To celebrate the 30th anniversary of Weekly Shonen Jump, Shueisha ran a creator spotlight called “Great Jump!!” (すごい ジャン!!) to get some thoughts of their current artists about Jump. The creator spotlight started in the 1998 Weekly Shonen Jump issue 29 and continued through issues 33 with various different creators being highlighted.
The fourth part of this spotlight series continued with the 32nd Weekly Shonen Jump issue in 1998 with the following creators:
- Hirohiko Araki (Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure)
- Yuko Asami (Wild Half)
- Hajime Kazu (Meiryōtei Gotō Seijūrō)
- Shou Makura & Takeshi Okano (Hell Teacher Nube)
- Takehiko Inoue (Slam Dunk)
- Makoto Niwano (Base Boys)
This issue also featured 9 page timeline of the major milestones of the Weekly Shonen Jump magazine since 1968. It also featured a “Special Guest” interview with Hiroshi Motomiya and Go Nagai.
The manga series Slam Dunk, by Takehiko Inoue (井上雄彦), ran in Weekly Shonen Jump from 1990 issue 42 through 1996 issue 27 for a total of 276 chapters. Prior to this manga was the short series Chameleon Jail (カメレオン ジェイル) that released in 1989, was written by Kazuhiko Watanabe (渡辺和彦) and drawn by Takehiko Inoue. Takehiko Inoue would later go on to draw various other manga series in the late 90s for different publications after the conclusion of Slam Dunk.
(Due to printing issues, the image is misaligned)
The article begins with asking the author about his memories of Weekly Shonen Jump, which have been roughly translated below:
中学生のとき、友だちの家にあったジャンプをたまたま読んだら、やたらかっこいいマンガがあったんですよ。それが『リングにかけ、ろ 』で、剣崎がキザでかっこよかった。それから毎週楽しみにしてました。トビラ絵や大ゴマの絵を模写して、学校に持っていったりして(笑)。あとは『男の旅立ち』も好きでした! 1回目から一気に引き込まれて。虎を飼ってるなんて、すげーと思いましたよ。やっぱ、ジャンプは古い友だちですね!
When I was in middle school, I borrowed a copy of Jump that was at my friend’s house and it had a really cool manga in it. That was “Ring ni Kakero” and Kenzaki was so cool and fierce. After that, I wanted to read it every week. I would copy the cover art and illustrations onto large pieces of paper and take them to school (laughs). I also like “Otoko no Tabidachi!” I was instantly drawn in from the very first page. I thought it was so cool that he had a pet tiger. Jump is an old friend of mine!
Ring ni Kakero (リングにかけろ) by Masami Kurumada (車田正美) ran for 242 chapters between 1977 and 1981 in Weekly Shonen Jump. Masami Kurumada would later go on to create Saint Seiya (聖闘士星矢) in 1986.
Otoko no Tabidachi (男の旅立ち) by Yoshihiro Takahashi (高橋よしひろ) ran for 50 chapters between 1980 and 1981 in Weekly Shonen Jump. Yoshihiro Takahashi would later go on to create Silver Fang – The Shooting Star Gin (銀牙-流れ星 銀-) in 1983.
Both of these series are then highlighted in the article with a very brief plot synopsis.
In the last part of the article, Takehiko Inoue discusses his brief thoughts on the 2 series he had in Weekly Shonen Jump prior to this interview which have been roughly translated.
Chameleon Jail
初連載作品。毎週マンガを描くというのがどんなことかを勉強させてもらった
This is my first serialization. It is where I learned what it is like to draw manga every week.
Slam Dunk
これが描きたくて、マンガ家になったも同然の作品。つたない部分があちこちに見えるが、それでもこれが自分と言える
This is the type of work I wanted to make and why I became a mangaka. Even if there are some weak points here and there, I can still stand behind this work.
