Section Chief – Katsuya Terada Illustrated Novel Review

Posted By yonghow on July 5th, 2021

Section Chief ( 課長 /Kacho ) is a collection of five short stories penned by Japanese novelist Homura Hiroshi, with illustrations by famed manga/concept artist Katsuya Terada. Released in 2006, this is the 2nd creative collaboration between the two artists after their first illustrated novel Train Conductor ( 車掌 Shasho – 2003 ).

A wandering robot in a post-apocalyptic world, studies of section chiefs relishing their lunches, these are some of the stories featured in this collection. Katsuya terada utilizes his signature ink pen to illustrate black and white drawings that are bold, dramatic and rich, not unlike the ones we’ve seen in his own manga like Gasoline Life and Detroit Not Good Circus.

Section Chief - Katsuya Terada Illustrated Novel Review 課長 - 寺田克也/穂村弘絵本

This is a small hardcover book that would fit comfortably into one’s back pocket and is meant as a quick “snack read”, so if you’re a fan of Terada in search of bigger and more substantial collection of his colored works I would suggest some of the larger print titles listed in my Terada Big List.

I myself do enjoy these small little side projects that Terada takes on, for they often take his work in a different direction and it’s always great to see him lending his considerable drawing skills to complement the literary work of collaborating writers and novelists. For a low price point and a sturdy hard cover format, this comes recommended.

“Section Chief – Katsuya Terada Illustrated Novel 課長 – 寺田克也/穂村弘絵本” details :

– Dimensions – 20 x 12 x 1 cm
– hardcover, 77 pages
– Black & White, in Japanese