts is the art, science and craft of using heat to Outline of food preparation, prepare food for consumption. Cooking techniques and ingredients vary widely, from grilling food over an open fire to using electric ...

. ; :Yuki’s older sister. She left home in her early years and later gave birth to Daisuke. She has to stay in hospital after she get injured in a car accident and since then her son is temporarily looked after by the two leads. ; :Reiko’s son and Yuki’s nephew, a three-year-old boy who loves

painting Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ...

. He lives in Shinya’s house when his mother is in hospital. ; :The father of Reiko and Yuki. In the story he is a member of the House of Representatives. ; :Daisuke's father. He died one year after Daisuke was born. He shares some common characteristics with Shinya.

Name

The manga title literally means "one summer's kids' game". The original title is , which means "summer vacation only parents". But the original title was eventually rejected for being criticized by the editors.

Awards

The manga won the 50th Freshman Manga Award and Special Jury Award (1993)

Significance

This is Akamatsu's first manga work to be published by a mainstream manga magazine and Akamatsu received the Shōnen Magazine Freshman Award for this work. It not only encouraged Akamatsu to become a

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 ...

, but also drew attentions from manga editors. Akamatsu was inspired by the plans of manga editors and this led to the creation of his later work ''

A.I. Love You is a Japanese manga series by author Ken Akamatsu. The story follows Hitoshi Kōbe, a high school guy who isn't good at anything but programming. He creates a program in particular named ''Program 30'' which is that of a female, and is shocke ...

''.

Footnotes

References

Hito Natsu no Kids Game Research Institute
* Love Hina 0,

Tong Li Comics Tongli Publishing Co. (Chinese: 東立出版社, Hanyu Pinyin: ''Dōng Lì Chūbǎnshè''), most known as Tong Li Comics, is a publishing company which distributes a variety of domestic and imported comics in Taiwan. History Tong Li was founded ...

External links

*{{in lang, ja}
Ken Akamatsu Works Research Institute
Ken Akamatsu 1993 manga Romance anime and manga Shōnen manga