In a recent interview with Weekly Osakanichi, co-creator of Kinnikuman manga artist Takashi Shimada has opened up about the immense pressure and challenges he faced when he debuted in Weekly Shonen Jump magazine.

Their revelations shed light on the demanding environment of one of Japan's most popular manga publications and the toll it took on its young creators.

Reflecting on the early days, Shimada revealed a strict policy enforced by his editor, stating that taking breaks was absolutely forbidden at the magazine, as it would result in his immediate dismissal.

“From the moment I debuted, editors kept telling me, 'You can't take a break from serializing Weekly Shonen Jump. If you take a break, you'll be fired immediately.'“

According to the mangaka, this pressure stemmed from the limited entertainment options available to children at the time, making manga an important source of entertainment. In addition, the growing popularity of Kinnikuman at the time he just increased his bets.

However, after six years of continuous serialization, a severe deterioration in Shimada's chronic back condition forced a reluctant hiatus.

He also revealed that upon returning to the industry, he found a transformed landscape. This was when dragon ball started to serialize.

According to Shimada, dragon ball quickly rose to the top of the charts, introducing elements that resembled those found in Kinnikuman.

This uncanny similarity, coupled with the general rise of battle-oriented manga, put Kinnikuman at a disadvantage, leading to a decline in its popularity.

“When I came back, 'Dragon Ball' had become the number one series. Before we took a break, we were winning. But at some point, elements from Kinnikuman like the Tenkaichi Budokai and the quantification of battle power were incorporated… 'Fist of the North Star' was the same, but Kinnikuman was targeted. Because of that, we could no longer win.“

Faced with these challenges and the constant pressure to stay on top, the duo behind Kinnikuman, known as Yudetamago, made the difficult decision to end the series. They then launched a new series, Here comes the ghost boy!.

However, the new series did not have such a strong impact on the public, leading to its early cancellation.

I was always told, “If you’re not number one, you’re not a manga artist,” so after consulting with Mr. Nakai, we decided, “Let’s give up.” Instead, we started serializing “Here Comes the Ghost Kid!” But gradually its popularity waned, and within less than a year, we were told to stop.

Kinnikuman The manga, however, restarted publication in 2011 in Shueisha's web magazine Shu Play News.

Created by the duo Yoshinori Nakai and Takashi Shimada, known as Yudetamago, the manga was originally published in Shueisha's shonen manga magazine, Weekly Shonen Jump, from 1979 to 1987, and was first adapted by Toei Animation into a 137-episode anime series broadcast by Nippon Television from 1983 to 1986.

There is also a sequel, the Kinnikuman: the 2nd generation manga that was serialized in Weekly Playboy between 1998 and 2004.

A new anime television series adaptation produced by Production I.G., based on the 2011 revival manga, is scheduled to premiere in July 2024.

Source: Weekly Search this