COWA!

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Cowa!
Cowa! tankōbon cover
COWA! (こわ！) Kowa!
Author	Akira Toriyama
Publisher	Shueisha (JP)
Publication	Weekly Shōnen Jump
Demographic	Shōnen
Manga Series
Original Run	Weekly Shōnen Jump 1997 No. 48 to Weekly Shōnen Jump 1998 No. 15 (28 October 1997 to 10 March 1998)
Chapters	14
Volumes	1

COWA! is a fourteen-chapter manga series by Akira Toriyama, debuting in the 1997 No. 48 issue of Weekly Shōnen Jump, originally released 28 October 1997 in Japan. The series ran through to the 1998 No. 15 issue, and a collected volume was released that May.

In America, COWA! was released as a collected print edition by Viz in July 2008 with an English translation and adaptation by Alexander O. Smith, touch-up art and lettering by Walden Wong, design by Sean Lee, and edited by Yuki Murashige.

Synopsis

オバケと人間が一緒に暮らすこうもり岬で、オバケだけがかかる“オバケ風邪”が流行。その薬を手に入れるため、吸血鬼のパイフー、オバケのホセとアーポン、人間の丸山さんの4人が旅に出た!!

Characters

TBD

Production

Weekly Shōnen Jump 1997 No. 48 issue with the first chapter of COWA!

Character designs and other elements from Akira Toriyama's one-shot Bubul of the Demon Village — released earlier that same year in the 1997 No. 22/23 issue of Weekly Shōnen Jump — were retooled for COWA! The 1997 No. 47 issue of Weekly Shōnen Jump included a brief feature on this ahead of COWA!'s serialization beginning the following issue.

Kazuhiko Torishima once again served as Akira Toriyama's editor on COWA! throughout its serialization.

Over the course of its serialization, COWA! did not run in every single Weekly Shōnen Jump issue, instead generally running two or three issues, then off for one issue, before resuming again for the same rough pattern.

Toriyama's weekly author comment alongside the fourteenth and final chapter of COWA! notes how the series was supposed to be twelve chapters, but that he went two over "out of sheer momentum."

Original Serialization

#	Chapter Title	Pages	Publication	Issue	Sale Date
1	Paifu's Errand	#	Weekly Shōnen Jump	1997 No. 48	28 October 1997
2	The Monster's Test of Courage	#	Weekly Shōnen Jump	1997 No. 49	04 November 1997
3	Paifu and Arpon	#	Weekly Shōnen Jump	1997 No. 50	11 November 1997
4	The Monster-Flu	#	Weekly Shōnen Jump	1997 No. 52	25 November 1997
5	Setting Out for Horned-Owl Mountain	#	Weekly Shōnen Jump	1998 No. 1	02 December 1997
6	Mako Maruyama is Really Scary	#	Weekly Shōnen Jump	1998 No. 4/5	22 December 1997
7	The Trip Proceeds Smoothly	#	Weekly Shōnen Jump	1998 No. 6	05 January 1998
8	The Active Volcano Makes His Move	#	Weekly Shōnen Jump	1998 No. 7	13 January 1998
9	The Fearsome Forest Monster	#	Weekly Shōnen Jump	1998 No. 8	20 January 1998
10	World's-Strongest-Man Makorin's Struggle	#	Weekly Shōnen Jump	1998 No. 10	03 February 1998
11	Arrival at the Witch's House	#	Weekly Shōnen Jump	1998 No. 11	10 February 1998
12	The Cure is Obtained!	#	Weekly Shōnen Jump	1998 No. 12	17 February 1998
13	Do Your Best, Paifu	#	Weekly Shōnen Jump	1998 No. 14	03 March 1998
14	Makorin's Boat	#	Weekly Shōnen Jump	1998 No. 15	10 March 1998

Releases

COWA! received a single-volume complete tankōbon release 01 May 1998 in Japan. The volume is presented exclusively in black-and-white, with any color pages from the original serialization presented instead in greyscale, with the exception of the first chapter which is presented in its original full color. Toriyama's comment on the inside of the dust jacket states:

最近はトシのせいか、ちょっと腕が痛いのと、完全にひとりだけで仕事をしたいのとで、二度と週刊連載はやらないと決めていたのですが、編集長がボクの最初の担当さんだったこともあって、短期間ではあるけどつい描くはめに…。 どうせならと、以前から、一度試してみたかった少しだけ絵本っぽい表現と、本当は主役にしたかった無愛想なオジサンなど、わがままいって描かせてもらいました。

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English translation
— Akira Toriyama

A digital release later came in 2014.

The Toriyama's World team released a complete English "scanlation" of COWA! circa 2001.

Legacy

Cowa!'s 2014 collected volume new obi and comment from Akira Toriyama

Chapter 1 comment notes Toriyama getting a lot of tropical fish since Dragon Ball serialization ended. The tropical fish are even more evident as an influence on Kajika, where characters start to be named after fish.

In the "Special Project: 'Tera-P'" interview within the December 2013 issue of Shueisha's V-Jump magazine, Toriyama noted that the then-new Jaco the Galactic Patrolman was one of his own works that he loved alongside COWA! and Sand Land.

Based on its then-recent English release from Viz, COWA! was nominated in the Best Publication for Kids category of the 2009 Eisner Awards that April (up against Amulet, Book 1: The Stonekeeper by Kazu Kabuishi, Princess at Midnight by Andi Watson, Stinky by Eleanor Davis, and Tiny Titans by Art Baltazar and Franco, with the lattermost title taking the award that July).

In April 2014, in celebration of the Jaco the Galactic Patrolman collected manga volume release, Shueisha began including new comments from Akira Toriyama on the obi (paper band surrounding the book, generally promotional in nature) of his seven other (non-Dr. Slump and non-Dragon Ball) manga volumes. While each comment was only a short few lines, they provide a quick bit of insight with the occasional nod or comparison to Dragon Ball. Toriyama also contributed a new illustration for each comment showcasing a representative character crossing their arms. These comments were also briefly archived on Shueisha's promotional Jaco the Galactic Patrolman website. For Cowa!, Toriyama stated:

だれがなんといおうとすべての作品の中でいちばん大スキなマンガであります。とりやまあきら

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No matter what anyone says, this is the comic I like the best out of all my works.
— Akira Toriyama

International Media Coverage

TBD

External Links

• TBD