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{{Other uses|Gold ring (disambiguation) {{!}} Gold ring}}
{{Italic title}}
'''''Gold Ring'''''<!--English title "Gold Ring" appears on book cover--> ({{langx|ar|سوار الذهب}}, Siwari Al-Dhahab; {{langx|ja|ゴールド・リング}} ''Gōrudo Ringu'') is a comic written by [[Qais Sedki]] of the [[United Arab Emirates]] and drawn by [[Akira Himekawa]] of [[Japan]].<ref name="Goodmanga">Good, Oliver. "[http://www.thenational.ae/arts-culture/art/gold-ring-the-uaes-first-manga Gold Ring: the UAE's first manga]" ([https://web.archive.org/web/20121006174328/http://www.thenational.ae/arts-culture/art/gold-ring-the-uaes-first-manga Archive]). ''[[The National (Abu Dhabi)|The National]]''. July 20, 2009. Retrieved on September 10, 2010.</ref> The series is the UAE's first [[manga]].<ref name="NeildManga">Neild, Barry. "[https://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/meast/09/10/uae.manga.arabic/index.html?hpt=Sbin Japanese manga heroes join fight to save Arabic culture]" ([https://web.archive.org/web/20150402193928/http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/meast/09/10/uae.manga.arabic/index.html?hpt=Sbin Archive]). [[CNN]]. September 10, 2010. Retrieved on September 10, 2010.</ref> The comic is printed in Arabic; an English version is available through mail order.<ref name="Thompson">Thompson, Jason. "[http://www.comixology.com/articles/410/-i-Siwari-Al-Dhahab-i-Sharing-the-Arabic-Japanese-Manga-Love-in-i-Gold-Ring-i- Siwari Al-Dhahab: Sharing the Arabic-Japanese Manga Love in Gold Ring] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101202044934/http://www.comixology.com/articles/410/-i-Siwari-Al-Dhahab-i-Sharing-the-Arabic-Japanese-Manga-Love-in-i-Gold-Ring-i- |date=2010-12-02 }}." ''[[Comixology]]''. Thursday October 14, 2010. Retrieved on March 23, 2011.</ref>

When Sedki founded [[Dubai]]-based publishing house, Pageflip,<ref name="Goodmanga"/> he wrote that he wanted to fight the perception that Classical Arabic, associated with schoolwork, was "boring." To help form his comic, Sedki approached a female duo of comic book artists known under the pen name Akira Himekawa and asked for consultation on how to best express the manga style.<ref name="NeildManga"/> The Himekawa duo became the artists of the books.<ref name="Goodmanga"/> ''Gold Ring'' was awarded the 2010 [[Sheikh Zayed Book Award]] for children's literature.<ref name="NeildManga"/>

Volume 2 of ''Gold Ring'' was released on March 1, 2012.<ref>Archived at [https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211209/3lIJGGmoMP8 Ghostarchive]{{cbignore}} and the [https://web.archive.org/web/20160731223511/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3lIJGGmoMP8 Wayback Machine]{{cbignore}}: {{cite AV media| url = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3lIJGGmoMP8| title = City 7TV- 7 National News- 12 February 2012- UAE News | website=[[YouTube]]}}{{cbignore}}</ref> The English version of Volume 1 was scheduled for release on the following day.<ref>{{cite web|last=Masudi|first=Faisal|url=https://gulfnews.com/uae/emirati-writer-to-sign-1951-books-in-one-session-1.978056|title=Emirati writer to sign 1,951 books in one session|newspaper=[[Gulf News]]|date=2012-02-09|accessdate=2023-04-24}}</ref>

In June 2014, Japanese animation studio, [[Gainax]] announced they would be developing an anime based on the comic.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2014-06-30/gainax-makes-anime-of-arabic-manga-gold-ring-by-zelda-himekawa/.76136 |title=Gainax Makes Anime of Arabic Manga Gold Ring by Zelda's Himekawa |date=June 6, 2014 |publisher=Anime News Network |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150403044402/http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2014-06-30/gainax-makes-anime-of-arabic-manga-gold-ring-by-zelda-himekawa/.76136 |archivedate=2015-04-03 }} ()</ref>

==Creation and conception==
Sedki became interested in Japan as a child. His first time traveling to Japan was in 2001. He chose Japanese illustrators so the illustration style would reflect that back in Japan.<ref>{{cite web|last=Duane|first=Rebecca McLaughlin |url=https://www.thenationalnews.com/arts-culture/books/qais-sedki-on-the-importance-of-encouraging-the-next-generation-to-read-1.465093|title=Qais Sedki on the importance of encouraging the next generation to read|newspaper=[[The National (United Arab Emirates)|The National]]|date=2012-02-26}}</ref>

The women under the pen name Akira Himekawa did not travel to the United Arab Emirates during the creation of ''Gold Ring''.<ref name=Manry>{{cite news|last=Manry|first=Gia|url=http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/interest/2011-01-14/zelda-himekawa-interviewed-on-arabic-graphic-novel|title=Zelda's Himekawa Interviewed on Arabic Graphic Novel|work=[[Anime News Network]]|date=2011-01-14|accessdate=2023-04-17}}</ref> The women used photographs of the United Arab Emirates as references. Shogakukan Square chose the translator,<ref>{{cite magazine|last1=Thompson|first1=Jason|author-link1=Jason Thompson (writer)|last2=Komatsu|first2=Mikikazu|url=http://www.otakuusamagazine.com/Manga/News1/Lords_of_the_Rings_4020.aspx|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141030124214/http://www.otakuusamagazine.com/Manga/News1/Lords_of_the_Rings_4020.aspx|title=An Interview with Akira Himekawa & Qais Sedki|magazine=[[Otaku USA]]|date=2011-01-12|archive-date=2014-10-30|accessdate=2023-04-17|url-status=live}}</ref> located in Japan, who served as the intermediary between the writer and the artists.<ref name=Manry/> Sedki used his brother in law Hassan as the model of the character Hassan; Sedki stated that many readers felt that Hassan looked like him.<ref>{{cite magazine|last1=Thompson|first1=Jason|author-link1=Jason Thompson (writer)|last2=Komatsu|first2=Mikikazu|url=http://www.otakuusamagazine.com/Manga/News1/Lords_of_the_Rings_4020.aspx|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141030124214/http://www.otakuusamagazine.com/Manga/News1/Lords_of_the_Rings_4020.aspx|title=An Interview with Akira Himekawa & Qais Sedki|magazine=[[Otaku USA]]|date=2011-01-12|page=[https://web.archive.org/web/20110119213819/https://otakuusamagazine.com/Manga/News1/Lords_of_the_Rings_4019.aspx 2]|archive-date=2014-10-30|accessdate=2023-04-23|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Story==
The story revolves around Sultan, an Arab boy who watches the Gold Ring [[falconry]] competition with his friend Ziyad. At the competition they find a caged falcon. Sultan convinces his friend to release the falcon into the wild. The next morning, the falcon is at Sultan's doorstep. Sultan calls the bird "'''Majd'''" and trains her for an upcoming falconry competition.

According to the ''[[Gulf News]]'', the story is set in the UAE.<ref>{{cite web|last=Nair|first=Nitin|url=https://gulfnews.com/lifestyle/manga-he-wrote-1.535070|title=Manga he wrote|newspaper=[[Gulf News]]|date=2009-08-25|accessdate=2023-04-22}}</ref>

==Release==
Sedki held a book signing for Volume 2 at [[Kinokuniya]] Dubai. He attempted to get a ''[[Guinness Book of World Records]]'' record for the largest number of books signed during a single event; at the time that record was 1,951. He got 451 books signed.<ref>{{cite web|last=Saeed|first=Saeed|url=https://www.thenationalnews.com/arts/qais-sedki-breaks-dubai-kinokuniya-record-with-gold-ring-2-1.354927|title=Qais Sedki breaks Dubai Kinokuniya record with Gold Ring 2|newspaper=[[The National (United Arab Emirates)|The National]]|date=2012-03-06|accessdate=2023-04-21}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Portal|United Arab Emirates|Anime and manga|Birds|Sports|Children's literature}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20100202063114/http://www.pageflip.ae/pageflip.html Pageflip Publishing]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20100716184522/http://www.pageflip.ae/ Pageflip Publishing] {{in lang|ar}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20120621212926/http://www.goldring.ae/ Gold Ring] {{in lang|ar}}
* [http://sailemagazine.com/?p=260 Interview with Qais Sedki (Part 1)] - Sail Magazine
* [http://sailemagazine.com/?p=301 Interview with Qais Sedki (Part 2)] - Sail Magazine
* {{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pzoNqDmLUeM|title=Video: Illustrators of the Golden Ring in Abu Dhabi|newspaper=[[The National (Abu Dhabi)|The National]]|date=2017-06-28|via=[[YouTube]]}}
* Thompson, Jason. "[https://web.archive.org/web/20130930211744/http://pulllist.comixology.com/articles/410/-i-Siwari-Al-Dhahab-i-Sharing-the-Arabic-Japanese-Manga-Love-in-i-Gold-Ring-i- Siwari Al-Dhahab: Sharing the Arabic-Japanese Manga Love in Gold Ring]." ''[[Comixology]]''. October 14, 2010.

[[Category:Arts in the United Arab Emirates]]
[[Category:Manga series]]