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.
Go Nagai (永井豪) was the second of the “Special Guest” interview section of this article. He previously had numerous manga series run in Weekly Shonen Jump magazine that went across decades.
- Harenchi Gakuen (ハレンチ学園) (1968-1972)
- Nekketsu-dan (ネッけつ団) (1971)
- Mazinger Z (マジンガーZ) (1972-1973)
Harenchi Gakuen started in the very first issue of the Shonen Jump magazine, prior to it shifting to a weekly release. It then later became a weekly serialization which would last 119 chapters. Following its conclusion, Mazinger Z started its serialization the very next issue in 1972. He would then continue to create numerous other series for other publications starting in the 1970s.
The article begins with asking the author about his memories of Weekly Shonen Jump, which have been roughly translated below:
僕がデビューして1年ぐらいして、ジャンプが創刊されたんです。ジャンプより先に出てたマガジンとかサンデーとかは、周りが巨匠ばっかりで窮屈な感じでね 。でもジャンプは新人ばっかりだったんで、すごくのびのびと描けて、のびのびと悪いことができた(笑)。創刊号から『ハレンチ学園」を連載させてもらったんだけど、当時教育委員会とかマスコミにさんざんたたかれて･･･自分では、そんなすごいことやってるつもりなかったんだけど(笑)、なんでこんなに言われるのか不思議でねえ。まあ、そんな騒ぎも楽しんじゃうほうなんで、騒がせるだけ騒がしちゃえと(笑)。担当編集者も「新しい雑誌だから、どんどんやっちゃおうよ」って言ってくれてたんでんで、僕も気楽にやってましたよ。だからジャンプには、本当に自由にやらせてもらいましたね。
About a year after my debut, the Jump magazine was launched. Before Jump, there were other publications like Magazine and Sunday which was packed full of masters so they were very crowded. However Jump was for the newcomers, so I was able to draw freely and show naughty things without holding back (laughs). I had “Harenchi Gakuen” serialized from the first issue, and at the time, there was a lot of criticism from the Board of Education and the media… I didn’t think I was doing anything that bad (laughs), so I was wondering why they were talking about it. Well, I like to be disruptive, so I leaned into it the best I could (laughs). The editor in charge of the magazine eased those worries and also said to me “It’s a new magazine, so just go ahead and do it.” So I was really free to do what I wanted in Jump.
Next in the article Go Nagai picks his top 3 favorite manga series and provides a brief comment about it which have been roughly translated.
Harenchi Gakuen
「今のマンガにないめちゃくちゃさがオススメです」
“I recommend it since it has a wild feel not found in manga these days.”
Mazinger Z
「ゲームでしか知らない若者に、読んで欲しいな」
“I wish newer fans from the games would read this.”
Devilman
「永井豪を知るうえでは、ぜひとも読んでいただきたい作品ですね」
“This is a must-read for anyone who wants to experience Go Nagai.”
The Devilman (デビルマン) manga was published in Kodansha’s Weekly Shonen Magazine from 1972 through 1973. This series ran at the same time as the Mazinger Z manga was running in Weekly Shonen Jump.
Next the article asked about the future of manga and Weekly Shonen Jump, which have been roughly translated below:
雑誌って本当に生き物なんで、本当にその時代その時代をどれだけ反映していくかっていうのが重要です。そこのところは僕が連載していたころと根本的に変わってないと思いますよ。マンガ家と編集者の感覚を大切にして、この先なにが流行るかを読んでいかなくちゃいけないってところは。ジャンプが30周年っていうことは、関わったマンガ家も編集者も、先を読む目があったということですよね。この先も昔と変わらずがんばってください。ジャンプ30周年おめでとう！
Magazines are truly living things, so it is important that they reflect the times in which they are published. This fundamentally hasn’t changed since I was working on those series. Mangakas and Editors need to be mindful on what is popular now and in the future. The fact that Jump is celebrating its 30th anniversary means that the Mangakas and Editors were able to see that future. Please continue to create good stories, just as you have in the past. Happy 30th anniversary to Jump!
The article concludes with Weekly Shonen Jump asking what a Go Nagai series would look like in the magazine if it was made for the 30th anniversary (1998).
「最近ストーリー物ばっかりなんでギャグ物をやりたいんですよ。だから『ハレンチ学園』をリニューアルして描きたい。もちろん今の学校をきちんと取材してからね」
I’ve been working on a lot of narrative-based stories recently, so I would want to go back to something comedy themed. Maybe a new version of “Harenchi Gakuen.” Of course, I’ll have to do some research on the modern school setting.
