Houseki no Kuni

Houseki no Kuni
宝石の国
Genre	Fantasy, slice of life
Manga
Written by	Haruko Ichikawa
Published by	Kodansha
Demographic	Seinen
Magazine	Monthly Afternoon
Original run	2012 – present
Volumes	5

Houseki no Kuni (Japanese: 宝石の国, lit. "Country of Jewels") is a Japanese slice of life fantasy seinen manga series written and illustrated by Haruko Ichikawa, starting in 2012. It is published by Kodansha on Monthly Afternoon magazine and five volumes compiling the chapters have been released so far.^[1] Set in a world inhabited by "jewel people," it follows the character Phosphophyllite (based on the stone) as he tries to find his place and defend his way of life. An anime promotional video was released on July 2013.^[2]

Story

In a place inhabited by jewels that take the form of people, Phosphophyllite (Phos) is weak (with one of the lowest hardnesses) and considered useless by his peers. He receives an assignment to create an encyclopedia, which begins a journey of self-improvement.

Volumes

• 1 (July 23, 2013)^[3]
• 2 (January 23, 2014)^[4]
• 3 (August 22, 2014)^[5]
• 4 (May 22, 2015)^[6]
• 5 (November 20, 2015)^[7]

Reception

Volume 1 reached the 47th place on the weekly Oricon manga chart and, as of July 27, 2013, has sold 21,204 copies;^[8] volume 2 reached the 35th place^[9] and, as of February 2, 2014, has sold 44,511 copies;^[10] volume 3 reached the 30th place^[11] and, as of August 31, 2014, has sold 56,765 copies.^[12]

It was number 10 on the 2014 Kono Manga ga Sugoi! Top 20 Manga for Male Readers survey.^[13] It was number 48 on the 15th Book of the Year list by Da Vinci magazine in 2014.^[14] It was nominated for the eight Manga Taishō in 2015.^[15]

References

1. "Hôseki no Kuni vo". manga-news.com (in French). Retrieved January 21, 2015.
2. "Anime Promo Video for Haruko Ichikawa's Hōseki no Kuni Manga Streamed". Anime News Network. July 19, 2013. Retrieved January 21, 2015.
3. "Hôseki no Kuni jp Vol.1". manga-news.com (in French). Retrieved January 20, 2015.
4. "Hôseki no Kuni jp Vol.2". manga-news.com (in French). Retrieved January 20, 2015.
5. "Hôseki no Kuni jp Vol.3". manga-news.com (in French). Retrieved January 20, 2015.
6. "Hôseki no Kuni jp Vol.4". manga-news.com (in French). Retrieved October 19, 2015.
7. "Hôseki no Kuni jp Vol.5". manga-news.com (in French). Retrieved October 19, 2015.
8. "Japanese Comic Ranking, July 22-28". Anime News Network. August 1, 2013. Retrieved January 21, 2015.
9. "Japanese Comic Ranking, January 20-26". Anime News Network. January 31, 2014. Retrieved January 21, 2015.
10. "Japanese Comic Ranking, January 27-February 2". Anime News Network. February 5, 2014. Retrieved January 21, 2015.
11. "Japanese Comic Ranking, August 18-24". Anime News Network. August 27, 2014. Retrieved January 21, 2015.
12. "Japanese Comic Ranking, August 25-31". Anime News Network. September 3, 2014. Retrieved January 21, 2015.
13. "Top Manga Ranked by Kono Manga ga Sugoi 2014 Voters". Anime News Network. December 9, 2013. Retrieved January 21, 2015.
14. "Attack on Titan Tops Da Vinci Magazine's Ranking for 2nd Year". Anime News Network. December 8, 2014. Retrieved January 21, 2015.
15. "8th Manga Taisho Awards Nominates 14 Titles". Anime News Network. 2015-01-18. Retrieved 2015-01-19.

External links

• Official site (Japanese)
• NicoNicoPedia page (Japanese)