Shitsuren Chocolatier

, also known by its French subtitle , is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Setona Mizushiro. It was serialized in Shogakukan's "Rinka" magazine starting in 2008, moving to "Monthly Flowers" magazine in 2010 where it completed its serialization in 2014. Shogakukan collected the individual chapters into nine bound volumes published from January 2009 to February 2015. The manga was also adapted into a live-action Japanese television drama starring Arashi's Jun Matsumoto in the lead role. It aired for eleven episodes on Fuji TV from January to March 2014.
Plot.
Sōta Koyurugi is the son of a baker who owns a cake shop. While a high school student, he fell in love with Saeko Takahashi, the most popular and beautiful girl in school and one year his senior. Saeko only dates handsome men with power, position, and popularity in their school; therefore Sōta, being rather quiet and pale, chased after her from afar like a butterfly. He confesses to her one Christmas after she broke up with her boyfriend and they begin their relationship. Saeko has a burning passion for chocolate and gives a box of famous French chocolates to Sōta. Thus he decides to learn how to make smooth and delicious chocolate especially for her. However, the day before Valentine's Day, she refuses his box of home-made chocolates, saying that she has reconciled with her boyfriend and that they are now together once more. Heavy-hearted, Sōta asks Saeko to get rid of his chocolate for him, since it is painful to throw away something he made for someone special, to which she agrees and bids him farewell on a snowy evening. After the loss, Sōta travels to France to be employed by a renowned brand of chocolate and continues chasing his "fairy". Five years later, he returns to Japan, now having made a name for himself as a "Chocolate Prince". He takes over his family business and transforms it into an elegant chocolate shop. Saeko visits him again and he is determined to pursue her for many years to come, irrespective of her superficial marriage to a powerful man and the many opinions from his peers and coworkers about his obsession and whether or not Saeko is just playing around with Sōta.
Media.
Manga.
Written and illustrated by Setona Mizushiro, "Shitsuren Chocolatier" was serialized in Shogakukan's manga magazine "Rinka" starting on February 14, 2008. It transferred to "Monthly Flowers" in the November 2010 issue (released on September 28, 2010) and completed its serialization in the February 2015 issue (released on December 27, 2014). Shogakukan collected the individual chapters into nine volumes published from January 2009 to February 2015. Internationally, "Shitsuren Chocolatier" is licensed in France by Kazé Manga and in Taiwan by Ever Glory Publishing.
Live-action.
In October 2013, Shogakukan was announced that "Shitsuren Chocolatier" would receive a live-action television series adaptation starring Arashi's Jun Matsumoto as Sōta Koyurugi. The series premiered on Fuji TV on January 13, 2014, running for eleven episodes until March 24, 2014.
Reception.
"Shitsuren Chocolatier" won the 36th Kodansha Manga Award in the category in 2012. It was nominated for the Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize in 2014.
Volume 5 of the manga sold 44,458 copies by May 13, 2012; volume 6 sold 70,521 copies by January 20, 2013; and volume 7 sold 58,118 copies by September 15, 2013. The manga had 2.7 million copies in print in Japan as of May 2014.