Drops of God
The Drops of God is a Japanese manga series about wine. It is created and written by Tadashi Agi, a pseudonym employed by creative team of sister and brother Yuko and Shin Kibayashi, with artwork by Shu Okimoto. All the wines that appear in the comic are authentic.
The series was first published in November 2004 in Weekly Morning magazine in Japan. However, it ended on June 2014, with the final volume out in July. It is also published in Korea, Hong Kong and Taiwan. Since April 2008, volumes have also been published in France by Glénat. As of December 2007 the series had registered sales of more than 500,000 copies.
Vertical Inc. is publishing the series in North America under the title The Drops of God. After publishing four volumes, the fifth volume jumped ahead to the story arc for the Seventh Apostle, published under the name The Drops of God: New World. Vertical stated that this was done "by author request" and urged readers to "tell all your friends about the series so there will be second and third seasons to fill in the gap!"
A live action television adaptation, also titled Kami no Shizuku, was broadcast by Nippon Television in January 2009.
Plot
Kanzaki Shizuku is a junior employee in a Japanese beverages company mainly focusing on selling beers. As the story opens, he receives news that his father, from whom he is estranged, has died. His father was the world-renowned wine critic Kanzaki Yutaka, who owned a vast and famous wine collection. Summoned to the family home, a splendid European style mansion, to hear the reading of his father's will, Shizuku learns that, in order to take ownership of his legacy, he must correctly identify, and describe in the manner of his late father, thirteen wines, the first twelve known as the "Twelve Apostles" and the thirteenth known as the "Drops of God", that his father has described in his will. He also learns that he has a competitor in this, a renowned young wine critic called Toomine Issei, who his father has apparently recently adopted as his other son.Shizuku has never drunk wine, in part a reaction against the ruling passion of his late father, nor had any previous knowledge about wines. However, with strong senses of taste and smell, and an uncanny ability to describe his experiences from those senses, Shizuku submerges himself in the world of wine and tries to solve the mysteries of the 13 wines and defeat Issei. In this, he is also helped by knowledge gained from his time as a child with his father, and supported by his friends and colleagues in the newly formed wine department of his company, which he now joins.
Characters
;Shizuku Kanzaki;Miyabi Shinohara
;Yutaka Kanzaki
;Issei Toomine
;Christopher Watkins
;Ryouko Kiryuu
;Shirou Fujieda
;Souichirou Mishima
;Maki Saionji
;Robert Doi
;Sarah
;Kawarage
;Chosuka Honma
;Ryusuke Kido
;Kyrgyz Loulan
;Junya Ishikawa
;Kenya Ishikawa
;Ryo Takasugi
;Moegi Tanaka
;Honoka Toomine
The "Twelve Apostles" and "The Drops of God"
To win each round of the competition to identify the 13 mystery wines, Shizuku and Issei have to present a correct choice of wine and a justification of the choice which most closely matches Yutaka's description of the wine in his will. The judge is Yutaka's old friend Robert Doi. So far, the identities of ten "Apostles" have been disclosed.| Shizuku's choice | Country | Issei's choice | Country | References | |
| First Apostle | 2001 Georges Roumier Chambolle Musigny 1er Cru Les Amoureuses | France | 2002 Georges Roumier Chambolle Musigny 1er Cru Les Amoureuses | France | |
| Second Apostle | 2000 Château Palmer | France | 1999 Château Palmer | France | |
| Third Apostle | 2000 Santa Duc Gigondas | France | 1981 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape | France | |
| Rematch | 2000 Pégaü Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée da Capo | France | 2000 Pégaü Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée da Capo | France | |
| Fourth Apostle | 1992 Château Lafleur | France | 1994 Château Lafleur | France | |
| Fifth Apostle | 2000 Marc Colin Montrachet | France | 2000 Michel Colin-Deléger Chevalier-Montrachet | France | |
| Sixth Apostle | 2001 Luciano Sandrone Barolo Cannubi Boschis | Italy | 2001 Bruno Giacosa Barolo Falleto | Italy | |
| Seventh Apostle | 2003 Glaetzer Amon-Ra Shiraz Barossa Valley | Australia | 2003 Sine Qua Non The Inaugural Syrah Central Coast AVA | USA | |
| Eighth Apostle | Jacques Selosse Cuvée Exquise NV | France | 2000 Billecart-Salmon Cuvée Elisabeth Salmon Brut Rosé | France | |
| Ninth Apostle | 2005 Brunello di Montalcino Poggio di Sotto | Italy | 2005 Brunello di Montalcino Poggio di Sotto | Italy | |
| Tenth Apostle | 2002 Grands Échezeaux Grand cru Robert Sirugue | France | 2007 Grands Échezeaux Grand cru Robert Sirugue | France | |
| Eleventh Apostle | Priorat 2008, Les Manyes - Terroir Al Limit | Spain | Priorat 2008, domaine Ferrer Bobet - Seleccio Especial | Spain | |
| Twelfth Apostle | Château d'Yquem 1976 | France | Château d'Yquem 1975 | France | |
| Drops of God |
Green background means the competitor won the round and picked the correct wine.
Both choices were judged to be incorrect, therefore a rematch was held.
Although they selected the same wine, as Issei refused to describe his wine, he was judged to have lost this round of the competition.
Christopher also participated in this contest and found the correct wine. However, Issei's description of the wine was closest to Yutaka's understanding, and was judged as the victor by Robert
Reception and impact
It has been featured in the New York Times Best Selling list of manga.The Japanese importer Enoteca has stated that the comic character has begun to influence its stock ordering decisions. The sale of fine wines in South Korea has increased significantly as a result of the popularity of the comic, with the sale of wine rising from less than a third of the market to around 70 per cent of alcohol sales.
After an issue with a mention of lesser known producer Château Mont-Pérat came out, a Taiwanese importer sold 50 cases of Mont-Pérat in two days. Sales of Umberto Cosmo's Colli di Conegliano Rosso also leaped 30% after being mentioned in the Manga series. All Nippon Airways reported it had to recraft the in-flight wine lists to accommodate the increased interest.
After being featured in the finale of the Japanese television adaptation series of Kami no Shizuku in March 2010, the little-known Bordeaux wine 2003 Château le Puy became significantly popular in Japan. In September 2010, the proprietor of Château le Puy, Jean-Pierre Amoreau, made public his intention to cease international sales of their 2003 vintage in order to deter wealthy speculators, so that the wine remains within reach of everyone.
A 2007 Reuters feature asserted that "wine industry experts believe part of the manga's appeal is that it teaches readers enough about wine to understand the drink and impress their friends, but does so in an entertaining way". In the July 2009 Decanter publication of "The Power List" ranking of the wine industry's individuals of influence, Shin and Yuko Kibayashi placed at number 50, citing that the work was "arguably the most influential wine publication for the past 20 years".