The Busiest Mangaka Ever: George Akiyama

The Mandana Tsushin (Manga Bookshelf Transmissions) Blog ponders who is the busiest mangaka, and has written a series of articles listing the achievements of some of the busiest mangaka in history.

I received a note to the effect that George Akiyama might have been even busier. Thank you, V Hayashida-sama and Sugaya-sensei.

Certainly, George Akiyama's 1970 was really something. I've put things in order using the George Akiyama's Hidden Room site for reference.

First, 1970's Magazine:

• Horafuki Don-Don: Weekly Shonen Magazine, until Issue 31.
• Ashura: Weekly Shonen Magazine, starting in Issue 32.

His going straight from a gag manga (protagonist Horafuki Oshou) to that serious social work Ashura without a single issue's break is even more impressive.

Then, concurrently, in Jump:

• Derorin Man: Weekly Shonen Jump, until Issue 39.
• Current Translation of the Scriptures: Weekly Shonen Jump, from Issue 41.

Derorin Man was later also serialized in Magazine.

Up until then, he hadn't drawn much for Sunday, but this year, having bided his time, he serialized this:

• Zeni Geba: Weekly Shonen Sunday, from Issue 13.

The first-ever issue of Shonen Champion was published in the summer of 1969. It began as a bi-weekly magazine, but a year later switched to weekly publication. The same thing its predecessor, Jump, did. Issues 1 through 10 were published in 1969. In 1970, Issues 1 through 13 were put out on a bi-weekly basis, and Issue 14 marked the start of its weekly publication. However, this serial of George Akiyama's ran in Champion from the magazine's very first issue.

• Cruel Baby: Biweekly Shonen Champion, until Issue 13.
• Cruel Baby: Weekly Shonen Champion, from Issue 14.

...And in King:

• Zukkoke Jingi: Weekly Shonen King, from Issue 20 to Issue 46.

Kodansha's monthly manga magazine, Bokura, converted to a weekly magazine in the fall of 1969 and became Weekly Bokura Magazine. It was the sixth weekly manga magazine aimed at boys. Magazine editor Ushida Masaru held a second job at Bokura as Editor-in-Chief. Unfortunately, publication was stopped for a while in 1971 with Issue 23.

• Doctor Nanda: Weekly Bokura Magazine, until Issue 23.
• Professor Gyoromen: Weekly Bokura Magazine, from Issue 36.

Let's go take a look at other serials from 1970. Shonen Pictorial Company's Shonen Pictorial went from being a monthly publication to a bi-weekly near the end of the year.

• Compu-tan: Shonen Pictorial (twice-monthly edition), until Issue 6.
• Pseudo-human Gourd Beetle: Shonen Pictorial (twice-monthly edition), from Issue 7 until Issue 13.
• Count Sade: Monthly Bouken-Ou, until July issue.
• Horafuki Don-Don: Monthly Supplemental Shonen Magazine, still in progress.
• Chief Detective Blackbeard: Monthly Supplemental Shonen Jump, from January issue (founding issue) until June issue.
• Cruel Baby: Monthly Supplemental Champion, from December issue (founding issue).

...Meaning that, starting in the summer of 1970, and having cut back on his serials in monthly and bi-weekly magazines (the only monthly serial is in Monthly Supplemental Shonen Magazine), George Akiyama earns the title of "Conqueror of Six Simultaneous Weekly Manga Serials."

What can I say? That's no human feat... Not to mention that THE Ashura and THE Zeni Geba were drawn during that time.

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Original Article
Translated by Sarah Neufeld