Shio Satō


Chiyoko "Shio" Satō was a Japanese manga artist. Satō is often regarded as a member of the Post Year 24 Group, a group of female manga artists considered influential in the development of shōjo manga. She wrote under the pen name Shio Satō - as her surname Satō had the same pronunciation as, she combined it with, with the kanji form modified as 史生. She made her professional debut in 1977 with the publication of "Koi wa Ajina Mono!?" in Bessatsu Shōjo Comic. Her definitive works include and.
Her stories were usually serious science fiction drawn in a "subdued" style. Satō regards her interest in science fiction from the patience and thorough answers of her father when she was young and asking "Why?" to everything. Her science fiction influences include Isaac Asimov, Cordwainer Smith and James Tiptree Jr. A major influence on her work Yumemiru Wakusei was the film Lawrence of Arabia.
Her another focus was on Asian myths, animism, and traditional arts like masks and statues of gods. The first publication featuring these elements was "Yume Kui" in 1982. Satō further widened her perspective to integrate these elements into SF. In One Zero, she depicted future technologies such as artificial intelligence encountering the endless war between Buddhist and anti-Buddhist gods.
In spite of the small number of publications and no adaptation to other media, Satō's manga works have a devoted fan base. Her works mostly appeared on shōjo manga magazines such as Bessatsu Shōjo Comic, Petit Flower, and . "The Changeling", an SF short story published on Petit Flower in 1989, is her only story translated in English to this day. In addition to being published in the English-language anthology Four Shōjo Stories, it was serialised in Animerica in 1995.

Biography

She wrote her first manga story when she was a second-grade student at a high school of Miyagi Prefecture, referring to Shotaro Ishinomori's introductory books published in 1965 and 1966. She later told about the direct influence from Hoshi no Tategoto by Hideko Mizuno, which had been her "starting point".
After graduating from high school, Satō moved to Tokyo and worked for a printing company. She became an assistant to Moto Hagio and Keiko Takemiya in 1972. In those days, these two new star manga artists were frequently visited by many people including young manga artists, both professional and amateur, from all over Japan. Satō improved techniques of writing manga and broaden her network there. Yasuko Sakata offered opportunities to include Satō's earliest SF manga stories in her offset-printing doujinshi circulation. An editor from Shogakukan saw Satō's unfinished SF story "Hoshi no Oka yori" and encouraged her to finish it. It then won her the 11th newcomer award of Bessatsu Shōjo Comic competition in 1976. She made her debut in the magazine in the following year, with another comical non-SF daily story. Even after that, she continued to work as an assistant to Hagio and Takemiya until the demands of her own works prevented her from doing so.
The 1980s was her most productive period. In addition to the series of Yumemiru Wakusei in 1980–1984, in 1981–1982, and One Zero in 1984–1986, she wrote masterpieces such as "Raryō-Ō" in 1985, "Moon Child" in 1986, and "Changeling" in 1989. Amidst the busy situation, she started collaborative work with Mei Tokunaga. Between 1985 and 1989, they jointly produced five stories including Seirei-Ō.
Her last publication was Majutsushi Sagashi on Petit Flower in 2000. In 2001, Satō was hospitalized due to breast cancer. Although once recovered, she created no new work then. Satō died from brain cancer in Kiyose, Tokyo, on 4 April 2010, aged 57.

Works

Serial works and tankōbon

Most of Satō's works were a short story with four or fewer episodes. They were compiled into a book, often bundled with other short stories. Exceptions were two long series of Yumemiru Wakusei and One Zero, each of which had 21 episodes and was compiled into four volumes of tankōbon.
  • : Tankōbon of five short stories including "Kinseiju", "Legion", and "Hoshi no Oka yori".
  • * Kinseiju : Reprint plus another story "Aoi Inu".
  • : Tankōbon of six short stories including "Midnight Fever", "Koi wa Ajina Mono!?", and "Haru o Yumemishi".
  • * Tankōbon in four volumes.
  • * Tankōbon includes "Yume Kui".
  • * Tankōbon includes "Omae no Yasashii Te de".
  • : Tankōbon of "Ahōsen" inspired by Ship of Fools by Sebastian Brant, its sequel stories, and another short piece.
  • * Tankōbon in 4 volumes
  • : Tankōbon of "Datenraku", "Moon Child", and its sequel story "Daen Kidō Rhapsody".
  • * Tankōbon includes "Masaka no Toki no Harlequin Romance" and "Banana Trip ni Sairyō no Hi".
  • : Tankōbon of "Raryō-Ō", "Emerald Garden", and two joint works with Mei Tokunaga.
  • : Tankōbon of five short stories including "Changeling", its sequel story "Nepenthes", and "Ophelia Sagashi".
  • : Tankōbon of two joint works with Mei Tokunaga and an essay by Satō.
  • * Tankōbon : "Oni Ou Mono" and its sequel story "Kami Yarai".
  • * Tankōbon includes "Babylon made Nan Mile".
  • Majutsushi Sagashi
  • *Tankōbon : "Majutsushi Sagashi", its spin-off story, and another short story "Maru Ta no Onna".

Bunkobon reprint

Yumemiru Wakusei in three volumes.One Zero in three volumes.Datenraku : In addition to the three stories included in the tankōbon edition of Datenraku, the bunkobon edition contains "Yume Kui", "Changeling", and "Nepenthes".Seirei-Ō : five stories that Satō and Tokunaga jointly produced.
  • : "Ahōsen", its sequel stories, "Raryō-Ō", and "Yadorigi".

Illustration book

  • : collection of illustrations for Yumemiru Wakusei, additional short stories, and interviews.

Special edition

After the author's death, published special edition books under the series of "Satō Shio Collection", between 2012 and 2016.Shiseru Ōjo no Tame no Pavane : Kinseiju : Kono Mazushiki Chijō ni : Ryū no Yume, Sonota no Yume : Haru o Yumemishi : Yadorigi : Yumemiru Wakusei: Aizōban in 4 volumes: One Zero: Aizōban in 4 volumes: Datenraku :

Anthologies

These are anthology works in which one or more stories by Satō appeared:
  • : the first publication of "Yume Kui".
  • : the first publication of "Ryū no Himegimi", a sequel story of Yumemiru Wakusei.
  • Masuyama, Norie : Re-publication of "Ame no Ryū", another sequel story of Yumemiru Wakusei.
  • Four Shōjo Stories : including English translation of "Changeling".
  • : collection of eight short stories.
  • : including Satō's two short stories, illustrations, biography, bibliography, interviews, and contributions from those who were familiar with Satō.
Satō also edited a manga anthology book and contributed a short story "Emerald Garden" for it.
  • Satō, Shio .