Act-Age

Act-Age (Japanese: アクタージュ act-age, Hepburn: Akutāju) is a Japanese manga series written by Tatsuya Matsuki and illustrated by Shiro Usazaki. It was serialized in Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump from January 2018 to August 2020, with its chapters collected into 12 tankōbon volumes as of July 2020.

Act-Age
Cover of the first manga volume of Act-Age, as published in Japan by Shueisha.
アクタージュ
GenreDrama[1]
Manga
Written byTatsuya Matsuki
Illustrated byShiro Usazaki
Published byShueisha
English publisher
ImprintJump Comics
MagazineWeekly Shōnen Jump
English magazine
DemographicShōnen
Original runJanuary 22, 2018 – August 11, 2020
Volumes12

Viz Media published the first three chapters for its "Jump Start" initiative and then began to simulpublished the series in December 2018 after a restructuring of the English Shonen Jump. Shueisha has also published the series in English on Manga Plus starting in January 2019.

Plot

The story focuses on Kei Yonagi, a high school girl who strives to become an actress. She lives with her two younger siblings, after their father left them and their mother died. Kei has an extreme talent for method acting, to the point where she loses track of reality while acting. At an audition, some speculate that acting of this intensity could be self-destructive, and cite that as a reason for not accepting her. However, Kei catches the eye of the highly acclaimed director Sumiji Kuroyama, who steps forward with the intent of bringing out her full potential.

Characters
Kei Yonagi (夜凪 景, Yonagi Kei)
A gorgeous high school girl who finds herself raising her younger siblings, Rui and Rei, on her own, after their father left them and their mother died. She has an innate talent for method acting, in which she uses memories from her own past to fully get into the role. However, her approach is extremely immersive, to the point where she gets lost in the role and becomes unable to distinguish fiction and reality.
Sumiji Kuroyama (黒山 墨字, Kuroyama Sumiji)
He is a director and the founder of Studio Daikokuten. He is famous overseas for his awards in various film festivals, but he is not as well known in Japan.
Yuki Hiiragi (柊 雪, Hiiragi Yuki)
She is an assistant director and filmmaker at Studio Daikokuten who works with Kuroyama. She is also a production manager and a talent manager for the studio.
Chiyoko Momoshiro (百城 千世子, Momoshiro Chiyoko)
Nicknamed "the Angel", she is a famous actor from the Stars Agency.
Arisa Hoshi (星 アリサ, Hoshi Arisa)
She is the founder and CEO of the Stars Agency.
Akira Hoshi (星 アキラ, Hoshi Akira)
He is an actor from the Stars Agency and the son of Arisa Hoshi.
Araya Myojin (明神 阿良也, Myojin Araya)
An incredibly skilled stage play actor.

Media

Manga

Act-Age is written by Tatsuya Matsuki and illustrated by Shiro Usazaki. It was serialized in Weekly Shōnen Jump from January 22, 2018 to August 11, 2020.[2][3] The individual chapters are collected and published by Shueisha. The first volume was published on May 2, 2018.[4] In April 2020, volume 11 was delayed for two weeks due to COVID-19 concerns.[5] As of July 3, 2020, twelve tankōbon volumes have been released.[6]

On August 8, 2020, it was reported that Matsuki was arrested for allegedly approaching and inappropriately touching two female middle school students in June of the same year.[7][8] Editors from Weekly Shōnen Jump stated that they would be taking the matter seriously.[9] It was later announced that the series would immediately end publication, with the chapter released on August 11, 2020 being the last.[3]

Viz Media published the first three chapters for its "Jump Start" initiative and then began to simulpublish the series in December 2018 after a restructuring of the English Shonen Jump. Shueisha also simulpublished in English the series on the app and website Manga Plus starting in January 2019.[10][11] Following Matsuki's arrest in August 2020, Viz Media and Manga Plus decided to not publish the series' final chapter on their platforms.[3][12] In October 2019, Viz Media announced the print release of the manga in summer 2020.[13] The first volume was released on July 7, 2020.[14] Following Matsuki's arrest, Viz Media removed its listing of further compiled book volumes of the manga.[12]

Volume list
No.Japanese release dateJapanese ISBNEnglish release dateEnglish ISBN
1 May 2, 2018[4]978-4-08-881483-4July 7, 2020[14]978-1-9747-0996-0
  1. "Kei Yonagi"
  2. "First Job"
  3. "Stage 2"
  4. "Townperson A"
  1. "An Unknown Me"
  2. "Angel of Stars"
  3. "Audition"
2 July 4, 2018[15]978-4-08-881509-1September 1, 2020 (canceled)[16]978-1-9747-0997-7
  1. "Audition (Part 2)"
  2. "Audition (Part 3)"
  3. "Meet and Greet"
  4. "Meet and Greet (Part 2)"
  5. "Roll Camera!"
  1. "Yonagi Self-Monitors"
  2. "Transformation"
  3. "Chiyoko's Mask"
  4. "Friends"
3 August 3, 2018[17]978-4-08-881583-1November 3, 2020 (canceled)[18]978-1-9747-0998-4
  1. "Their First Scene Together"
  2. "Pillow Fight"
  3. "Storm"
  4. "Karen and Keiko"
  5. "In Profile"
  1. "Thank You"
  2. "Fireworks"
  3. "Encounter"
  4. "Araya Myoujin"
4 November 2, 2018[19]978-4-08-881657-9January 5, 2021 (canceled)[20]978-1-9747-1545-9
  1. "Resolve"
  2. "Assignment"
  3. "A New Member"
  4. "Puppet Show"
  5. "Read-Through"
  1. "How Araya Makes a Role"
  2. "My Campanella"
  3. "Nightscape"
  4. "Acting Instructions"
5 February 4, 2019[21]978-4-08-881694-4March 2, 2021 (canceled)[22]978-1-9747-1557-2
  1. "Secret"
  2. "Yuujirou Iwao"
  3. "Chaos"
  4. "The Curtains Rise"
  5. "Crack"
  1. "The Galactic Railroad"
  2. "A New Star"
  3. "Akira Hoshi"
  4. "A Proper Play"
6 May 2, 2019[23]978-4-08-881795-8——
  1. "In My Words"
  2. "Interlude"
  3. "Flashback"
  4. "Araya's Acting"
  5. "Goodbye"
  1. "Araya and Iwao"
  2. "Araya and Iwao (Part 2)"
  3. "How to Stand"
  4. "Curtain Call"
7 July 4, 2019[24]978-4-08-881878-8——
  1. "Funeral"
  2. "Tragic Heroine"
  3. "Normal"
  4. "The Girl at the Next Desk Over"
  5. "The Observer"
  1. "Celebrity"
  2. "You in April"
  3. "Festival Day"
  4. "That Kind of Normal"
8 September 4, 2019[25]978-4-08-882051-4——
  1. "Shinjuku"
  2. "Good Proposal"
  3. "Deceleration of War"
  4. "Encounter"
  5. "Arisa's Condition"
  1. "Top Quality Meat"
  2. "Transformation"
  3. "Three Days"
  4. "The Outside"
9 December 4, 2019[26]978-4-08-882103-0——
  1. "Day Two"
  2. "Effort"
  3. "Aura"
  4. "Supporting Role"
  5. "Hanako's Picture"
  1. "Change of Victory"
  2. "Swordplay"
  3. "Yonagi's Father"
  4. "Press Conferance"
10 February 4, 2020[27]978-4-08-882205-1——
  1. "Fourteen Days Left"
  2. "Side A"
  3. "Confession"
  4. "The Important Thing"
  5. "Hero"
  1. "The Opening Battle"
  2. "Desperation"
  3. "Expiration Date"
  4. "How I'm Defined"
11 May 13, 2020[28]978-4-08-882284-6——
  1. "In the Ocean"
  2. "Mirror"
  3. "For Yonagi"
  4. "Reckless"
  5. "Strong Current"
  1. "Flame"
  2. "Identity"
  3. "Limit"
  4. "Reach"
  5. "Wind"
12 July 3, 2020[6]978-4-08-882351-5——
  1. "Winner"
  2. "Road Show"
  3. "GO"
  4. "Goal"
  5. "Weapon"
  1. "Trigger"
  2. "Side B"
  3. "Competition"
  4. "After-Party"

Chapters not in tankōbon format

These chapters have not been published in a tankōbon volume. They were originally serialized in Japanese in issues of Weekly Shōnen Jump from April to August 2020.

  1. "Star"
  2. "TV Commercial"
  3. "Advertisement"
  4. "The Real Thing"
  5. "Fame"
  6. "Ultimate Actor's Dream"
  7. "Ultimate Actor's Dream (Part 2)"
  8. "Guaranteed Pass"
  9. "More"
  10. "Steal"
  11. "Den of Ogres"
  12. "Actresses"
  13. "Living Together"
  14. "Another Step"
  15. "Greeting"
  16. "Poison"

Stage play

In June 2020, it was announced the manga would receive a stage play adaptation in 2022 titled Act-Age: Night on the Galactic Railroad (アクタージュ act-age～銀河鉄道の夜～). The play would be produced by Horipro, and directed and written by Shū Matsui. A "remote audition" for the role of the protagonist Kei Yonagi would be held across Japan.[29][30] On August 11, 2020, after Tatsuya Matsuki's arrest and the manga cancellation, Horipro announced the cancellation of the stage play.[31][32][33]

Reception

The manga was ranked 3rd in Honya Club's Nationwide Bookstore Employees' Recommended Comics of 2018, a survey that collected results from 1,100 professional bookstore employees in Japan.[34] Volume 5 of the manga ranked 13th on Oricon's weekly manga rankings chart, with 52 thousand copies sold.[35] As of February 2019, the series had 750,000 copies in print.[36] The series ranked #6 in a poll conducted by AnimeJapan of "Most Wanted Anime Adaptation".[37]

The series ranked 3rd on the "Nationwide Bookstore Employees' Recommended Comics of 2018".[38] In April 2019, it was nominated for Best Shōnen Manga at the 43nd annual Kodansha Manga Awards.[39]

In December 2019, Brutus magazine listed Act-Age on their "Most Dangerous Manga" list, which included works with the most "stimulating" and thought-provoking themes.[40]

References
  1. "The Official Website for ACT-AGE". Viz Media. Retrieved May 8, 2020.
  2. Hodkins, Crystalyn (December 3, 2017). "Weekly Shonen Jump Magazine to Launch 2 New Manga in January". Anime News Network. Retrieved December 24, 2018.
  3. Hodgkins, Crystalyn (August 10, 2020). "Shueisha Cancels Publication of act-age Manga". Anime News Network. Retrieved August 10, 2020.
  4. アクタージュ act-age 1 (in Japanese). Shueisha. Retrieved December 29, 2018.
  5. Sherman, Jennifer (April 9, 2020). "Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, Other Jump Manga Delay New Volumes Due to COVID-19 Coronavirus Concerns". Anime News Network. Retrieved April 9, 2020.
  6. アクタージュ act-age 12 (in Japanese). Shueisha. Retrieved July 6, 2020.
  7. Hodgkins, Crystalyn (August 8, 2020). "NHK: act-age Story Writer Tatsuya Matsuki Arrested on Suspicion of Committing Indecent Act with Minor (Update 2)". Anime News Network. Retrieved August 8, 2020.
  8. 少年ジャンプ漫画の原作者逮捕 女子中学生にわいせつ行為疑い. NHK (in Japanese). August 8, 2020. Archived from the original on August 9, 2020. Retrieved August 9, 2020.
  9. 編集部よりお知らせ. shonenjump.com/j (in Japanese). Shueisha. August 8, 2020. Archived from the original on August 8, 2020. Retrieved August 8, 2020.
  10. Ressler, Karen (December 10, 2018). "Viz's Shonen Jump Adds Haikyu!!, Demon Slayer, More to Simulpublishing Lineup". Anime News Network. Retrieved December 24, 2018.
  11. Rafael Antonio Pineda (January 27, 2019). "Shueisha Launches Free Global MANGA Plus Service". Anime News Network. Retrieved May 23, 2019.
  12. Pineda, Rafael Antonio (August 12, 2020). "Viz Media Cancels Publication of act-age Manga's Last Chapter". Anime News Network. Retrieved August 12, 2020.
  13. Rafael Antonio Pineda (October 4, 2019). "Viz Licenses New Bleach, Naruto, One Piece Novels". Anime News Network. Retrieved October 4, 2019.
  14. "Act-Age, Vol. 1". Viz Media. Archived from the original on August 8, 2020. Retrieved April 24, 2020.
  15. アクタージュ act-age 2 (in Japanese). Shueisha. Retrieved December 29, 2018.
  16. "Act-Age, Vol. 2". Viz Media. Archived from the original on August 8, 2020. Retrieved July 8, 2020.
  17. アクタージュ act-age 3 (in Japanese). Shueisha. Retrieved December 29, 2018.
  18. "Act-Age, Vol. 3". Viz Media. Archived from the original on August 8, 2020. Retrieved May 3, 2020.
  19. アクタージュ act-age 4 (in Japanese). Shueisha. Retrieved December 29, 2018.
  20. "Act-Age, Vol. 4". Amazon. Viz Media. Archived from the original on August 13, 2020. Retrieved August 10, 2020.
  21. アクタージュ act-age 5 (in Japanese). Shueisha. Retrieved December 29, 2018.
  22. "Act-Age, Vol. 5". Amazon. Viz Media. Archived from the original on August 12, 2020. Retrieved August 10, 2020.
  23. アクタージュ act-age 6 (in Japanese). Shueisha. Retrieved May 5, 2019.
  24. アクタージュ act-age 7 (in Japanese). Shueisha. Retrieved August 19, 2019.
  25. アクタージュ act-age 8 (in Japanese). Shueisha. Retrieved August 19, 2019.
  26. アクタージュ act-age 9 (in Japanese). Shueisha. Retrieved November 29, 2019.
  27. アクタージュ act-age 10 (in Japanese). Shueisha. Retrieved April 5, 2020.
  28. アクタージュ act-age 11 (in Japanese). Shueisha. Retrieved April 5, 2020.
  29. Crystalyn Hodgkins (May 31, 2020). "act-age Manga Gets Stage Play in 2022". Anime News Network. Retrieved July 27, 2020.
  30. アクタージュ act-age：「ジャンプ」人気マンガが舞台化　ヒロイン夜凪景役のオーディション開催. MANTAN-WEB. June 1, 2020. Archived from the original on July 7, 2020. Retrieved August 11, 2020.
  31. 舞台「アクタージュ act-age ～銀河鉄道の夜～」ならびに ヒロイン「夜凪景」役 オーディション中止のお知らせ. HoriPro International. August 11, 2020. Retrieved August 11, 2020.
  32. Harding, Daryl. "Act-Age Stage Play, Night on the Galactic Railroad, Has Been Canceled in Light of the Arrest of Manga Writer". Crunchyroll News. Retrieved August 11, 2020.
  33. Loo, Egan (August 11, 2020). "act-age Stage Play Canceled After Manga Writer Tatsuya Matsuki's Arrest". Anime News Network. Retrieved August 11, 2020.
  34. Karen Ressier (February 4, 2019). "Japan's Bookstore Employees Rank Top Manga of 2018". Anime News Network. Retrieved February 23, 2019.
  35. Egan Loo (February 14, 2019). "Japanese Comic Ranking, February 4-10". Anime News Network. Retrieved February 23, 2019.
  36. Sherman, J.; Ressler, K.; Sherman, C. (March 3, 2019). "Roundup of Newly Revealed Print Counts for Manga, Light Novel Series - February 2019 (Updated)". Anime News Network. Retrieved November 25, 2019.
  37. Loveridge, Lynzee (March 24, 2020). "180,000 Manga Readers Vote for Their Most Wanted Anime Adaptation". Anime News Network. Retrieved March 25, 2020.
  38. Ressler, Karen (February 4, 2019). "Japan's Bookstore Employees Rank Top Manga of 2018". Anime News Network. Retrieved May 19, 2020.
  39. Pineda, Rafael Antonio. "43rd Annual Kodansha Manga Awards' Nominees Announced". Anime News Network. Retrieved April 3, 2019.
  40. Morrissy, Kim (December 18, 2019). "Spy×Family Included in Brutus Magazine's 'Most Dangerous Manga' of 2019 List". Anime News Network. Retrieved December 18, 2019.
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