Manga that depict the lives of young musicians have recently been capturing the imagination of comic fans, and some are being made into anime and live-action movies. Their success has not only led to a boom in sales of related merchandise, but has also spurred increasing numbers of young people to take up music and join bands with their friends.

Nodame Cantabile. (C) Tomoko Ninomiya / Kodansha

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K-On! (C) Kaki Fly / Houbunsha

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Beck. (C) Harold Sakuishi / Kodansha

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More Students Take Up MusicPerhaps the most famous example of a musically themed manga is Nodame Cantabile. This immensely popular romantic comedy manga tells the story of young musicians as they follow their dreams and meet the challenges of trying to make it in the world of classical music. Nodame Cantabile made it onto the big screen as a feature film in December 2009, following a successful run as a television series.

The front cover of Solanin. (C) Asano Inio / Shogakukan

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K-On!, meanwhile, is a four-panel comedy manga about four Japanese high school girls who join their school's pop music club to try to save it from being closed down, even though they have no experience playing in a band. The story, which depicts both the band's activities and the leisurely lives of the girls, is popular among girls and guys alike. After an anime adaptation aired between April and June 2009, the songs of the main characters and the show's opening and closing themes became huge hits. The anime also had a wider impact: fans of the show flocked to buy the model of bass guitar used by the main character, causing music stores to sell out, and the music store on which some scenes were modeled became a must-visit destination for K-On! devotees.

A scene from the movie Solanin, to be released in Japan in April 2010.

(C) 2010 Inio Asano / Shogakukan / Solanin Production Committee / Photo by Yoshiharu Ota

 

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A similar success story is the 34-volume megahit manga series Beck, which has sold a total of 15 million copies. It tells the story of a group of Japanese high school boys who form a rock band named Beck, focusing on the trials and tribulations they experience as they try to make the big time as professional musicians. Plastic models of the musical instruments in the story began selling in November 2006, with total unit sales reaching over 1 million. The popularity of the intricate models has been driven not only by fans of the manga series but also by musical instrument enthusiasts. In October 2009, figurines of the characters from the manga were released and have also sold well. A live-action film adaptation, starring popular actors Mizushima Hiro and Sato Takeru, is set to be released in the fall of 2010.

Growing numbers of high school students are joining their schools' pop music clubs and getting together to form bands, a trend that likely owes something to the influence of these manga.

Detroit Metal City. (C) Kiminori Wakasugi / Hakusensha

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From Page to ScreenAnother popular manga, entitled Solanin, is set to be released as a live-action film in April 2010. The story centers on a young woman, Meiko, who quits her first job less than two years after graduating from college, and her boyfriend Taneda, who works a series of part-time jobs and refuses to give up his dream of becoming a musician. The couple struggle to reconcile their youthful dreams with the uncertainty of their post-graduation adult lives. The manga has won the hearts of readers since its release in 2005 for its sensitive portrayal of the lives of young adults today and its realistic dialogue. Fans are waiting with bated breath to see how the film portrays the scene in which Taneda and Meiko passionately sing the song "Solanin," which Taneda wrote with his fellow band members.

Another musical manga, the gag-driven Detroit Metal City, chronicles the life of a shy, gentle-mannered young man who dreams of a career in pop music but, by a strange turn of events, ends up as the lead singer and guitarist of a death metal band called Detroit Metal City. A live-action film adaptation was released in 2008, and the film was invited to screen as part of the Toronto International Film Festival's Midnight Madness program. The sharp contrast between the main character's calm and peaceful demeanor offstage and the wild lyrics and outrageous make-up that make him popular onstage delivers a string of laughs. This comic tale continues to be serialized in a popular manga magazine. (February 2010)