is a Japanese '' shōjo''

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 by

Kazuko Fujita (born 18 March 1957 in Niigata, Japan) is a Japanese '' shōjo'' manga artist. She made her professional debut in 1977 in ''Bessatsu Shōjo Comic'' and she has written manga mainly for ''Flower Comics''. She is best known for '' Makoto Call!'' ...

. The series first appeared in July 1990 on the 15th issue of the semimonthly ''

Shōjo Comic , formerly published under its full name until December 2007, is a ''shōjo'' manga magazine published semimonthly in Japan by Shogakukan since 1968. The manga featured in ''Sho-Comi'' are later compiled and published in book form (''tankōbon' ...

''. It won the 37th

Shogakukan Manga Award The is one of Japan's major manga awards, and is sponsored by Shogakukan, Shogakukan Publishing. It has been awarded annually for serialized manga and features candidates from a number of publishers. It is the oldest manga award in Japan, being ...

for shōjo. While shōjo, the series has elements of classical sports manga like player rivalry and special attacks. The series is about high-school student Fujisaki Makoto, a

figure skater Figure skating is a sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform on figure skates on ice. It was the first winter sport to be included in the Olympic Games, when contested at the 1908 Olympics in London. The Olympic disciplines are me ...

who returns from Canada to Japan. As the result of a random encounter with her new school's

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

team, she joins the team, and with her help they are able to hold off (but still loses at the end) to high school championships favorites led by Hitomi Kanou. There begins Fujisaki's road to stardom and

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

Main characters

; : The protagonist. As a former figure skater, she is a gifted athlete and quickly learns volleyball skills even with no prior experience. She stands 172 cm tall. ; : A childhood friend of Makoto, he is an amateur photographer. ; : The new coach of the school volleyball team and a former Japan National Team player. He stands about 190 cm tall. ; : The star of the Tōyō High School's volleyball team and Makoto's rival.

Manga

''Makoto Call!'' was written and illustrated by

. It was serialized in the '' shōjo''

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 ...

'' from 1990 to 1992, and collected in nine ''

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

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 ...

under the

Flower Comics 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 Hi ...

imprint. It was reprinted in 2003 in four '' bunkoban'' volumes.

References

External links

Shogakukan website
{{Shogakukan Manga Award - Shōjo Winners of the Shogakukan Manga Award for shōjo manga Shōjo manga Volleyball in anime and manga Shogakukan manga