About “Minmin & Bunbun”
After more than half a century of creating animation, my latest challenge is “Minmin & Bunbun” — a “hybrid picture book” that fuses the best of manga, anime, and picture book storytelling. It is currently serialized on Kindle.
Meet the Characters
Bunbun (文々) — The Boy
A curious and slightly mischievous panda boy. His trademark is his little bow tie.
Minmin (明々) — The Girl
A panda girl whose charm point is the heart-shaped antenna on her head. She is smart and kindhearted.
Bunbun and Minmin Together
The two best friends side by side. Look for Bunbun’s bow tie and Minmin’s heart antenna!
Published Works
Volume 1 — “Enter Dekopin”
A beagle named “Dekopin” joins Minmin and Bunbun’s world! The first volume tells the story of how these three meet and set off on their adventures.
Volume 2 — “The Angry Thunder Father”
Minmin and Bunbun encounter a fearsome Thunder Father! The second volume is full of exciting scenes balanced with humor.
The Vision Behind This Work
This project is an attempt to bring together the strengths of manga, anime, and picture books into a single work:
- Manga — The ability to turn pages back and forth, onomatopoeia and sound effects, and the use of panel sizes to control pacing
- Anime — Visual storytelling without reliance on words, and techniques like cutbacks and flashbacks to manipulate time
- Picture books — Rich, immersive illustrations that capture an entire world in a single page
In a digital environment, all of these strengths can be combined in one work. In that sense, this is a new experiment that could be called a “hybrid picture book.”
Availability
Originally planned as a free release, the series is now available on Kindle (paid), published on the 20th of every month.
A Note on “Picture Books”
Some people hear “picture book” and immediately think “for children.” However, this work is something I very much hope adults will enjoy as well. Must we really assign age categories to picture books? I believe that is merely a business convention. I hope parents and children will enjoy this together.
Glossary
- Cutback — A film and animation editing technique where the scene returns to a previous shot, or cuts to a past event or different location.
- Flashback — A dramatic technique used to depict rapid shifts in a character’s thoughts or memories.
Sadao Tsukioka