To celebrate Weekly Shonen Jump‘s 25th anniversary, Shueisha decided to create a new style event to promote it’s history for the fans. The name of the event was called “Weekly Jump Multi World” and was a exhibition that was held in the Tokyo Dome Prism Hall between July 28th through August 15th, 1993. The event cost 700 yen for admission and guests were able to receive as special booklet which highlighted some of the items on display. The booklet was never available for sale directly. Over 48 authors provided new illustrations and congratulatory messages for this anniversary and are documented in this booklet and this is one of them. To help provide context to this profile that was captured in 1993, we have included some additional information to supplement the transcription and rough English translation.
| Name | Akira Miyashita (宮下あきら) |
| Date of Birth | October 8, 1953 |
| Birthplace | Tokyo |
| Blood Type | A |
| Debut Work | “Shiritsu Kiwamemichi Koko” in 1979 ’79 『私立極道高校』 |
| 1st Jump Serialization | “Shiritsu Kiwamemichi Koko” 『私立極道高校』 |
| Additional Info | Action series like “Geki!! Gokutora Ikka”, “Charge!! Men’s School”, and “Baramon no Kazoku” highlight both masculinity and friendship. His striking art style and use of creative attacks by both friends and foes have made him very popular. 『激!!極虎一家』『魁!!男塾』『瑪羅門の家族』など、男らしさと友情を描いたアクション作品を発表。力強い画風と、敵味方の様々な技が人気を得る。 |
To celebrate Weekly Shonen Jump‘s 25th anniversary, Akira Miyashita provided this illustration and comment, which have been roughly translated below:
祝!!
25周年!!!
Congrats!!
25th Anniversary
ジャンプ創刊25周年おめでとうございます。思えば、私の漫画が初めてジャンプに載ったのが昭和54年の3月のこと。『私立極道高校』でした。それから14年間、私の漫画道は、まさにジャンプと歩んできたものと言えます。ジャンプの歴史はこれからも30年・40年・50年と続いていくことでしょう。その流れの中に今自分がいるんだ! という誇りを忘れずに、これからも頑張っていこうと思います。
Congrats on the 25th anniversary of Jump. This makes me think back o my first manga that was published in Jump in March of 1979. It was “Shiritsu Kiwamemichi Koko”.
It’s been 14 years since then, and you could say my path as an artist has followed right alongside Jump. Jump’s history will surely continue for the next 30, 40, and 50 years to come. I will continue to work hard, and never forget the pride of being part of that legacy.
He also provided this shikishi for the event which was on display at the Jump Multi World event:
The article ends with an overview of the Charge!! Men’s School manga that ended in issue 35 in 1991.
The following is some additional context and information not included in the article:
His first series, Shiritsu Kiwamemichi Koko, was also subject to an controversary that played an important part in Weekly Shonen Jump‘s history. While creating the setting for the on-going series, one of his assistants used the real names of schools in the Shiga Prefecture. This led to complaints from the Shiga Prefectural Board of Education which used the names and likeness without permission and shown those schools in a negative light. A friend of the assistant was also named in the manga without permission. As a result of Akira Miyashita’s negligence on the review of content for the series, the series was cancelled. The 9th issue of Weekly Shonen Jump in 1980 was then recalled and pulled off store shelves. The 10th issue received a reprint which had some of the content removed when it was sold in Shiga, Kyoto, and Gifu prefectures. Then on the 11th issue, the series received its final chapter, ending with just 41 chapters. At the bottom of the last page contained the notice that it had ended. The author comment at the back of the issue also was the following (roughly translated), and doesn’t speak to the cancellation directly.
父親のためにかいた「桜田門」。でもこれみたら、おこるかな!?
I drew the “Sakuradamon” for my father. But I wonder if he’ll be angry if he sees this!?
Only the first volume of the manga had been printed at this point in 1980, and that volume was pulled from store shelves at this same time. At the time of this article’s printing in 1993, there series had never been reprinted. It was only until 2012 was the entire series reprinted in a two volume set. Since the original drawings were lost after 32 years, the printed edition was recreated using scans from the original Weekly Shonen Jump print issues and then revised to remove the offending content.
After a half-year break from the magazine, he was able to return with a normal serialization that turned into a success with Geki!! Gokutora Ikka. The problems with the previous series were caused by an assistant, which allowed him to continue publishing in the magazine without further repercussions, outside of the lost revenue from not having the volume sales.
Two of the shorter series Akira Miyashita had created for Weekly Shonen Jump were not listed in the article.
Between issue 4 and 25 in 1983, coming after the success of Geki!! Gokutora Ikka, was the title Aa!! Bishamon Koko (嗚呼!!毘沙門高校). This series only ran for 21 chapters. Later that year, starting with issue 52, Bogey The Great (ボギーTHE GREAT) was serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump. This series would run for 29 chapters and end in issue 30 in 1984.
The Charge!! Men’s School manga has a complete English digital released by Thirdline. It can be read on Manga Planet as part of their Manga Planet Pass subscription.
Following the success of Charge!! Men’s School, which ran for 313 chapters and ended in 1991, the shorter series, Baramon no Kazoku, ran between issue 25 in 1992 and issue 12 in 1993. This series only lasted 38 chapters.
The author would later have one last series in Weekly Shonen Jump after this article came out in 1993. The series Bakudan would run for 17 chapters which started in issue 42 in 1994 and ended in issue 8 in 1995.
