Blank Canvas: My So-Called Artist's Journey

For the Daihatsu Motors mascot character, see Kakukaku Shikajika (Daihatsu Motors).

Blank Canvas: My So-Called Artist's Journey
Cover art for the first volume, featuring the main character, Akiko Hayashi
かくかくしかじか
(Kakukaku Shikajika)
GenreAutobiography, slice of life
Manga
Written byAkiko Higashimura
Published byShueisha
English publisher
MagazineCocohana
DemographicJosei
Original runNovember 28, 2011 – January 28, 2015
Volumes5 (List of volumes)

Blank Canvas: My So-Called Artist's Journey, known in Japan as Kakukaku Shikajika (Japanese: かくかくしかじか, "So-and-so, Such-and-such"[1]), is an autobiographical josei manga series written and illustrated by Akiko Higashimura. It was serialized in Shueisha's monthly manga magazine Cocohana from 2011 to 2015 and collected in five tankōbon volumes. The series is licensed in English by Seven Seas Entertainment.[2]

Publication

The individual chapters, referred to as "canvases", were serialized in Cocohana magazine between the inaugural January 2012 issue (sold on November 28, 2011) and the March 2015 issue (sold on January 28, 2015).[3][4][5] They were later published by Shueisha in five tankōbon volumes. The third, fourth, and fifth volumes also included bonus "sketchbook" chapters.

No. Original release date Original ISBN English release date English ISBN
1 July 25, 2012[6]978-4-08-782457-5March 21, 2019[7]978-1-642750-69-0
  • Chapters 1–7
2 May 24, 2013[8]978-4-08-782653-1August 27, 2019[9]978-1-642750-70-6
  • Chapters 8–14
3 January 24, 2014[10]978-4-08-782746-0November 19, 2019[11]978-1-642750-71-3
  • Chapters 15–21
  • Sketchbook
4 July 25, 2014[12]978-4-08-782797-2March 31, 2020[13]978-1-642750-72-0
  • Chapters 22–28
  • Sketchbook
5 March 25, 2015[14]978-4-08-792004-8June 30, 2020[15]978-1-642750-73-7
  • Chapters 29–34
  • Sketchbook

Reception

The series was number five on the 2013 and 2014 Kono Manga ga Sugoi! Top 20 Manga for Female Readers surveys and number seven on the 2015 survey.[16][17][18] It was number four in the 2013 Comic Natalie Grand Prize.[19] In 2015, it won the eighth Manga Taishō Award,[20] and was awarded the grand prize in the manga division by Japan's Agency for Cultural Affairs at the 19th Japan Media Arts Festival.[1]

Volume 2 sold 49,232 copies as of June 2013[21] and volume 3 sold 47,446 copies as of February 2014.[22]

References

  1. ^ a b "Akiko Higashimura's Kakukaku Shikajika Manga Wins Media Arts Award". Anime News Network. November 27, 2015. Archived from the original on November 27, 2015. Retrieved November 28, 2015.
  2. ^ "Seven Seas Licenses Princess Jellyfish Creator Higashimura's Autobiographical Manga Blank Canvas". Anime News Network. September 21, 2018. Retrieved September 21, 2018.
  3. ^ ココハナ 2012年1月号 [Cocohana January 2012 issue] (in Japanese). Tohan Corporation. Archived from the original on September 3, 2014. Retrieved August 31, 2014.
  4. ^ "Limited Free Reading Time for "Cocohana" & "You" Opens!". Pixiv. November 17, 2011. Archived from the original on September 4, 2014. Retrieved August 31, 2014.
  5. ^ "Princess Jellyfish's Higashimura to End Kakukaku Shikajika Manga". Anime News Network. December 27, 2014. Archived from the original on December 28, 2014. Retrieved December 28, 2014.
  6. ^ かくかくしかじか 1 [Kakukaku Shikajika 1] (in Japanese). Shueisha. Retrieved August 31, 2014.
  7. ^ "Book: Blank Canvas: My So-Called Artist's Journey (Kakukaku Shikajika) Vol. 1". Seven Seas Entertainment. Retrieved August 16, 2019.
  8. ^ かくかくしかじか 2 [Kakukaku Shikajika 2] (in Japanese). Shueisha. Retrieved August 31, 2014.
  9. ^ "Book: Blank Canvas: My So-Called Artist's Journey (Kakukaku Shikajika) Vol. 2". Seven Seas Entertainment. Retrieved August 16, 2019.
  10. ^ かくかくしかじか 3 [Kakukaku Shikajika 3] (in Japanese). Shueisha. Retrieved August 31, 2014.
  11. ^ "Book: Blank Canvas: My So-Called Artist's Journey (Kakukaku Shikajika) Vol. 3". Seven Seas Entertainment. Retrieved August 16, 2019.
  12. ^ かくかくしかじか 4 [Kakukaku Shikajika 4] (in Japanese). Shueisha. Retrieved August 31, 2014.
  13. ^ "Book: Blank Canvas: My So-Called Artist's Journey (Kakukaku Shikajika) Vol. 4". Seven Seas Entertainment. Retrieved August 16, 2019.
  14. ^ かくかくしかじか 5 [Kakukaku Shikajika 5] (in Japanese). Shueisha. Retrieved March 7, 2015.
  15. ^ "Book: Blank Canvas: My So-Called Artist's Journey (Kakukaku Shikajika) Vol. 5". Seven Seas Entertainment. Retrieved August 16, 2019.
  16. ^ "Top Manga Ranked by Kono Manga ga Sugoi 2013 Voters". Anime News Network. December 10, 2012. Archived from the original on March 20, 2013. Retrieved May 6, 2014.
  17. ^ "Top Manga Ranked by Kono Manga ga Sugoi 2014 Voters". Anime News Network. December 9, 2013. Archived from the original on May 8, 2014. Retrieved May 6, 2014.
  18. ^ "Kono Manga ga Sugoi! 2015's Series Ranking for Female Readers". Anime News Network. December 9, 2014. Archived from the original on December 28, 2014. Retrieved December 28, 2014.
  19. ^ "Nami Sano's Sakamoto desu ga? Manga Wins Comic Natalie Grand Prize". Anime News Network. September 18, 2013. Archived from the original on April 9, 2014. Retrieved May 6, 2014.
  20. ^ "Akiko Higashimura's Kakukaku Shikajika Wins 8th Manga Taisho Award". Anime News Network. March 24, 2015. Archived from the original on March 26, 2015. Retrieved March 24, 2015.
  21. ^ "Japanese Comic Ranking, May 27-June 2". Anime News Network. June 5, 2013. Archived from the original on April 3, 2014. Retrieved May 6, 2014.
  22. ^ "Japanese Comic Ranking, January 27-February 2". Anime News Network. February 5, 2014. Archived from the original on May 8, 2014. Retrieved May 6, 2014.