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

by Ishikawa Masayuki (Author)

5 customer reviews

Book 1 of 3 in the Moyasimon: Tales of Agriculture Series

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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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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.

Series: Moyasimon (Book 1)
Paperback: 240 pages
Publisher: Del Rey (November 24, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0345514726
ISBN-13: 978-0345514721
Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.7 x 7.5 inches
Shipping Weight: 13.4 ounces
Average Customer Review: 5 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,235,596 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #14761 in Books > Comics & Graphic Novels > Manga

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Johanna Draper Carlson

Frat-boy humor about a college kid who can talk to germs

April 4, 2015

When I heard that the premise of this manga by Masayuki Ishikawa was a guy who could talk to germs, I expected cute humor. Instead, what I got was a typical coming-of-age story, only with some surprisingly gross moments.

Tadayasu is headed off to agricultural college in Tokyo, accompanied by childhood friend Kei. The two young men are ready to start their lives as adults, figuring out what to be and how to chart their future. Tadayasu is a typical guy, except that he can see and communicate with bacteria. That’s come in handy for the family business, growing a particular kind of mold used as a starter for fermented items like sake and soy sauce, and serves as the basis for the title, which loosely means “mold cultivator”.

On their first day at school, they’re notified of a missing student, after which Tadayasu finds a large dead object by following a trail of germs. It turns out to be a crazy professor’s snack, the dead body of a seal left to ferment with a stomach full of decaying sea birds. The birds’ slimy insides are sucked out as a delicacy. The professor has a fondness for similar nausea-inducing foods, all formed through unusual bacterial action. Unsurprisingly, he’s also going to be Tadayasu’s teacher.

The art style is mostly realistic, often with impressive detail and shading, until it comes to the germs, circles with dot eyes and random stick appendages. The professor is similarly simplified, with minimal features and glasses that hide his eyes. That caricatured portrayal adds to his oddness, making him seem more a force than a character.

I expected more interaction between Tadayasu and the germs, but instead, they’re mostly a plot device to get him into some awkward situation. For example, after proving his ability to the professor, who wants to use him to make some new discovery, he catches two other students bootlegging sake in an attempt to get rich quick. They want to use Tadayasu’s talent for more of their schemes. Also part of the cast is an older student, who although involved in academia, always dresses as though she’s about to go clubbing: short, tight skirt, studded belt, high-heeled boots.

As the book goes on, Tadayasu prevents E.coli poisoning at a field trip picnic and listens to various of the professor’s lectures on how beneficial bacteria are. He also learns more about making sake and cheese. While I appreciated the education, much of the humor in this book was too frat-boy for me. I would have liked to have seen more of Tadayasu as a person instead of a walking plot device, and more attention paid to the germs instead of the wacky college students. If you have a stronger stomach, the humor may be more to your taste. Either way, you’ll learn a lot about microbes. (The publisher provided a review copy.) (Review originally posted at ComicsWorthReading.com.)

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T.NAKAJIMA

"I Can See Germs": The World's Best (and Only) Bacteria-Themed Comedy Manga

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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Flamingnet Teen Book Reviews

Flamingnet.com Teen Book Reviews-very interesting and unique

April 5, 2010

Tadayasu would have loved to experience the college life
as soon as the year began. Of course, he could not. The
first day that he arrives at his university, Tadaysasu
meets his professor at a possible human murder scene. The
second day of school, he is already sick from eating
infected curry. To make matters more interesting, Tadayasu
can see bacteria with his naked eye. More than one person
at the university wants to take advantage of his ability,
whether for bootlegging sake or research. Who will he help?

Moyasimon is a book that does not follow the normal
manga plotline. Oddly, Tadayasu does not meet any cute
girls or have a fan club. Instead, his character serves as
a puppet for the other characters' desires because of his
ability to see bacteria. I love science, and this book was
all about microbiology. This made it very interesting and
unique to read. Being a manga, the end of the story leaves
plenty of room for more volumes to come out. I look
forward to reading them too.

Reviewed by a young adult student reviewer
Flamingnet Book Reviews
Teen books reviewed by teen reviewers

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

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