Otsuichi

Otsuichi (乙一, Otsuichi) is the pen name of Hirotaka Adachi (安達 寛高, Adachi Hirotaka), born 1978. He is a Japanese writer, mostly of horror short stories, as well as a filmmaker. He is a member of the Mystery Writers of Japan and the Honkaku Mystery Writers Club of Japan.^[1][2]

He made his debut with Summer, Fireworks and My Corpse while still in high school. Major works include the novel Goth, which was adapted into a comic and a feature film (Goth: Love of Death) and the Zoo short story collections which were also adapted into a feature film. Goth won the 2003 Honkaku Mystery Award.^[3]

Tokyopop has published English-language translations of his short story collection Calling You, the novel Goth and the comic adaptations of both. Another short story, F-Sensei's Pocket, appears in the English edition of the literary magazine Faust.

Works in English translation

• Calling You (original title: Kimi ni shika kikoenai: Kōringu Yū), trans. Agnes Yoshida (TokyoPop, 2007)
  • Calling You
  • Kiz/Kids
  • Flower Song
• Goth (original title: Gosu: Risutokatto jiken), trans. Andrew Cunningham (TokyoPop, 2008 / VIZ Media, 2015)
• Zoo (original title: Zū), trans. Terry Gallagher (VIZ Media, 2009 / Shueisha English Edition, 2013)^[4]
  • Zoo
  • In a Falling Airplane
  • The White House in the Cold Forest
  • Find the Blood!
  • In a Park at Twlilight, a Long Time Ago
  • Wardrobe
  • Song of the Sunny Spot
  • Kazari and Yoko
  • SO-Far
  • Words of God
  • Seven Rooms
• Summer, Fireworks, and My Corpse (original title: Natsu to hanabi to watashi no shitai), trans. Nathan Collins (VIZ Media, 2010)
  • Summer, Fireworks, and My Corpse
  • Yuko
  • Black Fairy Tale
• Summer, Fireworks, and My Corpse (original title: Natsu to hanabi to watashi no shitai), trans. Nathan Collins (Shueisha English Edition, 2013)^[4]
  • Summer, Fireworks, and My Corpse
  • Yuko
• Black Fairy Tale (original title: Ankoku dōwa), trans. Nathan Collins (Shueisha English Edition, 2013)^[4]

Short story

• F-sensei's Pocket (original title: F sensei no poketto), trans. Andrew Cunningham, illustrated by Takeshi Obata (Faust 1, Del Rey, 2008)
• Where the Wind Blows (original title: Mado ni fuku kaze), trans. Andrew Cunningham, illustrated by Takeshi Obata (Faust 2, Del Rey, 2009)
• Firestarter Yukawa (original title: Faiasutātā Yukawa-san), trans. Matt Treyvaud, illustrated by KEI (Kindle Single, 2015) written under the name Eiichi Nakata

Awards and nominations

Japanese Awards

• 1996 - Weekly Shōnen Jump Novel Award: Summer, Fireworks, and My Corpse
• 2003 - Honkaku Mystery Award for Best Fiction: Goth^[3]
• 2004 - Nominee for Yamamoto Shūgorō Prize: Zoo

U.S. Award

• 2009 - Nominee for Shirley Jackson Award for Single-Author Collection: Zoo^[5]

Bibliography

Novels or short story collections

• Summer, Fireworks and My Corpse (Shueisha, 1996: ISBN 4-08-703052-0, Shueisha bunko, 2000: ISBN 4-08-747198-5)
  • Summer, Fireworks and My Corpse
  • Yuko
• Tentei Yōko (Shueisha, 1998: ISBN 4-08-703070-9, Shueisha bunko, 2001: ISBN 4-08-747342-2)
  • A Masked Ball - Or, the appearance and disappearance of the bathroom smoker
  • Tentei Yōko
• Ishi no Me (Shueisha, 2000: ISBN 4-08-702013-4)/Heimen Inu (Shueisha Bunko, 2003: ISBN 4-08-747590-5)
  • Ishi no Me
  • Hajime
  • Blue
  • Heimen Inu
• Shissō Holiday (Kadokawa Sneaker Bunko, 2001: ISBN 4-04-425301-3)
  • Happiness is a Warm Kitty
  • Shissō Holiday
• Calling You (Kadokawa Sneaker Bunko, 2001: ISBN 4-04-425302-1)
  • Calling You^[6]
  • Kiz/Kids^[6]
  • Flower Song
• Ankoku Dowa (Shueisha, 2001: ISBN 4-08-702014-2, Shueisha Bunko, 2004: ISBN 4-08-747695-2)
• Shinizokonai no Ao (Gentosha Bunko, 2001: ISBN 4-344-40163-8)
• Kurai tokoro de machiawase (Gentosha Bunko, 2002: ISBN 4344402146)
• Goth Wristcut Case (Kadokawa Shoten, 2002: ISBN 4-04-873390-7) - the winner of the 3rd Honkaku Mystery Award^[3]
  • Goth
  • Wristcut
  • Dog
  • Twins
  • Grave
  • Voice
• Goth Yoru no Shō (Kadokawa Bunko, 2005: ISBN 4-04-425304-8)
  • Goth
  • Dog
  • Twins
• Goth Boku no Shō (Kadokawa Bunko, 2005: ISBN 4-04-425305-6)
  • Wristcut
  • Grave
  • Voice
• Samishisa no Shūhasū (Kadokawa Sneaker Bunko, 2003: ISBN 4-04-425303-X)
  • Mirai Yoho Ashita, Harereba ii
  • Te o Nigiru dorobō no Monogatari
  • Film no naka no Shōjo
  • Ushinawareta Monogatari
• Zoo (Shueisha, 2003: ISBN 4-08-774534-1)
  • Kazari to Yōko
  • Ketsueki wo Sagase!
  • Hidamari no Shi
  • So-far
  • Tsumetai Mori no Shiroi Ie
  • Closet
  • Kami no Kotoba
  • Zoo
  • Seven Rooms
  • Ochiru hikoki no Naka de
• Zoo 1 (Shueisha Bunko, 2006: ISBN 4-08-746037-1)
  • Kazari to Yōko
  • Seven Rooms
  • So-far
  • Hidamari no Shi
  • Zoo
• Zoo 2 (Shueisha Bunko, 2006: ISBN 4-08-746038-X)
  • Ketsueki wo Sagase!
  • Tsumetai Mori no Shiroi Ie
  • Closet
  • Kami no Kotoba
  • Ochiru Hikoki no Naka de
  • Mukashi Yuhi no Kōen de (Not included in the original edition of Zoo. Originally appeared on Otsuichi's now defunct website.)
• Ushinawareru Monogatari (Kadokawa Shoten, 2003: ISBN 4-04-873500-4, Kadokawa Bunko, 2006: ISBN 4-04-425306-4)
  • Calling You
  • Ushinawareru Monogatari
  • Kiz/Kids
  • Te wo Nigiru Dorobō no Monogatari
  • Happiness is a Warm Kitty
  • Maria no Yubi
  • Boku no Kashikoi Pantsu-kun (Only in bunko edition)
  • Usokano (Only in bunko edition)
• Gun and Chocolate (Kodansha Mystery Land, 2006: ISBN 4-06-270580-X)

Picture book

• Kutsushita o Kakuse! (Kobunsha, 2003: ISBN 4-334-92414-X)

Essays

• Shosei Monogatari (Gentosha, 2004: ISBN 4-344-00655-0)
  • Collection of essays written for the web
• Toruko Nikki ~ Dame Ningen Sakka Trio no Datsuryoku Tabi Nikki~ (Shueisha, 2006: ISBN 4-08-780424-0)
  • Serialized on the web, heavily revised; in tandem with Shinji Sadakane and Makoto Matsubara.

Uncollected Stories

• Ugoku Omocha (Shosetsu Subaru, August 2000)
• Tsuma no Denwa (Shosetsu Subaru, August 2000)
• Kamikakushi (Shosetsu Subaru, August 2000)
• Shufuku sareta Mizu (Da Vinci, November 2002)
• Kaidan (Akumu seigyo Sochi horror anthology, November 2002)
• F-Sensei no Pocket (Faust vol. 2, 2004)
• Kodomo ha Tōku ni Itta (Faust vol. 4, 2004)
• Dare ni mo Tsuzukanai (Faust vol.4, 2004)
  • A relay novel written with Takekuni Kitayama, Yuya Sato, Tatsuhiko Takimoto and Nisio Isin.
• Mado ni fuku Kaze (Faust vol.6 Side-A, 2005)
• Kono ko no e wa Mikansei (Nanatsu no Kuroi Yume, March 2006)
• Utopia (Light novel o kaku!, August 2006)

Manga

• Hajime (Weekly Shonen Jump)
  • Script. Art by Takeshi Obata. Two part short story, appeared in Jump in 2003.
• Misshitsu Kanojo (2006, gekidan, Yukiko Mototani)
  • Planning. Not published, but his plot in script for was distributed at performances.
• Shonen Shojo Horyuki (Shosetsu Subaru)
  • Script. Art by Usamaru Furuya.

Movies

His movie work is often done under his real name.

• Nikako no Hitomi (2002)
  • Directed by Keisaku Sato. Script by Keisaku Sato and Hirotaka Adachi.
• Pool de Oyoda Kaerimichi (2002)
  • 5-minute-long short film. Written and directed by Hirotaka Adachi.
• Rittai Tokyo (2007)
  • Scheduled to be shown at the Yubari Ouen Eigasai. Directed by Hirotaka Adachi.

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure novelization

In 2000, it was announced that Otsuichi would be writing a novel set during the fourth arc of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. The novel proved difficult to complete; in Kono Mystery ga Sugoi 2004, Otsuichi claimed to have written over 2000 pages, but thrown them all out.^[7] Intent on writing a novel that lived up to the manga, it took him until 2007 to complete it.^[8]

• The Book: JoJo's Bizarre Adventure 4th Another Day.

Adaptations

Movies

• Te o nigiru Dorobo no Monogatari (2004)
  • Made for web, released on DVD
• Zoo (2005)
  • Anthology film, covering five of the stories in the Zoo short story collection. Kazari to Yoko, Seven Rooms, So-far, Hidamari no Shi, and Zoo. Hidamari no Shi was animated; each film had a different director.
• Kurai tokoro de Machiawase (2006)
• Calling You (2007)
• Kids (2008)
• Goth (2008)

Manga

• Goth (Monthly Shonen Ace)
• -Kiz/Kids- (Asuka)
• Calling You (Asuka)
  • These two were collected as Calling You and published in English by Tokyopop.
• Kimi ni shika Kikoenai (Shonen Ace)
• Shinizokonai no Ao (Mystery Bst.)
  • Collection from Gentosha comics, collectsion Shinisokonai no ao, Kurai tokoro de Machiawase, and Happiness is a Warm Kitty.
• Zoo (Young Jump Special Mankaku)
  • Collection contains Kazari to Yoko, Kami no Kotoba, Youdamari no Shi, and Zoo.
• Shisso Holiday (Beans Ace)
• Shonen Shojo Hyonikki (Shueisha)
  • Collects the serial from Shosetsu Subaru. The authors name is given as Furuya x Otsuichi x Usamaru

Drama CD

• Calling You (2003, Sneaker CD Collection)

TV Drama

• Shisso Holiday
  • Broadcast from February 10, 2007, on Terebi Asahi

References

1. ↑ "Otsuichi (List of members)" (in Japanese). Mystery Writers of Japan, Inc. Retrieved August 13, 2015. 
2. ↑ "Members of the Honkaku Mystery Writers Club of Japan" (in Japanese). Honkaku Mystery Writers Club of Japan. Retrieved August 13, 2015. 
3. 1 2 3 The Honkaku Mystery Writers Club of Japan
4. 1 2 3 Otsuichi.com | English-language website for works in translation by Japanese author Otsuichi
5. ↑ The Shirley Jackson Awards » 2009 Shirley Jackson Awards Winners
6. 1 2 Yamasaka, Clara. "Calling You". (January 2007) Newtype USA. Volume 6, Number 1, page 136.
7. ↑ @Jojo article: Otsuichi struggling to complete novel
8. ↑ @Jojo article: Otsuichi's novel finally solicited

External links

• Otsuichi.com | English-language website for works in translation by Japanese author Otsuichi
• Twitter
• Otsuichi official site (Japanese)
• Otsuichi approved fan site (Japanese)
• Otsuichi at Hatena Diary (Japanese)
• Profile at J'Lit Books from Japan (English)
• "On The Right Corpse" -(ANN review of Summer, Fireworks, and My Corpse anthology) (English)
• Otsuichi in Media Arts Database (Japanese)