| Ja Kanji: | カリフォルニア物語 |
| Ja Romaji: | California Monogatari |
| Genre: | Drama, romance |
| Type: | manga |
| Author: | Akimi Yoshida |
| Publisher: | Shogakukan |
| Demographic: | Shōjo |
| Magazine: | Bessatsu Shōjo Comic |
| Imprint: | Flower Comics |
| Volumes: | 8 |
| Volume List: |
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| Stage show | |
| Content: |
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is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Akimi Yoshida, serialized in Bessatsu Shōjo Comic from 1978 to 1981.
In 1975, wealthy delinquent Heath Swanson drops out of high school and runs away from his home in San Diego, California, to live in New York City. While traveling across the United States, he stays in rural Texas, where he meets a group of individuals who decide to join Heath on his journey to New York City.
Yoshida, who was twenty years old when California Story was initially published, has said that she drew inspiration for the series from American New Wave cinema (particularly Midnight Cowboy) and the Japanese television drama (Kizu Darake no Tenshi). The series was serialized in the manga magazine Bessatsu Shōjo Comic from February 1978 until December 1981, and was collected by Shogakukan as eight tankōbon volumes published from November 1979 to April 1982 (listed below). The series has been reprinted as four hardcover bunkobon volumes published from December 1988 to March 1989, and as a four-volume softcover bunkobon set published in November 1994.[1]
In 2008, the theater company produced a theatrical adaptation of California Story written and directed by, which was staged at the Galaxy Theater in Tokyo from February 27 to March 9 of that year. The play, which featured a rotating all-male cast, starred Tsuyoshi Hayashi and as Heath, and Shingo Nakagawa and as Eve. A revival of the play was staged at The Pocket in Tokyo from July 20 to August 5, 2018, with Kurata returning as director.[2]
, a California Story art book, was published by Sanrio in 1982.[3] [4]
The series has been praised by critics for its unvarnished portrayal of the United States in the 1970s, and has been noted for its frank depiction of racism, poverty, and drug use. The series is regarded as a precursor to Yoshida's later manga series Banana Fish, with both works sharing a New York City setting and a thematic focus on youth romance, urban drama, and homoeroticism.