‘Captain Tsubasa’ Manga’s Author Declares Retirement

Summary:

The next and last issue of ‘Captain Tsubasa’ manga is scheduled for an early April release.

The last serialization will feature the final chapters of ‘Captain Tsubasa: Rising Sun The Final’ and ‘Captain Tsubasa Memories 4.

‘Captain Tsubasa’ is a classic manga from the 1980s that has inspired many people to either start playing soccer or introduce themselves to the manga world. The story revolves around the soccer career of Tsubasa Ohzora and his friends and rivals.

The manga has been adapted into various anime series, movies, and video games and is considered one of the most popular and influential sports manga in Japan and worldwide. Despite the franchise’s immense popularity, there is some sad news as the author has decided to retire.

The 19th issue of Shueisha announced that the creator of the ‘Captain Tsubasa’ manga, Youichi Takahashi, will retire from serializing it. The magazine’s next issue, scheduled for an early April release, will be the last one.

The last serialization will feature the final chapters of ‘Captain Tsubasa: Rising Sun The Final’ and ‘Captain Tsubasa Memories 4: Saikyō! Meiwa FC Densetsu’ manga. The author intends to draft a final “World Cup” arc, which can be used as a basis for other kinds of adaptations in the future.

Takahashi has been contemplating whether to continue or finish drawing the manga for the past few years. He calculated that it may take over 40 years to complete the story. Instead of putting his body through the strain, he concluded that it would be better to stop serialization.

He is over 60 years old and in good health. Still, his eyesight and balance have deteriorated due to presbyopia, the gradual loss of the eye’s ability to focus on nearby objects.

Several factors influenced his decision, including his condition, COVID-19 affecting staff structure, the switch to digital methods for drawing manga, and the death of Dokaben baseball manga creator Shinji Mizushima in January 2022.

‘Hunter x Hunter’ mangaka Yoshihiro Togashi’s health issues exemplify what can happen when creators push themselves too hard. The tragic and untimely death of Berserk’s Kentaro Miura also serves as a warning to those who sacrifice their health for their work.

It is currently unclear what the series’ final arc will entail, but it presents an opportunity for definitive closure in the future. Fans have been overwhelmingly supportive of this news and are grateful for his work. We wish the creator well in his future endeavors and hope he leads a happy life.

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About Captain Tsubasa

Captain Tsubasa is a football manga created by Yoichi Takahashi and was published from 1981-1988 in Weekly Shonen Jump.

However, due to its lasting popularity, it has been adapted into numerous manga, anime, and games.

The plot revolves around Tsubasa Oozura, who was born to play football. The series explores the dynamics of Tsubasa and his friends as they bond over matches, rivalry with other teams, and practices to get better at the game. The skills of the characters improve with each game.

Source: The 19th issue of Shueisha’s Captain Tsubasa Magazine