Toma no Shinzo
Encyclopedia
is a shōjo manga by Moto Hagio
published in 1974. It is an early example of shōnen-ai. It has been adapted into a film and a stage play. In September 2011, Fantagraphics announced that it had been licensed for English release in 2012, as a planned single-volume hardcover omnibus translated by Matt Thorn
.
, Hagio was inspired by Les amitiés particulières
to begin The Heart of Thomas as a work for her own enjoyment, and soon afterwards wrote November Gymnasium as a work to be published. At one point, Hagio considered making the protagonists girls, and drew a few scenes in a sketchbook, but decided that the boys version was "smoother" and less "giggly". When it was serialised, Thomas no Shinzo was unpopular, so Hagio's editors asked her to finish the manga up quickly, but due to the success of Poe no Ichizoku
in the new bound format
, Thomas no Shinzo was allowed to continue.
s, using male speech
. The character in the film analogous to Thomas was renamed Yuu, and the analogue to Eric was renamed Kaoru, a gender-neutral name. The film was subsequently novelised
.
wrote the song "Summer Holiday 1999," which was inspired by Summer Vacation 1999.
considers The Heart of Thomas to be about a "spiritual or mental love", and that Hagio's later work A Savage God Reigns is the "adult version" of The Heart of Thomas. Bill Randall notes Hagio's creation of several shōjo manga conventions such as the use of angelic wings. Midori Matsui interprets the manga in terms of Freudian theory and regards the relationships between the characters as indicating that they live in a "closed oedipal universe as fragmented personae of the narcissistic ego". The film won the awards for Best Director and Best Cinematography at the 10th Yokohama Film Festival
and was named the 8th best film of the year. It was also nominated for the Best Editing Award at the 12th Japan Academy Prize.
Moto Hagio
is a manga artist born on May 12, 1949 in Ōmuta, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan, though she currently lives in Saitama Prefecture. She is considered a "founding mother" of modern shōjo manga, especially shōnen-ai. She is also a member of the Year 24 Group...
published in 1974. It is an early example of shōnen-ai. It has been adapted into a film and a stage play. In September 2011, Fantagraphics announced that it had been licensed for English release in 2012, as a planned single-volume hardcover omnibus translated by Matt Thorn
Matt Thorn
Matt Thorn is a cultural anthropologist and an Associate Professor in the Department of Manga Production at Kyoto Seika University's Faculty of Manga in Japan. He is most well known in North America for his work dealing with shōjo manga. He has appeared at multiple anime conventions, including...
.
Plot
Set in an early 20th century all boys boarding school in Germany. A boy named Thomas commits suicide, and he writes a letter to Juli, who Thomas has an unrequited love for. A transfer student named Eric, arrives, who looks just like Thomas. Eventually Juli comes to terms with his feelings and becomes a priest.Characters
is a thirteen year old boy, he commits suicide at the beginning of the story, leaving a letter for Juli., nicknamed , is older than Thomas. He in fact loved Thomas, but as he had been sexually abused by his upperclassmen, he believed himself unworthy of love and pushed Thomas away. is in the same grade as Juli. He acts like a delinquent, but deep down has a strong sense of responsibility for others. He is one of the few who knows about Juli's past. is a transfer student to the school who looks like Thomas.Development
Although Hagio had previously been exposed to the gay lifestyle magazine BarazokuBarazoku
is Japan's first male gay magazine commercially circulated.There had been a member-only magazine called Adonis and its extra issue Apollo in around 1960. It began publication in July 1971 by Daini Shobō's owner's son and editor , who is not gay....
, Hagio was inspired by Les amitiés particulières
Les amitiés particulières (film)
Les amitiés particulières is a 1964 film adaptation of the Roger Peyrefitte novel Les amitiés particulières directed by Jean Delannoy. It starred Francis Lacombrade as Georges, Didier Haudepin as Alexandre and Michel Bouquet as Père de Trennes. It was released in English as This Special Friendship...
to begin The Heart of Thomas as a work for her own enjoyment, and soon afterwards wrote November Gymnasium as a work to be published. At one point, Hagio considered making the protagonists girls, and drew a few scenes in a sketchbook, but decided that the boys version was "smoother" and less "giggly". When it was serialised, Thomas no Shinzo was unpopular, so Hagio's editors asked her to finish the manga up quickly, but due to the success of Poe no Ichizoku
Poe no Ichizoku
is a Japanese shōjo historical manga by Moto Hagio that depicts a family of vampires from the 18th to the 20th centuries. The two main characters, Edgar Portsnell and Allan Twilight, as well as the family are named after Edgar Allan Poe. It was serialized by Shogakukan in Flower Comics from 1972 to...
in the new bound format
Tankobon
, with a literal meaning close to "independently appearing book", is the Japanese term for a book that is complete in itself and is not part of a series , though the manga industry uses it for volumes which may be in a series...
, Thomas no Shinzo was allowed to continue.
Themes
In an interview, Hagio said that she felt the theme might be "When does a person learn love? When does one awake to love?"Film
The film Summer Vacation 1999 (1999年の夏休み) (released in 1988) was based on The Heart of Thomas, and the parts were played by girls as breeches roleBreeches role
A breeches role is a role in which an actress appears in male clothing .In opera it also refers to any male character that is sung and acted by a female singer...
s, using male speech
Gender differences in spoken Japanese
The Japanese language is unusual among major languages in the high degree to which the speech of women collectively differs from that of men. Differences in the ways that girls and boys use language have been detected in children as young as three years old ....
. The character in the film analogous to Thomas was renamed Yuu, and the analogue to Eric was renamed Kaoru, a gender-neutral name. The film was subsequently novelised
Novelization
A novelization is a novel that is written based on some other media story form rather than as an original work.Novelizations of films usually add background material not found in the original work to flesh out the story, because novels are generally longer than screenplays...
.
Song
In 1992, the musician MomusMomus
Momus or Momos was in Greek mythology the god of satire, mockery, censure, writers, poets; a spirit of evil-spirited blame and unfair criticism. His name is related to , meaning 'blame' or 'censure'. He is depicted in classical art as lifting a mask from his face.-In classical literature:Hesiod...
wrote the song "Summer Holiday 1999," which was inspired by Summer Vacation 1999.
Stage
Studio Life, a Japanese all-male theatre troupe suggested, in approximately 1995, that they stage a production of The Heart of Thomas. As of 2005, it had been staged twice.Reception
Matt ThornMatt Thorn
Matt Thorn is a cultural anthropologist and an Associate Professor in the Department of Manga Production at Kyoto Seika University's Faculty of Manga in Japan. He is most well known in North America for his work dealing with shōjo manga. He has appeared at multiple anime conventions, including...
considers The Heart of Thomas to be about a "spiritual or mental love", and that Hagio's later work A Savage God Reigns is the "adult version" of The Heart of Thomas. Bill Randall notes Hagio's creation of several shōjo manga conventions such as the use of angelic wings. Midori Matsui interprets the manga in terms of Freudian theory and regards the relationships between the characters as indicating that they live in a "closed oedipal universe as fragmented personae of the narcissistic ego". The film won the awards for Best Director and Best Cinematography at the 10th Yokohama Film Festival
Yokohama Film Festival
The is a noticed yearly awards ceremony held in Japan. The festival was started as a small affair by fans and film critics, and first held on February 3, 1980. Ten films are chosen as the best of the year, and various awards are given to personnel...
and was named the 8th best film of the year. It was also nominated for the Best Editing Award at the 12th Japan Academy Prize.