Mari Yamazaki & Miki Tori “Pliny” wins the 28th Osamu Tezuka Cultural Award Manga Award!

It was announced today that the collaborative manga “Pliny” (12 volumes) by Mari Yamazaki and Miki Tori has won the 28th Osamu Tezuka Cultural Award Manga Grand Prize. This work depicting the life of Pliny, a naturalist who lived in ancient Rome, published its 12th and final volume in July last year. This is the definitive historical romance, depicting the world of 2,000 years ago with free imagination and overwhelming drawing power, based on historical facts, from the scenery and life of ancient Rome to characters such as Emperor Nero and the famous general Corbulo. This book uses a style of “collaboration between manga artists” that is rarely seen elsewhere, and in that sense it is a valuable work. It has already been translated and published in countries including France and Italy, and is attracting attention from around the world.

[What is Pliny? ]

His real name was Gaius Pliny Secundus. The most famous naturalist in history who lived in ancient Rome. He also served as commander-in-chief of the Roman fleet. He left behind a “Natural History” that covered all aspects of nature, flora, fauna, and civilization. This book was known in Europe as the “classic of classics,” and had a variety of influences on later generations of intellectuals.

The manga “Pliny” is a story featuring the naturalist as the main character. Pliny travels to the Roman Empire, around the Mediterranean Sea, and Africa with his scribe Eucles and his bodyguard Felix to write his Natural History. He vividly captured the landscapes, customs, and people’s lifestyles of the ancient Roman era, and many of today’s “World Heritage Sites” such as the Colosseum in Rome, the huge library in Alexandria, and the labyrinth in Crete are appearing one after another. Meanwhile, Nero, the emperor at the time, also appears as a very important person. He is establishing a new image of Nero in response to his reputation as a “corrupt emperor.” This is the definitive historical romance that depicts the enchanting world of ancient Rome with free imagination and overwhelming drawing power, based on historical facts.

■Author’s comment

Mari Yamazaki

I had decided to draw Pliny the Elder in his next work while “Thermae Romae” was being serialized, but I was intrigued by the reader’s interest in how the world and ideas he lived in 2,000 years ago could be brought to life in two dimensions. This award is a great honor for me, as I have been portraying my work as if I were in charge of a mission from ancient Rome. All roads, the road of comics, also “lead to Rome.”

Tori Miki

When I was young, the first manga I recognized as “funny, scary, yet sad and strange manga” was the combination of “The Great Flood Period” and “Pacific Point” from the Suzuki Publishing edition of Osamu Tezuka’s Complete Works. . Eventually, this twisted boy grew up to become a manga artist, and Osamu Tezuka was one of the judges for the Newcomer’s Award that inspired him to do so. There’s no way I can’t be happy about the consequences.

■Book content introduction

This book depicts the life of the naturalist Pliny, who wrote the world historical masterpiece “Natural History” and died in the aftermath of the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79. The definitive historical romance that depicts the world of 2,000 years ago with free imagination and overwhelming drawing power, based on historical facts, from the scenery and life of ancient Rome to characters such as Emperor Nero and the famous general Corbulo!

■Author introduction

Mari Yamazaki

Manga artist, writer, painter. Born in Tokyo in 1967. He is a visiting professor at Tokyo Zokei University. Since 1984, he has majored in art history and oil painting at the Accademia National Academy of Fine Arts in Florence. “Thermae Romae” won the Manga Award 2010 and the 14th Osamu Tezuka Culture Award for Best Short Story. His books include “Mom Viola,” “The Other Side of the Door,” “Poor Pizza,” and “Zoku Thermae Romae.”

Tori Miki

Cartoonist. Born in Kumamoto Prefecture in 1958. Debuted in 1979. He won the Nebula Award for “DAI-HONYA” in 1994, “SF Daisho” in 1998, and the Bungeishunju Manga Award for “I Want to Go Far” in 1995. His books include manga works such as “Kurukuru Kurin”, “Sakaagari of Love”, and “Ishigami Densetsu”, as well as research books such as “Ojigibito on the Street Corner”.

■Book data

[Title]”Pliny” (12 volumes)

[Author name]Mari Yamazaki, Miki Tori

[Release date]July 2014 to July 2023

[Bookbinding]Comics

[List price]726 to 814 yen (tax included) *As of April 22, 2024

[ISBN]978-4107717573 (Volume 1)

[URL]