Moyasimon: Tales of Agriculture, known in Japan as Moyashimon (Japanese: もやしもん), is a Japanese manga series by Masayuki Ishikawa. It was serialized in Kodansha's seinen manga magazine Evening from July 2004 to June 2013 and moved to the magazine Monthly Morning Two, where it concluded in January 2014. The series follows Tadayasu Sawaki, a first-year college student at an agricultural university, who has a unique ability to see and communicate with microorganisms. Del Rey Manga licensed the manga, but only released two volumes in English in North America. An 11-episode anime television series adaptation, animated by Shirogumi and Telecom Animation Film, aired between October and December 2007 on Fuji TV's Noitamina programming block. An 11-episode live action adaptation was aired on Noitamina between July and September 2010. An 11-episode animated second season titled Moyasimon Returns aired from July to September 2012. A sequel manga series began serialization in Kodansha's Monthly Afternoon magazine in November 2024. The manga, anime, and live action series have all been generally well-received by reviewers, with praise received for the artwork and sustaining the viewer's interest through clear presentation of a difficult topic. It won the 2008 Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize for Grand Prize and the 2008 Kodansha Manga Award for general manga.
Plot Moyasimon follows the life of Tadayasu Sawaki, a first-year college student at an agricultural university, who has the unique ability to see and communicate with microorganisms. Additionally, these organisms look very different to him, and much larger than what can be seen under a microscope by normal people. This ability has brought him a bit of fame as when he entered the university, Tadayasu discovered that one of the professors there, Keizō Itsuki, already knew about his gift via Tadayasu's grandfather. Professor Itsuki's coworker Haruka Hasegawa has trouble believing what Tadayasu claims at first, but later comes to accept it. Tadayasu enters the university with his good friend Kei Yūki whose family runs a sake brewery.
Characters Tadayasu Souemon Sawaki (沢木 惣右衛門 直保, Sawaki Souemon Tadayasu) Voiced by: Daisuke Sakaguchi Portrayed by: Yuichi Nakamura Tadayasu Souemon Sawaki is the main protagonist of Moyasimon and attends an agricultural university in Tokyo as a freshman. His middle name is the yagō of his family home; it is usually omitted, and he is called "Tadayasu Sawaki". He is a childhood friend of Kei Yūki and his parents run a mold-starter producer (種麹屋, tane-kōji-ya). He is able to see and communicate with microorganisms. Sawaki is shown to have feelings for Haruka in the live action version. Kei Yūki (結城 蛍, Yūki Kei) Voiced by: Mitsuki Saiga Portrayed by: Azusa Okamoto Kei is Sawaki's childhood friend and is also a freshman. His parents run a sake brewery (making them customers for the mold starter from Sawaki's parents). Kei disappears from the story soon after he and Sawaki enter college. He comes back cross-dressed in black Gothic Lolita clothing, and reveals he has stronger feelings for Sawaki than initially let on. Keizō Itsuki (樹 慶蔵, Itsuki Keizō) Voiced by: Tomomichi Nishimura Portrayed by: Kurosawa Toshio Keizō Itsuki is a professor at the university and an acquaintance of Sawaki's family, who know of his ability. His age is a mystery, but there are reports of his works back to World War II. Haruka Hasegawa (長谷川 遥, Hasegawa Haruka) Voiced by: Sayaka Ohara Portrayed by: Natsuki Katō Haruka Hasegawa is a postgraduate student. She wears a lab coat over revealing clothing. She is a violent, somewhat sadistic woman from a wealthy, over-protective family. Her family arranged a marriage for her, against her will. However, she does not have to marry him until she is finished with her studies at the university. This is the main reason why she decided to stay there until she receives her doctorate. Hasegawa is not very good at communicating with people, and her harsh personality is used to mask this handicap. She has known Itsuki since she was in middle school. Haruka is shown to have feelings for Misato in the manga. Haruka is shown to have feelings for Sawaki in the live action version. Hazuki Oikawa (及川 葉月, Oikawa Hazuki) Voiced by: Akemi Kanda Portrayed by: Haneyuri Hazuki Oikawa is a freshman at the same agricultural university. She is a compulsive neat freak and always carries disinfectant tissues and antibacterial spray with her. Kaoru Misato (美里 薫, Misato Kaoru) Voiced by: Katsuyuki Konishi Portrayed by: Nishida Koji Kaoru Misato is a sophomore who tries to use his knowledge of bacteria to earn easy money, who becomes friends with Sawaki. He speaks in the Kansai dialect. He shares a run-down, dirty dorm room with his best friend, Kawahama. Misato is shown to have feelings for Haruka in the manga. Takuma Kawahama (川浜 拓馬, Kawahama Takuma) Voiced by: Noriaki Sugiyama Portrayed by: Kimura Akihiko Takuma Kawahama is a short, overweight sophomore and Misato's best friend. He is a returnee from Mexico, which amounts to his knowledge of insects and pulque. Aoi Mutō (武藤 葵, Mutō Aoi) Voiced by: Mamiko Noto Portrayed by: Chisun Possessing the unofficial title of "Miss Agriculture" due to her beauty, Mutō is also an assistant to Itsuki and Hasegawa. She is also president of the UFO club, which she joined to escape reality. Aya Hirooka (宏岡 亜矢, Hirooka Aya) Voiced by: Chiaki Takahashi Portrayed by: Yōko Chōsokabe Aya is a third-year economics student at the university. She also works as a bartender at a local pub. Yū Kaneshiro (金城 優, Kaneshiro Yū) Yū is the keeper of Okinawa proving ground of the agricultural university. She is a look-alike to Kei, except she has dark skin. Marie (マリー, Marī) Voiced by: Miyuki Sawashiro Marie is a French girl Sawaki meets in France. She is born in an old family Burgundy Domaine specializing in wine brewery and speaks fluent Japanese. She wears white Lolita clothing and is the second look-alike to Kei. She is knowledgeable about wine brewery but has some disagreements with her father, who is in charge of the winery business. Hana Kanō (加納 はな, Kanō Hana) Hana comes to meet Kei at the Hiyoshi Liquor Shop to sell beer she brews in her farm. She is short, wears glasses, and looks very young.
Microorganisms
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