Aoi Honō (アオイホノオ, lit. "Blue Blazes") is a Japanese coming-of-age manga series written and illustrated by Kazuhiko Shimamoto. It was serialized in Shogakukan's seinen manga magazine Weekly Young Sunday from March 2007 to July 2008, when the magazine ceased its publication; a chapter was published in YS Special in October 2008, before being transferred to Shogakukan's then-brand-new shōnen manga magazine Monthly Shōnen Sunday in May 2009. Aoi Honō is a fictionalized account of Shimamoto's time as a student at the Osaka University of Arts, which he attended alongside Hideaki Anno, Hiroyuki Yamaga, and Takami Akai.[1]

Aoi Honō
First tankōbon volume cover, featuring Moyuru Honō
アオイホノオ
GenreComing-of-age[1]
Manga
Written byKazuhiko Shimamoto
Published byShogakukan
ImprintShōnen Sunday Comics Special[a]
Magazine
DemographicSeinen, shōnen
Original runMarch 8, 2007 – present
Volumes28
Television drama
Blue Fire
Directed byYuichi Fukuda
Produced byJunpei Nakagawa
Written byYuichi Fukuda
Music byEishi Segawa
StudioTV Tokyo
Original networkTV Tokyo
Original run July 19, 2014 September 27, 2014
Episodes11

It was adapted into a live-action Japanese television drama, titled Blue Fire in English,[2] that aired from July to October 2014.[3] The drama was streamed on Viki with English subtitles.[4] The real Takami Akai and Hiroyuki Yamaga make cameos in the television series: Akai plays a bathhouse manager in episode 10, while Yamaga plays the bartender at a restaurant where his counterpart passes out (which, according to Yamaga, is based on an actual incident) in episode 7.[5]

Cast

edit

Voice

edit

Media

edit

Manga

edit

Aoi Honō is written and illustrated by Kazuhiko Shimamoto. The manga debuted in Shogakukan's seinen manga magazine Weekly Young Sunday on March 8, 2007.[6] After the magazine ceased publication on July 31, 2008,[7] a chapter of Aoi Honō was published the Big Comic Spirits special supplementary issue YS Special in October 2008.[8] The series was then transferred to the brand new shōnen manga magazine Monthly Shōnen Sunday on May 12, 2009.[9] Shogakukan has collected its chapters into individual tankōbon volumes. The first volume was released on February 5, 2008.[10] As of July 11, 2024, 30 volumes have been released.[11]

Volumes

edit
No. Japanese release date Japanese ISBN
1 February 5, 2008[10]978-4-09-151268-0
2 May 11, 2009[12]978-4-09-121650-2
3 December 12, 2009[13]978-4-09-122109-4
4 June 11, 2010[14]978-4-09-122389-0
5 November 12, 2010[15]978-4-09-122578-8
6 June 10, 2011[16]978-4-09-122828-4
7 November 11, 2011[17]978-4-09-123278-6
8 May 11, 2012[18]978-4-09-123249-6
9 November 12, 2012[19]978-4-09-123880-1
10 June 12, 2013[20]978-4-09-124257-0
11 December 12, 2013[21]978-4-09-124440-6
12 July 11, 2014[22]978-4-09-125126-8
13 January 9, 2015[23]978-4-09-125517-4
14 July 10, 2015[24]978-4-09-126254-7
15 May 12, 2016[25]978-4-09-127249-2
16 October 12, 2016[26]978-4-09-127435-9
17 May 12, 2017[27]
May 10, 2017 (SE)[28]
978-4-09-127623-0
978-4-09-941891-5 (SE)
18 November 10, 2017[29]
November 8, 2017 (SE)[30]
978-4-09-128014-5
978-4-09-943001-6 (SE)
19 May 11, 2018[31]
May 9, 2018 (SE)[32]
978-4-09-128288-0
978-4-09-943015-3 (SE)
20 December 12, 2018[33]978-4-09-128725-0
21 July 12, 2019[34]978-4-09-129346-6
22 December 12, 2019[35]978-4-09-129524-8
23 June 12, 2020[36]978-4-09-850138-0
24 December 11, 2020[37]978-4-09-850345-2
25 August 11, 2021[38]978-4-09-850680-4
26 March 11, 2022[39]978-4-09-851015-3
27 August 10, 2022[40]978-4-09-851269-0
28 May 12, 2023[41]978-4-09-852052-7
29 November 10, 2023[42]978-4-09-853028-1
30 July 11, 2024[11]978-4-09-853510-1

Reception

edit

Volume 2 sold 24,521 copies by May 17, 2009,[43] volume 9 sold 20,415 copies by November 18, 2012,[44] and volume 10 sold 17,068 copies by June 16, 2013.[45]

Aoi Honō was one of the Jury Recommended Works in the Story Manga division at the 13th Japan Media Arts Festival Awards in 2009.[46] In 2010, the manga received 23 points in the 3rd Manga Taishō, placing last among the ten nominees.[47] The manga received Excellence Award of the Manga Division at the 18th Japan Media Arts Festival Awards in 2014.[48][49] In 2015, along with Asahinagu, it won the 60th Shogakukan Manga Award in the General category.[50] In February 2015, Asahi Shimbun announced that Aoi Honō was one of nine nominees for the nineteenth annual Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize.[51]

Notes

edit
  1. ^ Only the first volume was published under the Young Sunday Comics imprint.

References

edit
  1. ^ a b Hodgkins, Crystalyn (May 24, 2014). "Ken Yasuda to Play Hideaki Anno in Aoi Honō Drama". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on May 24, 2019. Retrieved November 14, 2014.
  2. ^ "Blue Fire 青色火焰". TV Tokyo. Archived from the original on August 23, 2021. Retrieved August 23, 2021.
  3. ^ "College Life Manga Aoi Honō Gets Live-Action Show". Anime News Network. May 4, 2014. Archived from the original on April 23, 2019. Retrieved May 5, 2014.
  4. ^ Green, Scott (June 25, 2017). "Behind-The-Scenes Shonen Manga Drama "Blue Fire" Streams In English On Viki". Crunchyroll. Archived from the original on September 24, 2021. Retrieved September 24, 2021.
  5. ^ Minto, Evan (July 10, 2017). "Hiroyuki Yamaga Reflects on Gainax's Past and Anime's Future". Ani-Gamers. Archived from the original on September 2, 2023. Retrieved September 2, 2023.
  6. ^ 2007年03月08日のアーカイブ. manganohi.jp (in Japanese). March 8, 2007. Archived from the original on December 18, 2007. Retrieved May 22, 2021. 【ヤングサンデー】「今週のヤンサン」更新!2007.3.8 vol.14 . . .BIGゲスト、熱血読切(前編)!カラー特大32P!アオイホノオ島本和彦 ペンに懸けるアツき青春を 完全描破!!! かつてない島本ワールドがここに!!! コイツは絶対見逃せないぜ!!!
  7. ^ Loo, Egan (May 30, 2008). "Shogakukan Confirms End of Young Sunday, Judy Mags". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on July 24, 2019. Retrieved November 1, 2020.
  8. ^ Loo, Egan (July 30, 2008). "More Revealed on Aftermath of Young Sunday Mag's End". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on June 24, 2016. Retrieved November 1, 2020.
  9. ^ 【月刊少年サンデー】少年漫画の最前線は、この3冊にある!『ゲッサン』創刊!. manganohi.com (in Japanese). May 12, 2009. Archived from the original on May 20, 2009. Retrieved July 24, 2024.
  10. ^ a b アオイホノオ 1 (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Archived from the original on October 31, 2020. Retrieved October 31, 2020.
  11. ^ a b アオイホノオ 30 (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Archived from the original on July 24, 2024. Retrieved July 24, 2024.
  12. ^ アオイホノオ 2 (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Archived from the original on October 31, 2020. Retrieved October 31, 2020.
  13. ^ アオイホノオ 3 (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Archived from the original on October 31, 2020. Retrieved October 31, 2020.
  14. ^ アオイホノオ 4 (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Archived from the original on October 31, 2020. Retrieved October 31, 2020.
  15. ^ アオイホノオ 5 (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Archived from the original on October 31, 2020. Retrieved October 31, 2020.
  16. ^ アオイホノオ 6 (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Archived from the original on October 31, 2020. Retrieved October 31, 2020.
  17. ^ アオイホノオ 7 (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Archived from the original on October 31, 2020. Retrieved October 31, 2020.
  18. ^ アオイホノオ 8 (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Archived from the original on October 31, 2020. Retrieved October 31, 2020.
  19. ^ アオイホノオ 9 (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Archived from the original on October 31, 2020. Retrieved October 31, 2020.
  20. ^ アオイホノオ 10 (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Archived from the original on October 31, 2020. Retrieved October 31, 2020.
  21. ^ アオイホノオ 11 (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Archived from the original on October 31, 2020. Retrieved October 31, 2020.
  22. ^ アオイホノオ 12 (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Archived from the original on October 31, 2020. Retrieved October 31, 2020.
  23. ^ アオイホノオ 13 (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Archived from the original on October 31, 2020. Retrieved October 31, 2020.
  24. ^ アオイホノオ 14 (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Archived from the original on October 31, 2020. Retrieved October 31, 2020.
  25. ^ アオイホノオ 15 (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Archived from the original on October 31, 2020. Retrieved October 31, 2020.
  26. ^ アオイホノオ 16 (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Archived from the original on October 31, 2020. Retrieved October 31, 2020.
  27. ^ アオイホノオ 17 (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Archived from the original on October 31, 2020. Retrieved October 31, 2020.
  28. ^ アオイホノオ 17 被害者の会小冊子付特別版 (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Archived from the original on October 31, 2020. Retrieved October 31, 2020.
  29. ^ アオイホノオ 18 (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Archived from the original on October 31, 2020. Retrieved October 31, 2020.
  30. ^ アオイホノオ 18 『炎の転校生』完全新作読み切り小冊子付き特別版 (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Archived from the original on October 31, 2020. Retrieved October 31, 2020.
  31. ^ アオイホノオ 19 (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Archived from the original on October 31, 2020. Retrieved October 31, 2020.
  32. ^ アオイホノオ 19 『炎の転校生』新作読み切り後編小冊子付き特別版 (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Archived from the original on October 31, 2020. Retrieved October 31, 2020.
  33. ^ アオイホノオ 20 (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Archived from the original on October 31, 2020. Retrieved October 31, 2020.
  34. ^ アオイホノオ 21 (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Archived from the original on October 31, 2020. Retrieved October 31, 2020.
  35. ^ アオイホノオ 22 (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Archived from the original on October 31, 2020. Retrieved October 31, 2020.
  36. ^ アオイホノオ 23 (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Archived from the original on October 31, 2020. Retrieved October 31, 2020.
  37. ^ アオイホノオ 24 (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Archived from the original on April 25, 2021. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
  38. ^ アオイホノオ 25 (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Archived from the original on September 24, 2021. Retrieved September 24, 2021.
  39. ^ アオイホノオ 26 (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Archived from the original on April 14, 2022. Retrieved April 14, 2022.
  40. ^ アオイホノオ 27 (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Archived from the original on January 19, 2023. Retrieved January 19, 2023.
  41. ^ アオイホノオ 28 (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Archived from the original on October 12, 2023. Retrieved October 12, 2023.
  42. ^ アオイホノオ 29 (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Archived from the original on July 24, 2024. Retrieved November 7, 2023.
  43. ^ "Japanese Comic Ranking, May 11–17 (Updated)". Anime News Network. May 20, 2009. Archived from the original on March 27, 2014. Retrieved May 5, 2014.
  44. ^ "Japanese Comic Ranking, November 12–18". Anime News Network. November 21, 2012. Archived from the original on March 30, 2014. Retrieved May 5, 2014.
  45. ^ "Japanese Comic Ranking, June 10–16". Anime News Network. June 21, 2013. Archived from the original on April 2, 2014. Retrieved May 5, 2014.
  46. ^ Loo, Egan (December 13, 2009). "Summer Wars, Vinland Saga Win Media Arts Awards (Update 3)". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on March 12, 2015. Retrieved November 1, 2020.
  47. ^ Loo, Egan (March 17, 2010). "Mari Yamazaki's Thermae Romae Wins Manga Taisho Award (Updated)". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on July 29, 2010. Retrieved May 5, 2014.
  48. ^ Komatsu, Mikikazu (November 29, 2014). ""Tamako Love Story" Wins New Face Award at 18th Japan Media Arts Festival". Crunchyroll. Archived from the original on November 7, 2020. Retrieved November 1, 2020.
  49. ^ "Excellence Award - Aoi honoo". Japan Media Arts Archive. Agency for Cultural Affairs. Archived from the original on July 15, 2015. Retrieved November 1, 2020.
  50. ^ Nelkin, Sarah. "Yo-kai Watch, Be Blues Win 60th Shogakukan Awards". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on November 8, 2020. Retrieved June 15, 2020.
  51. ^ Ressler, Karen (March 23, 2015). "19th Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize Nominees Announced". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on March 22, 2015. Retrieved March 24, 2015.
edit