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Koizora - Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia
Koizora - Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia
Koizora - Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Koizora: Setsunai Koi Monogatari (恋空―切ナイ
恋物語 Koizora: Setsunai Koi Monogatari, lit. "Sky of Koizora
Love: A Sad Love Story"), or Koizora (恋空) for
short, is a 2005 bestselling[2] Japanese coming of age
and romance novel written by Mika.[1] Originally
posted on the cell phone website "Mahō no iLand",
where chapters would be released exclusively for
mobile reading, Koizora received a hard print
publication from Starts Publications in October 2006,
恋空―切ナイ恋物語
with the story being separated into two volumes.[3]
(Koizora: Setsunai Koi Monogatari)
Koizora is claimed to be a biographical account of Genre Romance, Tragedy
Mika, or at least, based on firsthand accounts.[4] It Novel series
boomed in popularity and became a mass cultural
Written by Mika[1]
phenomenon,[3] spawning a theatrical film,[5][6] a
television drama adaptation,[7] and a manga Published by Starts Publications
adaptation. Published 2005 (online)
October 2006 (print)
Manga
Contents Written by Ibuki Haneda
During their second year in high school, Hiro discovers that he has cancer and makes the painful
decision to break up with Mika to keep his condition from causing her pain, but secretly continues to
follow her whereabouts through his high school friend, Nozumu. Although hurt, Mika gradually forgets
about Hiro and meets a college student named Yu, who becomes sympathetic to her situation. The two
date, and Yu even prevents Mika's parents from divorcing. On the first anniversary of the baby's death,
Mika finds Hiro visiting the grave. On the second anniversary, she finds Nozomu instead. He reveals
Hiro's condition to Mika and she makes a difficult decision to leave Yū to go to his bedside. Upset that
he pretended he didn't love her only to ensure she would have a happy future, she insists that only he can
make her happy. Having Mika back, Hiro is determined to fight his disease and begins to improve as
Mika takes an academic leave from college to visit him in the hospital. During a routine checkup, Hiro's
condition takes a turn for the worse and he dies before Mika gets a chance to say goodbye to him.
Mika is distraught by Hiro's death and attempts suicide by jumping off a bridge, but is stopped when two
white doves fly towards the sky. She drops Hiro's diary which was given to her after his death and
discovers a letter he wrote to her before he died. She learns that he had anticipated his death and was
happy with the time he had spent with her. She decides to carry on with life, not just for herself, but for
Hiro's sake as well. A month after Hiro's death, Mika discovers that she is pregnant by Hiro with another
baby girl, and feels a sense of closure knowing that Hiro has left a new life behind for her. She is later on
seen placing a pair of blue mittens for Hiro next to the smaller, pink ones that were meant for her baby
and praying for both their happiness.
Reception
Approximately 20 million people subscribed to Koizora.[1] The novel later received a hard print
publication in October 2006 by Starts Publications and was published into two volumes. The books sold
more than two million copies and became a mass cultural phenomenon in Japan.[3] Joanna Mauermann
of Reading Worldwide attributes the popularity of Koizora to the sensation of realism in that "they are
modelled on the readers' own situation" and "[t]he strong presence of the characters, presented in
dialogues and (inward) monologues, address the reader directly, and the emotional state of the main
character is experienced immediately." [3]
In addition to the empathy readers, the anonymity of the author attributes to the appeal of the Koizora.
Much like the anonymous Densha Otoko, readers are more likely to tolerate exaggerated writing, first
hand accounts or not, due to how Mika's anonymity makes Koizora seem more "real" and "personal." [4]
Despite its popularity, Koizora has been attacked for having sexual and violent material available to
young readers. In a review called "A crime of the media", a grade school teacher criticized the novel for
supporting the misconception in young girls that rape leads to love. She suggested that the story had
induced prepubescent girls to fantasize about rape.[8]
Adaptations
Manga
Koizora was adapted into a manga series drawn by Ibuki Haneda and overseen by Mika herself. The
manga was published by Futabasha Publishers under the "Comic Mahou no iRando" label and lasted for
eight volumes, the first volume releasing on June 21, 2007[9] and the last on February 21, 2009.[10]
Film
Koizora: Setsunai Koi Monogatari was loosely adapted into a theatrical film under the mononymous
title Koizora. It was directed by Natsuki Imai [6] and starred Yui Aragaki as Mika and Haruma Miura as
Hiro.[5] The film adaptation was released on November 3, 2007, with a gross revenue of 3.9 billion yen
and 3.14 million people attending the theater.[7] It debuted at #3 on the box office.[4] The DVD was
released on April 25, 2008.[11]
Drama
Koizora was also adapted into a TV drama series, which aired from August 2, 2008 to September 13,
2008, with a total of six episodes. From March to June 2008, auditions were held to choose the actor and
actress for the two starring roles.[7] Erena Mizusawa was chosen to play Mika, and Koji Seto as Hiro;
there were a total of more than a thousand applicants.[12] TBS broadcast the serial drama in primetime,
and the first audience rating was 5.6%.
References
1. Norimitsu Onishi (20080120). "Thumbs Race as Japan’s Best Sellers Go Cellular"
(http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/20/world/asia/20japan.html?pagewanted=2&_r=1). New York Times.
Retrieved 20080601.
2. "Tohan publishes 2007 bestseller list" (http://www.tokyograph.com/news/id2196). Tokyograph. 20071205.
Retrieved 20100616.
3. Joanna Mauermann (20100527). "Cellphone novels" (http://www.lesenweltweit.de/zeigen_e.html?
seite=8392). Reading Worldwide. Retrieved 20100618.
4. W. David Marx (20071116). "Koizora: Empathy and Anonymous Creation"
(http://clast.diamondagency.jp/en/?p=88). Diamond Agency. Retrieved 20100618.
5. "Koide, Miura join Aragaki in Koizora" (http://www.tokyograph.com/news/id984). Tokyograph. 20070503.
Retrieved 20100616.
6. "Koizora becomes film, starring Aragaki" (http://www.tokyograph.com/news/id929). Tokyograph. 200704
19. Retrieved 20100616.
7. 第2のガッキー探せ!ドラマ「恋空」主演2人オーディション
(http://sankei.jp.msn.com/entertainments/entertainers/080521/tnr0805211356008n1.htm) (in Japanese).
Sankei Sports. 20080521. Retrieved 20080528.
8. Patrick W. Galbraith. "Cell phone novels come of age" (http://www.japantoday.com/category/entertainment
arts/view/cellphonenovelscomeofage). Japan Today. Retrieved 20100618.
9. Mika; Ibuki Haneda (2007). 恋空~切ナイ恋物語~ 1. Japan: Futabasha Publishers. ISBN 9784575333329.
10. Mika; Ibuki Haneda (2009). 恋空~切ナイ恋物語~ 8. Japan: Futabasha Publishers. p. 143. ISBN 9784575
333817.
11. "映画『恋空』 4.25 DVD ON SALE!" (http://koizoramovie.jp/dvd/index.html) (in Japanese). Retrieved
20100616.
12. ドラマ「恋空」、美嘉役は水沢エレナに決定
(http://web.archive.org/web/20080801202141/http://www.sanspo.com/geino/news/080618/gnj0806180515012
n2.htm) (in Japanese). Sankei Sports. 20080618. Archived from the original
(http://www.sanspo.com/geino/news/080618/gnj0806180515012n2.htm) on 20080801. Retrieved
20080617.
External links
Official movie site (http://koizoramovie.jp/) (Japanese)
Official drama site (http://www.tbs.co.jp/koizora/) (Japanese)
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Koizora&oldid=672596790"
This page was last modified on 22 July 2015, at 15:55.
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