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Onward Towards Our Noble Deaths (Japanese: 総員玉砕せよ!, Hepburn: Sōin Gyokusai Seyo!, literally “Whole Unit Ought to Fight to Death!”) is a one-shot manga written and illustrated by Shigeru Mizuki. In it, Mizuki describes his experiences as a soldier participating in the New Guinea campaign during World War II. He portrays the final weeks of his infantry service as the soldiers were instructed to die for their country to avoid the dishonor of survival.

The manga was first published in Kodansha magazine Shūkan Gendai in 1973, based on Mizuki’s work of 1970. After being translated and published by Drawn & Quarterly in 2011, Onward Towards Our Noble Deaths has been well received by English-speaking critics. It also received awards in France and in the United States, and was adapted into a television drama in 2007 by Japanese broadcaster NHK.

Overview

Shigeru Mizuki is a Japanese manga artist who is best known for his yōkai (Japanese folklore monsters)-themed manga, especially GeGeGe no Kitarō. Mizuki enjoyed writing about the monsters’ histories, which a local woman related to him; however in 1942, at the age of 21, Mizuki was drafted into the Imperial Japanese Army. He was sent to Rabaul, a city on New Britain island in Papua New Guinea, where his comrades died and Mizuki lost his left arm. Based on these experiences, Mizuki wrote Onward Towards Our Noble Deaths, containing “90 percent fact”. Fictionalizing himself as private Maruyama, Mizuki tells the story by combining drawings with photographs.

Release

Shigeru Mizuki wrote and illustrated Sōin Gyokusai Seyo!, which was first published in the August 1973 issue of Shūkan Gendai. In the same year, Kodansha released it in tankōbon format with the subtitle Sento Jōji Misaki Aika (聖ジョージ岬・哀歌, “Cape St. George Lamentations”). In July 1985, Holp Shuppan published the work, and Kodansha re-released it on June 15, 1995. Ohzora Publishing released the manga on August 9, 2007, as Ā Gyokusai: Mizuki Shigeru Senki Senshū (ああ玉砕～水木しげる戦記選集～), and on July 30, 2010, as Mizuki Shigeru no Senki Senshū (水木しげるの戦記選集). It was released under the konbini comic format by Shueisha on August 11, 2007, and on August 16, 2008.

At the 2010 San Diego Comic-Con International, comic book publisher Drawn & Quarterly announced it had acquired the manga’s publishing rights and would release it in North America under the title Onward Towards Our Noble Deaths. The company released the manga in May 2011; it was the first manga by Mizuki published in English. The Drawn & Quarterly edition was 368 pages and had an introduction written by manga commentator Frederik L. Schodt, as well as an interview with Mizuki. The publisher chose the work because they thought it was “an excellent introduction” to Mizuki’s work, and because “readers have knowledge of and thus can relate to on a certain level”.

Television adaptation

On August 12, 2007, NHK General TV broadcast Kitarō ga Mita Gyokusai: Mizuki Shigeru no Sensō (鬼太郎が見た玉砕〜水木しげるの戦争〜), a Japanese television drama based on Onward Towards Our Noble Deaths. It was written by Takuya Nishioka and produced by Tsuyoshi Yanagawa, and starred Teruyuki Kagawa as Shigeru Mizuki. On July 16, 2008, Pony Canyon released the drama in DVD format. The Agency for Cultural Affairs awarded it the Excellence Prize for a television drama during the National Arts Festival. The drama was awarded the Excellence Prize for television program at the 45th Galaxy Awards by the Japan Council for Better Television and Radio. At the 34th Hoso Bunka Foundation Awards, Onward Towards Our Noble Deaths won the awards for Best Television Drama, Best Actor (Kagawa), and Best Production (Yanagawa).

総員玉砕せよ! *(Sōin Gyokusai Seyo!)*
Onward Towards Our Noble Deaths
*Cover of Onward Towards Our Noble Deaths* as published by Drawn & Quarterly**
Genre	War, autobiographical
Manga
Written by	Shigeru Mizuki
Published by	Kodansha
English publisher	^NA Drawn & Quarterly
Magazine	*Shūkan Gendai*
Published	1973
Volumes	1
Television drama
*Kitarō ga Mita Gyokusai: Mizuki Shigeru no Sensō*
Produced by	Tsuyoshi Yanagawa
Written by	Takuya Nishioka
Original network	NHK General TV
Original run	August 12, 2007
Episodes	1