Sumire 16 sai!!
Encyclopedia
is a Japan
ese manga
written by Takeru Nagayoshi
. It was serialized in Magazine Special
, published by Kodansha
. A live action adaptation was also aired as a drama series starting April 13, 2008 starring Nako Mizusawa and Takuma Otoo.
, controlled by an old man in black clothes. Sumire's character acts unaware of her puppet nature, or of the old man controlling her movements, although the rest of the cast are very aware that she is a puppet, but they become more or less accustomed to her weird nature.
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese manga
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
written by Takeru Nagayoshi
Takeru Nagayoshi
is a Japanese manga artist. He is notable as the author of the Sumire 16 sai!! series. He debuted on Weekly Shōnen Magazine in 2006 with the manga series Sumire 17 sai!!, then later moved to Magazine Special continuing the series but renaming to Sumire 16 sai!!.-Works:*Sumire 17 sai!! *Sumire 16...
. It was serialized in Magazine Special
Magazine Special
is a Japanese shōnen manga magazine published by Kodansha and first launched in 1983. Its audience demographic is geared toward younger teenage boys, and contents tend to be predominantly sports stories and high school romantic comedy...
, published by Kodansha
Kodansha
, the largest Japanese publisher, produces the manga magazines Nakayoshi, Afternoon, Evening, and Weekly Shonen Magazine, as well as more literary magazines such as Gunzō, Shūkan Gendai, and the Japanese dictionary Nihongo Daijiten. The company has its headquarters in Bunkyō, Tokyo...
. A live action adaptation was also aired as a drama series starting April 13, 2008 starring Nako Mizusawa and Takuma Otoo.
Synopsis
The series chronicles the days of Sumire, a lively 16 year old girl. However, Sumire is not a common girl: she is a life-sized ventriloquist's dummyVentriloquism
Ventriloquism, or ventriloquy, is an act of stagecraft in which a person manipulates his or her voice so that it appears that the voice is coming from elsewhere, usually a puppeteered "dummy"...
, controlled by an old man in black clothes. Sumire's character acts unaware of her puppet nature, or of the old man controlling her movements, although the rest of the cast are very aware that she is a puppet, but they become more or less accustomed to her weird nature.
Characters
- A full-sized puppet, resembling a mannequin, designed to look like a 16 year old girl, with enough points of articulation to assume almost any pose. The puppet has a hole in her back where the puppeteer places his hand to control facial features. Beyond being a puppet, the character that is played through Sumire is that of a supposedly normal schoolgirl. Her character refuses to acknowledge the puppeteer, even when directly asked. She has trouble making friends due to her situation, but her strong will wins over many people. At times, her appearance becomes softer and fewer indications that she is a puppet are visible. In the manga, this is evidenced by fewer joints being drawn; while in the TV drama, her mannequin form is replaced with her actress.
- Sumires puppeteer. An unnamed middle-aged man wearing black clothes, similar to those worn by puppeteers who perform against black screens to remain hidden from the audience. The puppeteer is often attacked by those unfamiliar with Sumire, however the effects of these attacks are ignored by Sumires character, who dismisses them as close calls. Everyone acknowledges the existence of the old man except for Sumire and, seemingly, the school principal. Teachers at the school have learned to ignore him or risk being fired by the principal for badmouthing a student. In the manga the old man does not speak for himself, exclusively using ventriloquism to make Sumire speak. The TV drama shows the old man speaking in unison with Sumire on occasion.
Drama Cast
- Nako Mizusawa as Sumire Yotsuya
- Takuma Otoo as Old Man (Oyaji)
- Kaoru Hirata as Renge Ooyama
- Haru as Akebi Kiryu
- Ami TokitoAmi Tokitois a Japanese pop singer and gravure idol. She made her debut in 2005 Miss Young Jump, winning Tsunku's honorable award.She started acting as a child actor using her former stage names, Sachie Komatsu and Hikaru Asakura....
as Mitsuki Tsukamoto - Porshe Okite as Johnny
- Saki Matsuda as Reiko Yamabuki
- Vincent Giry
- Bebe Hozumi
- Takenori Murano
- Takuya Uehara
- Takahiko Yanagisawa