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 with both Nobuhiro Watsuki (Rurouni Kenshin) and Eiichiro Oda (One Piece) being interviewed. This spotlight continued in 30th issue with Masanori Morita (Rokudenashi Blues, Rookies), Ryu Fujisaki (PSYCHO+, Hoshin Engi), Kazuki Takahashi (Yu-Gi-Oh!), and Hiroyuki Takei (Itako no Anna, Death Zero, Butsu Zone).
The third part of this spotlight series continued with the 31st Weekly Shonen Jump issue in 1998 with the following creators:
- Akira Toriyama (Dr. Slump, Dragonball)
- Kazumata Oguri (Hanasaka Tenshi Tenten-kun)
- Mitsutoshi Shimabukuro (Seikimatsu Leader Den Takeshi!)
- Masakazu Katsura (Video Girl Ai, DNA², I”s)
Masakazu Katsura (桂 正和) was currently serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump with his romance manga I”s. The issue which this article was printed contained the 59th chapter of the series. The series started in 1997 issue 19 and would conclude with 143 chapters in the 24th issue of Weekly Shonen Jump in 2000. This was his 8th serialization in the magazine.
The article begins with asking Masakazu Katsura about his memories of Weekly Shonen Jump, which have been roughly translated below:
There are so many Jump series that I’m addicted to! The first series was “Astro Team.” My friend was really into it, so I picked it up and then we started copying things from it, like doing the “Skylab Technique” together. For anime series I like, that would be “The Gutsy Frog.” I really wanted the Super Alloy from “Mazinger Z,” but I couldn’t afford it. But I couldn’t get anyone to buy it for me, so I was jealous of my friends who had it. Anyways, I have so many memories of being addicted to Jump manga! Ever since I began my serializations, Jump has always been my go-to place for manga. I can’t imagine myself drawing anywhere else but in Jump.
Astro Team (アストロ球団), by Norihiro Nakajima (Art) and Shiro Tozaki (Story) ran from 1972 (issue 39) through 1976 (issue 26) for a total of 183 chapters in Weekly Shonen Jump.
The Gutsy Frog (ど根性ガエル), by Yasumi Yoshizawa ran in Weekly Shonen Jump from 1970 (issue 31) through 1976 (issue 24) for a total of 297 chapters across 27 volumes.
Mazinger Z (マジンガーZ), by Go Nagai ran in Weekly Shonen Jump from 1972 (issue 42) through 1973 (issue 35) for a total of 44 chapters.
Next in the article, Masakazu Katsura provides his top 3 manga recommendations along with his thoughts which have been roughly translated.
Samurai Giants (侍ジャイアンツ)
I loved the anime. When I read the manga sometime afterwards, I was surprised to see that the main character, a baseball player, dies in the end.
Ring ni Kakero (リングにかけろ)
The opening for the special punch was amazing. From that double-page spread, I learned the meaning and impact that those can cause.
Dragon Ball (ドラゴンボール)
The early Piccolo battles got me fired up. Reading those stories made me want to try my own fighting story.
Samurai Giants (侍ジャイアンツ), by Ko Inoue (Art) and Ikki Kajiwara (Story) ran in Weekly Shonen Jump from 1971 (issue 36) through 1974 (issue 42) for a total of 150 chapters.
Ring ni Kakero (リングにかけろ) by Masami Kurumada was published in Weekly Shonen Jump and ran for 242 chapters between 1977 and 1981. Masami Kurumada would later go on to create Saint Seiya in 1986.
Dragon Ball (ドラゴンボール) was drawn by Akira Toriyama and ran from 1984 through 1995 in Weekly Shonen Jump.
Masakazu Katsura also provided his own drawing of Samurai Giants.
The last portion of the article focuses on Masakazu Katsura current and past series along with and his thought about each (again roughly translated):
Wing-Man (ウィングマン)
This is my first serialization, but looking back, I wonder if it is the one that represents me the most?
Video Girl Ai (電影少女)
The layouts, drawings, and everything else was tightly done. This is the series where I found my manga style.
DNA²
I’m grateful that this was made into an anime after the serialization ended, and I’m looking forward to seeing that happen again.
I”s
This is my 1st first-person story, which is a normal story without any science fiction, and I’ve discovered how difficult that is…
Wing-Man (ウィングマン) ran from 1983 (issue 5-6) through 1985 (issue 39) in Weekly Shonen Jump for a total of 113 chapters.
Video Girl Ai (電影少女) ran from 1989 (issue 51) through 1992 (issue 18) in Weekly Shonen Jump for a total of 116 chapters.
DNA² ran from 1993 (issue 36-37) through 1994 (issue 29) in Weekly Shonen Jump for a total of 42 chapters.
