6.4 /10 1 Votes
Written by Fujiko Fujio A Magazine Big ComicManga Sunday Volumes 5 | 6.4/10 MyAnimeList Demographic Seinen Original run 1968 – 1971 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Similar Kaibutsu‑kun, The World of Golden Eggs, The Genie Family, Jungle Kurobe, Parasol Henbē | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Laughing Salesman (Japanese: 笑ゥせぇるすまん, Hepburn: Warau seerusuman) is a black comedy manga created by duo Fujiko Fujio, and later, Fujiko Fujio A. The manga began as a one-shot series serialized in Shogakukan's Big Comic magazine on 1968, later becoming a full-fledged series published by Jitsugyo no Nihon Sha's Manga Sunday magazine from 1969 to 1971. The manga tells the story of a salesman named Moguro Fukuzo, whose job is to help people fill gaps in their soul. However, in reality, he ruins people's lives if his clients backstab him or never ask him for help.
Contents
It is notable in Japan as the only series by Fujiko Fujio to be darker and more mature in its themes as opposed to their previous works, focusing more on psychological drama, suspense, and horror. An anime adaptation was produced by Shin-Ei Animation, directed by Yoshitomo Yonetani and written by Yasuo Tanami. It aired on TBS from October 17, 1989 to March 24, 1992 with a total of 103 episodes. A second anime adaptation is officially announced.
Plot
In a society filled with people who do whatever with their lives, there are some who struggle with it or never achieved their goals. The story focuses on individuals who meet a shadowy and ominous salesman, Moguro Fukuzo, who promises them a better life if they follow his advice. However, the clients that Moguro meet often cheat, refuse to rely on his help, or worse - deny that they received assistance at all. When this invariably happens, Fukuzo punishes his clients by using their reliance on his aid against them. With their lives ruined, he is satisfied with his job and looks for more potential clients.
Manga
Co-creator Motoo Abiko first created the manga as a one-shot in Shogakukan's Big Comic magazine in 1968. However the manga was deemed too scary for the publisher, and he ended up publishing the work in Jitsugyo no Nihon Sha's Manga Sunday magazine from 1969 to 1971.
A bilingual (Japanese-English) volume has been released as The Salesman Returns.
Anime
An anime adaptation of the manga was produced by Shin-Ei Animation and aired on TBS from October 17, 1989 to March 24, 1992. It was directed by Yoshitomo Yonetani and written by Yasuo Tanami, while Kōhei Tanaka handled the music composition. The opening song is titled Kodoku no Uta (孤独の唄, lit. Song of Loneliness) while the ending is titled Kokoro no Uta (ココロの唄, lit. Song of the Heart), both performed by Tomio Umezawa.
A DVD box set of the series was released by Pony Canyon on March 20, 2013.
A second anime adaptation titled The Laughing Salesman NEW (Japanese: 笑ゥせぇるすまんNEW, Hepburn: Warau seerusuman NEW) has been announced, Hirofumi Ogura will be directing at Shin-Ei Animation. Naohiro Fukushima, Asami Ishikawa and Midori Natsu will be writing scripts. Fujio Suzuki is drawing the character designs and is also the chief animation director. Minoru Nishida is the art director, and Akiko Inoue is in charge of color design and Kohei Tanaka will compose the music. It is set to air on Tokyo MX on April 3, 2017. It is also currently streaming on Crunchyroll, marking it as the first The Laughing Salesman material available outside Japan.
Game
A Visual Novel of the series was released on the Sega CD in Japan on September 17, 1993. It was developed by Compile and published by Sega, adapting three episodes of the anime.
Live-Action Drama
A live action adaptation was produced by TV Asahi, which stars Shirō Itō as Moguro Fukuzo. It aired from June 26 to September 18, 1999.
Reception
In June 1999, the manga sold more than 3.5 million copies in Japan alone.