Moyasimon: Tales of Agriculture, Volume 1

もやしもん / Moyasimon #1

by Masayuki Ishikawa

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?

Genres: Manga, Comics, Seinen, Graphic Novels, Comedy, Humor, Japanese Literature

240 pages, Paperback

First published May 23, 2005

About the author

Masayuki Ishikawa (石川雅之, Ishikawa Masayuki, born July 29, 1974 in Sakai, Osaka, Japan) is a Japanese manga artist best known for creating Moyasimon: Tales of Agriculture and Junketsu no Maria.

Applied to the College of Arts, but was rejected. While working part-time at a transportation company, he got an interested in manga magazines, and between age 18 and 19, he started submitting to Weekly Young Magazine. In 1997, he debuted with "Japanese Government Maneuver Sqaudron Coumin V". In 1999, his "God's Animal Mountain", won the Chiba Tetsuya Award. In 2004, he began "Moyasimon: Tales of Agriculture" in Kodansha's Weekly Evening magazine, which then brought him a level of fame. After "Moyasimon: Tales of Agriculture" he started his work on "Junketsu no Maria", which became another success.

He is known for drawing fine details in a very thin line, something that he seems to do unconsciously and doesn't use assistants to help him in his work.

Reviews

[Anny]

If 銀の匙 Silver Spoon 1 Gin no Saji Silver Spoon 1 was a perfect book to whet your appetite on the bounty of nature, then Moyasimon must be a perfect book to turn it off.

I do enjoy reading all the trivia and knowledge about microorganisms, but I don't recommend reading this before eating.

[YLKwan]

Never thought I would enjoy a Japanese Manga about bacteria! Turns out to be very educational and informative and presented in a humorous way.

[Mir]

Bacteria party! Everywhere!

[Diana Dang]

Bacterias are microscopic organisms. They surround us constantly, from being in the food we eat to the insides of our bodies. No one can see them with a naked eye. No one, except Tadayasu Sawaki.

A new student at an agriculture university, Sawaki is able to see germs that surround him. With his special ability, he gets tangled up in funny situations and meets a couple of odd people here and there. An absolute hit series in Japan, Moyasimon is brought to North America to reveal an adorable and educational world of bacterias and agriculture.

When I first saw the manga, I automatically thought it was in novel-format because of the cover. That was until I realized it was backwards and was indeed a manga. I also question the cover because as you can see, it is mocking the American flag, which I find is cute. Except, isn't this made in Japan?? I assume the cover is so because the publisher is trying to bring the hype from Japan over to America.

There are interesting facts involving the things you could learn in an agriculture university and the different uses of bacteria. I actually didn't know there were universities existed solely for agriculture until I read this manga. You could obtain many scientific information from this series and the mangaka made it fun to read.

I love the drawings Masayuki Ishikawa gave to each group of bacterias. Scenes and characters are sometimes drawn to be humorous. The art style is easy on the eyes and there are very clear transitions in the panels. I found it pretty comical in one scene where Sawaki was hit by a massive wave of bacteria and he was unable to see where he was going while to regular people's eyes, he just seemed weird.

I do recommend Moyasimon for manga readers who want something different from the usual shojo or shonen series out there. This series however takes time to digest because there is a ton of information given in some panels.

[Wen]

I watched the anime before reading the manga. I really liked the anime and it was pretty true to the manga. Regardless of the ridiculous premise of the ability of the protagonist to see bacteria and viruses, it is entertaining and educational. And it isn't just about microbiology and the science of fermentation, but also to some extent the Japanese culture and how they are covered by the Japanese cultural phenomenon that is anime and manga.

The fact that a story like this can be created to be entertaining to young adults and grown ups while being largely educational is a tribute to the Japanese manga culture. Sure, there's a lot of other stuff in that space that most consider simply escapist and trope-ridden, but once in a while, something like this comes along that is refreshingly original and informative.

The world of bacteria and fermentation has been studied for thousands of years and an integral part of human history. The advent of mostly western medicine and anti-biotics has perhaps caused something of a setback to how we study the subject matter. Recognition that simply killing all germs is not the way to go and that antibiotic resistance is a huge problem, books like this can help to bring a different perspective and new interest in the topic and perhaps help inspire young people to study how we can have a more harmonious relationship with microbes.

[Vicki]

Notes are just on volume 1.

I love Moyashimon! Its a series about a groups of students (and their professors) at an agricultural university, where one of the students happens to be able to see microbes with the naked eye...and he sees them as cute little blobs with faces, in varying different shapes.

Here are some of the things I like most about it:

- It sits firmly in the slice-of-life genre, giving a somewhat meandering glimpse into the life and times of the characters without any particularly strong over-riding plot (so far: this is only volume one tho so you never know)

- You can actually learn a little about the fermentation process, and various fermented foods, thanks to interesting little mini-lectures that crop up via various characters throughout

- The microbes are cute! They have different looks and personalities (and say different things) depending on what type of microbe they are. I'm a sucker for strange-yet-cute things, and this is 100% it.

- The characters are quite unique and interesting, and you want to know more about them. Why does Kei look like a girl although he's a boy? What will Itsuki's next insane fermentation project be? How can Tadayasu see microbes? (tho I'm not sure if I ever expect to find this out - I think its supposed to be pretty random) And will Tadayasu's ability mean he is completely taken advantage of at a university where usually they would need complex and expensive equipment to see some of the microbes they want?

I would recommend this to anyone who wants to try out a comic that is not like anything else. Also, anyone who appreciates the slice-of-life genre, learning a little something from their comics, and quirkily cute things should get a kick out of this series.

[Stephanie Griffin]

MOYASIMON: TALES OF AGRIGULTURE, is a manga with intelligence and humor. Written by Masayuki Ishikawa, it centers on Tadayasu, a young man from a rural family, along with his best friend Kei. Tadayasu has the power to see and communicate with bacteria of all kinds. This comes in handy when the two friends go off to an agricultural college in Tokyo. After all, bacteria are everywhere.
As soon as they enter the college, Tadayasu and Kei encounter bootleggers, smelly buried seals, initiation rites, yogurt, filthy dorm rooms, and angry grad students.
By the end of this first volume you will know how to brew your own sake, and how different bacteria figure into the fermentation process, so its an informative book as well as entertaining.
The drawings of the different bacteria forms are so cute, I just fell in love with this book and I look forward to volume 2!

[Geoff Sebesta]

This is the best educational manga I've read for a long time. It's a story about a little boy who can see germs with the naked eye, and in all other ways it is a perfectly normal high school manga. There's nothing special about the story in any way at all, it's just a method for transferring microbiology information from the author's head to yours, and it works remarkably well at that.

[Noran Miss Pumkin]

never knew bacteria could be this much fun!

[Tom Ewing]

A manga about life at an agricultural college doesn't sound all that exciting. But throw in the fact that our hero has the bizarre ability to see and communicate with microbes and... well, honestly, it still isn't very exciting. But it is quirky and likeable, with a meandering plot involving a pair of 2nd year slackers obsessed with brewing sake who involve the lead character in their dorky schemes. Ishikawa's art switches easily from simple cartooning to fine linework, and usually lands on a mix of the two with doodled microbes hanging around delicately drawn rooms, meals, lab equipment and so on. The stories are often just an excuse to drop microbial knowledge - after reading Moyasimon you too will be ready to make some unrefined sake! Well, kind of.

[Erika]

ずーっと気になってたシリーズ。
以前本屋でお試し版を試し読みしたけれど、ちゃんと家でゆっくり読める環境の方がやはりちゃんと楽しめるという事に気付いた。

思ってたほど物語物語してないけれど、動物のお医者さん的物語で結構好き。
絵もしっかり描き込まれている系で見ていて面白い。
が、正直登場人物の見分けがつかない場合があって、（綺麗なキャラは性別さえ分からない…）今のところ髪型やキャラの台詞で判別するしかない。
それと、やはり菌の話だからか、一巻読んだあと家の中の拭き掃除をしてしまった…
図書館の本だし、この本にも見えないだけでいっぱい菌付いてるだろうなとか思うと、ちょっと気持ち悪い。

それと、このシリーズ13巻くらいで完結らしいので、多分コロナの頃には連載してなかった。
けれど、コロナ菌も登場するスピンオフとかあったら面白いな、と思ったり。
（主人公達は多分私と同世代だから、もし「主人公達の大学卒業後」の物語だったら、どこかの研究所で働いてるシーンとかになるんだろうな、と思うと想像力が掻き立てられる）

いっぺんに1−3巻借りてきたけれど、いっぺんに読むのはしんどいので、とりあえず1巻だけ。

[Alison]

Despite this cover looking like an American flag, it in fact has nothing to do with America and is actually about a freshman at an agriculture school who has the ability to see bacteria with his own eyes. I found this really charming and will continue to read the 2nd volume. Unfortunately that’s as far as the English translation made it, but I guess the whole thing was turned into an anime so looking forward to watching that.

[Karmen]

It was hilarious. Set in an agricultural college in Japan. Freshman Tadayasu has an interesting talent/gift: he can see germs with the naked eye.

The book is half new freshman, new college and science/food lesson. Funny and informative.

[Arska-täti]

Äärimmäisen outo manga, joka keskuttyy nakteerien ja mikrobien maailmaan. Sarjan päähenkilöllä, Tadayasu Sawakilla on uskomaton kyky nähdö ympärillään olevat mikrobit ja tunnistamaan ne, ja tätä kykyä hyödynnetäänkin sarjassa mitä moninaisimmilla tavoilla.

[Benjamin Uke]

A cute manga about a freshmen college student at an agricultural university, who has a unique ability to see and communicate with bacteria.

[Jessica]

The premise is interesting, but not particularly funny.

[Vesper]

Tre stelle e 1/2

[Jose]

A weird tale about a boy who can see bacteria and his adventures in an agriculture school. Characters could better, we'll see how this goes.

[Peter Parker]

This paperback is very interested.

[Lauren]

As a research scientist working in microbiology and biochemistry I can confirm this book is 100% accurate and 200% adorable ❤️

[Max]

This manga is a real excuse for a giant nerd to tell you all about fermentation with bunch of jokes slipped in for good measure and it rules.

[amy]

かもすぞー！

[Arthur]

this concept is really interesting but its too hard to focus for me on it.

[Graham P]

A uniquely fresh entry into the world of manga - no big titty super-heroines, no supernatural sidekicks, no teenage angst, and no apocalyptic landscapes filling up every frame. What Ishikawa does here is lay down a simple tale of a young man entering an agricultural college right outside of Tokyo. What makes him unique is that he can see bacteria - every type of germ - from the common cold virus to yeast and even e. coli (which propels the book's most memorable scene, thanks to somebody not washing their hands and making a beef curry). It's a strange combo of 'coming-of-age' and scientific lectures, and while not much really happens in the way of action and drama, it is playful, unique and oddly memorable.

[heidi]

This was my first time reading manga, and it took a little to figure out how to read it: left to right, top to bottom, and the fine print is a translation of the writing in the scene, for instance on signs. This is a very fun story of a college freshman who has a superpower - the ability to see microorganisms with his naked eye. A story of fermentation and the role that bacteria and yeast play in the health (and infection) of our lives unfolds. The illustrations are detailed and the story is full of microorganism-fueled adventure.

The story doesn’t really end, though. I need to track down the second volume.

[Venus Maneater]

Like most manga that are heavily centered around an existing theme, Moyashimon is filled to the brim with random trivia.

from Sake to Kiviak, no matter how obscure, Masayuki Ishikawa makes sure you know exactly what part of their creation is made possible by microorganisms.

Don't expect too much of an adventure, their won't be. Don't expect too much humor, either, no slap sticks in this manga!
It's mostly a lot of fun to observe life through Tadayasu's eyes.

[Sesana]

Well, this was different. Moyasimon is set at an agricultural college, and stars a boy who can see (and interact with) microscopic organisms like mold spores and bacteria. Meanwhile, one of the characters (a professor) gives lectures about the nature of these tiny critters that are actually rather fascinating. After reading the first volume of Moyasimon, you will know about traditional sake brewing practices, and have a very good idea of the sort of conversations tiny, adorable yeast have amongst themselves. An odd, yet cute and strangely educational manga.

[Barbi]

When I picked up this book, I thought that the premise sounded really interesting. The protagonist can see germs (and they're very cute). And it started out very promisingly. However, it quickly became an education treatise on different types of germs. Not really my idea of light and fun reading.

[Caleb]

The best college comedy about an agriculture student with the magical ability to see and communicate with germs, which appear to him as cute little Japanese designs, that I've ever read. (Also, the only).

Long-er review and some images here:
http://everydayislikewednesday.blogsp...

[Kristin Fletcher-spear]

while I enjoyed reading it, this manga is text heavy with a lot of explanation of microbes, fermentation, and germs. That part is not really my cup of tea. If the gn had just been a slice of life college freshman story with the ability to see germs, then I would have really enjoyed it. Too bad the professor and his assistant had to ruin the last half of the book for me.