New York Times Touts Wine Manga, Kami no Shizuku

In Tuesday's New York Times, a Japanese manga is featured on the front page... of the dining and wine section. No, it's not about Kitchen Princess, Yakitate Japan or any of the other cooking manga now available in English -- the article is about Kami no Shizuku (Drops of God), a hit seinen manga series about wine and wine-tasting.

While manga is still largely viewed in America as strictly for teens by mainstream readers, Kami no Shizuku is a manga that's getting a lot of buzz from certain circles of grown-up readers, and it's not even available in English... yet. As writer Norimitsu Onishi explains the plot of the series,

At the start of the series, Shizuku has rebelled against his father, a famous wine critic, by refusing to drink wine and working instead for a brewery. Suddenly, though, his father dies and leaves in his will a description of 12 wines he considers the world’s best, comparing them to the disciples of Jesus.

Pitted against his adopted brother, who happens to be a sommelier, Shizuku must catch up in his knowledge so he can find the 12 wines mentioned in his father’s will and inherit his father’s vast cellar.

Onishi then goes on to explain the huge impact that this manga has had on readers and wine-drinkers throughout Asia, and how it's already gained the attention (and racked up healthy sales) in the French market. The article also includes a preview slideshow featuring scenes from Kami no Shizuku.

What makes this article especially interesting is that it profiles Shin and Yuko Kibayashi (a.k.a. Tadashi Agi) wine-loving brother-sister manga-ka team behind this graphic novel phenomena, and talks about how their personal preferences in wine find their way into their stories.

In general, French wines have gotten the most attention in the series. The Kibayashis are unabashed Francophiles who say they do not feel American wines have the Old World’s depth.

“I don’t feel the terroir,” the brother said.

His sister said: “They’re too simple. Wines are like human beings. The first time you meet, instead of being all smiles and wanting to become friends right away, there has to be some formality, some conversation, before gradually becoming close. When you open an American bottle, it’s all big smiles.” It may be fortunate for Americans that there are no plans for an English translation of The Drops of the Gods.

On that point, I disagree -- I heartily hope that some publisher somewhere picks up this Kodansha title for the American market soon.

It just seems like a shame when a genre-busting, water cooler topic-worthy manga for grown-ups gets a lot of buzz -- and it's not even available in English to capitalize on the publicity. Same goes for the Kosaku Shima manga when it was recently featured in The Economist. Here's hoping that this turns around soon, and 2009 will be the year that great manga for grown-ups breaks out in a big way. I can dream, can't I?