Ashita no Joe Creator Tetsuya Chiba Dies at 87
Chiba recently put his Hinemosu Notari Nikki manga on hiatus on September 25 due to poor health. Chiba launched the autobiographical short essay manga in Big Comic in December 2015.
Chiba had heart surgery to put a stint in his coronary artery in January 2022. Chiba noted in a blog post in 2024 that he also had eye surgery. In November 2021, Chiba had revealed that he admitted himself to a hospital in Tokyo after he started feeling unwell after summer ended that year. He stated that he started having abnormalities one after another in his heart valve, coronary artery, and throat. He then started treatment for a tumor in his throat.
Chiba was born in Tokyo and spent his early chiidhood in what is now the northern area of China. He debuted as a professional manga creator when he was still in high school at 17 years old in 1956. He is perhaps best known for his Ashita no Joe (Tomorrow's Joe) boxing manga, which ran from 1968 to 1973, and has remained a mainstay in Japanese popular culture for decades. The manga inspired two television anime in 1970 and 1980, as well as two anime films in 1980 and 1981. The manga's story was re-imagined in a new sci-fi setting with new characters in 2018's Megalobox anime, which credits the original manga as its origin. The sequel series for Megalobox, Megalobox 2: Nomad, premiered in April 2021.
Ashita no Joe received its first official English release under the title Ashita no Joe: Fighting for Tomorrow in December 2024.
Chiba was nominated to the Japan Art Academy in 2022 as one of its first two manga creators (along with Yoshiharu Tsuge). He was also the chair of the Japan Cartoonists Association.
Chiba was honored with the prestigious Order of Culture award in 2024, and was the first manga creator to have received the honor. The order is awarded to those "who have made outstanding contributions in developing" Japanese culture.
Sources: Comic Natalie NHK
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