Great Jump!! Creator Interview – Haruto Umezawa (Weekly Shonen Jump 1998 Issue 33)

To celebrate the 30^th 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 final part of this spotlight series continued with the 33^rd Weekly Shonen Jump issue in 1998 with the following creators:

Osamu Akimoto (Kochira Katsushika-ku Kameari Kōen Mae Hashutsujo, “Kochikame”)
Haruto Umezawa (Hareluya II Boy)
Kazushi Hagiwara (Bastard!! Heavy Metal, Dark Fantasy)
Daisuke Higuchi (Whistle!)
Yoshihiro Togashi (Hunter x Hunter)

In this second interview, author Haruto Umezawa (梅澤春人) was the focus of the article, who was on his 3^rd serialization in the magazine. His first Weekly Shonen Jump serialization was Shuten☆Dōji (酒呑☆ドージ) which ran for 16 chapters in 1990 and was under the pen name Masato Umezawa (梅沢勇人). In the Weekly Shonen Jump 1991 Summer Special issue, under the pen name Hayato Umezawa (梅澤勇人), he published a oneshot called HARELUYA. This was later serialized as Hareluya (HARELUYA -ハレルヤ-) in Weekly Shonen Jump issue 26 in 1992 and lasting only 10 chapters and now listing his real name as the author. Starting in issue 50 of the same year, the completely reworked sequel called Hareluya II Boy (BØY -ボーイ-), often stylized as just BOY, began serialization. This series lasted until 1999 with a total of 296 chapters. At the time of this article’s publication in 1998 issue 33, Hareluya II Boy was on chapter 272.

The article begins with asking Haruto Umezawa about his memories of Weekly Shonen Jump, which have been roughly translated below:

30周年おめでとうございます。もちろんぼくも、みんなとおなじようにジャンプのいろんな作品にハマりました。『リングにかけろ」でジャンプにハマって以来ね。ジャンプをささえてきたすべての先生たちに拍手!

Congratulations on the 30^th anniversary. Just like everyone else, I of course have loved Jump titles for a long time. It all started with “Ring ni Kakero” when I got hooked on Jump. Thank you to all of the sensei who have provided for Jump all this time!

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.

Haruto Umezawa also provided his own color illustration featuring Ishimatsu Katori from Ring ni Kakero in the article:

Next in the article, Haruto Umezawa provides his top 5 manga recommendations along with his thoughts which have been roughly translated.

Cat’s Eye

三姉妹のレオタード姿に参ってました･･･。扉絵をマネして描いたりして。大きな紙に泪ねえさんを描いたのがまだ実家にある!

I was struck by the three sisters in leotards… I even drew my own copy to hang on my door. I still have a large drawing of big sister Rui at my parent’s house!

Fist of the North Star

北斗神拳のアイデアのものすごさ、絵の迫力、剪くさ〜いストーリーすべてがグッド!!当時男なら誰もが読んでた!

The great use of the Hokuto Shinken, striking imagery, and power of the story is so good! Every boy was reading it at the time!

Cobra

JCでハマりました! アメコミっぽい世界観と、おね一ちゃんのおしり♡が超スキ。サイコガンのアイデアが◎!!

I got hooked on the Jump Comic volumes! It presented the world like an American comic book and I loved the big sister’s butt♡. The idea of the Psycho Gun was perfect!!

Slam Dunk

世の中にバスケブームを起こしたのはさすがだっ!! すばらしい!!! ボクも思わずエアジョーダン買っちゃいました。

It’s no wonder this started a basketball boom around the world! It’s amazing!!! I couldn’t help but buy a pair of Air Jordans too.

Makuhari

自分が審査員の時の入賞者なので･･･。その時から恐いもの知らずのGAGが◎。ギリギリのラインでもっと頑張れ!

This was a prize winner when I was a judge…. Since that time, his fearless gags have been perfect. Continue to bring it right to the edge!

Cat’s Eye (キャッツ♥アイ), by Tsukasa Hojo (北条司) ran from 1981 through 1984 in Weekly Shonen Jump for a total of 157 chapters. Tsukasa Hojo would then later create City Hunter in this expanded universe starting in 1985. The Cat’s Eye manga is currently being released digitally in English on the MangaHot digital service.

Fist of the North Star (北斗の拳), by Tetsuo Hara (Art) and Buronson (Story) ran from 1983 (issue 41) through 1988 (issue 35) for a total of 245 chapters in Weekly Shonen Jump. The series is currently being published in English by Viz Media.

Cobra (コブラ), by Buichi Terasawa (寺沢武一) had 156 chapters in its original run in Weekly Shonen Jump from 1978 to 1984. These would be combined into the original 18 volume releases under the Jump Comic (JC) label.

Slam Dunk, by Takehiko Inoue (井上雄彦), ran from 1990 (issue 42) through 1996 (issue 27) for a total of 276 chapters in Weekly Shonen Jump. Print editions of the manga are available in English from Viz Media.

Makuhari (幕張), by Yasuaki Kita (木多康昭) ran in Weekly Shonen Jump from 1996 through 1997 and had 82 chapters. In the 43^rd Akatsuka Awards, he submitted his work Those Who Live on the Sea (海に生くる人々) which won an honorable mention prize in 1995, leading to the Makuhari serialization the next year. Osamu Akimoto (秋本治), author of Kochikame, was one of the judges and provided the comment (roughly translated); “The drawings are unique and the panel layout and pacing is good. The characters are well-defined and the story is interesting. I think he is a talented artist.” (絵が個性的でコマ割りやテンポもいい。キャラがしっかりしていて、セリフも面白い。実力がある人だと思う)

The article concludes with Haruto Umezawa providing a comment about his original weekly serialization Hareluya, which have been roughly translated below: