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Silver Spoon. Tom 1

(銀の匙 Silver Spoon [Gin no Saji Silver Spoon] #1)

Hiromu Arakawa,

Jan Świderski (Translator),

Aleksandra Kulińska (Translator)

4.13 · Rating details · 1,803 ratings · 186 reviews

Gdzieś w samym sercu dziczy znajduje się Technikum Rolnicze w Oezo. To właśnie tam Yugo Hachiken uczy się sztuki życia... a może raczej przeżycia? Przed Wami historia pełna łez, potu... i brudu. Zaczynamy tom wiosenny!

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Paperback, 192 pages

Published December 2013 by Waneko (first published July 15th 2011)

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· 1,803 ratings · 186 reviews

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Start your review of Silver Spoon. Tom 1 (Silver Spoon, #1)

Jan 27, 2019 Lois Bujold rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Recommends it for: readers interested in slice-of-life, manga or otherwise

Delightful rather than melodramatically gripping. Slice-of-life about an urban high schooler who goes to a Japanese agricultural high school, mainly because dorm life will get him away from his unhappy city home and the cram-school grind. The carefully realized setting was an all-new treat for me in this medium so full of urban high schools, all looking alike, generally haunted by assorted supernatural phenomena. (But then, I don't read sports manga.) Protagonist Yuugo's first encounters with th ...more

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Apr 05, 2014 Dana Salman rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites, just-plain-fun, read-to-siblings, manga, compulsive-page-turner, on-my-bookshelf, great-young-protagonists, read-in-2014, top-ten-manga

Using her knowledge of chemistry, Arakawa Hiromi-sensei wrote the popular shounen manga Full Metal Alchemist. Now using the other big aspect of her life – dairy farming – she went on to write the slice-of-life manga called Silver Spoon.

Now how could something written by the same author as Full Metal Alchemist but so fundamentally different possibly be as good?

Because it is Arakawa Hiromi. Anything she writes will be good, no matter the genre. Silver Spoon is not only a good slice-of-life, it is ...more

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Aug 30, 2011 Shoma Patnaik added it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2011, nature, rural, manga, japan

Gin no Saji is one of those series which make you realize that manga is honestly much more than 'comics'. The only other work by Hiromu Arakawa that I am familiar with is her Fullmetal Alchemist series (although I've only watched it and haven't read the manga yet), and so this completely different subject - life in an agricultural school - piqued my interest.

I have somewhat romantic views on rural life so I looked forward to this manga but was happy to note that Ms. Arakawa doesn't stick to the ...more

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Mar 07, 2017 Chi rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: manga, romance, slice-of-life

Ah, that was VERY satisfying! I love the humour so much (though the fathers were comically strict, and Ookawa was quite... umm, unkind about his peers and underclassmen who were more fortunate in life and love than he was).

I was just very sad that the first year at Ooyezo / Oezo / the Agricultural school was so beautifully rendered and covered, only for the 2nd and 3rd years of Yugo Hachiken's life to be rushed so quickly (admittedly, due to external events beyond Hiromu Arakawa's control, and p ...more

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Feb 17, 2018 Hannah Heath rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: manga, funny, favorites

LOVE this series. It makes me laugh and it makes me think. Doesn't get much better than that. ...more

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Nov 11, 2012 Despair Speaking rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: looks-deceive-you-but-in-a-good-way, hilarious-to-no-end, blindingly-cute

This is Hiromu Arakawa's new series about a boy who doesn't know much about farming and yet attends a school all about it. It's a brave turn from magic and action, which is what she is famous for with Full Metal Alchemist. Although I couldn't help but compare the two, I fell in love with Silver Spoon as I progressed.

Silver Spoon isn't really anything special. It's slice-of-life and doesn't have much of a plot. It's simple, unlike FMA. But Yugo, the main character, has a strange way of drawing me ...more

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Mar 22, 2018 Rod Brown rated it liked it · review of another edition

One of the things I love about manga is that they can cover almost any subject. Here's one set at an agricultural high school that introduces us to farming concepts and concerns. I was raised on a Wisconsin dairy farm, so I found lots to like here as the book milks a fish-out-of-water set-up by having a directionless city kid with a purely academic focus transfer to this hands-on technical school. The humor, drama and romance are pretty gentle, but this title could go in some interesting directi ...more

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Jun 02, 2018 King Haddock rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: graphic-novel, books-i-own, general-fiction

There's a beauty to simplicity.

Now, I don't mean that Silver Spoon lacks complexity. However, in a world where I often find myself reading stories with high stakes action and dramatic life-or-death action hero maneuvers, it's beautiful to sit back and read a story about the daily lives of students at an agricultural vocational high school. There's a refreshing and engaging "simplicity" to reading about Ban'ei horse track proceedings or what extracurricular activities exist at the school or how q There's a beauty to simplicity.

Now, I don't mean that Silver Spoon lacks complexity. However, in a world where I often find myself reading stories with high stakes action and dramatic life-or-death action hero maneuvers, it's beautiful to sit back and read a story about the daily lives of students at an agricultural vocational high school. There's a refreshing and engaging "simplicity" to reading about Ban'ei horse track proceedings or what extracurricular activities exist at the school or how quickly piglets grow. Silver Spoon doesn't need "gargantuan" events to evoke a variety of emotions or pull readers deep into its world - and in fact there's much to be appreciated that this handles the day-to-day.

And while the plot works on more subtle points of conflict and weaves together the humdrum into engaging narrative growth, there is a lot of depth to offer in these pages.

There's a hoard of humor, to start with. I'm laughing uproariously every few pages. And the more you look at the pages, the funnier it gets. There's an entire story hidden in the few panels whereby the students collect trash from campus (the boxer shorts didn't start on the Colonel Sanders statue). Don't think that just because this is a story about an agricultural vocation school that there's no room for explosive humor. When I first picked up the book, despite being familiar with some of Arakawa's other works, I was wondering why it was rated "T." After chicken cloaca and pig castration jokes and boys making lewd-sounding comments about cow hips... I realized exactly why... and had an amazing time. Arakawa, as always, knows how to make people laugh hard.

Beyond the fun, there's cherishable heart, too, be it in the characters or their circumstances or the overall lessons within the story. I haven't attached to all the characters yet, but the protagonist Hachiken is fascinatingly set up and someone I could draw to immediately. His awkwardness and shock to the unfamiliar agricultural world provides infinite humor. His constant drive to perfection while sympathizing with the losers who work hard... it give hints at personal failings and ongoing struggle. His blocked-off past - and all the hints of what happened before he attended high school - is interesting and makes me itch to learn more about his backstory. He's got great complexity, from strengths to weaknesses to secrets we don't yet know... to the set-up of great character growth. There's a lot more to learn about him, a lot more to see from him. It's a promising start.

And we have already started to bring some more nuance to other characters. My favorite chapter compares and contrasts Hachiken with Ichirou. Hachiken we can tell feels uncomfortable with having no goals for his future, and thus is jealous of Ichirou's solid future working on the family farm. What he doesn't realize is that (view spoiler) Through this chapter, we come to see other characters's struggles and positions like Ichirou, contrast them with Hachiken, and through that understand how everyone's problems exist but differ.

And everything in Silver Spoon is set up to work on ongoing themes. There's some deep stuff here already, with the central focus appearing to be how we reward effort. How should we handle effort - in a survival-of-the-fittest winner takes reward scenario, or should we provide rewards to effort even if it produces no profitable crop? It permeates the story, from Hachiken's central character conflict (where he wants to be first at everything, but sympathizes with hard-working "losers"), to the realities of farm life (where, for instance, chickens won't be kept if they don't produce enough eggs). I'm appreciating the nuance already, be it Hachiken and Ichirou's differences, or how Hachiken watches a piglet continue to pick the disadvantaged position even when it has the option to move forward.

Given as I'm someone who's already relating too much to Hachiken and his implied (but not yet revealed) backstory... given as I'm someone struggling through a life where I worked hard but still didn't win... I highly suspect that Arakawa's Silver Spoon is going to emotionally wreck me down the road.

Like Arakawa's other works, it's full of humor and heart and emotion and love. You can definitely tell it's from the same writer. She's someone I have adored ever since I got into Fullmetal Alchemist, and I suspect I'm going to adore her for this, too. And speaking of. Given as I surmise that many people who are curious about Silver Spoon came from Fullmetal Alchemist... I guess I'll say this much... there's a lot different between Silver Spoon and Fullmetal Alchemist. Fullmetal Alchemist has a fantastical action-packed story skirting death in a nation with a recent history of bloody genocide; you're not going to get that sort of high-stakes adventure with Silver Spoon. Silver Spoon you're going to get a page-sized illustration of piglets or a horse running through the forest. But there's the same heart, the same love, the same tight-woven narrative, the same intentionality, the same emotionality, that's poured into this story, and that's ultimately what makes Arakawa's works so powerful. I say go for it.

I haven't been reading chapter after chapter after chapter of Silver Spoon in a single sitting. While I can easily binge other works, it feels much better to take this a chapter at a time. Go with the easy pace. Soak in every page. Enjoy the words. Enjoy the thoughts. Enjoy the illustrations.

I'm looking forward to continuing this in Volume 2. ...more

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Jan 07, 2019 Emily rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: owned

4.25 stars! This first volume is so pleasant to read, but it also doesn't shy away from the grit required when raising farm animals. It also made me laugh out loud multiple times - I really liked this and will be getting the next volume soon! ...more

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Aug 16, 2020 Cookie rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: bd-manga-comics, funny, this-is-life-stuff

A really great start to a series. You can feel the themes, relationships and plot being laid out for future development. The manga does not shy away either from the bleak reality of animal exploitation. It will be really interesting to see where this goes.

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Nov 22, 2020 Matty Dub rated it really liked it · review of another edition

7/10

The book is fun to read for its snappy dialogue and occasional heart warming moments. The art is also great.

I however am not a fan of stories set in school, I find it hard to get invested and having a protagonist I couldn’t bring myself to care about made it that much harder.

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Jun 18, 2019 Kendra rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

This was so perfect. Can't help but see FMA cameos though - some character designs are veeery close :D ...more

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Oct 20, 2020 Emma rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: japanese-literature, manga, read-in-2020

Each time I go to my public library, I check the manga section. Since my discovery of Orange, it has been really hard to find some I like.
This one is great, it's not the usual teen crash, but the story of a boy not really knowing what to do with his life and enrolling in an agricultural school, where he thinks it will be easy to be first. He thinks other are luck to know what they will do in life, basically working on their family farm. But life teaches him a few lessons.
I also discovered some ...more

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Apr 03, 2014 Andrew Kristensen rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: manga

Ahh Hachiken! This manga gives insight into Japan's agricultural sector through the eyes of a boy from the city. A lot of Hachiken's views are similar to mine when it comes to livestock and animals in general. I'd love to hear my father's views on the topics brought up in the manga as he grew up on a pig farm. If nothing else, this manga is entertaining and all the characters are relatable in one form or another. ...more

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Sep 15, 2016 Britt rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: rereading, diversity

This had me laughing super hard. Hachiken is so over dramatic and I love it

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May 19, 2019 André rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

I love these so much.

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May 27, 2020 Kailey (Luminous Libro) rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: graphic-novels-and-manga

Hachiken attends an agricultural high school even though he has no interest in pursuing an agricultural career. All his classmates come from farming backgrounds, and are eager to learn so they can take over their family farm someday. Poor Hachiken has to wake up early every morning to take care of livestock, clean out the stables, and gather chicken eggs. His classmates are used to early morning hours, but Hachiken is exhausted.

This manga is hilarious! It was so fun learning about how to care fo ...more

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Jan 01, 2019 Jon Peder Grønsveen Opsahl rated it really liked it · review of another edition

I bought this manga a while ago since I was intrigued by the fact that it is made by the author behind Full Metal Alchemist. I like the story and characters and Arakawa's style. My only problem is I don't really find a good time for reading manga. I like reading books in the evening and also read some comics during the day, so I kind of forgot this manga. That doesn't mean I did not like the story though. It is a good mixture of sweet and serious and I can see myself reading more of it in the fu ...more

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Jan 10, 2019 Katy rated it liked it · review of another edition

I really liked that this manga didn't shy away from hard truths when it comes to raising livestock. I also really liked that the MC doesn't have any concrete goals for his life while everyone around him seems to know what they want to do with their lives. It is something I relate to big time. Some of the humor was a little too juvenile for me, but over all I really enjoyed the plot and the characters.

It was fun that there was a chapter about Ban'ei (draft horse pull) racing. I actually went to ...more

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Sep 13, 2019 Pilos rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: comics-jp, shonen, comedy, serializations, slice-of-life

Seeing myself in a character is something that rarely happens, let out seeing me in the actual whole plot. Coming from an Agricultural school (and later food science degree) myself, I can't even express how many memories this comic brought me.
What I loved the most here is how accurate the scientific and technical explanations are and I cannot help but appreciate that (that lecture on the myoglobin and its role on meat color preservation almost brought me to tears).
I've been literally craving t ...more

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Mar 13, 2020 Dubzor rated it really liked it · review of another edition

I read this after watching the first three episodes of the anime and much to my surprise there were stark differences. The biggest being the body shaming of Tamako, which is non-existent in the anime. Granted, the characters in the manga never outright disrespect her. They don't treat her any differently. However, they do make snide comments about her size and call her "egg" to themselves. So, while not ideal...it certainly could be more problematic.

It's still an excellent series, and well worth ...more

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Jun 08, 2020 beth {hiatus} F. rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: manga

I have never read a manga about agriculture before. I enjoyed it a lot, mostly because of the easy and relaxed (to a point) narrative.

You can tell that Arakawa really does her research on each manga series produced. The art is top notch, especially the animals and machinery.

My favorite part is the horse race! It was REALLY well done!!!

The main character’s attitude is the worst part about this, but I have a feeling that’s going to change drastically.

This does have a graphic depiction of a chi ...more

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Apr 28, 2018 Kristin rated it liked it · review of another edition

3.5 stars

This laid back tale of life at a vocational high school is surprisingly good. It's especially nice to see teens on a non-college track portrayed as equally intelligent, just at different subjects than the college-prep crowd. Animals, humor, and character development-- not to mention the first plus-sized female character I've ever seen in manga-- make this a good title to recommend to adults and teens. ...more

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May 28, 2018 S rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: comics

A disinterested student enrolls in ag school but realizes it won’t be an easy ride early on.

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Mar 23, 2018 Dani (ダニ ¦ 다니) rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: manga, favorites

I'm really enjoying this. Can't wait for the next volume. :)

My first impression on the series: https://youtu.be/BIKWXYZVfnw ...more

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Dec 03, 2018 Lindsey rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: graphic-novels

Silver Spoon is a much slower-paced read than Fullmetal Alchemist, but the characters are fun. There is also a lot of agricultural lingo thrown around.

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Sep 07, 2016 Anna C rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: manga-manhwa-manhua, shounen, favorites-shounen-manga

Livestock's only mistake is being born. There are those that are thrown into a world where they are given only two options : be useful or be killed. There are others, however, who even in these competitive society leave behind nothing but accomplishments and are loved and taken care of until the very end.

Dari dulu suka liat komik ini berseliweran di GR, tapi belum kepikiran buat baca. Nah, sekarang karena lagi pengen baca yg slice of life tanpa romance, jadi dicobain deh komik yg topiknya pertan Livestock's only mistake is being born. There are those that are thrown into a world where they are given only two options : be useful or be killed. There are others, however, who even in these competitive society leave behind nothing but accomplishments and are loved and taken care of until the very end.

Dari dulu suka liat komik ini berseliweran di GR, tapi belum kepikiran buat baca. Nah, sekarang karena lagi pengen baca yg slice of life tanpa romance, jadi dicobain deh komik yg topiknya pertanian dan peternakan ini, apalagi ini karya Arakawa-sensei, sudah terjamin kualitasnya. ;)

You know, komik-komik seperti inilah yg pengen kutunjukkan pada orang-orang yg meremehkan isi komik dan menganggap komik itu variasinya cuma yg mirip-mirip Doraemon, Candy-Candy, Death Note, dll (disebutkan bukan karena meremehkan isinya, melainkan karena ketiga komik tsb populer di kalangan awam. Justru aku suka BANGET sama Doraemon dan Candy-Candy, Death Note sih belum baca karena belum ada mood)

Dannn, setelah baca volume 1 ini, aku salut sama risetnya Sensei! Benar-benar dapat ilmu tambahan! Aku anak IPA yg lebih suka matematika ketimbang biologi, so maklumi kalo lewat buku ini baru tau kalo telur keluarnya dari anus si ayam! XD Ga pernah terpikir buat mikir atau cari tau keluarnya dari mana, lol. Lucunya, si MC jadi nolak makan telur abis tau keluarnya dari anus ayam. Memangnya selama ini dia ga makan telur kah? lol. Kulihat di komik ini para tokohnya suka makan telur setengah matang dengan nasi, tapi sayangnya hanya untuk orang yg kekebalan tubuhnya kuat. Soalnya sebagai pecinta telur setengah matang disiram kecap asin dan lada, aku harus berhenti makan telur setengah matang karena tidak aman dikonsumsi perutku, langsung diare.
Telur setengah matang harus akurat dimasak di atas 3 menit (kalau tidak salah ingat) sehingga bakteri Salmonella di dalamnya mati.

Selain soal ayam dan kuda, aku juga dapat ilmu baru soal babi, lol.
Sebenarnya aku jarang makan babi dan sapi, dua minggu sekali palingan kalo kangen rendang sapi (tidak doyan steak) dan dapat menu sosis babi (yg tergolong langka kemunculannya) dari katering. Secara berasal dari garis keturunan yg dihiasi dengan korban stroke plus sempat naik kolesterolnya gara-gara sempat rutin makan sapi dan cumi, makanya dikurangin deh yg daging merah, plus seafood seperti cumi, udang, kepiting. Jujur saja, dengan kondisi tubuh yg susah banget gemuk dan metabolisme begini, aku belum sanggup jadi vegetarian, bisa tambah kurus, walaupun dalam hati selalu merasa berdosa BANGET. :( Kemarin sempat absen makan ayam selama sebulan, langsung tambah kurus... T___T

Sebenarnya walaupun yg dibahas itu seputar agrikultural, topik utamanya adalah tentang cita-cita. MC merasa malu dan rendah diri karena tidak punya mimpi atau cita-cita yg ingin dicapai, seperti yg mungkin dialami sebagian orang. Tapi aku rasa mangaka ingin bilang bahwa that's okay, tidak masalah jika tidak punya ambisi. People are different, we are all dots running round a planet living beautiful, complex, ridiculous lives, probably for no reason---and that's okay.
Setiap orang punya cara yg berbeda dalam menjalani hidup mereka, some people are happy and quite content with the simple life. They go to work, they relax, be a good partner, family, friend, and decent human being, and that's good for them. So, just do what you feel is right for you, most important to you, gives you fulfillment and happiness the most.

Terkadang punya cita-cita pun, belum tentu bisa diwujudkan hanya dengan tekad kuat dan usaha keras. Bagi sebagian orang, untuk bertahan hidup sehari-harinya saja sudah susah. Butuh uang, kesempatan, hoki, kemampuan, karakteristik dll juga. Aku termasuk orang yg harus mengubur cita-cita jadi desainer saat dihadapkan dengan kenyataan bahwa aku tidak punya kreatifitas yg mumpuni dan kperibadian yg cocok untuk bidang itu, termasuk uang (walaupun ini tidak signifikan sekali karena bisa dikumpulkan secara perlahan-lahan). Ini kusadari setelah aku mencicipi pinggirnya dunia desain itu tahun 2008 lalu. Sekarang aku bermimpi buat punya toko buku merangkap kafe sendiri, haha. ...more

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Jun 28, 2018 ~Cyanide Latte~ rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: what-a-surprise, personal-favorites, manga-manhwa-manhua

In the event you have not yet taken the opportunity to watch the anime for Silver Spoon [Gin no Saji] on Netflix, I cannot stress enough the recommendation that you do so when you have the chance.

Fans familiar with Hiromu Arakawa from her blockbuster giant "FullMetal Alchemist" ought to have some knowledge already that Arakawa was raised on a dairy farm, and as such, the life of a farming family is very important to her. She puts all of her knowledge and personal experience to stellar use in thi In the event you have not yet taken the opportunity to watch the anime for Silver Spoon [Gin no Saji] on Netflix, I cannot stress enough the recommendation that you do so when you have the chance.

Fans familiar with Hiromu Arakawa from her blockbuster giant "FullMetal Alchemist" ought to have some knowledge already that Arakawa was raised on a dairy farm, and as such, the life of a farming family is very important to her. She puts all of her knowledge and personal experience to stellar use in this series, which disguises itself as a humorous slice-of-life story.

Going into "Silver Spoon", I had no idea initially that there is an entire genre of anime and manga out there that focus on the concept of an idyllic country life and how much better it is than living in the big city or suburbs. The genre exists however, and Arakawa is here with "Silver Spoon" to challenge all of the cliches and tropes for the genre by keeping it real and showing just how the life of a dairy farmer is in Japan, with both the ups and the downs. Add to that a sobering look at the expectations thrust upon young people and their struggles to make it through but stay true to themselves, and what you have is a very heartfelt contemporary series that is here to pick you up and give you hope even as it stays honest to the hard reality it portrays.

Our protagonist is a first-year high school student named Yuugo Hachiken (often just referred to as Hachiken-kun) who has enrolled in Ooezo Agricultural High School in Hokkaido. Unlike his classmates, Hachiken doesn't come from a farming family; he's the youngest son of a salary man in the big city. But after a hard previous school year in which he put his all into trying to meet his parent's expectations for school, he's burned out and has a lot of things to heal from, expressing to a school counselor that he has no plans for the future or any desire to do anything for himself. Enrolling in Ooezo due to the requirement for first-years to live in the dorms means Hachiken has to live away from home and has time to detox from being around his family, but he's in for a huge culture shock and quite the different experience he had in mind for a high school!

In this first volume, we see Hachiken doing his best to adapt to life in his new environment where he's almost totally out of his element, but is surrounded by helpful and enthusiastic classmates who offer him friendship and support he's not used to. The type of hands-on hard labor is vastly different, and towards the end of this first volume, we're already starting to see a change take place in Hachiken as he strives to figure out who he is and what he wants to do with his life, overcoming his depressive state little by little.

While I feel the events in this first volume feel a little jumbled in comparison to the first handful of episodes of the anime, I am thrilled to have had the opportunity to read this at last. Hiromu Arakawa is a wonderful storyteller, and "Silver Spoon" is no exception to her skills. This is a first volume that I definitely recommend to those who have watched the anime, or to anyone looking for a manga that can act as a fairly decent pick-me-up. It's worth a shot, and Hachiken is a protagonist everyone can grow to love and appreciate. ...more

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Sep 22, 2014 Maddie rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: japanese

"Blue skies... noises of Mother Nature... over-familiar calves... no cell service... Where am I???"

Hachiken deals with culture shock in his first semester at an agricultural high school in rural Hokkaido.

My first full manga in Japanese! やった!!! It was recommended to me by one of my students at our crafts high school in rural Hokkaido. He said that could relate to the main character. Let's see... Obscene rural-ness? Check. Over-excitement about Genghis Khan? Check. Warning signs for bears? Check. ...more

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Oct 30, 2018 Selena rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: humor, first-in-series-manga, japan-stuff, otaku-usa, manga-manwha, realistic-fiction

It might be a totally different genre, but this has Arakawa-sensei written all over it. The humor, the art style, the panel layout... Everything.

This one is probably sillier than Fullmetal Alchemist, but it also is a lot more real. This is an ode to farming, and so life and death is pretty much constantly in the background.

So far, I'm really liking this goofy-but-real manga about a "normal" Japanese kid in an agricultural high school. It's a fish-out-of-water story that a lot of us who don't kno ...more

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About Hiromu Arakawa

Hiromu Arakawa

2,193 followers

Associated names :
荒川弘美 (real name)
ARAKAWA Hiromi

Name (in native language) : 荒川弘

Zodiac : Taurus

Blood type : A

Her self-portrait is usually that of a bespectacled cow, as she was born and raised on a dairy farm in Hokkaido with three older sisters and a younger brother. She worked as a farmer for 8 years before moving to Tokyo.

Arakawa thought about being a manga artist "since [she] was little" and d ...more