- 期刊
《神奇柑仔店》系列風行現象考
Exploration of the Phenomenon of the Zenitendo Series' Popularity
摘要
日本童書【錢天堂系列】（ふしぎ駄菓子屋銭天堂），是由廣嶋玲子（HIROSHIMA Reiko, 1981～）所執筆的奇幻故事，2022年獲得日本小學生票選為最喜愛的童書冠軍，廣嶋玲子也被選為最受歡迎的童書作家。此系列在臺灣由親子天下出版，譯為【神奇柑仔店系列童書】，於2019年2月推出第1、2集，截至2023年6月繁體中文版已經出版到第14集，長期穩居童書暢銷排行榜之上。童書的創作者、出版者、購買者乃至於推廣者，幾乎都是大人；然而實際的受眾卻是兒少讀者。如此弔詭的童書供需實況，使得被大人推薦的「優良讀物」與兒少讀者實際喜愛的作品經常不一致。所以，由兒少讀者票選的「喜愛的童書」，格外引人關注。此流行風潮的背後，是否有值得探討的議題？由此，本小論梳理【錢天堂系列】原著作者廣嶋玲子的崛起之路，追溯她的作品在日本風行的軌跡，再觀察此風潮外溢到臺灣的效應，進一步探究臺灣版【神奇柑仔店系列童書】在文化轉譯上的困境，並觸及宣傳文案與作品內容的歧異。最後提出從此風行現象觀察中，所獲得的省思。研究結果發現，廣嶋玲子努力耕耘其擅長的中短篇類型系列，運用日本奇幻素材，創造廣嶋的奇幻世界。在【錢天堂系列】成為暢銷書的歷程中，初始的基礎來自書籍對小讀者的魅力，但成為爆量的熱銷系列，則要靠其他外力的推進，如「小學生挑選！兒童書的『總選舉』」活動的舉辦等。而知名度與銷售量的連環效應，在推出電視動畫之後更加明顯。本研究亦分析因文化符碼的「不可翻譯性」，所衍生出的書籍宣傳文案的落差。臺灣出版社的宣傳文案，其實偏離了實際作品的內涵。同時，臺灣的出版社，爭相出版廣嶋玲子作品的風潮，亦可能排擠其他類型的童書被出版的機率。
並列摘要
The Japanese children's book series Zenitendo, the Mysterious Candy Store (ふしぎ駄菓子屋銭天堂), written by Hiroshima Reiko (廣嶋玲子, born 1981-), is a fantasy story that gained popularity. In 2022, it was voted as the favorite children's book champion by Japanese elementary school students, and Hiroshima Reiko was chosen as the most popular children's book author. In Taiwan, the series is published by Commonwealth education media and publishing and translated as the Magical Grocery Store series. The first and second volumes were released in February 2019, and as of December 2022, the Traditional Chinese version has been published up to the 14th volume, consistently ranking high on the best-selling children's books list. It is indeed paradoxical that the creators, publishers, buyers, and even promoters of children's books are mostly adults, while the actual audience is children and young readers. This mismatch often leads to a discrepancy between the "recommended" books by adults and the books that children actually enjoy. Therefore, the results of children's book voting for their favorites are particularly noteworthy. Behind this trend, there may be issues worth exploring. Based on this, this essay examines the rise of Hiroshima Reiko, the original author of the Zenitendo series, traces the trajectory of her works' popularity in Japan, observes the effects of this trend spreading to Taiwan, further investigates the challenges of cultural translation in the Taiwanese version of the Magical Grocery Store series, and touches upon the discrepancies between promotional copy and the content of the works. Finally, it presents reflections obtained from observing this phenomenon. The research findings reveal that Hiroshima Reiko has dedicated herself to cultivating her expertise in the medium to short story genre, using Japanese fantasy elements to create her own magical world. While the initial foundation of the Zenitendo series as a bestseller stemmed from the appeal of the books to young readers, its success as a massively popular series relied on external forces, such as the organization of events like the "Elementary School Students' Selection! General Election for Children's Books." The cascade effect of fame and sales became even more apparent after the release of the animated television series. This study also analyzes the discrepancy in book promotional copy that arises from the "untranslatability" of cultural codes. The promotional copy by Taiwanese publishers deviates from the actual content of the works. At the same time, the trend of Taiwanese publishers rushing to publish Hiroshima Reiko's works may potentially overshadow the chances of other types of children's books being published in Taiwan.