Silver Spoon is a Japanese coming-of-agemanga series written and illustrated by Hiromu Arakawa, serialized in Shogakukan's Weekly Shōnen Sunday from April 2011 to November 2019. The story is set in the fictional Ooezo Agricultural High School in Hokkaido, and depicts the daily life of Yuugo Hachiken, a high school student from Sapporo who enrolled at Ezo fleeing from the demands of his strict father. However, he soon learns that life on an agricultural school is not as easy as he initially believed. Unlike his new classmates, he has no intention of following an agricultural career after graduating, although he envies them for already having set goals for their lives and the pursuit of their dreams. An anime adaptation produced by A-1 Pictures aired two seasons between July and September 2013 and January and March 2014 on Fuji TV's noitaminA block. A live-action film based on the manga produced by Toho was released on March 7, 2014. The manga has been well received by its Japanese audience while earning itself awards.
Plot
After failing to pass the entrance examinations for the high school he planned to attend, mild-mannered student Yuugo Hachiken moves away from his suburban home and enrolls at the rural Ooezo Agricultural High School – often abbreviated as – in the countryside. His relationship with his family is strained at the start of the story, which influences his decision to attend a school far from home. He continues to worry about his future career over the course of the series. He soon finds himself slowly getting used to his new environment despite some initial struggles, and grows into an empathetic and compassionate individual as he struggles to understand the world of agriculture and how it affects the lives of his new friends.
After the completion of her successful fantasy seriesFullmetal Alchemist, author Hiromu Arakawa and her publisher Shogakukan agreed that she should begin the more realistic Silver Spoon as a way to challenge herself as a manga artist and recruit new readers. Having grown up in a rural setting, many elements of the manga are drawn from Arakawa's experiences in her youth. For instance, characters such as the piggery teacher Ichiko Fuji and members of the Holstein fanclub are based on individuals she knew in her high school. Though the story contains matters like the protagonist Yuugo Hachiken's ethical dilemma over animal slaughter, Arakawa insists Silver Spoon is not a "green" manga. She states that she simply wants to tell the story of a high schooler's maturation, similar to how Fullmetal Alchemist focuses on the development of the main characterEdward Elric rather than promoting alchemy. Silver Spoon began its publication in Weekly Shōnen Sunday on April 6, 2011. It was serialized regularly until August 2014 when Arakawa announced she would slow the pace of producing new chapters of the manga so that she could care for a family member in declining health. After an eight-month hiatus, the manga briefly resumed in April 2015 until another short hiatus was announced the following month. After the release of the manga's 13th volume, the author announced its "imminent" conclusion. She later explained that she had originally planned to depict Yuugo's first year at Ooezo in detail, followed by rushed second year and shortened third year, and his eventual life after graduation. In 2016, new chapters were published from January to February and August to September. The manga went on hiatus in July 2017, after three chapters were published. Four new chapters were published between May and June 2018. In October 2019, it was announced that the manga would enter its final arc in the 49th issue of Weekly Shōnen Sunday on November 6, 2019, and it would end in four chapters. The manga finished in the 52nd issue of Weekly Shōnen Sunday on November 27, 2019.
Media
Manga
Influenced by Arakawa's own life experience, as she was raised in a dairy farm in Hokkaido, Silver Spoon was launched in the 19th issue of Shogakukan's Weekly Shōnen Sunday magazine on April 6, featured on the cover. It became one of the magazine's main features not long after. The manga finished in the 52nd issue of Weekly Shōnen Sunday on November 27, 2019. The individual chapters have been compiled by Shogakukan into fifteen tankōbon volumes from July 2011 to February 2020. The manga has been licensed for English-language release in Singapore by Shogakukan Asia, while in North America, Yen Press announced the acquisition of the manga in July 2017 and published the first volume on February 27, 2018.
Volume list
Anime
An anime television series produced by A-1 Pictures aired from July 11 to September 19, 2013. Tomohiko Itō directed the series with assistant director Kotomi Deai. Taku Kishimoto wrote the scripts, while Jun Nakai served as character designer and chief animation director, and Shusei Murai scored the music. A second season aired from January 9 to March 27, 2014. For the first season, the opening theme is "Kiss you" by miwa, while the ending theme is "Hello Especially" by Sukima Switch. For the second season, the opening theme is "Life" by Fujifabric and the ending theme is "Oto no Naru Hō e" by Goose House. The anime has been licensed by Aniplex of America for streaming and home video in North America. Aniplex of America released the first season on DVD on July 15, 2014.
Episode list
Season 1
Season 2
Live-action film
A live-action film based on the manga was officially announced in the Nikkan Sports and Sports Nippon newspapers on August 7, 2013. Kento Nakajima played Yuugo Hachiken, with Alice Hirose as Aki Mikage and Tomohiro Ichikawa as Ichiro Komaba. The film was directed by Keisuke Yoshida, with the production companies TBS and Wilco and the distributor Toho. Gin no Saji premiered in Tokyo on March 7, 2014, and was also shown at the Japan Film Festival of San Francisco on July 22, 2014. The film's theme song is "Hidamari", performed by Yuzu. Iwasawa Koji wrote and composed the song just for the movie.
Reception
Manga
Sales
Since its first volume, Silver Spoon had been well received by readers. It became the fastest Shogakukan title to reach the mark of one million first printing copies, a year and three months after the manga was launched. According to Oricon, it was also the 7th best-selling manga in Japan in 2012, and the top selling title from Shogakukan, as well as the top selling title of 2012 not yet to have an anime adaption. By October 2013 it has sold 12 million copies in Japan. As of 2014 the series has sold over 15 million copies in Japan. As of July, 2017, the manga had over 16 million copies in print. As of February, 2020, the manga had over 17 million copies in print.
Publishers Weekly concluded that the work is "a side of Japanese high school life seldom seen in manga, making for an irresistible series." Barnes & Noble listed Silver Spoon on their list of "Our Favorite Manga of 2018".
Anime
In November 2019, Crunchyroll listed Silver Spoon in their "Top 100 best anime of the 2010s".
