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Calendar Boy Manga Based on National Holidays Released

A new manga released by the Shinshokan Publishing Company today adds another intriguing chapter to the trend of comedy manga that anthropomorphize non-human things or concepts. Calendar Boy, a collaborative project illustrated by Mami Miki (Para☆Dise), Shinshokan artist Uni Shindō, and Yūji Morisato, depicts the whimsical adventures of human personifications of national holidays on the Japanese calendar. Serialization of the series also began today in the December issue of Shinshokan's monthly manga magazine Wings. The first few pages of the manga can be read on the Shinshokan site here (Japanese only).

Much like the series Axis Powers Hetalia, which features personifications of countries around the world, Calendar Boy focuses on gags that are tied to stereotypes and images typically associated with holidays in Japan. For example, "New Year's Day" is a traditional Japanese individual, "Coming of Age Day" likes to drink, and "Valentine's Day" is an unrepentant casanova. The "personification" trend has also been called "moefication" to refer to overly cute or "moe" characters found in many popular contemporary manga and anime.

Source: Comic Natalie

Image © Shinshokan