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Masayuki Ishikawa
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Moyasimon 1: Tales of Agriculture Paperback – November 24, 2009

by Ishikawa Masayuki (Author)
4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars 12 ratings
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BACTERIA TO SCHOOL

Tadayasu is a new, fresh-faced university student hiding a bizarre secret: He can see germs with the naked eye. Between the machinations of an eccentric professor determined to unlock the power of the microbial world and the doomed agricultural experiments of his fellow students, will Tadayasu ever find the cool college atmosphere he so desires?
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  1. Book 1 of 3
    Moyasimon
  2. Print length
    240 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Publisher
    Del Rey
  5. Publication date
    November 24, 2009
  6. Reading age
    16 years and up
  7. Dimensions
    5.25 x 0.75 x 7.5 inches
  8. ISBN-10
    0345514726
  9. ISBN-13
    978-0345514721
  10. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The typical manga situation of a young man ready to experience life as he goes away to college is made unique through some very odd characters, starting with the lead. Tadayasu can see and touch bacteria, unaided, and even talk to them; his talents either save the day or get him involved with those who want to exploit him. The title, which loosely means mold cultivator, describes his family business, supplying starter cultures to make fermented products. As he struggles to start his career at an agricultural college, he's surrounded by oddballs: his professor gleefully manipulates those around him and has a fetish for the most disgusting, bacteria-created foods (such as decaying seabirds buried inside a dead seal for months). The older student guide dresses like she's about to go club-hopping as a sexy goth. Most strangely, there's a whole flock of tiny little germs as supporting cast. The book's twisted sense of humor is reinforced by various marginal notes that explain the germs he sees or to provide the author's apologies. Favorite scenes feature disgusting college rooms, teeming with Tadayasu's little friends; it's gross-out humor, but gentle and inventive. (Sept.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Del Rey (November 24, 2009)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 240 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0345514726
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0345514721
  • Reading age ‏ : ‎ 16 years and up
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 8 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.25 x 0.75 x 7.5 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars 12 ratings

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Masayuki Ishikawa

Masayuki Ishikawa

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Customer reviews

4.1 out of 5 stars
4.1 out of 5
12 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Tim Lasiuta
5.0 out of 5 stars Quite a trend...academic 'comics'
Reviewed in the United States on November 30, 2009
Manga unlike any other. No giggling girls, no magical powers, no boy likes girl (giggle, giggle) or vice versa, no fights even. This is manga for the educated market, those who want something to challenge them.

Tadayasau is going off to University, an agricultural university to be precise, with a special talent. He can see bacteria with his naked eye! That may not seem like much of a talent, but when the produce of a country depends on `cultural' processes (ha!), the skill becomes more valuable. For his fellow students saved from food poisoning, he is appreciated. For his classmates, who look for his assistance on their assignments and sake brewing activities, he is also appreciated. To his professor, his grandfathers' friend, he is invaluable. To Hasegawa (leather and lace clad research assistant), he is annoying at first, then becomes essential to her work as well. For a young man, eager to enjoy his first university experience, his `gift' carries a burden.

As I said before, this is an unusual manga. The information presented by Masayaki Ishikawa is intriguing in that it is accurate scientifically speaking. He explains how invaluable fermentation is to food supply and drug manufacturing for readers. He even tackles the difficult topic, publish or perish. In this case, publish is not enough. Itsuki wants more, he wants agricultural practices to help transform the earth, to terra-form, as it were.

The very interesting thing about this book is that it has captured the imagination of Manga readers so much so, that there are exhibits in museums that celebrate bacteria! Moyasimon is a national phenomena! An alternate title might be "Bacteria and Me, a Love Story".

If you like Kitchen Princess, this is way above you!

Tim Lasiuta
10 people found this helpful
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Hydrology
3.0 out of 5 stars Great Manga...But Incomplete English Series Translation
Reviewed in the United States on August 26, 2019
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Moyasimon is a delightful series that allows you to explore Japanese agriculture and fermentation through the eyes of a college student who can see bacteria. I personally find this manga to be a lot of fun, but I have to put it down a star because only the first two manga were ever released in English. As much fun as I had reading it, I have a hard time encouraging others to get invested in this series as it will permanently cliffhanger them.
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T.NAKAJIMA
4.0 out of 5 stars "I Can See Germs": The World's Best (and Only) Bacteria-Themed Comedy Manga
Reviewed in the United States on April 17, 2012
Some people can see things others can't. Tadayasu Souemon Sawaki, a first-year student at a Tokyo agricultural university is one of them. Sawaki can see germs with his naked eye. He is not very happy about having such a strange power, but on the first day of his new school Sawaki finds something weird is going on in the backyard of the campus, where he sees a ton of germs floating in the air. And according to the school, one grad student has been missing for a month. Does this mean....

Masayuki Ishikawa's "Moyasimon: Tales of Agriculture" (serialized in Kodansha's bi-weekly magazine "Evening" since 2006) is a comedy, and a very unique one. Set against the backdrop of campus life at agricultural university, the manga's episodic story is about a group of eccentric characters including erudite and mysterious Professor Itsuki; his assistant Haruka Hasegawa, a postgraduate student who looks and acts like a dominatrix; Kawahama and Misato, two sempai (senior) students brewing sake (it's illegal), and of course, lots of micro-organisms like E. coli. And they can talk, if not to humans, to each other.

Creator Ishikawa's detailed artwork may look old-fashioned to some, and obviously he is not very good at drawing female characters (sometimes they all look the same). This is a character-driven comedy with a bit of cultural references and parodies (explained in the translation notes). You may be either entertained or bemused at the strange world of "Moyasimon" peopled with complex characters.

At the time of writing, Del Rey published only first two volumes (eleven volumes have been published in Japan so far). This is understandable as the comic is not for everyone, even among Japanese readers. If you are looking for something unique, "Moyasimon" may be the one for you, though you may find the comic too unique.
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E. Wait
5.0 out of 5 stars Every Agriculture and Manga Fan's Dream
Reviewed in the United States on November 6, 2010
Moyasimon is an amazing combination of agriculture and fun. I was listing off random facts from it before I even finished the first volume. However, if you are looking for a light read with some fun trivia now and then, you may be a bit intimidated by the shear amount of text and information presented. It definitely takes longer to comb through this than your average issue of Naruto. However, as a student at the Agricultural School at North Carolina State University I am fascinated not only by the facts about microbiology and agriculture, but also by the portrayal of the Agricultural University in the manga, which is based on a real university.

I've mentioned a lot about the facts and information in the manga, but there is also the story. While it may not have a clear plot in the "conflict needing resolution" sense, that's fairly common for manga and doesn't detract from the read at all. The characters are great and definitely not a bunch of nerds in a lab or hicks on a farm. They are extremely likable and funny, even when they do get to talking science. Please check out and support this great manga so that Del Ray will continue to publish and distribute it in the US!
5 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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Tim
5.0 out of 5 stars Fermentation education made exciting and humorous
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 16, 2014
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As many know it's been frustrating when Del Rey stopped translating this manga at two volumes with the third promised but never delivered. It's a real shame as Ishakawa Masayuki's artwork and humour are top notch, and works well when translated. The series have finished at 13 volumes this year in Japan, so it's nice to go back to the origins of the story once again.

I must reiterate that the artwork is unique and fantastic; it's unbelievably crisp, there's nothing like it to my knowledge. It's entertaining and educational; perhaps too educational for the translators? Anyway, one of my all time favourites, fully recommended.
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redellemarmotte
4.0 out of 5 stars Diverso dal solito
Reviewed in Italy on June 7, 2014
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Manga simpatico e fuori dal comune. Alcune parti un po' logorroiche, e personaggi un bel po' improbabili, addirittura poco credibili (una ricercatrice amante dello stile dark, che veste continuamente in stivali in pelle a tacco alto e borchie, e che non si fa problemi nel camminare in mezzo a roba putrefatta? Se una persona, maschio o femmina che sia, perde così tanto tempo a curare la propria estetica, in genere ci sta anche un pochino attento...). Comunque gradevole. Prenderò anche gli altri numeri, per vedere dove andrà a parare.
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よしの
4.0 out of 5 stars 伝えきれない日本語のニュアンス
Reviewed in Japan on December 20, 2009
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　日本語版と同じく右側から開く形式になっています。英語の砕けた口調を知るのにはよいかと思います。
　さっと飛ばし読みしてみての感想ですが、日本語版のユーモラスな雰囲気は、英語版では伝わりきらないものがあると感じました。
　あくまでも個人的な感想なのですが、水虫という言葉ひとつにしても、日本語の何かバイキンマンみたいなやつがにやにやしながらいたずらしていそうな恥ずかしい雰囲気が、アスリートフットになってしまうと、何かがんばっている人のちょっと偉いかもしれない的な雰囲気になってしまう気がします。「そこって、どうしておかしいの？」的な感じがして、笑いのつぼが外れてしまうような・・・
　おじいちゃんたちの会話も何か好々爺的というより、西部のガンマンでも使っていそうな感じのかっこよい響きに感じられたりして。
　ラテン語の学名なんぞも連呼しているわけですから、英語だと必要以上にハイブロウに感じられてしまいます。

　やっぱり、もやしもんは、日本語版で読むのが最高だと思います。
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