Sneeze: Naoki Urasawa Story Collection | |
![]() Original Japanese cover, as published by Shogakukan | |
くしゃみ 浦沢直樹短編集 (Kushami Urasawa Naoki Tanpenshū) | |
---|---|
Genre | Comedy [1] |
Manga | |
Written by | Naoki Urasawa |
Published by | Shogakukan |
English publisher | |
Imprint | Big Comics |
Demographic | Seinen |
Published | April 26, 2019 |
Volumes | 1 |
Sneeze: Naoki Urasawa Story Collection ( Japanese: くしゃみ 浦沢直樹短編集, Hepburn: Kushami Urasawa Naoki Tanpenshū) is a Japanese anthology of manga written and illustrated by Naoki Urasawa. It collects eight varied short stories that are loosely thematically linked, and which were originally published in various magazines and publications between 1995 and 2018. The single volume was released by Shogakukan in April 2019. Viz Media licensed it for English-language release in North America and published it in October 2020.
Sneeze: Naoki Urasawa Story Collection is an anthology collection of eight short stories by Naoki Urasawa. Shogakukan published the wideban volume under its Big Comics imprint on April 26, 2019. [5] [6] The book provides the definition of the word "sneeze" as "A sudden expiration of breath. A short work as opposed to a long work. It can make the most beautiful person look momentarily ugly." Rebecca Silverman of Anime News Network took this to metaphorically mean that each of the short stories included "is sudden, short, and challenges the idea of what is beautiful and ugly." [7] While compiling the stories for the collection, Urasawa noticed that much of his work depicts things that he enjoyed as a child; kaiju, superheroes, and slapstick comedy. He was shocked at how little he has changed, but expressed gratitude to the culture of the 1960s and 1970s which has brought him so much inspiration for so long. [3] In North America, Viz Media announced the English-language release of the volume in February 2020. [8] The volume was published under the Viz Signature imprint on October 20, 2020. [9]
No. | Original release date | Original ISBN | English release date | English ISBN | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | April 26, 2019 [5] | 978-4-09-860338-1 | October 20, 2020 [9] | 978-1-9747-1748-4 | ||
|
Rebecca Silverman of Anime News Network ranked the volume as A−. She commended the stories featured in the collection, which despite being varied from each other are thematically linked. She cited "Kaiju Kingdom", "It's a Beautiful Day", and "Throw Toward the Moon!" as the best. Silverman concluded: "Sneeze as a collection is an interesting read. Its pieces are more linked than not in their themes and plots, but each also feels unique, so that it never feels like reading a retread. Whether you've read Naoki Urasawa's work before or not, this solid short story collection is nothing to Sneeze at". [7]
Reuben Baron of Comic Book Resources felt that the stories in the collection "tend to showcase Urasawa's lighter, more humorous side." He also noted how "The Old Guys" and "Musica Nostra" are more like illustrated diary entries rather than full stories. Baron finished by saying those looking for complex storytelling might find most of the book underwhelming, aside from the cleverness of "Throw Toward the Moon!" and "Kaiju Kingdom", but recommended it to those looking for "a fun and breezy read" and to those looking to see Urasawa's wider artistic sensibilities. [10]
Comicon.com's James Ferguson was struck by the sheer variety of the stories included in Sneeze and noted that they all have a positive vibe to them, even when the plot takes a dark turn. He was riveted by every story, even the ones about Urasawa's real life. Ferguson cited either "Kaiju Kingdom" or "Tanshin Funin/Solo Mission" as his favorites, the latter for "putting an interesting twist on super heroes fighting alien creatures." [11]
Publishers Weekly called the content of the collection diverse, but still described most of the fiction as dealing with monsters and the supernatural, while the nonfiction centers on Urasawa's love for folk rock idols. They called "Kaiju Kingdom" a "nuanced allegory for how the West fetishizes Asian cultures," but accused "It's a Beautiful Day" and "the lecherous (if unintentionally)" "Musica Nostra" of paternalism despite the two being engaging and technically sound. They finished by calling Urasawa's "emotive art" and clever humor "unparalleled within the genre." [12]
Ian Wolf of Anime UK News gave the volume a 9 out of 10 rating. He wrote that Sneeze has a lot in it to appeal to many different fans, but called its structure "strange", saying, for example: "the child-friendly comedic short about two cartoon mice is followed by a period music-based story which features nudity". Wolf said that the music stories are particularly interesting pieces for including some of the most famous music stars of modern times; "Not just the Fab Four, but Bob Dylan and Neil Young also appear during the course of this book, so if you are a big music lover, this is a manga to get". Wolf concluded: "Each of the stories comes with a commentary from Urasawa himself, and it is also nice to see two of these stories being coloured entirely.…For this and many other reasons, Sneeze is one of the best short story manga collections I have come across". [13]
Reviewing the English release of The Tipping Point anthology, which is where "Tanshin Funin/Solo Mission" was first published, John Seven of Comics Beat wrote that Urasawa's story "sets up a comedic space adventure against the backdrop of family expenses, but the punchline fizzles." [14]
Sneeze: Naoki Urasawa Story Collection | |
![]() Original Japanese cover, as published by Shogakukan | |
くしゃみ 浦沢直樹短編集 (Kushami Urasawa Naoki Tanpenshū) | |
---|---|
Genre | Comedy [1] |
Manga | |
Written by | Naoki Urasawa |
Published by | Shogakukan |
English publisher | |
Imprint | Big Comics |
Demographic | Seinen |
Published | April 26, 2019 |
Volumes | 1 |
Sneeze: Naoki Urasawa Story Collection ( Japanese: くしゃみ 浦沢直樹短編集, Hepburn: Kushami Urasawa Naoki Tanpenshū) is a Japanese anthology of manga written and illustrated by Naoki Urasawa. It collects eight varied short stories that are loosely thematically linked, and which were originally published in various magazines and publications between 1995 and 2018. The single volume was released by Shogakukan in April 2019. Viz Media licensed it for English-language release in North America and published it in October 2020.
Sneeze: Naoki Urasawa Story Collection is an anthology collection of eight short stories by Naoki Urasawa. Shogakukan published the wideban volume under its Big Comics imprint on April 26, 2019. [5] [6] The book provides the definition of the word "sneeze" as "A sudden expiration of breath. A short work as opposed to a long work. It can make the most beautiful person look momentarily ugly." Rebecca Silverman of Anime News Network took this to metaphorically mean that each of the short stories included "is sudden, short, and challenges the idea of what is beautiful and ugly." [7] While compiling the stories for the collection, Urasawa noticed that much of his work depicts things that he enjoyed as a child; kaiju, superheroes, and slapstick comedy. He was shocked at how little he has changed, but expressed gratitude to the culture of the 1960s and 1970s which has brought him so much inspiration for so long. [3] In North America, Viz Media announced the English-language release of the volume in February 2020. [8] The volume was published under the Viz Signature imprint on October 20, 2020. [9]
No. | Original release date | Original ISBN | English release date | English ISBN | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | April 26, 2019 [5] | 978-4-09-860338-1 | October 20, 2020 [9] | 978-1-9747-1748-4 | ||
|
Rebecca Silverman of Anime News Network ranked the volume as A−. She commended the stories featured in the collection, which despite being varied from each other are thematically linked. She cited "Kaiju Kingdom", "It's a Beautiful Day", and "Throw Toward the Moon!" as the best. Silverman concluded: "Sneeze as a collection is an interesting read. Its pieces are more linked than not in their themes and plots, but each also feels unique, so that it never feels like reading a retread. Whether you've read Naoki Urasawa's work before or not, this solid short story collection is nothing to Sneeze at". [7]
Reuben Baron of Comic Book Resources felt that the stories in the collection "tend to showcase Urasawa's lighter, more humorous side." He also noted how "The Old Guys" and "Musica Nostra" are more like illustrated diary entries rather than full stories. Baron finished by saying those looking for complex storytelling might find most of the book underwhelming, aside from the cleverness of "Throw Toward the Moon!" and "Kaiju Kingdom", but recommended it to those looking for "a fun and breezy read" and to those looking to see Urasawa's wider artistic sensibilities. [10]
Comicon.com's James Ferguson was struck by the sheer variety of the stories included in Sneeze and noted that they all have a positive vibe to them, even when the plot takes a dark turn. He was riveted by every story, even the ones about Urasawa's real life. Ferguson cited either "Kaiju Kingdom" or "Tanshin Funin/Solo Mission" as his favorites, the latter for "putting an interesting twist on super heroes fighting alien creatures." [11]
Publishers Weekly called the content of the collection diverse, but still described most of the fiction as dealing with monsters and the supernatural, while the nonfiction centers on Urasawa's love for folk rock idols. They called "Kaiju Kingdom" a "nuanced allegory for how the West fetishizes Asian cultures," but accused "It's a Beautiful Day" and "the lecherous (if unintentionally)" "Musica Nostra" of paternalism despite the two being engaging and technically sound. They finished by calling Urasawa's "emotive art" and clever humor "unparalleled within the genre." [12]
Ian Wolf of Anime UK News gave the volume a 9 out of 10 rating. He wrote that Sneeze has a lot in it to appeal to many different fans, but called its structure "strange", saying, for example: "the child-friendly comedic short about two cartoon mice is followed by a period music-based story which features nudity". Wolf said that the music stories are particularly interesting pieces for including some of the most famous music stars of modern times; "Not just the Fab Four, but Bob Dylan and Neil Young also appear during the course of this book, so if you are a big music lover, this is a manga to get". Wolf concluded: "Each of the stories comes with a commentary from Urasawa himself, and it is also nice to see two of these stories being coloured entirely.…For this and many other reasons, Sneeze is one of the best short story manga collections I have come across". [13]
Reviewing the English release of The Tipping Point anthology, which is where "Tanshin Funin/Solo Mission" was first published, John Seven of Comics Beat wrote that Urasawa's story "sets up a comedic space adventure against the backdrop of family expenses, but the punchline fizzles." [14]