Shinji Mizushima, a manga artist known as a leading baseball manga artist such as “Dokaben” and ” Abu -san,” died of pneumonia on the 10th, was 82 years old. The funeral was held by the family. The mourner is his wife Shuko.
Born in Niigata prefecture . After graduating from junior high school, while working at a seafood wholesaler, he posted to the rookie award and was selected. After working on a manga for rent, “Men’s Aho Koshien ” (based on the late Mamoru Sasaki), which began serialization in 1970, became a hit. He started serializing ” Yakyukyo no Uta” and “Dokaben” in 1972, and “Abu-san” in 1973, opening up a new horizon for baseball manga by depicting the psychology and play of players.
The masterpiece “Dokaben”, in which many unique players such as Taro Yamada, a catcher of strong shoulder bangs, Iwaoni of “bad ball hitting”, and Toma of “secret hitting” appeared , moved the stage from high school baseball to professional baseball and is real. The sequel was serialized for a long time with the players and the main characters of Mizushima’s other works. The final edition “Dream Tournament Edition”, which started in 2012 with Weekly Shonen Champion ( Akita Shoten ), ended in 2018.
Looking back on the series’ total of 205 volumes and 46 years of writing, “46 years have been a long time, but I didn’t feel the length. Surrounded by characters, I enjoyed drawing works every day,” the reader said in the same magazine. I sent a message to.”
Known as a Pacific League fan, “Abu-san,” a drinker’s pinch hitter, “Abu-san,” who is active in Yasutake Kageura , shed light on the Pacific League, which was still popular at the time and was overwhelmingly inferior to the Central League. In October 2009, when Abu-san, who was a member of Nankai, Daiei , Softbank and Hawks, ended his 37-year career as a player , a retirement ceremony was held at Yahoo Dome in Fukuoka City , his hometown. .. The 41-year serialization was completed in 2014.
“Dokaben” and “Yakyukyo no Uta” have been made into movies and animations. In 2002, seven statues of characters such as “Dokaben” stood in the shopping district of Niigata City and are gaining popularity. Medal with Purple Ribbon in 2005 .
He also leads the grass baseball team and plays. There was also deep interaction with professional baseball players.
Source – Nikkan Sports & Asahi Shimbun
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