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 Weekly Shonen Jump issue 29 with both Nobuhiro Watsuki (Rurouni Kenshin) and Eiichiro Oda (One Piece) being interviewed. This spotlight continued in the following issue with 4 more creators in the 30th issue:
- Masanori Morita (Rokudenashi Blues, Rookies)
- Ryu Fujisaki (PSYCHO+, Hoshin Engi)
- Kazuki Takahashi (Yu-Gi-Oh!)
- Hiroyuki Takei (Itako no Anna, Death Zero, Butsu Zone)
The 2nd creator featured was Ryu Fujisaki, who had their Hoshin Engi (封神演義) manga currently running in the Weekly Shonen Jump magazine in 1998. It was in it’s 2nd year of serialization and had it’s 95th chapter included in this issue.
The spotlight starts with a question to Ryu Fujisaki about his experiences with Jump, which has been roughly translated below:
The first manga I ever read in my life was “Ring ni Kakero” in Jump magazine. I think it was a story about fighting at a waterfall. At the time I was in the fourth grade of elementary school. I remember my parents were surprised because I had never read manga before. With that being my first one, it must have been a big shock to them. Everyone said “Ring Kake” as shorthand for “Ring ni Kakero”. I loved it so much that I used to copy the character and draw them myself (laughs). I was really fascinated by those characters. Thinking about it now, I may have become a manga artist because of “Ring Kake.” Of course I also liked the “Dr. Slump” anime too. I remember watching that often. For me, Jump is a place where I can express my feelings… I guess. That’s I see it anyways, and that’s how I draw my series. I will continue to keep on drawing. After “Hosin”, I’d like to draw an idiot manga (laughs).
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 1997 and 1981. Masami Kurumada would later go on to create Saint Seiya in 1986.
The first Dr. Slump anime would air between April 1981 and February 1986. This anime series is based on the manga by Akira Toriyama of the same name, which also ran in Weekly Shonen Jump from 1980 through 1984.
Included with this is Ryu Fujisaki’s drawing inspired by Ring ni Kakero.
The next portion of the article focuses on Ryu Fujisaki’s and his thought about his series (again roughly translated):
Psycho+
When I started this manga, I didn’t know the right or wrong ways of doing it (laughs). Before this, I only drew psychology and analytical stories.
Hoshin Engi
This manga focuses on character development. The hard work continues… (laughs). The language in this story might be a little difficult. But I do like the challenge.
The Psycho+ manga ran in Weekly Shonen Jump for 11 chapters from the 1992’s issue 51 through 1993’s issue 11. The Hosin Engi manga would eventually run 206 chapters and end in 2000.
The last portion of the article features his top 5 manga recommendations, with a rough translation of each of his thoughts.
Kimagure Orange Road (きまぐれオレンジ・ロード), by Izumi Matsumoto
I like Madoka-san since she’s very cute. But at the time, I liked Kurumi-chan. (laughs)
Dr. Slump
Overall, I was impressed by the amount of ideas that were incorporated throughout. The anime was interesting too.
Ring ni Kakero
The flashy special moves were amazing. It had flying people out of the ring like they were home runs.
Sugoi yo!! Masaru-san (すごいよ!!マサルさん), by Kyosuke Usuta
This is a recent series, but I like it. Because… it’s kinda weird.
Wing-Man (ウィングマン), by Masakazu Katsura
I like the design of the characters. Doctor Vim is the best.
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