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Homunculus (manga)

Summary

Homunculus (Japanese: ホムンクルス, Hepburn: Homunkurusu) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Hideo Yamamoto. It was serialized in Shogakukan's seinen manga magazine Weekly Big Comic Spirits from March 2003 to February 2011, with its chapters collected in 15 tankōbon volumes. A live-action film adaptation, directed by Takashi Shimizu and starring Gō Ayano premiered in April 2021.

Homunculus
First tankōbon volume cover
ホムンクルス
(Homunkurusu)
Genre
Manga
Written byHideo Yamamoto
Published byShogakukan
English publisher
MagazineWeekly Big Comic Spirits
DemographicSeinen
Original runMarch 17, 2003 – February 21, 2011
Volumes15
Live-action film
Directed byTakashi Shimizu
Licensed byNetflix
ReleasedApril 2, 2021 (2021-04-02)

Plot edit

Trepanation is the procedure of drilling holes in a person's head, supposedly increasing the circulation of blood and helping to improve the pressure inside one's skull, bringing out a person's sixth sense and causing them to gain superhuman powers such as ESP, being able to see ghosts, and controlling objects remotely with one's mind. This is speculative fiction based on the concept of trepanation.

Susumu Nakoshi is a 34-year-old homeless man living out of his car. For two weeks, he has declined his fellow homeless men's invitations to set up a tent with them, preferring to sleep in his car. However, one day, he is accosted by a strange-looking man searching for participants to subject themselves to trepanation. Nakoshi tells the man to leave, and discards the flier he'd placed on his windshield. However, when his car is towed, he agrees to let medical student Manabu Itoh drill a hole in his skull in exchange for 700,000 yen. Itoh claims to be interested in trepanation for the sake of science; he is interested in humans, fascinated with ESP and the sixth sense, and wants to disprove the existence of the occult. Itoh's father owns a lab facility, as his father is a rich hospital director. Itoh performs the trepanation surgery on Nakoshi and does a variety of ESP tests. When Nakoshi reveals that he sees distorted humans when using only the left side of his body, Itoh researches and discovers that Nakoshi can see homunculi.

Itoh explains psychoanalytic theory to Nakoshi after the yakuza incident.

Characters edit

Susumu Nakoshi (名越 進, Nakoshi Susumu)
Portrayed by: Go Ayano[4]
A 34-year-old man. At the beginning of the series, he is shown to be recently homeless and living out of his car. He is living between two worlds, that of the upper class and that of the homeless. He is a former employee of a foreign bank, and a pathological liar. After the trepanation procedure, he gains the ability to see peoples homunculi or "distortions".
Manabu Ito (伊藤 学, Itō Manabu)
Portrayed by: Ryu Ito[5]
A 22-year-old medical student who proposes the trepanation experiment and investigates material relevant to Nakoshi's reports. She is transgender, but hides this fact from her ailing father, a high-ranking doctor at a hospital whom she has a strained relationship with.
Yukari (ユカリ) / 1775
A 17-year-old girl working in a burusera salon and one of the first homunculi Nakoshi interacts with.

Media edit

Manga edit

Homunculus, written and illustrated by Hideo Yamamoto, was serialized in Shogakukan's Weekly Big Comic Spirits from March 17, 2003,[6][7] to February 21, 2011.[8][9] Shogakukan collected its chapters in 15 tankōbon volumes, released from July 30, 2003, to April 28, 2011.[10][11] They later republished the series in a ten-volume bunkoban edition from May 15, 2015,[12] to January 15, 2016.[13]

The manga is licensed in North America by Seven Seas Entertainment.[14][15] They started publishing the series in a 2-in-1 five-volume omnibus edition on June 27, 2023.[16]

Volumes edit

Original edition edit
No. Release date ISBN
1 July 30, 2003[10]978-4-09-187071-1
2 April 30, 2004[17]978-4-09-187072-8
3 July 30, 2004[18]978-4-09-187073-5
4 December 24, 2004[19]978-4-09-187074-2
5 February 28, 2005[20]978-4-09-187075-9
6 August 30, 2005[21]978-4-09-187076-6
7 November 30, 2006[22]978-4-09-180772-4
8 June 29, 2007[23]978-4-09-181068-7
9 February 29, 2008[24]978-4-09-181747-1
10 August 28, 2009[25]978-4-09-182129-4
11 December 26, 2009[26]978-4-09-182250-5
12 February 27, 2010[27]978-4-09-183018-0
13 July 30, 2010[28]978-4-09-183353-2
14 December 25, 2010[29]978-4-09-183535-2
15 April 28, 2011[11]978-4-09-183790-5
New edition edit
No. Original release date Original ISBN English release date English ISBN
1 May 15, 2015[12]978-4-09-196012-2June 27, 2023[16]978-1-68579-729-4
2 May 15, 2015[30]978-4-09-196013-9June 27, 2023[16]978-1-68579-729-4
3 June 13, 2015[31]978-4-09-196014-6September 26, 2023[32]978-1-68579-926-7
4 July 15, 2015[33]978-4-09-196015-3September 26, 2023[32]978-1-68579-926-7
5 August 12, 2015[34]978-4-09-196016-0December 19, 2023[35]978-1-68579-952-6
6 September 15, 2015[36]978-4-09-196017-7December 19, 2023[35]978-1-68579-952-6
7 October 15, 2015[37]978-4-09-196018-4March 19, 2024[38]979-8-88843-354-6
8 November 13, 2015[39]978-4-09-196019-1March 19, 2024[38]979-8-88843-354-6
9 December 15, 2015[40]978-4-09-196020-7July 2, 2024[41]979-8-88843-472-7
10 January 15, 2016[13]978-4-09-196039-9July 2, 2024[41]979-8-88843-472-7

Live-action film edit

In September 2020, it was announced that Homunculus would receive a live-action film adaptation.[42] The film is directed by Takashi Shimizu and stars Gō Ayano. It premiered in Japan on April 2, 2021, and premiered exclusively on Netflix worldwide on April 22.[4][43]

Reception edit

By September 2020, the Homunculus manga had over 4 million copies in circulation.[42]

References edit

  1. ^ Loo, Egan (July 13, 2009). "Hideo Yamamoto's Homunculus Manga Returns from 1-Year Break". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on June 30, 2018. Retrieved June 27, 2018.
  2. ^ Lin, Maria (May 2005). "Dark Plots in Manga Land". Animefringe. Archived from the original on May 15, 2021. Retrieved January 26, 2022.
  3. ^ "Homunculus (Omnibus)". Seven Seas Entertainment. Archived from the original on May 28, 2023. Retrieved July 22, 2023.
  4. ^ a b Pineda, Rafael Antonio (December 2, 2020). "Live-Action Homunculus Film Reveals Cast, Director, April 2 Debut, Netflix Global Streaming". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on December 2, 2020. Retrieved December 2, 2020.
  5. ^ Pineda, Rafael Antonio (December 14, 2020). "Live-Action Homunculus Film Unveils Teaser Trailer, 4 More Cast Members". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on December 14, 2020. Retrieved December 14, 2020.
  6. ^ ビッグコミックスピリッツ 2003年16号. spi-net.jp (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Archived from the original on July 24, 2003. Retrieved July 25, 2021.
  7. ^ Yamamoto, Hideo. "Hideo Yamamoto Official Website". yamapro.com (in Japanese). Archived from the original on March 30, 2003. Retrieved October 1, 2022. 山本英夫 二年ぶりの新連載「ホムンクルス」 2003/3/17発売の週刊スピリッツにて連載開始です！
  8. ^ Loo, Egan (February 14, 2011). "Hideo Yamamoto Ends Homunculus Horror Manga Next Week". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on January 4, 2020. Retrieved January 4, 2020.
  9. ^ 山本英夫の問題作「ホムンクルス」完結、最終巻は4月. Comic Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. February 21, 2011. Archived from the original on July 2, 2016. Retrieved December 2, 2020.
  10. ^ a b ホムンクルス / 1 (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Archived from the original on July 19, 2012. Retrieved February 22, 2012.
  11. ^ a b ホムンクルス / 15 (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Archived from the original on July 22, 2012. Retrieved February 22, 2012.
  12. ^ a b ホムンクルス １ (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Archived from the original on November 3, 2022. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
  13. ^ a b ホムンクルス １０ (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Archived from the original on November 3, 2022. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
  14. ^ "Seven Seas Licenses HOMUNCULUS Manga Series (Omnibus Format)". Seven Seas Entertainment. November 2, 2022. Archived from the original on November 2, 2022. Retrieved November 2, 2022.
  15. ^ Pineda, Rafael (November 2, 2022). "Seven Seas Licenses Life with an Ordinary Guy Who Reincarnated into a Total Fantasy Knockout, Homunculus Manga". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on November 3, 2022. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
  16. ^ a b c "Homunculus (Omnibus) Vol. 1–2". Seven Seas Entertainment. Archived from the original on November 26, 2022. Retrieved November 26, 2022.
  17. ^ ホムンクルス / 2 (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Archived from the original on July 19, 2012. Retrieved February 22, 2012.
  18. ^ ホムンクルス / 3 (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Archived from the original on July 16, 2012. Retrieved February 22, 2012.
  19. ^ ホムンクルス / 4 (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Archived from the original on July 21, 2012. Retrieved February 22, 2012.
  20. ^ ホムンクルス / 5 (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Archived from the original on July 20, 2012. Retrieved February 22, 2012.
  21. ^ ホムンクルス / 6 (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Archived from the original on July 18, 2012. Retrieved February 22, 2012.
  22. ^ ホムンクルス / 7 (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Archived from the original on July 17, 2012. Retrieved February 22, 2012.
  23. ^ ホムンクルス / 8 (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Archived from the original on July 16, 2012. Retrieved February 22, 2012.
  24. ^ ホムンクルス / 9 (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Archived from the original on July 18, 2012. Retrieved February 22, 2012.
  25. ^ ホムンクルス / 10 (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Archived from the original on July 18, 2012. Retrieved February 22, 2012.
  26. ^ ホムンクルス / 11 (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Archived from the original on July 15, 2012. Retrieved February 22, 2012.
  27. ^ ホムンクルス / 12 (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Archived from the original on July 14, 2012. Retrieved February 22, 2012.
  28. ^ ホムンクルス / 13 (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Archived from the original on July 14, 2012. Retrieved February 22, 2012.
  29. ^ ホムンクルス / 14 (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Archived from the original on July 30, 2012. Retrieved February 22, 2012.
  30. ^ ホムンクルス ２ (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Archived from the original on November 3, 2022. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
  31. ^ ホムンクルス ３ (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Archived from the original on November 3, 2022. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
  32. ^ a b "Homunculus (Omnibus) Vol. 3–4". Seven Seas Entertainment. Archived from the original on April 5, 2023. Retrieved April 5, 2023.
  33. ^ ホムンクルス ４ (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Archived from the original on November 3, 2022. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
  34. ^ ホムンクルス ５ (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Archived from the original on November 3, 2022. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
  35. ^ a b "Homunculus (Omnibus) Vol. 5–6". Seven Seas Entertainment. Archived from the original on May 20, 2023. Retrieved May 20, 2023.
  36. ^ ホムンクルス ６ (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Archived from the original on November 3, 2022. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
  37. ^ ホムンクルス ７ (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Archived from the original on November 3, 2022. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
  38. ^ a b "Homunculus (Omnibus) Vol. 7–8". Seven Seas Entertainment. Archived from the original on October 3, 2023. Retrieved August 28, 2023.
  39. ^ ホムンクルス ８ (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Archived from the original on November 3, 2022. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
  40. ^ ホムンクルス ９ (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Archived from the original on November 3, 2022. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
  41. ^ a b "Homunculus (Omnibus) Vol. 9–10". Seven Seas Entertainment. Retrieved December 4, 2023.
  42. ^ a b Sherman, Jennifer (September 10, 2020). "Hideo Yamamoto's Homunculus Manga Gets Live-Action Film in 2021". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on December 2, 2020. Retrieved December 2, 2020.
  43. ^ Pineda, Rafael (April 11, 2021). "Live-Action Homunculus Film Debuts Globally on Netflix on April 22". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on April 12, 2021. Retrieved April 11, 2021.

External links edit

  • Homunculus official live-action film website (in Japanese)
  • Homunculus (manga) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia

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