Shonen Note

Shonen Note (Japanese: 少年ノート) is a seinen manga series written and illustrated by Yuhki Kamatani. The story follows a boy soprano named Yutaka Aoi as he enters the world of competitive choir and approaches inevitable voice changes due to puberty.

Plot

Yutaka Aoi is a talented boy soprano with an angelic voice and an unusual sensitivity to sounds. Upon starting junior high, he joins his school's choir and develops friendships with various other members as they participate in competitions. He also becomes involved with his community's local opera. However, he must face the transient nature of his gift as soon puberty will deepen his voice. As the school year goes by, he crosses paths with a famous Russian boy soprano who is already losing his high singing voice, and Yutaka's fellow choir members also face their own challenges.

Characters

Yutaka Aoi: A first-year student with the rare gift of singing soprano. He occasionally becomes overwhelmed by noise.

Akitoshi Betsuyaku: Third-year student, captain of the school choir, and pianist. A serious boy who sometimes clashes with others.

Midori Machiya: Second-year student and vice captain of the school choir. Others consider her mysterious. She also participates in opera with Yutaka.

Tomoya Tomo: Yutaka's friend and fellow first-year on the choir. He is unusually tall and often mistaken to be older than he is.

Mariko Ise: Another first-year on the choir. She is shy and has a hard time speaking up.

Vladimir Ilyich Popov: A Russian boy soprano who is known around the world. He is struggling with his changing voice.

Natsumi Mito: A choir member who admires Machiya and is coming to terms with who they are.

Minoru Aoi: Yutaka's older sibling and a former soprano. Currently a free-spirited wanderer who plays flute.

Publication

Shonen Note was serialized in Kodansha's Morning Two magazine from November 2010 to March 2014 and was collected in eight volumes.[1] The Japanese version is subtitled "Days of Evanescence." The story was developed from Kamatani's oneshot Octave (オクターブ) which was published in Morning Two in 2010; this pilot chapter is included in the seventh bound volume.[2]

Kodansha USA licensed the series under the title Shonen Note: Boy Soprano for an English-language release beginning in Fall 2022.[3]

Reception

Shonen Note was a Jury Selection for the 17th Japan Media Arts Festival in 2013; they described it as a work that "portrays the harmony of the passing days of life at school, in which boys and girls share both their joys and conflicts."[4]

References
  1. "少年ノートのコミックス - モーニング公式サイト - モアイ". morning.moae.jp. Retrieved 2021-11-22.
  2. "少年ノート（７）". ブックライブ (in Japanese). Retrieved 2021-11-22.
  3. "https://twitter.com/kodanshamanga/status/1462479326457122817". Twitter. Retrieved 2021-11-22. External link in |title= (help)
  4. Archive, Japan Media Arts Festival. "Shonen Note (The Boy's Note) | Jury Selections | Manga Division | 2013 [17th]". Japan Media Arts Festival Archive. Retrieved 2021-11-22.

Official Website (Japanese)

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