Nōnai Poison Berry
Japanese manga series and its adaptations
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Nōnai Poison Berry (Japanese: 脳内ポイズンベリー, Hepburn: Nōnai Poizun Berii; transl. Poison Berry in My Brain) is a Japanese slice-of-life romance manga series written and illustrated by Setona Mizushiro. It was serialized in Chorus magazine, later relaunched as Cocohana magazine,[3] from December 2009[4] to March 2015[5] and collected as five tankōbon volumes by publisher Shueisha.[6] The series was adapted into a live-action film that premiered in Japan in May 2015,[7] as well as a stage play that ran at the New National Theatre, Tokyo, in March 2020, both directed by Yūichi Satō[8][9] and officially titled Poison Berry in My Brain in English.[10][11] The Stage play was rerun in 2022 with a different cast.[12]
| Nōnai Poison Berry | |
| 脳内ポイズンベリー (Nōnai Poizun Berī) | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Romance, slice-of-life[1] |
| Manga | |
| Written by | Setona Mizushiro |
| Published by | Shueisha |
| Imprint | Queen's Comics |
| Magazine | Chorus/Cocohana |
| Original run | December 28, 2009 – March 28, 2015 |
| Volumes | 5 |
| Live-action film | |
| Poison Berry in My Brain | |
| Directed by | Yūichi Satō |
| Written by | Tomoko Aizawa |
| Music by | Akio Izutsu |
| Released | May 9, 2015 |
| Runtime | 121 minutes |
| Stage play | |
| |
| Stage play | |
| |
Plot
Ichiko Sakurai is a 30-year-old woman whose thoughts appear as a council of five individuals: Ishibashi, representing her positive emotions; Ikeda, representing her negative emotions; Hatoko, representing her impulses; Kishi, representing her memories; and Yoshida, representing her reasoning. When Ichiko falls in love with 20-year-old Ryōichi Saotome at a drinking party and sleeps with him, her inner thoughts become chaotic as she navigates through her first love and misunderstandings with Saotome.
Characters
- Ichiko Sakurai (櫻井 いちこ, Sakurai Ichiko)
- Portrayed by: Yōko Maki (film),[7] Misako Renbutsu (1st stage play),[8] Yuika Motokariya (2nd stage play)[12]
- The series' main character, a shy 30-year-old woman whose inner thoughts appear to readers as a board of five very different individuals. When she falls for a younger man at a drinking party, the board members fall into a panic.
- Ryōichi Saotome (早乙女 亮一, Saotome Ryōichi)
- Portrayed by: Yuki Furukawa (film),[7] Aoto Watanabe (1st stage play),[9] Shunya Shiraishi (2nd stage play)[12]
- Ichiko's love interest.
- Ochi (越智)
- Portrayed by: Sonha (film),[7] Shunya Shiraishi (1st stage play),[9] Ryo Hirano (2nd stage play)[12]
- A publishing company editor who shows interest in Ichiko.
- Yoshida (吉田)
- Portrayed by: Hidetoshi Nishijima (film),[7] Hayato Ichihara (1st stage play),[8] Yusei Yagi (2nd stage play)[12]
- The leader of Ichiko's board members. He is generally the member who initiates group votes on Ichiko's next actions.
- Ishibashi (石橋)
- Portrayed by: Ryunosuke Kamiki (film),[7] Katsuki Motodaka (1st stage play),[8] Hiroki Ino (2nd stage play)[12]
- An optimistic board member with a hopeful outlook for Ichiko's future.
- Ikeda (池田)
- Portrayed by: Yō Yoshida (film),[7] Seina Sagiri (1st stage play),[8] Hanayo Kimura (2nd stage play)[12]
- A negative board member who believes that most of Ichiko's actions will end badly.
- Hatoko (ハトコ)
- Portrayed by: Hiyori Sakurada (film),[7] Yūri Saitō (1st stage play),[8] Yuna Hayakawa (2nd stage play)[12]
- A Gothic Lolita board member who thinks and votes on impulse, rather than weighing the pros and cons.
- Kishi (岸)
- Portrayed by: Kazuyuki Asano (film),[7] Kim Kwangsu (1st stage play),[8] Ken Ishiguro (2nd stage play)[12]
- An elderly board member caught up in the past.
Volumes
| No. | Japanese release date | Japanese ISBN |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | May 19, 2011[13] | 978-4-08-865626-7 |
| 2 | July 25, 2012[14] | 978-4-08-865658-8 |
| 3 | August 23, 2013[15] | 978-4-08-865666-3 |
| 4 | September 25, 2014[16] | 978-4-08-865670-0 |
| 5 | April 24, 2015[17] | 978-4-08-865672-4 |
Reception
Nōnai Poison Berry ranked 20th in the 2013 Kono Manga ga Sugoi! Top 20 Manga for Female Readers survey.[18] It was also a Jury Selection in the Manga Division at the 17th Japan Media Arts Festival Awards.[19]