View source for The Heart of Thomas

{{Short description|Japanese manga series by Moto Hagio}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2021}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2021}}
{{Infobox animanga/Header
| name            = The Heart of Thomas
| image           = Heart of Thomas Moto Hagio.jpg
| image_size      =
| alt             = Cover of the second tankōbon (collected edition) of "The Heart of Thomas"
| caption         = The cover of the second volume, featuring Erich (left), Oskar (center), and Juli (right)
| ja_kanji        = トーマの心臓
| ja_romaji       = Tōma no Shinzō
| genre           = {{ubl|''[[Bildungsroman]]''{{sfn|Shamoon|2012|p=106}}|''[[Yaoi|Shōnen-ai]]''<ref>{{cite web |title=''The Heart of Thomas'' by Moto Hagio |url=https://blog.fantagraphics.com/the-heart-of-thomas-by-moto-hagio-now-in-stock/ |website=[[Fantagraphics Books]] |access-date=December 4, 2020 |date=January 3, 2013 |archive-date=December 19, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201219012315/https://blog.fantagraphics.com/the-heart-of-thomas-by-moto-hagio-now-in-stock/ |url-status=live }}</ref>}}
| creator         = [[Moto Hagio]]
}}
{{Infobox animanga/Print
| type            = manga
| author          = Moto Hagio
| publisher       = [[Shogakukan]]
| publisher_en    = {{English manga publisher | NA= [[Fantagraphics Books]]}}
| demographic     = ''[[Shōjo manga|Shōjo]]''
| magazine        = [[Shōjo Comic|Shūkan Shōjo Comic]]
| imprint         = Flower Comics
| first           = May 5, 1974
| last            = December 22, 1974
| volumes         = 3 (1 in North America)
| volume_list     =
}}
{{Infobox animanga/Other
| title           = Sequels & related works
| content         =
* ''The November Gymnasium'' (1971)
* ''By the Lake'' (1976)
* ''The Visitor'' (1980)
}}
{{Infobox animanga/Other
| title           = Adaptations
| content         =
* ''[[Summer Vacation 1999]]'' (film, 1988)
* ''The Heart of Thomas'' (stage play, 1996)
* ''Lost Heart for Thoma'' (novel, 2009)
}}
{{Infobox animanga/Footer}}

{{nihongo|'''''The Heart of Thomas'''''|トーマの心臓|Tōma no Shinzō|lead=yes}} is a 1974 Japanese [[manga]] series written and illustrated by [[Moto Hagio]]. Originally serialized in ''[[Sho-Comi|Shūkan Shōjo Comic]]'', a weekly [[List of manga magazines|manga magazine]] publishing [[Shōjo manga|''shōjo'' manga]] (manga aimed at young and adolescent women), the series follows the events at a German [[Single-sex education|all-boys]] [[Gymnasium (school)|gymnasium]] following the suicide of student Thomas Werner. Hagio drew inspiration for the series from the novels of [[Hermann Hesse]], especially ''[[Demian]]'' (1919); the ''[[Bildungsroman]]'' genre; and the 1964 film ''[[Les amitiés particulières (film)|Les amitiés particulières]]''. It is one of the earliest works of ''[[Yaoi|shōnen-ai]]'', a genre of [[Gay romance|male-male romance]] manga aimed at a female audience.

''The Heart of Thomas'' was developed and published during a period of immense change and upheaval for ''shōjo'' manga as a medium, characterized by the emergence of new aesthetic styles and more narratively complex stories. This change came to be embodied by a new generation of ''shōjo'' manga artists collectively referred to as the [[Year 24 Group]], of which Hagio was a member. Hagio originally developed the series as a personal project that she did not expect would ever be published. After changing publishing houses from [[Kodansha]] to [[Shogakukan]] in 1971, Hagio published a loosely-adapted [[One-shot (comics)|one-shot]] (standalone single chapter) version of ''The Heart of Thomas'' titled {{nihongo|''The November Gymnasium''|11月のギムナジウム|Jūichigatsu no Gimunajiumu}} before publishing the full series in 1974.

While ''The Heart of Thomas'' was initially poorly received by readers, by the end of its serialization it was among the most popular series in ''Shūkan Shōjo Comic''. It significantly influenced ''shōjo'' manga as a medium, with many of the stylistic and narrative hallmarks of the series becoming standard tropes of the genre. The series has attracted considerable scholarly interest both in Japan and internationally, and has been adapted into a film, a stage play, and a novel. An English-language translation of ''The Heart of Thomas'', translated by [[Rachel Thorn]], was published by [[Fantagraphics Books]] in 2013.

==Synopsis==
The series is set in the mid-20th century, primarily at the fictional Schlotterbach [[Gymnasium (school)|Gymnasium]] in the [[Karlsruhe (region)|Karlsruhe]] region of Germany, located on the [[Rhine]] between the cities of [[Karlsruhe]] and [[Heidelberg]].{{sfn|Hagio|2020|p=145}}{{sfn|Hagio|2012|p=152}}

[[File:Schlossheidelberg.png|thumb|left|alt=Photograph of the city of Heidelberg, Germany in the 1950s|[[Heidelberg]] in the 1950s, which is visited by Oskar and Erik]]

During [[Easter]] holidays, Schlotterbach student Thomas Werner dies after falling off a pedestrian [[footbridge]] spanning a [[railroad track]].{{sfn|Shamoon|2012|p=106}} Although the school's community believes his death to be accidental, his classmate Julusmole "Juli" Bauernfeind receives a posthumous [[suicide letter]] from Thomas wherein Thomas professes his love for him; Thomas had unrequited romantic feelings for Juli, who had previously rejected his affections. Though Juli is outwardly unmoved by the incident, he is privately racked with guilt over Thomas' death. He confides in his roommate Oskar Reiser, who is secretly in love with Juli.

Erich Frühling, a new student who bears a very close physical resemblance to Thomas, arrives at Schlotterbach shortly thereafter. Erich is irascible and blunt, and resents being frequently compared to the kind and genteel Thomas. Juli believes that Erich is Thomas' malevolent [[doppelgänger]] who has come to Schlotterbach to torment him, and tells Erich that he intends to kill him. Oskar attempts to de-escalate the situation, and befriends Erich. They bond over their troubled family contexts: Erich harbors an unresolved [[Oedipus complex]] towards his recently deceased mother, while Oskar's mother was murdered by her husband after he discovered Oskar was the product of an extramarital affair.

It is gradually revealed that the root of Juli's anguish was his attraction to both Thomas and Siegfried Gast, the latter of whom was a [[Juvenile delinquency|delinquent]] student at the school. Juli chose to pursue Siegfried over Thomas, but Siegfried physically abused Juli by [[caning]] his back and burning his chest with a cigarette to the point of scarring, and is implied to have raped him.{{sfn|Tamura|2019|p=40}}{{sfn|Hori|2013|p=304}} The incident traumatized Juli; likening himself to a [[fallen angel]] who has lost his "wings", Juli came to believe he was unworthy of being loved, which prompted his initial rejection of Thomas. Juli, Oskar, and Erich ultimately resolve their traumas and form mutual friendships. Having made peace with his past, Juli accepts Thomas' love and leaves Schlotterbach to join a [[seminary]] in [[Bonn]], so that he may be closer to Thomas through God.

==Characters==
===Primary characters===
;{{nihongo|Thomas Werner|トーマ・ヴェルナー|Tōma Verunā}}
:A thirteen-year-old student at Schlotterbach, beloved by his peers, who refer to him by the nickname "[[Fräulein]]". He harbors romantic feelings for Juli, but upon declaring his love for him, is rejected. His suicide, ostensibly motivated by this rejection, serves as the inciting incident for the plot of the series.
;{{nihongo|Julusmole Bauernfeind|ユリスモール・バイハン|Yurisumōru Baihan}}
:A fourteen-year-old student at Schlotterbach, nicknamed {{nihongo|Juli|ユーリ|''Yūri''}}. The son of a German mother and a Greek father, he faces discrimination from his maternal grandmother as a result of his mixed heritage. Thus, he strives to be a perfect student so that he can one day be someone worth admiring regardless of his physical characteristics: he is the top pupil at Schlotterbach, a [[Prefect#Academic|prefect]], and the student head of the school library. The abuse he suffered at the hands of Siegfried led him to believe that he is unworthy of love, and to reject Thomas's romantic advances.
;{{nihongo|Oskar Reiser|オスカー・ライザー|Osukā Raizā}}
: Juli's fifteen-year-old roommate. He is the illegitimate child of his mother Helene and Schlotterbach headmaster Müller; when Helene's husband Gustav discovered that Oskar was not his child, he shot and killed her. Gustav pretended the death was an accident and abandoned Oskar at Schlotterbach to be cared for by the headmaster. Oskar is aware of the truth of his parentage, but does not admit so openly, and dreams of one day being adopted by Müller. Though Oskar behaves like a delinquent, he possesses a strong sense of responsibility for others: he is one of the few who knows about Juli's past, and becomes one of the first students to befriend Erich. Oskar is in love with Juli, but he rarely admits so and never pushes himself on him.
;{{nihongo|Erich Frühling|エーリク・フリューリンク|Ēriku Furyūrinku}}
: A fourteen-year-old student from [[Cologne]] who arrives at Schlotterbach shortly after Thomas' death, and who strongly resembles Thomas. Irascible, blunt, and spoiled, he suffers from [[neurosis]] and fainting spells caused by an unresolved Oedipus complex: he deeply loves his mother Marie, who dies in a car accident shortly after his arrival at Schlotterbach. During this time, Juli comforts him and the two become close; Erich eventually falls in love with Juli, and pursues him even as Juli rebuffs him out of guilt for Thomas. By the end of the series, Erich and Juli make peace.

===Secondary characters===
;{{nihongo|Ante Löwer|アンテ・ローエ|Ante Rōhe}}
:A thirteen-year-old student at Schlotterbach who is in love with Oskar, and harbors jealousy towards Juli as the target of Oskar's affections. He made a bet with Thomas to seduce Juli in hopes of distancing Oskar and Juli; unaware of Thomas' genuine feelings for Juli, he blamed himself when the bet backfired and Thomas killed himself as a result of Juli's rejection. Ante is calculated and spiteful, but eventually matures and admits to the consequences of his actions.
;{{nihongo|Siegfried Gast|サイフリート・ガスト|Seifuriito Gasuto}}
: A former student at Schlotterbach. He is renowned for his intelligence, delinquency, and debauchery, and proclaims himself to be greater than God. Prior to the events of the series, Juli found himself attracted to Siegfried against his better judgement, leading to an incident wherein he was abused and tortured by Siegfried and several other upperclassmen. Siegfried and the upperclassmen were expelled from Schlotterbach as a result.
;{{nihongo|Julius Sidney Schwarz|ユーリ・シド・シュヴァルツ|Yūri Shido Shuvarutsu}}
: The lover of Erich's mother Marie at the time of her death; a car accident in Paris kills Marie and causes Julius to lose one of his legs. He visits Erich and offers to adopt him, to which Erich consents.
;{{nihongo|Gustav Reiser|グスターフ・ライザー|Gusutāfu Raizā}}
: Oskar's legal father. Upon learning that Oskar is not his biological child, he murdered his wife and sent Oskar to Schlotterbach before fleeing to South America.
;{{nihongo|Müller|ミュラー|Myurā}}
: The headmaster of Schlotterbach. A former friend of Gustav's, and Oskar's biological father.

==Development==
===Context===
[[File:Hagio Moto in 2008.jpg|thumb|left|alt=Photograph of artist Moto Hagio circa 2008|Hagio in 2008]]
[[Moto Hagio]] made her debut as [[Mangaka|manga artist]] in the monthly [[List of manga magazines|manga magazine]] ''[[Nakayoshi]]'' in 1969 with a comical story, {{nihongo||ルルとミミ|Ruru to Mimi|"Lulu and Mimi"}}.{{sfn|Hori|2013|p=304}} [[Shōjo manga|''Shōjo'' manga]] (comics for girls) of this era were typically sentimental or humorous in tone, marketed towards elementary school-aged girls, and were often centered on familial drama or [[romantic comedy]].{{sfn|Thorn|2010|p=V}}{{sfn|Maréchal|2001}} As Hagio's artistic and narrative style deviated from typical the ''shōjo'' manga of the 1960s, her next four submissions to ''Nakayoshi'' were rejected.{{sfn|Tamura|2019|p=27}} Hagio's debut as a manga artist occurred contemporaneously with a period of immense change and upheaval for ''shōjo'' manga as a medium: the 1960s saw the emergence of new aesthetic styles that differentiated ''shōjo'' manga from [[Shōnen manga|''shōnen'' manga]] (comics for boys), while the 1970s saw the proliferation of more narratively complex stories that focused on social issues and sexuality.{{sfn|Shamoon|2012|p=102}}

This change came to be embodied by a new generation of ''shōjo'' manga artists collectively referred to as the [[Year 24 Group]], of which Hagio was a member; the group was so named because its members were born in or around year 24 of the [[Shōwa (1926–1989)|Shōwa era]] (or 1949 in the [[Gregorian calendar]]).{{sfn|Hemmann|2020|p=10}} The group contributed significantly to the development of ''shōjo'' manga by expanding the genre to incorporate elements of [[science fiction]], [[historical fiction]], [[adventure fiction]], and same-sex romance: both male-male (''shōnen-ai'' and ''[[yaoi]]'') and female-female (''[[Yuri (genre)|yuri]]'').{{sfn|Toku|2004}} Two particular works created by members of the Year 24 Group influenced the development of ''The Heart of Thomas''. The first was ''[[Sanrūmu Nite|In the Sunroom]]'' by [[Keiko Takemiya]], which would become the first manga in the ''shōnen-ai'' genre and was noted for having male protagonists, an uncommon practice for ''shōjo'' manga at the time.{{sfn|Nakagawa|2019a}} The second was ''[[The Rose of Versailles]]'' by [[Riyoko Ikeda]], which began serialization in the manga magazine ''[[Margaret (magazine)|Margaret]]'' in May 1972; the series became the first major commercial success in the ''shōjo'' genre, and proved the genre's viability as a commercial category.{{sfn|Shamoon|2012|p=119}} Hagio herself began publishing ''[[The Poe Clan]]'' in March 1972 in ''[[Bessatsu Shōjo Comic]]''; the series was not strictly a serial, but rather a series of interrelated narratives featuring recurring characters which functioned as standalone stories.{{sfn|Hagio|2013|loc=Introduction by [[Rachel Thorn]]}}

===Production===
[[File:Demian Erstausgabe.jpg|thumb|right|alt=Cover page to "Demian" by Hermann Hesse|''[[Demian]]'' by [[Hermann Hesse]] was a major influence on ''The Heart of Thomas''.]]
In 1970, Hagio befriended {{ill|Norie Masuyama|ja|増山法恵}} and manga artist Keiko Takemiya. Masuyama is credited with introducing Hagio and Takemiya to literature, music, and films that would come to heavily influence their manga: ''[[Demian]]'', ''[[Beneath the Wheel]]'', and ''[[Narcissus and Goldmund]]'' by [[Hermann Hesse]], as well as other novels in the ''[[Bildungsroman]]'' genre recommended by Masuyama, came to influence Hagio generally and ''The Heart of Thomas'' specifically.{{sfn|Tamura|2019|p=28}}{{sfn|Welker|2015a|pp=48–50}}{{sfn|Shamoon|2012|p=105}} Hagio has stated that Hesse's works "opened up one by one the dams that had stopped up the water [...] I heard a voice saying 'yes, you can write. Yes, you can express yourself the way you like. Yes, you can exist.'"{{sfn|Tamura|2019|p=28}} That same year, Hagio and Takemiya watched the 1964 [[Jean Delannoy]] film ''[[Les amitiés particulières (film)|Les amitiés particulières]]'', which depicts a tragic romance between two boys in a French boarding school. The film inspired Takemiya to create ''In the Sunroom'', while Hagio began to create ''The Heart of Thomas'' as a personal project that she did not expect would ever be published.{{sfn|Hagio|2013|loc=Introduction by [[Rachel Thorn]]}}{{sfn|Thorn|2005}}

In 1971, Hagio changed publishing houses from [[Kodansha]] to [[Shogakukan]], granting her greater editorial freedom and leading her to publish a loosely-adapted [[One-shot (comics)|one-shot]] version of ''The Heart of Thomas'' titled ''The November Gymnasium''.{{sfn|Hagio|2013|loc=Introduction by [[Rachel Thorn]]}} An early draft of ''The November Gymnasium'' relocated the setting of the story from an all-boys school to an all-girls school; unsatisfied with the resulting story, she maintained the male protagonists of the original series and published the adaptation in ''Bessatsu Shōjo Comic'' in November 1971.{{sfn|Hagio|2013|loc=Introduction by [[Rachel Thorn]]}}{{sfn|Welker|2006|p=858}} ''The November Gymnasium'' depicts a love story between Erich and Thomas, and ends with the latter's death; Oskar also appears, having previously appeared in Hagio's {{nihongo||花嫁をひろった男|Hanayome wo Hirotta Otoko}} in April 1971, and who would later appear in {{nihongo||3月ウサギが集団で|Sangatsu Usagi ga Shūdan de}} in April 1972 and {{nihongo||みんなでお茶を|Minna de Ocha o}} in April 1974.{{sfn|Hagio|2019|p=126}}

===Release===
Following the critical and commercial success of ''The Rose of Versailles'' at rival publisher [[Shueisha]], ''[[Sho-Comi|Shūkan Shōjo Comic]]'' editor {{ill|Junya Yamamoto|ja|山本順也}} asked Hagio to create a series of similar length and complexity, initially planned to be serialized over the course of two to three years.{{sfn|Hagio|2013|loc=Introduction by [[Rachel Thorn]]}}{{sfn|Tamura|2019|p=5}} Having already drawn roughly 200 pages of ''The Heart of Thomas'', Hagio submitted the series; the first chapter was published in the magazine on May 5, 1974.{{sfn|Tamura|2019|p=5}} Three weeks into its serialization, a reader survey found that ''The Heart of Thomas'' was the least-popular series in ''Shūkan Shōjo Comic'', prompting editors at the magazine to request that Hagio amend the original two- to three-year timeline for the series to four to five weeks.{{sfn|Hagio|2013|loc=Introduction by [[Rachel Thorn]]}}{{sfn|Tamura|2019|p=5}} Hagio negotiated to allow serialization of ''The Heart of Thomas'' to continue for an additional month, stating that if the reception was still poor after that time, she would finish the story prematurely.{{sfn|Tamura|2019|p=5}} She issued a direct appeal to ''Shūkan Shōjo Comic''{{'}}s readers, writing in the magazine that ''The Heart of Thomas'' was facing cancellation due to its poor survey placement, and launched a sweepstakes in which a random respondent to the magazine's reader survey would receive a piece of original cover artwork from the series.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last1=King |first1=Emerald |last2=Fraser |first2=Lucy |last3=Yoshino |first3=Sakumi |date=2010 |title=An Interview with Sakumi Yoshino |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/42772012 |journal=U.S.-Japan Women's Journal |issue=38 |pages=121 |jstor=42772012 |issn=2330-5037}}</ref>

In June 1974, the first ''[[tankōbon]]'' (collected edition) of Hagio's ''The Poe Clan'' was published: it sold out its initial print run of 30,000 copies in three days, an unprecedented sales volume at the time for a ''shōjo'' manga series that had not been adapted into an [[anime]].{{sfn|Nakagawa|2019a}} Shogakukan encouraged Hagio to conclude ''The Heart of Thomas'' to focus on ''The Poe Clan'', though Hagio insisted on continuing the series.{{sfn|Nakagawa|2019b}} The success of ''The Poe Clan'' drew attention to ''The Heart of Thomas'', and by the end of the summer, ''The Heart of Thomas'' was ranked as the fifth most popular serialization in ''Shūkan Shōjo Comic''.{{sfn|Tamura|2019|p=6}} Assisted by [[Yukiko Kai]], Hagio continued serialization of ''The Heart of Thomas''.{{sfn|Hagio|2019|p=162}} The series concluded on December 22, 1974, with 33 weekly chapters published in ''Shūkan Shōjo Comic''.{{sfn|Hagio|2019|p=123}} At the time, original manga artwork did not necessarily remain the property of the artist; in the case of ''The Heart of Thomas'', the original artwork for the [[Book frontispiece|frontispiece]] of each chapter were distributed as rewards for a contest in the magazine.{{sfn|Hagio|2019|p=123}} In 2019, Shogakukan launched a campaign through its magazine ''[[Monthly Flowers]]'' to recover the original frontispieces for ''The Heart of Thomas''.{{sfn|Hagio|2019|p=123}}<ref>{{cite web |last1=Loveridge |first1=Lynzee |title=''Monthly Flowers'' Editors Ask for Help to Locate Original ''The Heart of Thomas'' Manga Art |url=https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/interest/2019-01-02/monthly-flowers-editors-ask-for-help-to-locate-original-the-heart-of-thomas-manga-art/.141563 |website=[[Anime News Network]] |access-date=December 2, 2020 |date=January 2, 2019 |archive-date=January 18, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210118010617/https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/interest/2019-01-02/monthly-flowers-editors-ask-for-help-to-locate-original-the-heart-of-thomas-manga-art/.141563 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Upon its conclusion, Shogakukan collected ''The Heart of Thomas'' into three ''tankōbon'' published in January, April, and June 1975; they are respectively numbers 41, 42, and 43 of the Flower Comics [[Collection (publishing)|collection]].<ref>{{cite web |title=トーマの心臓 1 |trans-title=''The Heart of Thomas'' 1 |url=https://iss.ndl.go.jp/books/R100000004-I000974216-00 |language=ja |website=[[National Diet Library]] |access-date=November 25, 2020 }}{{Dead link|date=March 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=トーマの心臓 2 |trans-title=''The Heart of Thomas'' 2 |url=https://iss.ndl.go.jp/books/R100000004-I000974217-00 |website=[[National Diet Library]] |language=ja |access-date=November 25, 2020 }}{{Dead link|date=March 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=トーマの心臓 3 |trans-title=''The Heart of Thomas'' 3 |url=https://iss.ndl.go.jp/books/R100000004-I000974218-00 |website=[[National Diet Library]] |year=1975 |publisher=小学館 |access-date=November 25, 2020 |language=ja |archive-date=April 20, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210420220117/https://iss.ndl.go.jp/books/R100000004-I000974218-00 |url-status=live }}</ref> The series has been regularly re-printed by Shogakukan.{{sfn|Hagio|2013|loc=Introduction by [[Rachel Thorn]]}} In the West, ''The Heart of Thomas'' was not published until the 2010s. On September 14, 2011, [[Fantagraphics Books]] announced that it had acquired the license to ''The Heart of Thomas'' for release in North America.<ref>{{cite web|last=Baehr|first=Mike|title=Moto Hagio's ''Heart of Thomas'' coming in Summer/Fall 2012|url=http://www.fantagraphics.com/index.php?option=com_myblog&show=Moto-Hagio-s-Heart-of-Thomas-coming-in-Summer-Fall-2012.html|website=[[Fantagraphics Books]]|access-date=September 15, 2011 |date=September 14, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120319201159/http://www.fantagraphics.com/index.php?option=com_myblog&show=Moto-Hagio-s-Heart-of-Thomas-coming-in-Summer-Fall-2012.html |archive-date=March 19, 2012}}</ref> The single-volume hardcover omnibus, translated into English by [[Rachel Thorn]], was released on January 18, 2013.<ref>{{cite press release |date=November 27, 2012 |title=Fantagraphics Books Presents Moto Hagio's ''The Heart of Thomas'' |website=[[Anime News Network]] |url=https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/press-release/2012-11-27/fantagraphics-books-presents-moto-hagio-the-heart-of-thomas-january-2013 |access-date=November 25, 2020 |archive-date=May 25, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190525160651/https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/press-release/2012-11-27/fantagraphics-books-presents-moto-hagio-the-heart-of-thomas-january-2013 |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Sequels==
{{nihongo|''By the Lake: The Summer of Fourteen-and-a-Half-Year-Old Erich''|湖畔にて – エーリク十四と半分の年の夏|Kohan nite – Ēriku Jūyon to Hanbun no Toshi no Natsu}} is a [[One-shot (comics)|one-shot]] sequel to ''The Heart of Thomas''. The story follows Erich as he vacations on [[Lake Constance]] with Julius, who is now his adopted father; he later receives a letter from Juli, and is visited by Oskar.{{sfn|Hagio|2020|p=145}}{{sfn|Hagio|2019|p=104}} The manga was written and illustrated by Hagio, and published in 1976 in the illustration and poetry book {{nihongo|''Strawberry Fields''|ストロベリー・フィールズ|Sutoroberī Fīruzu}} published by [[Shinshokan]].{{sfn|Shamoon|2012|p=185}}

{{nihongo|''The Visitor''|訪問者|Hōmonsha}} is a one-shot [[prequel]] to ''The Heart of Thomas''. The story focuses on Oskar: first while he is on vacation with Gustav prior to arriving at Schlotterbach, and later when he meets Juli for the first time.{{sfn|Hagio|2019|p=108}} The manga was written and illustrated by Hagio, and published in the spring 1980 issue of ''[[Petit Flower]]''.{{sfn|Hagio|2019|p=185}}

==Analysis and themes==
===Visual style===
[[File:TakehisaYumeji-1926-Fujin Graph Spring 1926.png|thumb|right|''[[:ja:叙情#叙情画|Jojōga]]'' ([[Lyricism|lyrical pictures]]), as in this illustration by [[Yumeji Takehisa]], influenced the visual style of ''The Heart of Thomas''.{{sfn|Shamoon|2012|pp=113–114}}]]

In ''The Heart of Thomas'', Hagio develops important aspects of the principles of visual composition that have come to define the distinctive aesthetic of ''shōjo'' manga.{{sfn|Shamoon|2012|pp=113–114}} While these principles are not the work of Hagio alone, and instead took shape by degrees through the contributions of many artists beginning in the 1950s,{{sfn|Shamoon|2012|p=114}} Hagio develops this aesthetic in part by borrowing features from illustrations in pre-[[World War II]] Japanese girls' magazines.{{sfn|Shamoon|2012|pp=113–114}} She references ''[[:ja:叙情#叙情画|jojōga]]'' ([[Lyricism|lyrical pictures]]) in particular,{{sfn|Shamoon|2012|pp=113–114}} a category of illustration which sought to create a mood of sad longing while also scrupulously depicting current trends in fashion.{{sfn|Shamoon|2020|p=8}} Both ''jojōga'' and these ''shōjo'' visual principles are directed towards a girls' culture, and seek to heighten an emotional response.{{sfn|Shamoon|2012|p=114}}

Seen significantly in ''The Heart of Thomas'', these principles include characters externalizing their thoughts by [[stream of consciousness|associating freely]] or by doing so deliberately in a commentary; [[Panel (comics)|comic panels]] without borders; scenes displayed in slanting frames that overlap; visual [[metaphor]]; and backgrounds that arouse strong emotion.{{sfn|Shamoon|2012|p=114}} For example, facial features in manga are not typically drawn to scale,{{sfn|Anan|2016|p=83}} with younger and female characters drawn with more rounded cheeks and eyes relative to older and male characters;{{sfn|Anan|2016|p=83}} the principal characters of ''The Heart of Thomas'' often have oversized and sparkling eyes, and wear attire that obscures their body contours.{{sfn|Hemmann|2020|p=48}} Kathryn Hemmann, a scholar of Japanese fiction and graphic novels,<ref name=hemmann-penn-site>{{cite web|website=School of Arts and Sciences|title=Dr. Kathryn Hemmann|publisher=[[University of Pennsylvania]]|url=https://ealc.sas.upenn.edu/people/dr-kathryn-hemmann|access-date=March 3, 2021|archive-date=January 17, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210117034031/https://ealc.sas.upenn.edu/people/dr-kathryn-hemmann|url-status=live}}</ref> interprets these visual metaphors to communicate the defenseless and guileless natures of the characters, and their pursuit of love unencumbered by sexuality.{{sfn|Hemmann|2020|p=48}} Folklorist Kanako Shiokawa comments on the use of emotive backgrounds as influencing the ''shōjo'' artistic convention of illustrations where blossoming flowers are crowded behind the large-eyed characters.{{sfn|Shiokawa|1999|p=93}}

Deborah Shamoon, a scholar of manga and animation,<ref name=shamoon-nus>{{cite web|title=Associate Professor Shamoon, Deborah Michelle|publisher=[[National University of Singapore]], Faculty of Arts and Sciences|url=https://profile.nus.edu.sg/fass/jpssdm/|access-date=February 24, 2021|archive-date=January 19, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210119155302/https://profile.nus.edu.sg/fass/jpssdm/|url-status=live}}</ref> downplays the focus on character and background design to consider the primacy of [[interior monologue]]s in ''The Heart of Thomas'', which are disconnected from [[speech balloon]]s.{{sfn|Shamoon|2012|p=114}} The monologues are fragmented and scattered across the page, which Shamoon compares to poetry and the writing style of [[Nobuko Yoshiya]],{{sfn|Shamoon|2012|p=114}} and accompanied by images, motifs, and backgrounds that often extend beyond the edges of panels or overlap to form new compositions.{{sfn|Shamoon|2012|p=114}} Shamoon describes these compositions as "melodramatic stasis" – the action stops so that the monologue and images can communicate the inner [[pathos]] of the characters.{{sfn|Shamoon|2012|p=116}} She argues that these techniques create a three-dimensional effect that "lends both literal and symbolic depth to the story."{{sfn|Shamoon|2012|p=116}} Bill Randall of ''[[The Comics Journal]]'' considers how these moments allow the reader to directly access the emotions of the characters, "encouraging not a distanced consideration of the emotion, but a willing acceptance" of them.{{sfn|Randall|2003}}

===Gender===
[[File:Birch Little Lord Fauntleroy add Titre.png|thumb|right|alt=An illustration of the titular character from "Little Lord Fauntleroy" by Reginald Bathurst Birch|The androgynous appearance of the boys of ''The Heart of Thomas'' has been compared to the titular character of ''[[Little Lord Fauntleroy]]''.]]

The primary male characters of ''The Heart of Thomas'' are drawn with [[Manga iconography#Facial features|facial features typical of female characters]], their maleness marked visually only in their shorter hair and boys' school uniforms.{{sfn|Anan|2016|pp=83–84}} This artistic device led the poet [[Takaaki Yoshimoto]] to remark to Hagio that despite her characters being male, they appeared female to him.{{sfn|Hori|2013|p=306}} Hagio had set an early draft of ''The November Gymnasium'' in an all-girls school, but ultimately published the series with the original all-boys setting of ''The Heart of Thomas'',{{sfn|Welker|2006|p=858}} explaining later, "Boys in ''shōjo'' manga are at their origin girls, girls wishing to become boys and, if they were boys, wanting to do this or do that. Being a boy is what the girls admire."{{sfn|Tamura|2019|p=49}}

Echoing Hagio, art critic Midori Matsui describes the boys of ''The Heart of Thomas'' as displaced versions of girls who are granted the ability to express their thoughts fluently and their desires uninhibitedly, counterbalancing the absence of these attributes in the conventional depictions of girls in ''shōjo'' manga.{{sfn|Matsui|1993|p=178}} Matsui considers that this representation appeals to Japanese adolescent female readers by harking back to a sexually undifferentiated state of childhood, while also allowing them to vicariously contemplate the sexual attractiveness of males.{{sfn|Matsui|1993|p=178}} Graphic designer and manga scholar Kaoru Tamura<ref name=tamura-graphics-wustl>{{cite news|title=Manga Drawing and Animation|work=RESOBOX|date=October 10, 2019|url=https://resobox.com/class/manga-drawing/|access-date=February 24, 2021|archive-date=January 27, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210127072923/https://resobox.com/class/manga-drawing/|url-status=live}}</ref> compares the androgynous appearance of the boys of ''The Heart of Thomas'' to the titular character of ''[[Little Lord Fauntleroy]]'' by [[Frances Hodgson Burnett]], which was translated into Japanese by [[Wakamatsu Shizuko]].{{sfn|Tamura|2019|p=37}}

A notable exception to this artistic convention of depicting male characters with female attributes is Siegfried, who is drawn as masculine – taller, with hollow cheeks and oval eyes – even though his hair is unusually long.{{sfn|Anan|2016|p=84}}  According to Nobuko Anan, a scholar of Japanese visual arts and gender,<ref name=anan-kansai>{{cite web|title=Teaching Staff: Anan, Nobuko|publisher=[[Kansai University]]|url=http://gakujo.kansai-u.ac.jp/profile/en/2d9be08918ac5636.html|access-date=February 24, 2021|archive-date=April 20, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210420220119/https://www.kansai-u.ac.jp/common_header/kouhou/js/swpimg.js|url-status=live}}</ref> Siegfried's physical appearance renders him "as the [[Other (philosophy)|Other]], or a 'man,' in this space of 'girls.'"{{sfn|Anan|2016|p=84}} Anan considers Siegfried's abuse of Juli to signify the rape of a woman by a man, and compares Juli's ability to overcome this trauma through his friendship with Oskar and Erich to women who overcome the trauma of rape with the support of other women.{{sfn|Anan|2016|p=83}} Japanese studies scholar Kathryn Hemman considers ''The Heart of Thomas'' to constitute an allegory for the protection offered to young women by traditional gender roles in the 1970s and the loss of identity that comes with the assumption of these roles, noting that Juli, Oskar, and Erich eventually relinquish gender amorphousness to assume more traditionally masculine rules.{{sfn|Hemmann|2020|p=11}}

James Welker considers depictions of gender and sexuality in ''The Heart of Thomas'' to be underlain by "lesbian panic," or the inability or unwillingness to face lesbian desire.{{sfn|Welker|2006|p=857}} He cites as evidence Juli's confused reaction to Thomas's suicide note; Juli's extreme response to the presence of Thomas's look-alike Erich;{{sfn|Welker|2006|p=857}} and the early all-girls version of ''The November Gymnasium'', which Hagio discarded and later described as {{nihongo||嫌らしい|iyarashii|"disgusting"}}.{{sfn|Welker|2006|p=858}} Welker interprets Hagio's usage of ''iyarashii'' as reflective of her anxiety about lesbian love.{{sfn|Welker|2006|p=858}} Mark McLelland, sociologist and cultural historian of Japan at the [[University of Wollongong]], believed that Hagio depicted the primary characters of ''The November Gymnasium'' and ''The Heart of Thomas'' as male to free her readers from the same anxiety.{{sfn|Welker|2006|p=858}} Deborah Shamoon posits that Hagio may have been referring to the [[Class S (genre)|Class S]] literary genre that depicts intimate relations between females, and that ''iyarashii'' might have been in reference to the old-fashioned and rigid conventions of that genre.{{sfn|Shamoon|2012|p=107}}

===Religion and spiritual love===
[[File:Amaterasu cave crop.jpg|thumb|right|alt=Detail of a woodblock print by featuring the Shinto deity Amaterasu|The [[Shinto]] deity [[Amaterasu]]. Hagio presents Christian concepts in ''The Heart of Thomas'' in a manner that suggests inspiration from religious traditions of Japan.{{sfn|Tamura|2019|pp=34, 37, 39}}]]

Deborah Shamoon notes that although the gymnasium surroundings of ''The Heart of Thomas'' are represented with [[Realism (arts)|realism]],  the imaginative use of ghosts, angels, Biblical legends, and apparitions evokes a [[Gothic fiction|Gothic]] atmosphere.{{sfn|Shamoon|2012|p=105}} [[Supernatural]] objects and themes, in her view, represent not only the inner conflicts created by spiritual love but also reveal it as a force beyond ordinary rational understanding.{{sfn|Shamoon|2012|pp=105–106}} Figures from the [[Old Testament]] and [[Greek mythology]] appear as symbolic representations: Juli is drawn as the angel [[Gabriel]] when he reveals to Erich his history of abuse, angels appear throughout the series to symbolize the thoughts of characters,{{sfn|Shamoon|2012|p=116}} and the eighth chapter frontispiece personifies the [[Moirai]] as a young girl holding a spool of yarn.{{sfn|Tamura|2019|p=47}} Tamura notes that Hagio, who is not Christian, presents Christian concepts in a manner that suggests inspiration from the [[animism|animistic]] and [[polytheism|polytheistic]] religious traditions of Japan.{{sfn|Tamura|2019|pp=34, 37, 39}} For example, Oskar remarks to Erich that Thomas was possessed by [[Cupid|Amor]], the Roman god of love, and that his suicide released the spirit. Although Amor is often depicted as an angel in Western art, Tamura notes that Hagio manifests Amor in a manner that is reminiscent of a Japanese ''[[kami]]'' (spirit), such as inhabiting the air, a landscape,{{sfn|Tamura|2019|pp=35–36}} or a character in the story.{{sfn|Tamura|2019|p=39}}

Like Hesse's ''Demian'', ''The Heart of Thomas'' is a ''Bildungsroman'' about spiritual education during formative years.{{sfn|Shamoon|2012|p=106}} Welker writes that Juli's character arc of being unable to love, befriending Erich, and leaving the school environment of Schlotterbach is one that is consistent with a "''Bildungsroman'' paradigm."{{sfn|Welker|2015b}} Shamoon notes that unlike other manga works of the 1970s that feature male-male romance, ''The Heart of Thomas'' does not overtly depict sex; she argues that by depicting its characters maturing through spiritual and familial love rather than romantic and sexual love, ''The Heart of Thomas'' functions as a "transitional work" between "childish" ''shōjo'' narratives typical of the 1970s and earlier (such as ''Paris–Tokyo'' by [[Macoto Takahashi]] and ''[[Candy Candy]]'' by [[Kyoko Mizuki]] and [[Yumiko Igarashi]], the latter of which Shamoon notes depicts "idealized romantic love in a heterosexual framework"), and ''shōjo'' manga from the mid-1970s and onward that targeted an older readership.{{sfn|Shamoon|2012|pp=105, 109}} Thorn similarly contrasts the focus on spiritual love in ''The Heart of Thomas'' to ''[[Kaze to Ki no Uta]]'' and the works of Keiko Takemiya, which focus primarily on physical love.{{sfn|Thorn|2005}}

In further similarity to ''Demian'', ''The Heart of Thomas'' explores the concept of rebirth through destruction, though ''The Heart of Thomas'' reverses ''Demian''{{'}}s chronology: while ''Demian'' concludes with its protagonist's epiphany, ''The Heart of Thomas'' begins with Thomas' epiphany, which leads to his suicide.{{sfn|Tamura|2019|p=31}} Thorn notes this reversal with regards to the influence of the film ''Les amitiés particulières'', which also inspired the manga: while ''Les amitiés particulières'' concludes with a suicide, "the cause of which is obvious, Hagio ''begins'' with a suicide, the cause of which is a mystery."{{sfn|Hagio|2013|loc=Introduction by [[Rachel Thorn]]}} Commenting on the unresolved nature of Thomas' suicide in a 2005 interview with ''[[The Comics Journal]]'', Hagio stated:

{{blockquote  |1= If I had written [''The Heart of Thomas''] after the age of thirty, I probably would have worked out some logical reason for [Thomas] to die, but at the time I thought, 'He doesn't need a reason to die.' ''[Laughs.]'' I could have said that he died because he was sick and didn't have long to live anyway, or something like that. At the time, I thought, how one lives is important, but how one dies might be important, too, and so that's how I wrote it. In a sense, that mystery of why he had to die is never solved, and I think that unsolved mystery is what sustains the work.{{sfn|Thorn|2005}}}}

Manga critic Aniwa Jun interprets Thomas' suicide not as a selfish act motivated by Juli's rejection, but as a "longing for super power, yearning for eternity, an affirmation and sublimation of life to a sacred level."{{sfn|Tamura|2019|p=35}} Shamoon concurs that Thomas' death is "not so much as an act of despair over his unrequited love for Juli, but as a sacrifice to free Juli's repressed emotions."{{sfn|Shamoon|2012|p=106}} She argues that Juli as a character "represents the triumph of spiritual love over the traumas of adolescence and specifically the threat of sexual violence,"{{sfn|Shamoon|2012|p=109}} and that his decision to join a seminary at the conclusion of the series represents his acceptance of "spiritual love (''ren'ai'') at its most pure [...]  a transcendent, divine experience, separated from physical desires."{{sfn|Shamoon|2012|p=106}}

==Reception and legacy==
''The Heart of Thomas'' is considered a seminal work of both ''shōnen-ai'' and ''shōjo'' manga,{{sfn|Berlatsky|2013}} and came to strongly influence ''shōjo'' manga works that followed it. Randall notes how many of the stylistic hallmarks of the series, such as characters depicted with angel's wings or surrounded by flower petals, became standard visual tropes in the ''shōjo'' genre.{{sfn|Randall|2003}} Shamoon argues that the use of [[interior monologue]] in ''The Heart of Thomas'', which was later adapted by other series in ''shōjo'' genre, became the main marker distinguishing ''shōjo'' manga from other types of manga.{{sfn|Shamoon|2012|p=114}} Thorn notes that the themes and characters of ''The Heart of Thomas'' are also present in Hagio's 1992 manga series ''[[A Cruel God Reigns]]'', describing the series as "the adult version" of ''The Heart of Thomas''.{{sfn|Thorn|2005}}

In reviews of ''The Heart of Thomas'' in the mainstream and enthusiast English-language press, critics have praised the series' artwork, narrative, and writing. Writing for ''[[Anime News Network]]'', [[Jason Thompson (writer)|Jason Thompson]] praises its "'70s shojo artwork", along with the "dreamlike sense of unreality" in Hagio's dialogue.{{sfn|Thompson|2012}} In a separate review for ''Anime News Network'', Rebecca Silverman similarly praises the "willowy" and dramatic 1970s-style artwork, particularly Hagio's use of collage imagery,{{sfn|Silverman|2013}} Writing for ''[[ComicsAlliance]]'', David Brothers favorably compares the melodrama of the series to [[Chris Claremont]]'s ''[[Uncanny X-Men#1975–1991: Chris Claremont era|Uncanny X-Men]]'' and commends its character-driven drama.{{sfn|Brothers|2013}} ''[[Publishers Weekly]]'' described the series' romance elements as "engaging but nearly ritualized," but praised Hagio's "clear art style and her internally dark tone."<ref>{{cite web |title=Comic Book Review: '' The Heart of Thomas'' |url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-1-60699-551-8 |website=[[Publishers Weekly]] |access-date=January 15, 2021 |date=January 21, 2013 |archive-date=January 16, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210116140603/https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-1-60699-551-8 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Among Japanese critics, literary critic {{ill|Osamu Hashimoto|ja|橋本治}} was among ''The Heart of Thomas''' earliest detractors, describing the series as a "failed [boys'] ''Bildungsroman''." In a responding review in her 1984 book ''Chōshōjo'', literary critic {{ill|Chizuru Miyasako|ja|宮迫千鶴}} contended that ''The Heart of Thomas'' is not a boys' ''Bildungsroman'' but rather a work in which boys are written as allegorical girls (see [[The Heart of Thomas#Gender|Gender]] above); she praises the series as an example of "anti-''shōjo''" that seeks to offer commentary on the lives of girls in patriarchal and hierarchical structures.{{sfn|Nagaike|2012|p=6}} In the contemporary Japanese press, Rio Wakabayashi of ''{{ill|Real Sound (website){{!}}Real Sound|ja|リアルサウンド_(ニュースサイト)}}'' praised the series for raising ''shōjo'' manga to the "realm of literature" through the depth of its plot and characterization,{{sfn|Wakabayashi|2020}} while Haru Takamine of ''{{ill|Christian Today (Japanese newspaper){{!}}Christian Today|ja|クリスチャントゥデイ}}'' cited the series as a positive depiction of [[Christianity]] in manga through its portrayal of sacrifice and unconditional love.{{sfn|Takamine|2014}}

As one of the first ongoing serialized manga in the ''shōnen-ai'' genre, ''The Heart of Thomas'' is noted for its impact on the contemporary [[Yaoi|boys' love]] genre. In her survey of boys' love authors, sociologist Kazuko Suzuki found that ''The Heart of Thomas'' was listed as the second-most representative work in the genre, behind ''Kaze to Ki no Uta'' by Keiko Takemiya.{{sfn|Suzuki|2015|p=96}} The manga has attracted significant academic interest, and during the 2010s was one of the most studied and analyzed manga by Western academics.{{sfn|Taylor|2006|p=36}} Shamoon notes that much of the Western analysis of ''The Heart of Thomas'' examines the manga from the perspective of contemporary gay and lesbian identity, which she argues neglects the work's focus on spiritual love and [[homosociality]] in girls' culture.{{sfn|Shamoon|2012|p=106}}

==Adaptations==
{{Main|Summer Vacation 1999}}
''The Heart of Thomas'' was loosely adapted into the 1988 live-action film ''[[Summer Vacation 1999]]'', directed by [[Shusuke Kaneko]] and written by [[Rio Kishida]]. The film follows four boys who live alone in an isolated and seemingly frozen-in-time boarding school; the film utilizes a [[Retrofuturism|retrofuturistic]] style, with Kaneko stating that as the original series is not a wholly [[Realism (arts)|realist]] story, he chose to reject realism for its adaptation. The four principal characters are portrayed by female actors in [[breeches role]]s, who are [[Dubbing (filmmaking)|dubbed]] over by voice actors performing in male voices.{{sfn|Anan|2016|p=108}} The film was adapted into a novel by Kishida, which was published in 1992 by [[Kadokawa Shoten]].{{sfn|Welker|2006|p=851}}

In 1996, the theater company {{ill|Studio Life|ja|スタジオライフ}} adapted ''The Heart of Thomas'' into a stage play under director Jun Kurata. The adaption is considered a turning point for the company: it began staging plays with male actors exclusively, integrated ''[[shingeki]]'' (realist) elements into its productions, and changed its repertoire to focus primarily on ''[[tanbi]]'' (male-male romance) works.{{sfn|Anan|2016|p=100}} The play became one of Studio Life's signature plays, and is regularly performed by the company.{{sfn|Anan|2016|p=65}} ''The Visitor'', the prequel to ''The Heart of Thomas'', has also been adapted by the company.{{sfn|Welker|2015b}}

Writer [[Riku Onda]] began to adapt ''The Heart of Thomas'' into a prose novel in the late 1990s, but ultimately deviated from the source material to create the original novel {{nihongo|''Neverland''|ネバーランド|Nebārando}}, which was serialized in the magazine ''Shōsetsu Subaru'' from May 1998 to November 1999 and published as a novel in 2000.{{sfn|Welker|2015b}} [[Hiroshi Mori (writer)|Hiroshi Mori]], who cites Hagio as among his major influences,{{sfn|Hagio|2013|loc=Introduction by [[Rachel Thorn]]}} adapted the manga into the novel {{nihongo|''The Heart of Thomas – Lost Heart for Thoma''|トーマの心臓 – Lost heart for Thoma}}, which recounts the events of the manga from Oskar's point of view.{{sfn|Welker|2015b}} It was published on July 31, 2009, by the publishing house [[Media Factory]].<ref>{{cite web |title=トーマの心臓 |trans-title=The Heart of Thomas |url=https://iss.ndl.go.jp/books/R100000002-I000010686225-00 |website=[[National Diet Library]] |access-date=November 25, 2020 |language=ja |archive-date=April 20, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210420220138/https://iss.ndl.go.jp/books/R100000002-I000010686225-00 |url-status=live }}</ref> The cover and frontispiece of the novel are illustrated by Hagio,<ref>{{cite web |title=森博嗣が書く「トーマの心臓」が7月31日に発売 |trans-title=''The Heart of Thomas'' written by Hiroshi Mori will be released on July 31st |url=https://natalie.mu/comic/news/18237 |website=[[Comic Natalie]] |access-date=November 25, 2020 |language=ja |date=July 1, 2007 |archive-date=January 25, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210125020706/https://natalie.mu/comic/news/18237 |url-status=live }}</ref> while prose from the original manga is inserted into the novel as [[Epigraph (literature)|epigraph]]s to each chapter.{{sfn|Welker|2015b}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

===Bibliography===
{{colbegin}}
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* {{cite book |editor1-last=McLelland |editor1-first=Mark |editor2-last=Nagaike |editor2-first=Kazumi |editor3-last=Katsuhiko |editor3-first=Suganuma |editor4-last=Welker |editor4-first=James |title=Boys Love Manga and Beyond: History, Culture, and Community in Japan |date=2015 |location=Jackson |publisher=[[University Press of Mississippi]]|isbn=978-1-628-46119-0|ref=none}}
** {{cite encyclopedia |editor1-last=McLelland |editor1-first=Mark |editor2-last=Nagaike |editor2-first=Kazumi |editor3-last=Katsuhiko |editor3-first=Suganuma |editor4-last=Welker |editor4-first=James |last1=Suzuki |first1=Kazuko |title=What Can We Learn from Japanese Professional BL Writers?: A Sociological Analysis of Yaoi/BL Terminology and Classifications |encyclopedia=Boys Love Manga and Beyond: History, Culture, and Community in Japan |location=Jackson |publisher=[[University Press of Mississippi]] |date=2015 |pages=93–118 |doi=10.14325/mississippi/9781628461190.003.0005}}
** {{cite encyclopedia |editor1-last=McLelland |editor1-first=Mark |editor2-last=Nagaike |editor2-first=Kazumi |editor3-last=Katsuhiko |editor3-first=Suganuma |editor4-last=Welker |editor4-first=James |last1=Welker |first1=James |title=A Brief History of Shōnen'ai, Yaoi and Boys Love |encyclopedia=Boys Love Manga and Beyond: History, Culture, and Community in Japan |date=2015a |pages=42–75 |location=Jackson |publisher=[[University Press of Mississippi]] |doi=10.14325/mississippi/9781628461190.003.0003|isbn=9781628461190 }}
* {{cite journal |last1=Nagaike |first1=Kazumi |title=Fantasies of Cross-dressing: Japanese Women Write Male-Male Erotica |journal=Brill's Japanese Studies Library |date=2012 |volume=37 |doi=10.1163/9789004227002 |publisher=[[Brill Publishers]] |location=Leiden|isbn=9789004216952 }}
* {{cite journal |last1=Nakagawa |first1=Yūsuke |title=「COM」の終焉と「美少年マンガ」の登場 |trans-title=The End of ''COM'' and the Rise of ''Bishōnen'' Manga |journal=Gentosha Plus |date=2019a |url=https://www.gentosha.jp/article/14029/ |publisher=[[Gentosha]] |language=ja |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191226082728/https://www.gentosha.jp/article/14029/ |archive-date=December 26, 2019 |access-date=January 15, 2021 }}
* {{cite journal |last1=Nakagawa |first1=Yūsuke |title=新書判コミックスで変わる、マンガの読み方 |trans-title=How Reading Manga Changed With Book-Format Comics |journal=Gentosha Plus |date=2019b |url=https://www.gentosha.jp/article/14091/ |publisher=[[Gentosha]] |language=ja |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191211103734/https://www.gentosha.jp/article/14091/ |archive-date=December 11, 2019 |access-date=January 15, 2021 }}
* {{cite journal |last1=Randall |first1=Bill |title=Three By Moto Hagio |journal=[[The Comics Journal]] |date=2003 |issue=252 |url=http://www.tcj.com/252/e_hagio.html |location=Seattle |publisher=[[Fantagraphics Books]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080514035149/http://www.tcj.com/252/e_hagio.html |archive-date=May 14, 2008 }}
* {{cite book |last1=Shamoon |first1=Deborah |chapter=The Revolution in 1970s Shōjo Manga |date=2012 |publisher=[[University of Hawaii Press]] |title=Passionate Friendship: The Aesthetics of Girl's Culture in Japan |location=Honolulu |isbn=978-0-82483-542-2}}
* {{cite journal|last1=Shamoon|first1=Deborah|title=The Girl in the Whirlpool: Girls' Culture (Shōjo Bunka) in Tanizaki's Manji = 谷崎潤一郎の『卍』における少女文化|publisher=[[University of Hawaii Press]]|location=Honolulu|journal=U.S.-Japan Women's Journal|volume=57|issue=1|year=2020|pages=3–20|issn=2330-5029|doi=10.1353/jwj.2020.0002|s2cid=235047935}}
* {{citation|last=Shiokawa|first=Kanako|editor=John A. Lent|title=Themes and Issues in Asian Cartooning: Cute, Cheap, Mad, and Sexy|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=b0EJmrszhyQC&pg=PA93|year=1999|publisher=Bowling Green State University Popular Press|location=Bowling Green|isbn=978-0-87972-779-6|chapter=Cute but Deadly: Women and Violence in Japanese Comics|access-date=March 3, 2021|archive-date=April 20, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210420220117/https://books.google.com/books?id=b0EJmrszhyQC&pg=PA93|url-status=live}}
* {{cite web |last1=Silverman |first1=Rebecca |title=Review: ''The Heart of Thomas'' |url=https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/review/the-heart-of-thomas/gn |website=[[Anime News Network]] |access-date=January 15, 2021 |date=2013 |archive-date=January 16, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210116091720/https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/review/the-heart-of-thomas/gn |url-status=live }}
* {{cite web |last1=Takamine |first1=Haru |title=マンガとアニメとキリスト教" クリスチャンが選ぶサブカルチャー『トーマの心臓』 |trans-title=Manga, Anime and "Christian Subculture" – ''The Heart of Thomas'' |url=https://www.christiantoday.co.jp/articles/12939/20140302/godlike-subculture.htm |website={{ill|Christian Today (Japanese newspaper){{!}}Christian Today|ja|クリスチャントゥデイ}} |publisher=Christian Today Co., Ltd. |access-date=February 5, 2021 |location=Tokyo |language=Japanese |date=March 2, 2014 |archive-date=January 22, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210122125625/https://www.christiantoday.co.jp/articles/12939/20140302/godlike-subculture.htm |url-status=live }}
* {{cite thesis |last1=Tamura |first1=Kaoru |title=When a Woman Betrays the Nation: an Analysis of Moto Hagio's ''The Heart of Thomas'' |journal=Arts & Sciences Electronic Theses and Dissertations |date=2019 |url=https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/art_sci_etds/1747/ |publisher=[[Washington University in St. Louis|Washington University Open Scholarship]] |location=St. Louis |doi=10.7936/x80c-5m69 |access-date=December 2, 2020 |archive-date=February 8, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200208074152/https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/art_sci_etds/1747/ |url-status=live }}
* {{cite journal |last1=Taylor |first1=Zoe |title=Girls' World : How the women of the 'Year Group 24' revolutionised girls' comics in Japan in the late 1970s |journal=Varoom! The Illustration Report |date=2006 |volume=33 |issue=33 |pages=34–43 |url=https://pure.northampton.ac.uk/en/publications/girls-world-how-the-women-of-the-year-group-24-revolutionised-gir |publisher=Association of Illustrators |location=London |access-date=December 2, 2020 |archive-date=October 29, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201029081326/https://pure.northampton.ac.uk/en/publications/girls-world-how-the-women-of-the-year-group-24-revolutionised-gir |url-status=live }}
* {{cite web |last1=Thompson |first1=Jason |author1-link=Jason Thompson (writer) |title=Jason Thompson's House of 1000 Manga – ''The Heart of Thomas'' |url=https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/house-of-1000-manga/2012-11-22 |website=[[Anime News Network]] |access-date=January 15, 2021 |date=2012 |archive-date=January 16, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210116100651/https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/house-of-1000-manga/2012-11-22 |url-status=live }}
* {{cite book |last1=Hagio |first1=Moto |translator-last1=Thorn |translator-first1=Rachel |title=[[A Drunken Dream and Other Stories]] |date=2010 |publisher=[[Fantagraphics Books]] |contributor-last=Thorn |contributor-first=Rachel |contributor-link=Rachel Thorn |location=Seattle |isbn=978-1-606-99377-4 |contribution=The Magnificent Forty-Niners |pages=v–viii}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Thorn |first1=Rachel |title=The Moto Hagio Interview |journal=[[The Comics Journal]] |location=Seattle |publisher=[[Fantagraphics Books]] |date=2005 |issue=269 |page=138 |url=http://matt-thorn.com/shoujo_manga/hagio_interview.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070509012843/http://matt-thorn.com/shoujo_manga/hagio_interview.htm |archive-date=May 9, 2007 }}
* {{cite journal |last1=Toku |first1=Masami |title=The Power of Girls' Comics: The Value and Contribution to Visual Culture and Society |journal=Visual Culture Research in Art and Education |date=2004 |url=http://mtoku.yourweb.csuchico.edu/vc/Articles/toku/Power_Girls_Comics.html |publisher=[[California State University, Chico]] |location=Chico |access-date=December 2, 2020 |archive-date=October 14, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181014235023/http://www.csuchico.edu/~mtoku/vc/Articles/toku/Power_Girls_Comics.html |url-status=live }}
* {{cite web |last1=Wakabayashi |first1=Rio |title=萩尾望都『トーマの心臓』が少女漫画界に与えた影響 |trans-title=The Influence of Moto Hagio's ''The Heart of Thomas'' on ''Shōjo'' Manga |url=https://realsound.jp/book/2020/10/post-636477_2.html |website={{ill|Real Sound (website){{!}}Real Sound|ja|リアルサウンド_(ニュースサイト)}} |publisher=株式会社blueprint |location=Tokyo |access-date=February 5, 2021 |language=Japanese |date=October 15, 2020 |archive-date=April 20, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210420220145/https://realsound.jp/book/2020/10/post-636477_2.html |url-status=live }}
* {{cite journal |last1=Welker |first1=James |title=Beautiful, Borrowed, and Bent: 'Boys' Love' as Girls' Love in Shôjo Manga |journal=[[Signs (journal)|Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society]] |date=2006 |volume=31 |issue=3 |pages=841–870 |doi=10.1086/498987 |publisher=[[University of Chicago Press]]|location=Chicago|s2cid=144888475 }}
* {{cite journal |last1=Welker |first1=James |title=Review of ''The Heart of Thomas'' |location=Minneapolis |journal=[[Mechademia]] |date=2015b |url=http://www.mechademia.org/reviews/james-welker-review-of-the-heart-of-thomas-toma-no-shinzo-by-hagio-moto-trans-matt-thorn-5202015/ |publisher=[[University of Minnesota Press]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161116143854/http://www.mechademia.org/reviews/james-welker-review-of-the-heart-of-thomas-toma-no-shinzo-by-hagio-moto-trans-matt-thorn-5202015/ |archive-date=November 16, 2016 }}
{{colend}}
{{refend}}

==External links==
* {{anime News Network|manga|5891|The Heart of Thomas}}
* [http://www.studio-life.com/stage/toma/ ''The Heart of Thomas''] theatrical adaptation at Studio Life {{in lang|ja}}

{{Moto Hagio}}
{{Sho-Comi}}
{{Petit Flower}}
{{Fantagraphics translations}}

{{featured article}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Heart of Thomas, The}}
[[Category:Anime and manga set in Germany]]
[[Category:Fantagraphics titles]]
[[Category:Manga adapted into films]]
[[Category:Moto Hagio]]
[[Category:Romance anime and manga]]
[[Category:Shogakukan manga]]
[[Category:Shōjo manga]]
[[Category:Shōnen-ai anime and manga]]