Wombs (manga)

Wombs
First volume cover
GenreScience fiction[1]
Manga
Written byYumiko Shirai
Published byShogakukan
ImprintIkki Comix
Magazine
  • Monthly Ikki
  • (April 25, 2009 – October 25, 2010)
DemographicSeinen
Original runApril 25, 2009 – January 29, 2016
Volumes5

Wombs (stylized as WOMBS) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Yumiko Shirai. It was serialized in Shogakukan's Monthly Ikki from April 2009 to October 2010, and later directly published via tankōbon volumes, with the fifth and last one released in January 2016.

In 2016, Wombs won the Grand Prize of the 37th Nihon SF Taisho Award.

Synopsis

On the planet of Hekiou, there is a continuing war between the first wave of immigrants and the second. An important section of the military uses a native creature, the Niebass, to give its soldiers translocation abilities. These soldiers are all women, with the alien creature transplanted into their wombs. Some people see this practice as a violation of human women by aliens, and Mana Oga's boyfriend has a similar perspective on the matter. Mana Oga is a new soldier in this section, and the story follows her and the other women in her group who accept the alien creatures into their wombs in order to defend their homes.

Publication

Wombs, written and illustrated by Yumiko Shirai, debuted in Shogakukan's Monthly Ikki on April 25, 2009.[2] The series was regularly published in the magazine for sixteen chapters until October 25, 2010,[3][4] and it was then directly released via tankōbon volumes,[4][5] although the first chapter of the third volume was published by the magazine in advance on April 25, 2012.[6] The five tankōbon volumes of Wombs were released from January 29, 2010,[7] to January 29, 2016.[8]

Volumes

No. Release date ISBN
1 January 29, 2010[7]978-4-09-188494-7
2 January 28, 2011[9]978-4-09-188539-5
3 April 27, 2012[10]978-4-09-188318-6
4 June 28, 2013[11]978-4-09-188626-2
5 January 29, 2016[8]978-4-09-188687-3

Reception

Wombs was one of the Jury Recommended Works at the 14th Japan Media Arts Festival in 2010.[12] The series won the 37th Nihon SF Taisho Award by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of Japan (SFWJ).[13][14][15] The manga was nominated for the 48th Seiun Award in the Best Comic category in 2017.[16] The manga was nominated for the Grand Prize of the 12th and 16th Sense of Gender Award in 2012 and 2016, respectively.[17][18]

See also

  • Tenken, another manga by Yumiko Shirai

References

  1. ^ WOMBS発売記念、白井弓子×上田早夕里トークショー. Comic Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. July 31, 2013. Retrieved September 21, 2020.
  2. ^ はがきを出せば必ずもらえる。IKKI特製ポストカード. Comic Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. April 25, 2009. Archived from the original on July 3, 2017. Retrieved September 21, 2020.
  3. ^ 月刊IKKI 2010年12月号. Neowing (in Japanese). Archived from the original on October 24, 2021. Retrieved October 24, 2021.
  4. ^ a b 白井弓子「WOMBS」2巻発売、3巻からは描き下ろしに移行. Comic Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. January 28, 2011. Archived from the original on April 20, 2021. Retrieved September 21, 2020.
  5. ^ 白井弓子「WOMBS」描き下ろしの4巻発売、書店特典も. Comic Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. June 28, 2013. Archived from the original on January 12, 2024. Retrieved September 21, 2020.
  6. ^ 月刊ＩＫＫＩ 2012年6月号 (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Archived from the original on June 9, 2012. Retrieved July 13, 2022.
  7. ^ a b "ＷＯＭＢＳ １" (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Archived from the original on October 28, 2020. Retrieved October 28, 2020.
  8. ^ a b "ＷＯＭＢＳ ウームズ ５" (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Archived from the original on October 28, 2020. Retrieved October 28, 2020.
  9. ^ "ＷＯＭＢＳ ２" (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Archived from the original on October 28, 2020. Retrieved October 28, 2020.
  10. ^ "ＷＯＭＢＳ ３" (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Archived from the original on October 28, 2020. Retrieved October 28, 2020.
  11. ^ "ＷＯＭＢＳ ウームズ ４" (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Archived from the original on October 28, 2020. Retrieved October 28, 2020.
  12. ^ "Manga Division – 2010 [14th] Japan Media Arts Festival Archive". Japan Media Arts Festival. Archived from the original on November 11, 2020. Retrieved November 11, 2020.
  13. ^ 第37回日本ＳＦ大賞・受賞作決定！ (in Japanese). Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of Japan. February 25, 2017. Archived from the original on February 27, 2017. Retrieved September 21, 2020.
  14. ^ 日本SF大賞受賞・白井弓子の新作短編集「イワとニキの新婚旅行」. Comic Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. August 16, 2017. Archived from the original on January 12, 2024. Retrieved September 21, 2020.
  15. ^ 第37回日本SF大賞を妊婦が戦場に赴くマンガ「WOMBS」で白井弓子さんが受賞. IGN Japan (in Japanese). April 22, 2017. Archived from the original on July 14, 2017. Retrieved November 11, 2020.
  16. ^ Sherman, Jennifer (April 11, 2017). "Shin Godzilla, 'your name.,' Kabaneri, Erased Nominated for Seiun Sci-Fi Awards". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on July 11, 2021. Retrieved September 21, 2020.
  17. ^ 2012年度-第12回Sense of Gender賞 The 12th Sense of Gender Award in 2012｜ジェンダーSF研究会. gender-sf.org. Archived from the original on January 12, 2024. Retrieved August 12, 2022.
  18. ^ 2016年度-第16回Sense of Gender賞 The 16th Sense of Gender Award in 2016｜ジェンダーSF研究会. gender-sf.org. Archived from the original on January 12, 2024. Retrieved August 12, 2022.