OL Shinkaron (OL進化論, Ōeru Shinkaron, literally "Theory of OL Evolution") is a yonkoma manga series by Risu Akizuki about OLs, or office ladies. It follows the daily lives of Minako and Jun, the coworkers, friends, family, and neighbors. It also had a short, spin-off series titled Okusama Shinkaron that focused on housewives.
Several different translations in English, including two bilingual Japanese/English series titled Survival in the Office and OL Revolution, have been published. The manga, along with Akizuki's other works, won the 2004 short story award at the Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prizes.
Story
The manga is episodic and follows the daily lives of Minako and Jun, two office ladies working in post-bubble Japan. Each vignette contains a gag about happenings at the office where Minako and Jun work, socializing after work, vacations, or interactions with their friends, family, and neighbors.
As the series progresses, there are a number of secondary characters who make regular appearances in the manga, including Jun's boss and his wife, Ichirō, Satsuki, Keiko, Hiromi, Tanaka, an old man who runs a diner, Morishita, Jun's parents, and others.
OL Shinkaron had a number of spin-offs and related works:
Ochakumi Enjerusu (お茶くみエンジェルス, lit. Tea-Serving Angels). This short series served as a precursor to OL Shinkaron. It has not been published in a collection.
OL Chintara Pon-chan (OLちんたらポンちゃん). Ran in Josei Jishin and featured a character named Pon-chan ho looked just like Jun from OL Shinkaron. Collected by Kobunsha in one volume in November 1992 (ISBN4334801773).
Okusama Shinkaron (奥さま進化論, literally "Theory of Wife Evolution"): A yonkoma series that ran in Kodansha'sMorning Party SE (モーニングパーティー増刊, Mōningu Pātī Zōkan) from 1988 to 1990. The series focused on housewives and was collected in one tankōbon in January 1992 (ISBN406176621X).
Awards and recognition
This series, in conjunction with Akizuki's other works, received the Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize in the short story category in 2004.[2]
References
^ abNorris, Craig (June 30, 2009). "Manga, anime and visual art culture". In Sugimoto, Yoshio (ed.). The Cambridge Companion to Modern Japanese Culture (hardcover). Cambridge Companions to Culture (1st ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 245. doi:10.1017/CCOL9780521880473.014. ISBN9780521880473. OL Shinkaron's simple four-panel layout and gag structure is typical of the yonkoma manga form.
