The Crab Cannery Ship Manga: A Modern Retelling of the Proletariat Novel

The infamous novel about the struggle and exploitation of the crab boat workers in the 1920s, called The Crab Cannery Ship or Kani Kōsen, is getting a remake with a modern touch!

Creators of some famous pieces of works like Cells At Work! Code Black and Taboo Tattoo will work on this project, and we’re all for it!

Mangaka Shinjirō took to Twitter to announce their new collaborative project with Shigemitsu Harada called The Crab Cannery Ship: New Testament ( Kani Kōsen: New Testament).

[Promotion] It was announced in Young Animal No. 11 released today, but from No. 12 released on 6/11, “New Testament Kanikosen” will start, which will be in charge of drawing based on the original work by Professor Shigemitsu Harada.

Thank you.

※The image is an image

English Translatioon, Twitter Translate

The tweet also contained a visual for the upcoming manga. The picture shows the probable protagonist of the story in a swimsuit carrying a crab leg.

She also has an eyepatch in one of her eyes, but we do not know what it’s for.

The project is based on the 1929 classic novel Kani Kōsen (The Crab Cannery Ship) by author Takiji Kobayashi. Shinjirō mentioned that the New Testament is going to be a ‘modern take’ on the classic novel. They are adapting the novel since they want to bring the truth into the light.

Kani Kōsen is a novel infamous for its controversial plot and content. It was banned by the Imperial Japanese Government soon after its release. 

The novel doesn’t have a single protagonist but rather has collective protagonists composed of the oppressed groups and communities of that time. Kobayashi considered this as a step forward in the field of proletarian literature.

The plot is based on the struggle and trauma of people in the 1920s caused due to factors like poverty; a time where fishermen turned farmers wound up getting drunk and giving into society’s evils.

At that time, factories had employees in their pre-teens, and students were made to believe that exploitive ship work is a good summer job opportunity.

Shigemitsu Harada is most known for his spin-offs of the Cells At Work! franchise. His most notable works are Cells At Work! Code Black and Cells At Work! Lady.

Both Harada and Shinjiroare at the top of their field of work, and them working together on a controversial classic like Kani Kosen is just the thing I need!

About Cells at Work!

The Cells at Work! manga by Akane Shimizu was published in the Monthly Shonen Sirius magazine from January 2015 to January 2021. It has also received two anime seasons and several spinoffs.

It shows the processes inside the human body from the perspective of cells. The main protagonists are a red blood and a white blood cell as they work every day to keep the body in working condition.

Many other cells and their daily jobs are also introduced and the threats to the body like viruses are portrayed as villains.

Source: Shinjirō’s Twitter

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