The Drops of God (manga, volumes, English) Add a review

Drops of God (神の雫, Kami no Shizuku) is a Japanese manga series about wine. It is written by Tadashi Agi, a pseudonym employed by creative team of sister and brother Yuko and Shin Kibayashi, and illustrated by Shu Okimoto. The story is told in two parts – the first part focusing on protagonist Shizuku Kanzaki and his rival Issei Tomine on their search of the "Twelve Apostles" wines, and the second focusing on finding the "Drops of God". 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. 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 manga's theme is the "marriage" between wine and food, exploring the many different combinations between them. Serialization began on May 28, 2015, a few months after the original manga ended its serialization, and was completed on October 15, 2020, collected into a total of 26 volumes.

On September 13, 2023, another sequel was announced, titled Drops of God deuxième (神の雫 deuxième, Kami no Shizuku deuxième) and began publication in Weekly Morning magazine on September 21 and ended on April 18, 2024. The story takes place after Mariage, with an older Shizuku traveling the world and arriving in Paris to teach Issei's daughter about wine. It ran for only two volumes.

Drops of God is widely successful, receiving praise for its accurate knowledge of wines, characters, story, and art, and is famous for its global impact on the wine market, especially the sales of wines profiled in the manga. Drops of God also inspired two live-action TV adaptations. An anime television series adaptation produced by Satelight is set to premiere in 2026.