Stepping on Roses
Encyclopedia
is a Japanese shōjo manga
series written and illustrated by Rinko Ueda
. The series began serialization in Margaret
magazine in 2007 and is ongoing. The individual chapters have been collected into seven tankōbon
volumes by Shueisha
as of May 2011; the first on April 25, 2008 and the most recent on May 24, 2011. The series has been licensed by Viz Media
for an English-language North American release as part of their Shojo Beat
imprint.
began serialization in the shōjo manga magazine Margaret
in 2007. The series is still running in the same magazine as of October 2010.The series went on hiatus at one point due to the birth of the author's son, after this, the series was only in every other issue of the magazine, making it a monthly series, instead of a bi-monthly series. At their panel at Anime Expo
2009, Viz Media announced they had licensed the series for North America as part of their Shojo Beat imprint.
.
Volume two of the Viz edition of the manga was number 10 on the New York Times manga best-seller list in its first week of release. The third volume was number 8 on the same list in its first week of release.
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...
series written and illustrated by Rinko Ueda
Rinko Ueda
is a Japanese manga artist who does mainly shojo manga. Her works are primarily serialized in Margaret magazine, with series published in collected volumes by Shueisha, though she has also been featured in fellow Shueisha publication Ribon, as well as illustrating the novel adaptation of her own...
. The series began serialization in Margaret
Margaret (magazine)
is a biweekly Japanese shōjo manga magazine published by Shueisha, primarily for girls from 11 to 15 years old, although some stories are read by adult women. It was first released as a weekly magazine in 1963. In 2009, the circulation was 154,584...
magazine in 2007 and is ongoing. The individual chapters have been collected into seven tankōbon
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...
volumes by Shueisha
Shueisha
is a major publisher in Japan. The company was founded in 1925 as the entertainment-related publishing division of Japanese publisher Shogakukan. The following year, Shueisha became a separate, independent company. Magazines published by Shueisha include Weekly Shōnen Jump, Weekly Young Jump,...
as of May 2011; the first on April 25, 2008 and the most recent on May 24, 2011. The series has been licensed by Viz Media
VIZ Media
VIZ Media, LLC, headquartered in San Francisco, is an anime, manga, and Japanese entertainment company. It was founded in 1986 as VIZ LLC. In 2005, VIZ LLC and ShoPro Entertainment merged to form the current VIZ Media LLC, which is jointly owned by Japanese publishers Shogakukan and Shueisha, and...
for an English-language North American release as part of their Shojo Beat
Shojo Beat
Shojo Beat is a shōjo manga magazine formerly published in North America by Viz Media. Released in June 2005 as a sister magazine to Shonen Jump, it featured serialized chapters from six manga series, as well as articles on Japanese culture, manga, anime, fashion and beauty...
imprint.
Plot
The year is Meji 25 and Sumi Kitamura is incredibly poor and her brother keeps bringing even more children home to feed. Her brother is a womanizer and a gambler so they are always in debt. When her adopted sister, Tomi, became ill a strange man gave her money in a handkerchief to buy medicine. When a debt collector turns up at their house demanding 2000 yen her brother is nowhere to be found. The man says that he will take away all of Sumi's younger siblings and sell them in to slavery. Desperate to save her siblings Sumi goes to the red light district in an attempt to raise the money in one night. Just when she thinks there's no more hope, a man named Soichiro Ashida appears and says that he will buy her. Sumi goes with him only to find that he was paying her to marry him! They immediately go to the church and afterwards he says that he'll pay for anything she could possibly want but, the one catch is that she has to marry him and not fall for him.Characters
- The series' protagonist. Sumi is a young woman in the lowest levels of poverty until she marries Soichiro. She is an incredibly kind girl. Although she is married to Soichiro, she seems to have had feelings for Nozomu. After Sumi and Nozomu elope together she sees a different side to him. Soichiro comes to rescue Sumi and Nozomu from a fire and after that Sumi begins to fear Nozomu. Sumi is generally headstrong and rather dense, but is a master of shogiShogi, also known as Japanese chess, is a two-player board game in the same family as Western chess, chaturanga, and Chinese Xiangqi, and is the most popular of a family of chess variants native to Japan...
as well as being a good cook. When Soichiro chooses her over money, she is happy, but they become poor. It is revealed that the reason why she hates the scent of roses is because she was abandonded in a rose garden as a baby, making Eisuke not her biological brother. To help her family, she becomes Nozomu's fiance. When Soichiro hears about this, he goes to her, but she tells him that now that he is poor, she no longer needs him. Later she tells Soichiro that she still loves him and begins working on a plan to give him back his position as company president.
- Sumi's husband; He marries Sumi to get his inheritance. He is a childhood friend of Nozomu. Soichiro is afraid of big fires and will scream and even cry, this being due to a traumatic event when he was a child, where his parents and younger half-brother died. Soichiro is quick to assume and can be selfish, but seems to be learning to genuinely care for Sumi. Even though he said they will not love each other, he falls for Sumi. He originally planned to just use Sumi as a set up to get money from Nozomu's family, but her kindness put him in a soft spot. When the truth about Sumi is discovered, he chooses to live with her. He gets mad that Nozomu gave Sumi money, not wanting to have pity taken on him. He is shocked when Sumi tells him she wants money more than him and never wants to see him again. Later Sumi tells him the reason why she left him for Nozomu.
- Soichiro's childhood friend. When she was still just a poor girl, he gives Sumi money within a handkerchief, in order to get medicine for her adopted sister Tomi. When he next meets her as Soichiro's wife, he almost recognizes her, but is easily led to believe that she is a completely different person. He later become completely obsessed with Sumi, to the point of kidnapping her. Despite later being married himself, to a woman of his parent's choosing, he asks Sumi to run away with him. He is very skilled in art. He bought a second house away from his wife Miu, which he uses as an art studio. Later, he steals Soichiro's position as company president and Sumi, as well.
- Soichiro's butler since he was a child. Komai quit his job because Soichiro didn't believe him when he claimed that Keiko had put poison in his food. Afraid to face his parents after quitting, Komai lives with Sumi's family, taking care of the young children. Nozomu laters hires Komai to be his butler. Soichiro calls him a traitor when he offers him money.
- Sumi's older brother, who has a terrible problem with gambling; Any money he makes, he ends up wasting rather than than using it for his siblings or for paying rent. He gets a job at Soichiro's company and does manage to pay 10 years worth of the bills. However, It is later revealed that Eisuke brings home so many abandoned children to Sumi because she once asked for more siblings, though she herself doesn't remember this. He tells everyone that Sumi is his little sister, causing him to lose all his money and bring Soichiro to poverty. It is revealed that Sumi and Eisuke are not really related; he found her in a rose garden as a baby and brought her up as his sister.
Manga
Written and drawn by Rinko Ueda, the Stepping on Roses mangaManga
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...
began serialization in the shōjo manga magazine Margaret
Margaret (magazine)
is a biweekly Japanese shōjo manga magazine published by Shueisha, primarily for girls from 11 to 15 years old, although some stories are read by adult women. It was first released as a weekly magazine in 1963. In 2009, the circulation was 154,584...
in 2007. The series is still running in the same magazine as of October 2010.The series went on hiatus at one point due to the birth of the author's son, after this, the series was only in every other issue of the magazine, making it a monthly series, instead of a bi-monthly series. At their panel at Anime Expo
Anime Expo
Anime Expo, abbreviated AX, is an American anime convention held in Los Angeles, California and organized by the non-profit Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation . With rare exceptions, the convention is traditionally held on the July 4th weekend and lasts for four days...
2009, Viz Media announced they had licensed the series for North America as part of their Shojo Beat imprint.
Volume List
Light Novel
The series is also being adapted as a light novel, that runs in CobaltCobalt (magazine)
is a bi-monthly anthology of shōjo fiction, published in Japan by Shueisha, since May, 1976. Shueisha also publish light novels under the Cobalt imprint, many of which were originally serialised in the magazine.-Writers and series featured in Cobalt:...
.
Reception
Deb Aoki of About.com says of the first volume that while it glosses over its Meiji Era setting's "not-so-pretty aspects", the approach works for what Ueda is doing. Overall, Aoki seems to like the series, calling it a "charming and unapologetically romantic story that will make you smile." Mania.com's Julie Opipari mentions that while the series is like a Harlequin novel, which could be off-putting for some readers, it drew her into the story. She also mentions that occasionally the melodrama is a bit much, but that she "can't wait to find out" what will happen next.Volume two of the Viz edition of the manga was number 10 on the New York Times manga best-seller list in its first week of release. The third volume was number 8 on the same list in its first week of release.