Tears of a Lamb

Tears of A Lamb (ひつじの涙, Hitsuji no Namida) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Banri Hidaka. It was originally serialized in Hana to Yume in 2001, with the individual chapters collected and published in seven tankōbon volumes by Hakusensha. The story focuses on Kei Hasumi, an anorexic teenager girl in love with her brother's friend Kakeru Suwa, who lost his memory. Kei searches for the ring he'd given his girlfriend to try to help him recover his memory. She is aided by Kyosuke Kanzaki, a classmate who is in love with her, who lives in an apartment where Kei believes the ring may be.

Tears of a Lamb
ひつじの涙
(Hitsuji no Namida)
GenreRomantic comedy
Manga
Written byBanri Hidaka
Published byHakusensha
English publisher
MagazineHana to Yume
DemographicShōjo
Original runSeptember 5, 2001 – November 5, 2003
Volumes7

It is licensed for English language release in North America by CMX, which released the first volume in January 2008.

Media

Manga

Written and illustrated by Banri Hidaka, Tears of a Lamb premiered in the 19th issue of Hana to Yume in 2001, where it ran until its conclusion in the 23rd issue 2003.[1] The forty-two unnamed chapters were collected and published in seven tankōbon by Hakusensha from April 2002 until March 2004.[2] The series is licensed for English-language release in North America by CMX Manga, which released the first volume in January 2008.[3]

Volume list
No. Original release date Original ISBN English release date English ISBN
1 April 19, 2002[4]4592175824 [4]January 1, 2008[5]9781401215194 [5]
  • Chapters 1–6
2 August 19, 2002[6]4592175832 [6]January 1, 2008[7]9781401215200 [7]
  • Chapters 7-12
3 December 16, 2002[8]4592175840 [8]August 5, 2008[9]9781401215217 [9]
  • Chapters 13–18
4 May 19, 2003[10]4592175859 [10]November 18, 2008[11]9781401215224 [11]
  • Chapters 19–24
5 August 19, 2003[12]4592175867 [12]March 24, 2009[13]9781401215231 [13]
  • Chapters 25-30
6 December 16, 2003[14]4592175875 [14]August 11, 2009—
  • Chapters 31-35
7 March 19, 2004[15]4592175883 [14]January 12, 2010—
  • Chapters 37-42

Drama CD

Two drama CDs from the series were released non-commercially for the series. The first was released with the 4th issue of Hana to Yume in 2004, as a promotional item which contained tracks for other series from the magazine as well. The second was available only via mail-in and contained a booklet with the character introduction and comments of the author regarding the characters. There is also a scenario booklet that contains the script of the tracks in the CD. Both CDs featured the voices of Yukari Tamura as Kei Hasumi and Kentarō Itō as Kyosuke Kanzaki.

Illustration collection

A joint illustrated collection of Banri Hidaka's 2 works, Sekai de Ichiban Daikirai and Tears of a Lamb was released on March 17, 2004.[16]

Reception

Pop Culture Shock's Katherine Dacey criticises the manga, saying, "Comedic moments bump up against revelations of anorexia, broken homes, and broken engagements, making for a very choppy read. The few scenes in which characters break the fourth wall to crack jokes are especially distracting, coming on the heels of serious revelations about Hasumi’s mental health."[17] Pop Culture Shock's Michelle Smith commends the manga for "Kanzaki’s consideration of Kei is shown through his actions rather than told in mere words. The best scenes are when they are engaged in heartfelt conversation" as well as its cute art, saying, "I love the fleecy lambs sprinkled throughout". However, she criticises the manga for "the continual reliance on violence as a source of humor."[18] In a review of volume one, Clara Yamasaka wrote in Newtype USA "Later volumes may bring more insight into the troubles that have damaged these two teens' psyches, but if you have real world troubles of your own, you might feel more like slapping these characters upside the head instead of reading subsequent volumes."[19] Jason Thompson described the author's manga in general as being "basically romantic character sketches", noting that the major difference in Tears of a Lamb was that it started "disorientedly in the middle of things". He found the problems faced by the characters seemed "merely gimmicky".[20]

References
  1. コミックホームズ - 日高万里 (in Japanese). Comic Holmes. Retrieved 2009-08-21.
  2. "s-book.net Library Service - ひつじの涙" (in Japanese). s-book.net, Hakusensha. Retrieved 2009-08-21.
  3. "CMX Licenses New Manga - Anime News Network". Anime News Network. Retrieved 2009-08-21.
  4. "s-book.net Library Service - ひつじの涙 1" [Hitsuji no Namida volume 1] (in Japanese). s-book.net, Hakusensha. Retrieved August 21, 2009.
  5. Amazon.com: Tears of a Lamb: Volume 1 (9781401215194): Banri Hidaka: Books. Amazon. ISBN 140121519X.
  6. "s-book.net Library Service - ひつじの涙 2" [Hitsuji no Namida volume 2] (in Japanese). s-book.net, Hakusensha. Retrieved August 21, 2009.
  7. Amazon.com: Tears of a Lamb: Volume 2 (9781401215200): Banri Hidaka: Books. Amazon. ISBN 1401215203.
  8. "s-book.net Library Service - ひつじの涙 3" [Hitsuji no Namida volume 3] (in Japanese). s-book.net, Hakusensha. Retrieved August 21, 2009.
  9. Amazon.com: Tears of a Lamb VOL 03 (9781401215217): Banri Hidaka: Books. Amazon. ISBN 1401215211.
  10. "s-book.net Library Service - ひつじの涙 4" [Hitsuji no Namida volume 4] (in Japanese). s-book.net, Hakusensha. Retrieved August 21, 2009.
  11. Amazon.com: Tears of a Lamb Vol. 4 (9781401215224): Banri Hidaka: Books. Amazon. ISBN 140121522X.
  12. "s-book.net Library Service - ひつじの涙 5" [Hitsuji no Namida volume 5] (in Japanese). s-book.net, Hakusensha. Retrieved August 21, 2009.
  13. Amazon.com: Tears of a Lamb Vol. 5 (9781401215231): Banri Hidaka: Books. Amazon. ISBN 1401215238.
  14. "s-book.net Library Service - ひつじの涙 6" [Hitsuji no Namida volume 6] (in Japanese). s-book.net, Hakusensha. Retrieved August 21, 2009.
  15. "s-book.net Library Service - ひつじの涙 7" [Hitsuji no Namida volume 7] (in Japanese). s-book.net, Hakusensha. Retrieved August 21, 2009.
  16. 日高万里画集「ひつじの涙／世界でいちばん大嫌い」 (in Japanese). s-book.net, Hakusensha. Retrieved 2009-08-21.
  17. Dacey, Katherine (January 14, 2008). "Tears of a Lamb, Vol. 1". Pop Culture Shock. Archived from the original on 2010-07-01. Retrieved 2009-07-29.
  18. Smith, Michelle (July 31, 2008). "Tears of a Lamb, Vol. 3". Pop Culture Shock. Archived from the original on 2010-07-03. Retrieved 2009-07-29.
  19. Yamasaka, Clara (January 2008). "Tears of a Lamb". Newtype USA. Vol. 7 no. 1. p. 105. ISSN 1541-4817.
  20. Thompson, Jason (2010-06-24). "365 Days of Manga, Day 268: Tears of a Lamb - Suvudu - Science Fiction and Fantasy Books, Movies, and Games". Suvudu. Retrieved 2010-07-02.
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