Tetsuko no Tabi

Tetsuko no Tabi (鉄子の旅, lit. 'Tetsuko's Travels') is a Japanese non-fiction manga series authored by Hirohiko Yokomi [ja] and illustrated by Naoe Kikuchi [ja]. The manga was serialized in Shogakukan's seinen manga magazine Monthly Ikki between 2001 and 2006. A 13-episode anime television series adaptation by Group TAC was broadcast in 2007.

Tetsuko no Tabi
First tankōbon volume cover
鉄子の旅
Manga
Written by	Hirohiko Yokomi [ja]
Illustrated by	Naoe Kikuchi [ja]
Published by	Shogakukan
Magazine	Monthly Ikki
Demographic	Seinen
Original run	November 30, 2001 – October 25, 2006
Volumes	6 + 1 extra
Anime television series
Directed by	Akinori Nagaoka
Studio	Group TAC
Original network	Family Gekijo
Original run	June 24, 2007 – September 23, 2007
Episodes	13
Manga
Shin Tetsuko no Tabi
Written by	Hirohiko Yokomi
Illustrated by	Kanoko Hoashi
Published by	Shogakukan
Magazine	Monthly Ikki
Demographic	Seinen
Original run	May 25, 2009 – January 25, 2013
Volumes	5
Manga
Tetsuko no Tabi 3-daime
Written by	Hirohiko Yokomi
Illustrated by	Akira Kirioka
Published by	Shogakukan
Magazine	Monthly Sunday Gene-X
Demographic	Seinen
Original run	May 19, 2016 – January 19, 2019
Volumes	4

Overview

Tetsuko no Tabi is a non-fiction manga series inspired by Getting On and Off of JR's 4600 Stations (1998), a book by Hirohiko Yokomi [ja] documenting his journey to every train station in Japan.^[1][2] The project began when Shogakukan's Monthly Ikki editor-in-chief Hideki Egami [ja] sought to adapt Yokomi's travels into manga. Shogakukan editor and avid railfan Masahiko Ishikawa then recruited Naoe Kikuchi—a rising artist who had previously worked on shorts for the publisher—marking her debut serialized work.^[3][2] The series follows Kikuchi herself as she travels alongside Yokomi and Ishikawa, transforming their real-life adventures into manga.^[2]

Characters

Hirohiko Yokomi [ja]

Voiced by: Nobuyuki Hiyama

The travel-writer, who turns out to be a huge train-fan. He has a lot of energy and passion for trains, and sometimes girls, but also micro-manages all their trips, planning every detail down to the second. He cares mostly about following the schedule and successfully achieving his planned goals (e.g. visiting all stations on a line in a completely bizarre order to accommodate infrequent trains).

Naoe Kikuchi [ja]

Voiced by: Akira Tomisaka

A manga artist. She has no interest in trains whatsoever, and she keeps getting freaked out by Yokomi's antics. She is also cynical, sarcastic, and rather lazy, mainly looking forward to the next ekiben.

Masahiko Ishikawa

Voiced by: Tokuyoshi Kawashima

Kikuchi's editor, another train geek.

Masaki Kamimura

Voiced by: Tetsuharu Ōta

Kikuchi's second editor.

Media

Manga

Created by Hirohiko Yokomi [ja] and Naoe Kikuchi [ja], Tetsuko no Tabi debuted in Shogakukan's Spirits Zōkan Ikki^[a] on November 30, 2001.^[4] The series finished on October 25, 2006.^[b] Shogakukan collected its chapters in six tankōbon volumes, released from November 30, 2004, to February 28, 2007.^[7] The series was again intermittently serialized from 2007,^[8] with chapters collected in a single volume, titled Tetsuko no Tabi Plus, released on February 25, 2009.^[9]

A sequel, titled Shin Tetsuko no Tabi (新・鉄子の旅), illustrated by Kanoko Hoashi, was serialized in Monthly Ikki from May 25, 2009,^[10][11] to January 25, 2013.^[12] Shogakukan collected its chapters in five tankōbon volumes, released from February 25, 2010,^[13] to March 29, 2013.^[14]

Another manga series, titled Tetsuko no Tabi 3-daime (鉄子の旅 3代目), illustrated by Akira Kirioka, was serialized in Monthly Sunday Gene-X from May 19, 2016,^[15] to January 19, 2019.^[16] Shogakukan collected its chapters in four volumes, released from February 17, 2017,^[17] to July 19, 2019.^[18]

Anime

A 13-episode anime television series adaptation, animated by Group TAC,^[19] was broadcast on the cable television station Family Gekijo from June 24 to September 23, 2007.^[5][20][21]

Notes

1. Re-branded as Monthly Ikki in 2003.
2. The series finished in the magazine's December 2006 issue,^[5] released on October 25 of that same year.^[6]