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 | Ryuji Tsugihara (次原隆二) |
| Date of Birth | September 30, 1958 |
| Birthplace | Fukuoka Prefecture |
| Blood Type | O |
| Debut Work | “Leaving the Motorcycle Gang” in 1979 (Weekly Shonen Jump Special) ’79『脱暴走族』(週刊少年ジャンプ増刊) |
| 1st Jump Serialization | “Boso Hunter” 『暴走ハンター』 |
| Additional Info | The “Nobel Prize-Winner Series – Geniuses Leading to the 21st Century” manga series has been met with great acclaim. 『ノーベル賞受賞連載企画・21世紀の天才たちへ』のコミックが好評を博した。 |
To celebrate Weekly Shonen Jump‘s 25th anniversary, Ryuji Tsugihara provided this shikishi and illustration, which have been roughly translated below:
創刊25周年おめでとう!
これからも全開バリバリだぜィ!
Congrats on your 25th Anniversary!
Let’s keeping going at full throttle!
祝週刊少年ジャンプ創刊25周年!!
Celebration of Weekly Shonen Jump’s 25th Anniversary!!
He also provided this comment as well:
創刊25周年おめでとうございます。
創刊当時、僕はまだ小学4年生。夢中で読んでいた少年ジャンプに、自分が作品を寄稿するようになるとは思ってもみませんでした。
年を追うごとに、さらなる成長を遂げていくジャンプの姿は、まさに少年漫画の主人公そのものであ時代が変わっても少年の夢と希望であり続ける証しなのだと思います。
として今後も“漫画文化”の牽引車とし一層のご健闘、ご活躍をお祈り致します。
Congrats on your 25th Anniversary.
When the magazine first started, I was only in the 4th grade. I never dreamed I would be contributing to the same Shonen Jump that I grew up with.
The way Jump continues to grow every year is just like a shonen manga protagonist, and is a testament to the enduring appeal of hopes and dreams for young boys even in these changing times.
I wish for your continued success and being a leading force in the “manga culture”.
The remaining portions of the article highlights two of his previous serializations. Toroshiku Mechadoc (よろしくメカドック) which started with issue 44 in 1982 of Weekly Shonen Jump and ran through issue 31 in 1984. The series had a second part which ran from issue 39 in 1984 and concluded in issue 13 in 1985. Don Volcan: Seinaru Otoko no Densetsu (ドン・ボルカン -聖なる男の伝説-) was the second series highlighted, which ran from issue 27 through 38 in 1991.
The following is some additional context and information not included in the article:
The oneshot Leaving the Motorcycle Gang (脱暴走族) had won the Young Jump Award in 1978 as his debut manga. That oneshot was then later printed in a special issue of Weekly Shonen Jump sometime in 1979. This Young Jump Award preceded the Young Jump magazine that started as a biweekly magazine in 1979.
For the 17th Tezuka Awards, Ryuji Tsugihara had won an Honorable Mention award for his oneshot Tobe raine-zu (飛べ雷音図), which was announced in Weekly Shonen Jump issue 30 in 1979.
Boso Hunter (暴走ハンター) was his first serialized title in Weekly Shonen Jump. The story was written by Kazuhisa Kasai (河西和久). The series ran for 14 chapters from issue 34 to issue 47 in 1980.
His second serialization was Toroshiku Mechadoc (よろしくメカドック) in Weekly Shonen Jump. The first part ran for 88 chapters until it took an 8 week break in 1984. The series then returned for an additional 25 chapters.
The third serialization was Road Runner (ロードランナー) in Weekly Shonen Jump. This series started in issue 41 in 1985 and ran for 22 chapters, finishing in issue 12 of 1986.
The fourth serialization was Tokubetsu Kotsu Kidotai Super Patrol (特別交通機動隊SUPER PATROL) which ran for 16 chapters. It started in issue 32 of Weekly Shonen Jump and completed in issue 46 in 1987.
The fifth serialization in Weekly Shonen Jump was Hayato 18-ban Shobu (隼人18番勝負), which ran for 17 chapters between issues 23 and 39 in 1989.
His first serialization outside of Weekly Shonen Jump was Burning Hobby Warrior Takei! (ホビー戦士燃えろ武伊!) which ran in the monthly V-Jump magazine between 1990 through 1991. The original story for this was by Mitsuru Misaki (岬満).
Don Volcan: Seinaru Otoko no Densetsu (ドン・ボルカン -聖なる男の伝説-) was his sixth serialization in the Weekly Shonen Jump magazine which only ran for 11 chapters in 1991.
His seventh manga series in Weekly Shonen Jump was not a traditional serialization. Nobel Prize-Winner Series – Geniuses Leading to the 21st Century (ノーベル賞受賞連載企画・21世紀の天才たちへ) was a series of standalone one shot stories that were printed to highlight various Nobel Prize winners throughout history. The first of these oneshots also received a color page in its issue as well.
| Weekly Shonen Jump Issue # and Year | Chapter Title | Topic |
|---|---|---|
| Issue #31 (1992) | The Universe of Zero 0の宇宙 | Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar, 1983 Nobel Prize in Physics |
| Issue #36-37 (1992) | Laser Detected!! レーザー発見!! | Charles H. Townes, 1964 Nobel Prize in Physics |
| Issue #46 (1992) | The Fighting Scientist 闘う科学者 | John Polanyi, 1986 Nobel Prize in Chemistry |
| Issue #24 (1993) | The Seeker of Life 生命の探究者 | Frederick Sanger, 1958 & 1980 Nobel Prize in Chemistry |
For the rest of 1993, Ryuji Tsugihara did not have any other serializations. He would later on have 2 more serializations in Weekly Shonen Jump in 1994 and 1995. In 1996 he would have his first serialization in Monthly Shonen Jump. From 1999 through 2000, his final Shueisha published manga would be The First President of Japan (日本国初代大統領桜木健一郎) which would be published under his penname “RYU” in monthly men’s visual magazine Bart until the magazine’s conclusion. He would then join his editor Nobuhiko Horie and fellow mangaka Tetsuo Hara and Tsukasa Hojo to form a new manga publisher, Coamix in 2000. Ryuji Tsugihara is still a Director for the company to this day.
