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The Strange Tale of Panorama Island

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The Strange Tale of Panorama Island
The cover of The Strange Tale of Panorama Island
パノラマ島綺譚
(Panorama-tō Kitan)
Manga
Written bySuehiro Maruo
Published byEnterbrain
English publisherLast Gasp
ImprintBeam Comics
MagazineComic Beam
DemographicSeinen
PublishedFebruary 25, 2008
Volumes1

The Strange Tale of Panorama Island (パノラマ島綺譚, Panorama-tō Kitan) is a Japanese manga written and illustrated by Suehiro Maruo and based on a 1926 novella of the same name [ja] by Edogawa Ranpo.[1] The manga adaptation was published in English by Last Gasp on July 1, 2013.[2]

Plot

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Hitomi Hirosuke, a struggling novelist, writes a story titled "The Tale of RA" about a protagonist who suddenly gains wealth and constructs a paradise. His editor informs him that his wealthy boarding school friend, Genzaburo Komoda, has died. Hitomi forms a plan to impersonate the dead Genzaburo, who looks exactly like him, to gain his fortune. He fakes his suicide and exhumes Genzaburo's corpse, hiding it and pulling out his own tooth to match Genzaburo's false one. When Hitomi is discovered in Genzaburo's hometown, a doctor attributes his resurrection to catalepsy and Hitomi successfully passes for Genzaburo. Hitomi convinces his family advisor, Tsunoda, of his plan to build an amusement park on the island of Nakanoshima, relocating the fishermen living there. He finances the construction by selling the Komoda family treasures, and appeases his business associate by giving him their kiln. Genzaburo's widow, Chiyoko, learns about his deception after he has sex with her.

Near the completion of the amusement park, Hitomi takes Chiyoko to the island on a tour. He shows her extravagant manmade landscapes dotted with statues and frolicking attractive people, an aquarium tunnel, and portions of the island made to look larger optically like a panorama. Chiyoko is overwhelmed, fainting, and Hitomi chokes her to death. Later, Hitomi is visited by a detective named Kogoro Kitami who had read "The Tale of RA" and discovered Hitomi's act. Hitomi commits suicide by launching himself into a firework.

History

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Japanese mystery and suspense author Edogawa Ranpo originally serialized his novella The Strange Tale of Panorama Island in the October 1926 issue of Shinseinen.[3]

Reception

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The manga won the New Artist Prize at the 13th Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize in 2009[4] and was nominated in 2014 for an Eisner Award for Best Adaptation from Another Medium.[5]

References

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  1. ^ "Panorama Island Manga Coming in English 'in a Few Months'". Anime News Network. 2013-01-27. Retrieved 2014-04-18.
  2. ^ "North American Anime, Manga Releases, June 30-July 6". Anime News Network. 2013-07-02. Retrieved 2014-04-18.
  3. ^ Ranpo, Edogawa (December 31, 2012). Strange Tale of Panorama Island. Translated by Elaine Kazu Gerbert. University of Hawaii Press. pp. ix–xxiii. ISBN 978-0-8248-3703-7.
  4. ^ "13th Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize Winners Announced (Updated)". Anime News Network. 2009-04-19. Retrieved 2014-04-18.
  5. ^ "Suehiro Maruo's The Strange Tale of Panorama Island Manga Nominated for Eisner Award". Anime News Network. 2014-04-15. Retrieved 2014-04-18.
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