Line #13 Manga/SpiderManManga


1	[[quoteright:292:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/spider_man__the_manga_v1_cover.png]]
2	[[caption-width-right:292:Not the friendly neighborhood you know.[[note]]In the picture: Yu Komori from ''Spider-Man: The Manga'' by [[Manga/CryingFreeman Ryoichi]] [[Manga/{{Sanctuary}} Ikegami]].[[/note]]]]
3	[[caption-width-right:292:[[labelnote:Click here to see Spider-Man J]]https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/spidermanj1.jpg[[/labelnote]]]]
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5	ComicBook/SpiderMan, rethought as it was made on JapaneseMedia.
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7	As an attempt to gain more fans in Japan, Creator/MarvelComics tried to recreate various of their characters in one of the biggest markets on the world, and to do it, they give their rights to Japanese creators so they can translate their works onto JapaneseMedia. Although there were other intents like [[Series/SpiderManJapan the Toku TV series]] as well the anime version of ''ComicBook/TheTombOfDracula'' and the special anime intro for ''WesternAnimation/XMenTheAnimatedSeries'', {{manga}} was the best way to start as one of the first (if not THE first) adaptations of Marvel's works was about the friendly neighborhood.
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9	The first attempt was ''Spider-Man: The Manga''[[note]]Renamed as this by Marvel when was reprinted, originally was just called "Spider-Man" (スパイダーマン)[[/note]], made between January 1970 and September 1971 by Ryoichi Ikegami (of ''Manga/CryingFreeman'' and ''Manga/{{Sanctuary}}'' fame) in pencils and Kousei Ono (and later Kazumasa Hirai) in script, lasting for 25 issues[[note]]compiled later into 13 volumes of the manga[[/note]] and published by Kodansha's ''Monthly Shonen Magazine''. The story is basically the same than Earth-616 Spider-Man but in a Japanese context: A [[OrdinaryHighSchoolStudent junior high school student]] named Yu Komori is bitten by a radioactive spider, which gave him spider-like powers, just like his 616 counterpart. Although there're recreations of known Spider-Man enemies, there're also some other new enemies created for the manga, especially for the last volumes.
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11	The second attempt is a bit more actual: ''Spider-Man J'' by Akira Yamanaka from November 2004 to May 2005, also published by Kodansha under the ''Comic Bom Bom'' magazine. In the year 200X, a supervillain who goes by the name Lord Gokibu wants to steal the fossil of the Insect King, 15 year-old Sho Amano uses his new spider powers to become Spider-Man J, to prevent this from happening. During his time as a superhero, he meets Japanese versions of ComicBook/{{Elektra}}, ComicBook/DoctorDoom, ComicBook/{{Blade}}, and the ComicBook/FantasticFour. Different from the past intent, here there're even more liberties, being Sho Amano more a Spider-Man InNameOnly and being a ShortRunner comparing with Ikegami's work, being reprinted by Marvel as part of ''Spider-Man Family''.
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13	Both versions haven't any relationship with the other, with the exception those 2 are based on the same myth than [[ComicBook/SpiderMan the source base]] ([[IconicOutfit iconic costume]] included) and both are focused on ShonenDemographic. Also, these works were translated and distributed by Marvel for Western audiences: ''Spider-Man'' was reprinted from December 1997 to April 1999 as its own title (as ''[[MarketBasedTitle Spider-Man: The Manga]]'') and ''Spider-Man J'' from April 2007 to November 2008 as part of the volume 2 of ''Spider-Man Family'', a compilation of short stories of Spidey from various magazines. Also, both versions had being recognized as {{canon}} by Marvel, being part of the ''ComicBook/SpiderVerse'' {{crossover}}.
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15	To get more info for both Spider-Men, you can check their articles on Website/TheOtherWiki: [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spider-Man:_The_Manga here]] and [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spider-Man_J here]].
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17	See also the other Japanese Spider-Men here in TV Tropes: Takuya Yamashiro from ''Series/SpiderManJapan'', a Franchise/SuperSentai HumongousMecha version of the friendly neightborhood; the Spidey version of ''Manga/MarvelMangaverse'', a young {{Ninja}} part of a secret Spider clan; Izumi from ''ComicBook/MarvelFairyTales'', a Japanese man bitten by a {{Tsuchigumo\|AndJorogumo}} version of ComicBook/{{Venom}} that gives him spider-powers; and SP//dr, a Japanese adopted girl with a mech suit from ''ComicBook/SpiderVerse'' (adapted as Peni Parker in ''WesternAnimation/SpiderManIntoTheSpiderVerse''). Other ''Spider-Man'' manga include ''Manga/SpiderManFakeRed'' by Kodansha and ''Spider-Man: Octopus Girl'' by Magazine/ShonenJump.
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19	'''Beware, if you want to read some of these works, there're unmarked {{spoiler}}s. Administrivia/YouHaveBeenWarned.'''
20
21	!!Spider-Man's manga versions provide examples of:
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23	[[foldercontrol]]
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25	[[folder:Japanese Spider-Men]]
26	* AlternateContinuity: Both titles have been recognized by Creator/MarvelComics as part of the Franchise/MarvelUniverse as {{canon}}, being Ikegami's ''Spider-Man'' from Earth-70091 and ''Spider-Man J'' from Earth-7041.
27	* AnimalThemedSuperbeing: [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Spiders]]. Also, "The Kangaroo" for Ikegami's ''Spider-Man'' and "General Wasperus" for ''Spider-Man J''.
28	* {{Expy}}: Not just Spider-Man, also various of their main characters, since Aunt May and ComicBook/MaryJaneWatson to villains like ComicBook/GreenGoblin and ComicBook/DoctorOctopus, have Japanese counterparts that work almost like in the source, but not necessarily having the same names.
29	* IntraFranchiseCrossover: Both versions of Spider-Man are part of the Spidey's CrisisCrossover ''ComicBook/SpiderVerse'', in which Yu and Sho are part of the Spider-Men who fought Morlor and the Inheritors.
30	* OriginalGeneration: Both manga have their own original characters, being allies as well villains that are integral part of every manga and don't have Western counterparts.
31	* TransAtlanticEquivalent: Both versions have been treated as if "Spider-Man was created in Japan" by Marvel, recruiting Japanese creators to get creative liberties by adapting Spider-Man for Japanese demographics. A totally different case happened with the ''[[Manga/MarvelMangaverse Mangaverse]]'', in which Western creators made "[[{{Animesque}} Japanese stuff]]."
32	[[/folder]]
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34	[[folder:Yu Komori]]
35	* BadassBookworm: Just like Peter Parker.
36	* BackForTheDead: [[spoiler:After leaving Yu behind in the aftermath of Mysterio's defeat, Rumiko shows up three volumes later only to be killed by a villain called the Mad Demon.]]
37	* CanonForeigner: While of course every supporting character is original, there's also some original supervillains such as the Mad Demon, the Winter Woman and Mitsuo Kitano (a fake Spider-Man) who aren't based on any characters from the American comics and have never been used since.
38	* CerebusSyndrome: The manga was already pretty grim at the beginning, but when Kazumasa Hirai takes over the writing duties, it gets increasingly grittier with more graphical depictions of violence and sex and more serious subject matters like school rapists, corporate terrorism and prostitution. There's also no costumed supervillains taken from the American comics after Mysterio is defeated.
39	* ChuckCunninghamSyndrome: Aunt Mei and the J. Jonah Jameson analogue never appear again after Chapter 5. That also marks when Yu begins using his Spider-Man costume less and less.
40	* DarkerAndEdgier: Apart from being more serious and having almost no humour compared to the original Spider-Man, this incarnation (specially under Hirai's pen) became darker than its American counterpart, having sexual and {{gorn}} scenes to be focused to a [[{{Seinen}} more adult demographics]].
41	** {{Bowdlerise}}: When Marvel translated and reprinted the manga in 1997-1999, they censored and cut various violent scenes to get more friendly with Western readers. But only 8 of 13 volumes were fully translated before [[ScrewedByTheNetwork the series was cancelled starting the ninth volume]].
42	* DeathlyUnmasking: [[spoiler: The first villain Yu Komori has to defeat as Spider-Man is Electro, who is killed in the process. When unmasked, it's revealed he was the big brother of Rumiko, the only friend Yu has in the manga.]]
43	* DeathByAdaptation: Electro and the Lizard both die at the end of their respective debut arcs.
44	* DeusExMachina: [[spoiler:Yu loses his final fight against Mitsuo and is about to be killed... then the effects of the blood transfusion wear off and Mitsuo's body starts burning up and he falls off the rooftop they were fighting on.]]
45	* EvilCounterpart: Yu gets one in Mitsuo, a boy who receives a blood transfusion from Yu and receives the same powers as he. Mitsuo becomes an evil Spider-Man after stealing Yu's suit, but actually gets to be a VillainWithGoodPublicity since he covers up a corporate terrorism revenge scheme as an anti-pollution campaign.
46	* FalseRapeAccusation: Yu is framed for rape by a group of other students who get away with it because they're successful in school. They're never caught, and Yu has to content himself with beating them up really bad but believes he would have to admit he's Spider-Man to clear his name.
47	* FrameUp: Aside from the FalseRapeAccusation cited above, there's Mysterio framing Spider-Man for several robberies and attacks.
48	* FriendlessBackground: Yu starts out with no friends in his school, and even when he befriends Araki later on, it's not a very tender friendship. He's also seen among groups of classmates occasionally, doing stuff like summer trips, but rarely socializes with them and seems to be just tagging along. His only friend in the early chapters is Rumiko, a girl who lives in another city, and who turns out to be [[MonsterBrotherCutieSister Electro's little sister.]] It only gets worse when he gets accused of attempted rape (which he wasn't guilty of, he actually saved her from the people really trying to rape her, but she assumed he was one too and managed to grab his pen with his name on it before running away).
49	* GeniusBruiser: Just like Peter Parker, Yu already had scientific knowledge at his school, so having his new powers makes him think how he could imitate a spider by making his webshooters, as well designing his costume.
50	* HeroWithBadPublicity: As usual for a Spider-Man. Yu gets it as a civilian too thanks to the FalseRapeAccusation.
51	* ImmuneToBullets: Unlike Peter Parker, Yu is bulletproof.
52	* MarketBasedTitle: Ikegami's ''Spider-Man'' was reprinted as ''Spider-Man: The Manga'' by Marvel.
53	* MonsterBrotherCutieSister: Here, Yu meets Rumiko, a cute schoolgirl who resulted to be the only Yu's friend at that moment. Sadly, at the end of the chapter Yu discovers Rumiko is the little sister of Electro, the first supervillain he fights as Spider-Man... and ''even more'' sadly, the discover occurs few moments after [[AccidentalMurder Yu killed Electro in the process.]]
54	* MythologyGag: Was more frequent in the early chapters by Ikegami and Kosei Ono:
55	** The owner of the Joho paper (where Yu sells photos) looks exactly like J. Jonah Jameson, while other characters with American comic counterparts are much more loosely adapted.
56	** The Mysterio arc uses many of the same plot points as Mysterio's original first appearance, such as him doing robberies as a fake Spider-Man and their first battle being on a bridge.
57	** Kangaroo stealing an isotope containing deadly bacteria is a reference to ''Amazing Spider-Man'' #126, where the original Kangaroo stole a radioactive isotope.
58	** While direct plot references stopped after Kazumasa Hirai became the writer, occasionally Ikegami would swipe iconic Spider-Man poses from the American comics.
59	* OrdinaryHighSchoolStudent: Yu, before he were bitten by the radioactive spider.
60	* PenPals: Yu and Rumiko "Rumi" Shiraishi, who lives in Hokkaido.
61	* RenamedTheSame: For a new title with plenty of new (and local) Japanese names, the aunt who raises Yu is called "Mei."
62	* TheseHandsHaveKilled: One of Yu's biggest differences from Peter Parker is that his "Great Responsibility" moment came not from the death of his Uncle, but from [[TheAtoner the guilt]] of [[AccidentalMurder accidentally killing Electro]] during his first outing as Spider-Man (he had gone after Electro purely for the bounty money, and had little interest in being an actual hero).
63	* {{Tulpa}}: The infamous "Mind Tigers" are revealed to be [[spoiler:created by the subconscious of an aspiring singer who was raped by band called "the Mobs" on the orders of their record company which had ties to the yakuza. She was suppressing her anger which caused it to manifest in the form of an invisible beast to attack the band members, the president of the record company and the yakuza they worked with.]]
64	* VillainWithGoodPublicity: Mysterio and Mitsuo when he becomes a fake Spider-Man. Both happen to fake being Spidey at one point.
65	* {{Yukionna}}: One of the new foes of Spider-Man is about a girl known as "the [[AnIcePerson Winter Woman]]."
66	[[/folder]]
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68	[[folder:Sho Amano]]
69	* BigBad: Lord Gokibu.
70	* CoolAunt: Mami Amano is Sho's young, happy go-lucky aunt. She loves Sho like he is her own son, and is overprotective of him. She owns her own dress shop. She is quite relaxed, and is known for her spicy curry.
71	* {{Crossover}}: Apart of Spider-Man's allies and foes, there're also various Marvel characters in his story. Just to name a few of them: ComicBook/{{Elektra}}, ComicBook/DoctorDoom, ComicBook/{{Blade}}, and the ComicBook/FantasticFour, all of them are Japanese counterparts as this Spider-Man.
72	* DubNameChange: When was distribuited by Marvel outside Japan, the names of main characters were changed to original ones from [[Franchise/MarvelUniverse Earth-616]]:
73	** Sho Amano is Peter Parker.
74	** Megumi is ComicBook/MaryJaneWatson.
75	** Mami Amano is Aunt May.
76	** In the case of OriginalGeneration, names also were translated to English ones: Makoto is Detective Flynn and [[BigBad Lord Gokibu]] is Lord Beastius.
77	*** A special case is Densuke, who was translated as Harold Osborn, being known as the Japanese counterpart of [[ComicBook/GreenGoblin Harry Osborn]], but having nothing to do with him in the original work but being just Sho/Peter's friend.
78	* LoveInterest: Megumi, Sho's girlfriend.
79	* MythologyGag: Apart of the DubNameChange in Western editions, Sho has three pets called "Leo" (a cat), "Par" (a dog) and "Don" (a bird), a nod to the famous HumongousMecha ''[[Series/SpiderManJapan Leopardon]]''.
80	* RecursiveCanon: Densuke is a fan of Spider-Man J, but also a fan of "Comic Bon Bon" (the magazine that published this work), even having a t-shirt with the magazine logo on it.
81	* ShoutOut: An external Marvel reference: the year [[Franchise/MegaMan 200X]].
82	* SuperDeformed: This manga has a {{chibi}} style different to Ikegami's style that resembles Western comic books with a bit of manga, style that was also translated to his appearance in the ''ComicBook/SpiderVerse'' crossover.
83	* TeamPet: Sho's mascots Leo, Par and Don.
84	* {{Tomboy}}: Megumi.
85	[[/folder]]

Context Manga / SpiderManManga