Chibisan Date

Chibisan Date
Cover of Chibisan Date volume 1
ちびさんデイト (Chibisan Deito)
Genre	Slice of life
Manga
Written by	Hidekazu Himaruya
Published by	Gentosha
Demographic	Seinen
Magazine	Comic Spica
Original run	February 28, 2009 – ongoing
Volumes	1
Anime and Manga Portal

Chibisan Date (ちびさんデイト, Chibisan Deito^?) is a manga series by Hidekazu Himaruya (日丸屋秀和, Himaruya Hidekazu^?). The series chronicles the story of Seiji Chiga, a young man from Japan studying to become an artist on the island of Nantucket, Massachusetts, and his interactions with his new friends, during the 1960s (the Shōwa period in Japan).^[1]

Chibisan Date is the second manga by Himaruya to be published, the first being Hetalia: Axis Powers, and so far one tankōbon has been published by Gentosha Comics on November 24, 2009.^[2] In addition, it has been serialized in Comic Birz since the April 2009 issue.^[3] The series went on a year-long unannounced hiatus, with no new chapters serialized after the August 2010 issue. The series relaunched on October 28, 2011, in the first issue of Comic Spica.^[4]

Plot

Chibisan Date focuses on Seiji Chiga, a young artist studying under Mr. Suehiro, a potter, on the island of Nantucket during the 1960s. A pessimist who doubts his abilities constantly, Seiji puts pressure on himself to place better in an art competition, and as a result suffers a creative block. Passing his time with his new friends - including a young girl known only as "Chibi-san", two teenage girls from Boston, and the son of a local fisherman - Seiji faces each day overcoming some small obstacle to reach a brighter outlook on life.

Characters

Seiji (セージ^?)

Full name Seiji Chiga (千賀星治, Chiga Seiji^?). The primary protagonist, he is a worrier and pessimist, though a very talented artist who likes to draw. He is also a bit eccentric.

Mr. Suehiro (末広さん, Suehiro-san^?)

Seji's mentor and also a potter, having immigrated to the United States from Kagoshima Prefecture. He takes care of Seiji and is a calm, hardworking man.

Chibi-san (ちびさん^?)

The title character of the series. A mysterious and mischievous young girl whose backstory and significance to the story remains unknown. She loves to draw.

Margaret (マーガレット, Māgaretto^?)

Full name Margaret Baker, Nicknamed "Meg". She is the younger of the Baker sisters. She is childish and cute, though more of a tomboy than Candy.

Candy (キャンディ, Kyandi^?)

Full name Candy Baker. The elder of the two Baker sisters. She is reserved and somewhat snobby, but also quite cowardly and emotional.

Fischer (フィッシャー, Fisshā^?)

Full name Reinhard Fischer. Seiji's best friend, who is described as understanding and caring. Though the two are total opposites in personality, their friendship seems to be quite strong.

Sujanta (スジャンタ^?)

Full name Rani Sujanta Sachdeva. The worker at a bookstore in Nantucket, run by Rocket's grandfather. She is a cheerful girl, yet also quite scatterbrained. Her dream is to become a successful picture book artist.

Rocket (ロケット, Roketto^?)

Real name Robert Wedgewood. A young boy who moved with his parents to Boston, though he currently lives at his grandparents' home. He has not shown up in the published manga yet, but in some exclusive strips of the series posted to Hidekaz Himaruya's blog.^[5] It is said that he is nicknamed Rocket due to his anger problems.

Crumb (クラム, Kuramu^?)

An eccentric illustrator that came from Brooklyn who is very fond of alcohol and women.

Media

Manga

Written and illustrated by Hidekaz Himaruya, the Chibisan Date chapters are serialized in Comic Birz. Gentosha has collected the chapters into one bound volume so far, published on November 24, 2009.^[2] Shortly after the first chapter was released, an online-exclusive chapter entitled "Questionably Cloudy. Chibi-san Came Home With A Strange Picture Book." (「微妙に曇り。ちびさんが変わった絵本持って帰ってきた」, Bimyō ni kumori. Chibi-san ga kawatta ehon motte kaettekita.^?), focusing on the supporting character Sujanta, was posted on Hidekaz Himaruya's blog.^[5]

In January 2009 Anime News Network reported that the series would also begin serialization in Gentosha's seinen manga magazine Comic Birz starting in the April issue, though it was initially reported that Himaruya's other series Hetalia: Axis Powers would be serialized.^[3] After a year-long hiatus from 2010-2011, it resumed serialization with the launch of the new magazine Comic Spica.^[4] Amazon.com has listed Chibisan Date as being licensed by Tokyopop for a North American release, with the first volume released on June 28, 2011,^[6] however Tokyopop has announced the shutdown of its US publishing operations at the end of May 2011.^[7]

No.	Release date	ISBN
01	November 24, 2009	ISBN 978-4-344-81806-4
"Clear. Some of the Verbena in the Garden have Flowered." (「晴れ。庭のバーベナが部咲いた。」, "Hare. Niwa no bābena ga busaita."?) "Clear. I Stocked Up on Paints While I was Out." (「晴れ。ついでに絵の具補充しておいた。」, "Hare. Tsuide ni enogu honshū shite oita."?) "Today I Made Cookies and Tried My Hardest. Just One More." (「今日はクッキー作って、あとがんばりました。もう一個。」, "Kyou wa kukkī tsukutte, ato ganbarimashita. Mou ikko."?) "Clear. The Plovers Built a Nest." (「晴れ。フエコチドリが巣を作っていた。」, "Hare. Fuekochidori ga su wo tsukutteita."?) "Cloudy. I'm Embarrassed. I Want to Hide Somewhere." (「曇り。恥ずかしい。どこかに隠れたい。」, "Kumori. Hazukashii. Doko ka ni kakuretai."?) "Clear with Occasional Rain. I Want to Believe in Myself." (「晴れ時々雨が降った。自信がほしい。」, "Hare tokidoki ame ga futta. Jijin ga hoshii."?) "The Story of the Day I Arrived." (「来た日の話。」, "Kita hi no hanashi."?)

Chapters to be collected into volumes

8. "A Day Different from the Usual." (「いつもと違うの日。」, "Itsumo to chigau no hi."^?)
9. "I Saw the Traveling Moon, a Happy Rabbit." (「旅生のお月様で見た、幸せなうさぎ。」, "Tabi sei no o-tsuki-sama de mita, shiawase na usagi."^?)
10. "What Kind of Person is a Mysterious Person?" (「不思議な人ってどんなひと?」, "Fushigi na hito tte donna hito?"^?)

Drama CDs

In the July 2010 issue of Comic Birz it was announced that there would be a drama CD of Chibi-san Date.^[8]

See also

Anime and manga portal

• Hetalia: Axis Powers

References

1. ^ "ちびさんデイト Chibisan Date". Gentosha. http://www.kitayume.us/chibisan_date.html. Retrieved 21 November 2010. 
2. ^ ^{a b} "ちびさんデイト (1)". Gentosha. http://www.gentosha.co.jp/search/book.php?ID=602179. Retrieved 18 November 2010. 
3. ^ ^{a b} "Hetalia's Himaruya to Start Chibi-san Date Manga". Anime News Network. January 30, 2009. http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2009-01-30/hetalia-himaruya-to-start-chibi-san-date-manga. Retrieved January 30, 2009. 
4. ^ ^{a b} "Hetalia's Himaruya to Resume Chibisan Date in Comic Spica". Anime News Network. September 8, 2011. http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2011-09-08/hetalia-himaruya-to-resume-chibisan-date-in-comic-spica. Retrieved September 8, 2011. 
5. ^ ^{a b} "ちびさんデイト「微妙に曇り。ちびさんが変わった絵本持って帰ってきた」". http://himaruya.blog61.fc2.com/blog-entry-494.html. Retrieved November 21, 2010. 
6. ^ "Chibisan Date [Paperback"]. Amazon.com. http://www.amazon.com/Chibisan-Date-Hidekaz-Himaruya/dp/1427832692/. Retrieved November 18, 2010. 
7. ^ "End of an era: Tokyopop shutting down". Comics Beat. 2011-04-15. http://www.comicsbeat.com/2011/04/15/end-of-an-era-tokyopop-shutting-down/. 
8. ^ Himaruya, Hidekaz (2010-05-29). "「旅生のお月様で見た、幸せなうさぎ。」" (in Japanese). Comic Birz (Gentosha) (July 2010). 

External links

• Hidekaz Himaruya's official Chibisan Date website (Japanese)
• Chibisan Date page on the Comic Birz website (Japanese)
• Chibisan Date (manga) at Anime News Network's Encyclopedia