Moyoco Anno’s Go Happy Mania manga, the highly anticipated sequel to her popular Happy Mania series, is set to conclude with its next chapter on October 8. The announcement was made in the October issue of Shodensha’s Feel Young magazine, bringing an end to the love-centric narrative that resumed in 2019.
The End of Go Happy Mania’s Run
The conclusion of Go Happy Mania marks a significant moment for fans of Moyoco Anno’s distinctive storytelling. The sequel manga first launched in Feel Young in September 2019, continuing the complex romantic journey of protagonist Kayoko Shigeta. Shodensha has published five compiled book volumes of the series, with the latest released in August 2024.
The Go Happy Mania storyline picked up after a one-shot sequel chapter published in July 2017, which depicted Shigeta and her husband Takahashi grappling with a potential divorce crisis. This premise formed the foundation for the ongoing narrative of Go Happy Mania, exploring the intricacies of marriage and relationships for its now-adult characters. The manga has been praised for its dramatic depiction of a role reversal in Kayoko and Takahashi’s relationship, after 15 years of marriage, as Kayoko navigates her husband’s new love interest.
A Legacy of Love: The Original Happy Mania
Go Happy Mania is a direct continuation of Anno’s seminal work, Happy Mania, which originally ran in Feel Young from 1995 to 2001. The original series followed Kayoko Shigeta, a “physically active” and somewhat impulsive young woman in her twenties, on her relentless and often chaotic search for true love and a soulmate in Tokyo. Despite frequently engaging in fleeting relationships, Shigeta remained determined to find genuine happiness.
Tokyopop released all 11 volumes of the original Happy Mania in English, introducing a wider audience to Anno’s unique take on romantic comedy. The series garnered considerable popularity for its unflinching and often humorous portrayal of a woman’s romantic struggles, earning it a television drama adaptation in 1998 and selling over three million copies. Critics have highlighted how Happy Mania twisted typical shōjo manga romance angles to “dizzying and hilarious extremes,” portraying a protagonist who, despite her faults, remained relatable in her pursuit of love.
Moyoco Anno’s Influential Career
Moyoco Anno is a highly acclaimed Japanese manga artist, author, and fashion designer. Throughout her career, which spans over two decades, she has been celebrated for her distinctive artwork and compelling storytelling, often centering on strong female characters and exploring themes of feminism.
Beyond the Happy Mania series, Anno is renowned for several other works, including Sugar Sugar Rune, which received the Kodansha Manga Award for children in 2005 and was adapted into a TV anime series. Her other notable creations include Hataraki Man, a manga about a woman balancing work and love that became a major hit and was adapted into both an anime and live-action drama, and Sakuran, which dramatically depicted the life of a courtesan in Edo Japan and was adapted into a movie. Anno also designed characters for her husband Hideaki Anno’s Cutie Honey live-action film adaptation. Her work is recognized for delving into the psychology of her characters and appealing to a broad audience beyond just its initial demographic.
