, also known as ''Junko Mizuno's Cinderalla'', is a fantasy-horror
manga
are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...
written and illustrated by
Junko Mizuno. It was published by Koushinsya; later an English version was released by
Viz Media
Viz Media, LLC is an American entertainment company headquartered in San Francisco, California, focused on publishing manga, and distribution and licensing Japanese anime, films, and television series.
The company was founded in 1986 as Viz, ...
in 2002. It is one in a line of her new version on old fairy tales, the others are ''Hansel & Gretel'' and ''Princess Mermaid''. In the English book there is an interview between Izumi Evers and
Junko Mizuno. Andy Nakatani has translated the interview into English.
Plot
An adaptation of the fairy tale "
Cinderella
"Cinderella", or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a Folklore, folk tale with thousands of variants that are told throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsin Press, 1988. The protagonist is a you ...
", ''Cinderalla'' focuses on the eponymous protagonist, who works as a waitress in her father's
yakitori (skewered chicken) restaurant. One day, he dies from overeating, only to rise again during the night as a
zombie
A zombie (Haitian French: ; ; Kikongo: ''zumbi'') is a mythological undead corporeal revenant created through the reanimation of a corpse. In modern popular culture, zombies appear in horror genre works. The term comes from Haitian folkl ...
. Her father remarries, having fallen in love with another zombie, the ceaselessly hungry Caroline. Cinderalla's elder zombie stepsisters, Akko and Aki, only add to her workload. One day, while searching for the bra that she is making for Aki, she falls in love with a male zombie. Later, she and her mouse friend, Setsuko, rescue a starving fairy from some twin boys planning to dissect her. The fairy reveals that she cannot return to her home until she has gained her magical powers, and Cinderalla allows her to stay at her home.
Eventually, Cinderalla learns that the zombie she loves is actually the Prince, a singer with an upcoming performance. Taking on part-time work, Cinderalla saves for her ticket, although she goes to buy it, she finds herself rejected because only zombies are allowed to attend. Disappointed, she returns home and becomes intoxicated with her friends. The fairy transforms her into a zombie, and joyful, Cinderalla leaves to attend the performance. While making his appearance from the ceiling, the Prince accidentally falls onto Cinderalla, causing her to lose consciousness. She awakens in a bed with him beside her, and they make love. Realizing that dawn is approaching, when the spell will wear off, Cinderalla dresses and leaves him, although she loses her right eye when she trips.
While Cinderalla conceals the loss of her eye, the Prince announces his intention to marry the zombie woman whom the eye fits. The zombie women all pluck out one of their eyes, and Akko deceives the prince into believing that she is Cinderalla, although Cinderalla reveals Akko's deception with the help of Setsuko and the fairy, who now possesses all of her magical powers. Transformed into a zombie, Cinderalla marries the Prince. As ''Cinderalla'' concludes, Cinderalla has become successful with her giant fruits grown from yakitori sauce, and her husband does dinner shows at her father's remodeled restaurant. Now a celebrity, the fairy makes frequent television appearances, while Aki marries a reporter and Akko follows foreign idols. Cinderalla also buys a pancake-making machine for Caroline. ''Cinderalla'' also includes three short, related manga: "How Caroline Became a Glutton", which explores her backstory as a stripper; "Papa's Professional Cooking", which details a recipe for the fictitious sauce; and "Of Course We All Know", which focuses on the Prince's backstory in the form of lyrics.
Development and release
After the publication of her first major manga, the
post-apocalyptic
Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction are genres of speculative fiction in which the Earth's (or another planet's) civilization is collapsing or has collapsed. The apocalypse event may be climatic, such as runaway climate change; astronom ...
''
Pure Trance'' (1998),
manga artist
A manga artist, also known as a mangaka (), is a Cartoonist, comic artist who writes and/or illustrates manga.
Most manga artists study at an art college or manga school or take on an apprenticeship with another artist before entering the indus ...
Junko Mizuno wrote and illustrated ''Cinderalla''.
According to Mizuno, her then-current manager, a graphic designer, and an editor had "wanted to make money using
er" and as they thought she had no skill in creating original stories, they had wanted her to make something with a basis in older, pre-existing narratives, such as European fairy tales.
She had been familiar with European fairy tales, which she read often as a child and found scary.
''Cinderalla'' was completed quickly in half a year, with no assistant.
Because she did not own a computer at the time, she was unable to color the manga herself; she later expressed her unhappiness with the coloring done by Koushinsya's designer, who she felt did not adhere to her wishes.
''Cinderalla'' did not appear as a
serial in a magazine,
but instead was directly published as a
bound volume in Japan by Koushinsya in February 2000. Mizuno continued her fairy tale adaptations with ''Hansel and Gretel'' and ''Princess Mermaid''.
Mizuno later obtained the rights to manage the foreign editions of ''Cinderalla''.
In 2001, ''Cinderalla'' was licensed for an English-language translation in North America by
Viz Media
Viz Media, LLC is an American entertainment company headquartered in San Francisco, California, focused on publishing manga, and distribution and licensing Japanese anime, films, and television series.
The company was founded in 1986 as Viz, ...
, who serialized the manga in its adult manga magazine ''
Pulp'' from the May 2001 issue to the July 2002 issue.
Viz Media then released a left-to-right volume of ''Cinderalla'' in July 2002.
Mizuno took an active role in adapting her fairy tales for an English-language audience:
she reversed the manga's original right-to-left art and subsequently redrew some pages.
Envisioning "the feel of a cheap American comic," she recolored the manga with "soft colors" and decided that it should be printed on
pulp paper, in contrast to the "too bright and white" Japanese edition.
''Cinderalla'' has also been translated into French by Imho in 2004, into Portuguese by
Editora Conrad in 2006,
and into Spanish by Imho in 2008.
Reception
''The Greenwood Encyclopedia of Folktales and Fairy Tales'' wrote that ''Cinderalla'' contained irony and
dark humor, and its ending of Cinderalla's forgiveness of her stepsisters was reminiscent of the version written by
Charles Perrault
Charles Perrault ( , , ; 12 January 162816 May 1703) was a French author and member of the Académie Française. He laid the foundations for a new literary genre, the fairy tale, with his works derived from earlier folk tales, published in his ...
.
Fausto Salvadori of the Brazilian newspaper ''
Folha de S.Paulo'' described it as a sarcastic, bizarre and dark humor version of ''Cinderella'' that read like "an episode of ''
The Powerpuff Girls'' written and directed by
Coffin Joe".
[ The dark humor was also highlighted by Rebeca Fernández of the Spanish newspaper '' Público'' who described it as union of Hello Kitty and Chucky.][
]
References
;General
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;Specific
External links
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{{Pulp Manga
2000 manga
Fantasy anime and manga
Horror anime and manga
Viz Media manga
Anime and manga based on fairy tales
Works based on Cinderella
Zombies in anime and manga