Afro Tanaka

Afro Tanaka (Japanese: アフロ田中, Hepburn: Afuro Tanaka) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Masaharu Noritsuke [ja]. It follows a 24-year-old Afro-haired young man named Hiroshi Tanaka who falls in love for the first time. It has been serialized in Shogakukan's seinen manga magazine Big Comic Spirits since 2001, spawning six series. A live action film adaptation premiered in February 2012.

Afro Tanaka
Cover of Kōkō Afro Tanaka volume 1
アフロ田中 (Afuro Tanaka)
Genre	Comedy[1]
Manga
Written by	Masaharu Noritsuke [ja]
Published by	Shogakukan
Magazine	Big Comic Spirits
Original run	December 3, 2001 – present
Volumes	64
Series titles
Kōkō Afro Tanaka (2001–2004, 10 volumes) Chūtai Afro Tanaka (2004–2007, 10 volumes) Jōkyō Afro Tanaka (2007–2010, 10 volumes) Sasurai Afro Tanaka (2010–2013, 10 volumes) Shiawase Afro Tanaka (2015–2018, 10 volumes) Kekkon Afro Tanaka (2018–2021, 10 volumes) My Home Afro Tanaka (2022–present, 4 volumes)
Live-action film
Directed by	Daigo Matsui
Written by	Masafumi Nishida
Released	February 18, 2012 (2012-02-18)
Runtime	114 minutes

Media

Manga

The Afro Tanaka series, written and illustrated by Masaharu Noritsuke [ja], has been serialized in Shogakukan's seinen manga magazine Big Comic Spirits since December 3, 2001.^[a] It has been divided into seven parts:

• Kōkō Afro Tanaka (高校アフロ田中, Kōkō Afuro Tanaka; lit. "High School Afro Tanaka") (2001–2004, 10 volumes)^[4][5]
• Chūtai Afro Tanaka (中退アフロ田中, Chūtai Afuro Tanaka; lit. "Dropout Afro Tanaka") (2004–2007, 10 volumes)^[6][7]
• Jōkyō Afro Tanaka (上京アフロ田中, Jōkyō Afuro Tanaka; lit. "Tokyo-Bound Afro Tanaka") (2007–2010, 10 volumes)^[8][9]
• Sasurai Afro Tanaka (さすらいアフロ田中, Sasurai Afuro Tanaka; lit. "Wandering Afro Tanaka") (2010–2013,^[1] 10 volumes)^[10][11]
• Shiawase Afro Tanaka (しあわせアフロ田中, Shiawase Afuro Tanaka; lit. "Happy Afro Tanaka") (2015–2018, 10 volumes)^[12][13]
• Kekkon Afro Tanaka (結婚アフロ田中, Kekkon Afuro Tanaka; lit. "Marriage Afro Tanaka") (2018–2021,^[14][15] 10 volumes)^[16][17]
• My Home Afro Tanaka (マイホーム アフロ田中, Mai Hōmu Afuro Tanaka) (2022–present;^[18] 4 volumes)^[19][20]

Film

A film directed by Daigo Matsui,^[21] based on Jōkyō Afro Tanaka story^[1] was released on February 18, 2012, by Showgate.^[22] The theme song of the film is "Yoru wo Koete" by Tsuru.^[23] Afro Tanaka was released in DVD and Blu-ray by Happinet on August 2, 2012.^[24] The film also spawned a spin-off, a 10-episodes mini-drama entitled Hōkago Afro Tanaka.^[25]

Reception

The Afro Tanaka manga has sold 3.6 million units in Japan by May 2013.^[1] In 2008, the third manga series, Jōkyō Afro Tanaka, was nominated in the manga category at the 12th Japan Media Arts Festival Awards.^[26] The film debuted at number 10 in Japanese theaters. Afro Tanaka grossed over $1.8 million in Japan.^[22]

Notes

1. It started in the magazine's first issue of 2002^[2] (released on December 3, 2001).^[3]