Drops of God

It is written by Tadashi Agi, a pseudonym employed by creative team of sister and brother Yuko and Shin Kibayashi,[3][4] and illustrated by Shu Okimoto.

A third part of the series serves as short sequel details Shizuku's life after the competition and taking Issei's daughter under his wing.

The series was first published in November 2004 in Weekly Morning magazine in Japan and ended in June 2014, with the final volume out in July.

[5] A sequel manga series, titled Drops of God: Mariage (マリアージュ ~神の雫 最終章~, Mariage - Kami no Shizuku Saishūshō) continued where the original manga left off, focusing on Shizuku traveling abroad to deepen his knowledge of wine and his search for the "Drops of God".

The story takes place after Mariage, with an older Shizuku traveling the world and arriving in Paris to teach Issei's daughter about wine.

He also learns that he has a competitor in this, a renowned young wine critic called Issei Tomine, who his father has apparently recently adopted as his other son.

In this, he is also helped by knowledge gained from his time as a child with his father, and supported by his friends, including trainee sommelier Miyabi Shinohara and colleagues in the newly formed wine department of his company, which he now joins.

Following a draw on the "Apostles" wines, Shizuku and Issei received a near year-long grace period before the search for the "Drops of God" resumed.

One day, the siblings tried a 1985 DRC Échezeaux and become more entranced in the deeper aspects of the wine world, stating "when [they] had it, it made us think about the culture, the people, and we started to see these complex pictures and patterns like a rug.

Based on a certain standard, they tasted various kinds of wine at all price ranges and from different parts of the world, even ones that don't appear in the manga.

In the depiction of Drops of God: Mariage, they wanted to emphasize how food and wine were intrinsic with each other, as there "are combinations that complement each other and that work against each other".

[6][7][8] On August 31, 2023 Kodansha USA revealed they licensed the sequel and the first volume was initially to be release digitally on September 26, 2023, but was pushed back to October 3, 2023.

[10][12] In 2008, a Korean adaptation was in the works, with actor Bae Yong-joon (who the Kibayashi siblings modeled character Issei after) expressing interested in it, but ultimately fell through and was never greenlit.

The screenplay was written by Quoc Dang Tran, and the series was directed by Oded Ruskin and produced by Klaus Zimmermann.

French actress Fleur Geffrier and Japanese actor Tomohisa Yamashita are starring as Camille and Issei, respectively.

[177][178][179][180] In an interview, Tran revealed that he read all 44 volumes of series and the TV drama spent five years in development, with various experts and consultants to ensure the story was authentic.

[189] On January 22, 2009, a diary book detailing the Kibayahi siblings creative process about the manga and columns of their research was released.

[192] The series has received both local and global critical acclaim, being praised for its story, art, and educational knowledge of wine.

[203] The success, popularity, and cultural impact of Drops of God has been credited to its influence for increasing interest in wines, especially the ones introduced in the manga, most notably, propelling obscure winemakers to celebrity status, increasing domestic and international sales, and even fed into wine speculation with bottles that were usually priced around $20 reaching the thousands overnight.

One of the most memorable wines covered in the Drops of God is Château-Mont-Perat, with its normal price of €15 changing to €150 per bottle and rise annual production of 25,000 cases to 50,000.

[210] The Japanese importer Enoteca has stated that the character Shizuku has begun to influence its stock ordering decisions.

[212] In 2005, elite South Korean companies was even reported to had bought all the wines introduced in The Drops of God as a way to “educate” their employees.

Sales of Umberto Cosmo's Colli di Conegliano Rosso also leaped 30% after being mentioned in the Manga series.

[4] 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.

[217] 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.

During a press released, Shink and Yuko stated that they approached the event the same way they did with the series:[233][234][235] We will be applying the same principles for the exploration of American wines we shared in the manga: Heaven, Earth, Man and Marriage ...