Mangaka
A popular manga artist, Junko Mizuno ( 水野純子 Mizuno Junko in her original Japanese) has a distinctive style that usually features diminutive naked & nubile female characters with innocent wide-eyes. Although there is a lot of innocence in her work, it is usually sexual with emphasis on sexual organs and the human body. As such, the art of Junko Mizuno has often been classed as
Gothic Kawaii and
Kawaii Noir ('kawaii' being the Japanese word for 'cute'). Her first work was a self-published (douhinshi) story called
MINA Animal DX which she sold in 1996. To date, it has not officially been translated into English.
Translated Works
Some of Junko Mizuno's stories have been translated and published in English.
Pure Trance told a complex original story about a group of nurses and the corrupted dominatrix director of a hospital. It was published by
Last Gasp in 2005, some 7 years after it's original publication.
Viz Communications later published three separate stories that were each based on traditional children's tales, but darkly distorted to fit into Junko Mizuno's unique sexualised yet innocent vision.
Cinderalla was based on Cinderella,
Princess Mermaid was based on the Little Mermaid, while
Hansel & Gretel was loosely based on it's eponymous characters. All of which are still available for purchase. Much more elusive are the out-of-print publication,
Hell Babies and
Collector File 002. Marvel Comics
It appears that she is aware of her growing popularity in Western English speaking countries. This has lead to the inclusion of an original Junko Mizuno story in
Marvel's Strange Tales #1. The story features
Spider-Man &
Mary Jane moving to a town populated by humanoid arachnid people, who could perform the same super-human feats as Spider-Man. In an interview with
Marvel.com, she claimed that she wanted to use those two characters because she likes to draw spiders & red-headed girls. She admitted that she had never read any Marvel comics previously, as she had grown up with magical & fantasy shoujo manga (girl's comics in Japan). However, she added that she had thoroughly enjoyed reading through the many biographies of many of Marvel's more complicated characters.
Upcoming ProjectsMore recently, there was the publication of
FLARE from
Editions Treville. There is also the up-coming original manga of
Little Fluffy Gigolo PELU; a tale of an alien who encounters pop-singers, body swapping teenagers and underwear sniffing villains. It is a three volume long series, which is due for publication later in 2009.
Other Merchandise
The popularity of Junko Mizuno's artwork has led to many different pieces of merchandise being based on her designs. There have been several vinyl figures, and a deal with designer label
Fornarina led to Junko Mizuno's work being available on clothing. Her work has also included (but is not exclusive to) a limited edition
My Little Pony, Skateboards, and even a range of condoms.
Television Work
Television viewers in the
United Kingdom would have been able to see Junko Mizuno's designs being used in the programme
Japanorama. Hosted by the BBC presenter Jonathan Ross, the show was a rough guide to popular culture in Japan. In between segments and articles were animated links featuring Junko Mizuno's art. She gave an interview for the show, and provided a company logo for
Hotsauce TV who produced the programme.
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