Hito Natsu no Kids Game

Hito Natsu no Kids Game is a Japanese manga written and illustrated by Ken Akamatsu; it is his debut work. The manga was published in the September issue of Kodansha's Magazine Fresh on September 10, 1993. Ken Akamatsu later received Kodansha's "Freshman Manga Award" and Special Jury Award for this work. The manga was re-published on May 20, 2001.

Plot summary

The narrative revolves around a high school student named Shinya Matsumoto and his love story, which takes place in the summer vacation. Shinya unexpectedly encounters a car accident, which results in a mother and son being taken to a hospital. The son, Daisuke Kirishima, is completely fine while his mother, Reiko Kirishima must stay in the hospital for three weeks and is unable to look after her son thereafter. Reiko's younger sister, Yuki Kirishima, visits the hospital but she turns out to be Shinya's classmate and love interest. Yuki, who needs to care for Daisuke Kirishima, faces problematic situation as there is no place for Daisuke to settle down. Shinya suggests that he will provide room for Daisuke to live and Yuki visits his house on regular basis to care for them. Shinya then starts a romantic relationship with Yuki.

Main characters

;Shinya Matsumoto
;Yuki Kirishima
;Reiko Kirishima
;Daisuke Kirishima
;Shinsaku Kirishima
;'''Akira'''

Name

The manga title literally means "one summer's kids' game". The original title is, which means "summer vacation only parents". But the original title was eventually rejected for being criticized by the editors.

Awards

The manga won the 50th Freshman Manga Award and Special Jury Award

Significance

This is Akamatsu's first manga work to be published by a mainstream manga magazine and Akamatsu received the Shōnen Magazine Freshman Award for this work. It not only encouraged Akamatsu to become a manga artist, but also drew attentions from manga editors. Akamatsu was inspired by the plans of manga editors and this led to the creation of his later work A.I. Love You.