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| I got nothing better to use for an intro image, so here's the rarely seen English logo from Déclic Images' old DVD release of Season 1. |
If you've read a manga before, especially those from Shonen Jump, then you know what these two things are, especially the first. At the start of each volume of a manga there's usually a short paragraph (at most) from the mangaka, either discussing some aspect of the content seen in that volume of the story or simply bringing up whatever random thought came to mind at that moment. Meanwhile, sometimes at the end of a volume there can be a message from the mangaka in regards to the series itself, though this is usually most often seen at the end of the final volume, where the mangaka can reminisce on the creation & serialization of the manga & what the advancement of that time meant to them. These would be the author's note & afterword, respectively, and while the original 25-volume tankouban release of Ring ni Kakero naturally has the former, it also has the latter... in each & every volume. You see, when Shueisha started releasing the RnK tankouban it decided to have a guest write a two-page afterword at the end of each volume, and while professional boxers initially handled the honors, since it's technically a boxing manga, as the series went into a more spectacle-focused execution & became a massive hit Shueisha decided to change focus & have other mangaka then working for Jump write the afterwords, & they focused more on Masami Kurumada himself & what he meant to them. Of these there is one that is actually a little well known now online, Akira Toriyama's afterword in Volume 23, but there are 24 other volumes of RnK & I was curious to see what these all said. However, while I can do a little minor translation for myself when in a pinch, the amount of work needed for these are well beyond my abilities.
Therefore, I wound up hiring shmuplations, the "repository of Japanese game developer translations", to translate each author's note & afterword found in all 25 volumes of Ring ni Kakero's original tankouban release, as they've never been included in any other release of the manga (bunkoban, wideban, or the RnK1 Deluxe Edition), & let's see for our own eyes what Masami Kurumada & others had to say about RnK (& Kurumada) as the manga itself was coming out back in the late 70s & early 80s. Since this is a lot of content this will be spread out across three parts throughout the year, & let's start with Volumes 1 to 9.
Volume 1 of Ring ni Kakero came out in Japan on January 31, 1978, right around the time the manga was in the middle of Ryuji vs. Tsujimoto during the second story arc, the Metropolitan Tournament Chapter. At this point the manga was still mostly based around character drama, with only a little bit of stylization for effect, while in terms of popularity (which we can only really infer via Table of Contents "ranking") it was doing decently enough (i.e. mostly in the middle of any issue, with only the occasional higher spot), so let's see what Masami Kurumada had to say in the author's note for this very first volume:
"Boxing is said to be a hungry sport. 'Hungry' does not mean only material hunger such as lack of money or food! It is a hunger in the heart, a hunger in the soul: 'If life is a repetition of monotonous days, growing old, and eventually coming to an end, then I would like to have a moment, even just one single moment--of brilliance!' Such is the song of the starving men, the men who contend in the wilderness of the boxing ring."
Meanwhile, Volume 1's afterword was written by Yoko Gushiken, only described as simply a "Boxer", but by this point was actually the third ever WBA Light-Flyweight Champion, having won the title back in 1976. Gushiken would hold onto the title for four years, successfully defending it 13 times, before losing it in 1981. Gushiken would retire from boxing five months later, with a record of 23-1 (with 15 KOs), becoming a recurring TV personality in Japan & was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2015. Here Gushiken described how strenuous training can be for boxing, and why Ring ni Kakero resonated with him:
"Boxing is a Tough Sport
Yoko Gushiken
Boxer
There are, in the main, four important elements of boxing: patience, taking care of one's health, training (especially roadwork), and listening respectfully to one's trainer.
For roadwork, one generally wakes up around 6AM and does about 10km of running. The crisp, clean morning air is not the only reason for keeping this strict schedule: boxing, unlike ballet and other sports, is a sport in which you struggle alone. As such, it is necessary to engage in training that teaches you to endure that kind of suffering.
Running is something common to many sports, but it is very important to boxing. If your legs are not strong--or to put it another way, if your foundation is weak--then it doesn't matter how well you master upper body technique. That is why we run early in the morning, and in the evening, we run again at the gym during our training.
One struggle that is indispensable to boxing is cutting weight before a fight. You can't drink water at night so it's hard to sleep, and since you aren't eating enough you feel unenergized during training. Personally, however, I never found cutting weight that difficult. That is because I have never favored 'extreme' diets, and have refrained from binge drinking and eating, while striving for an overall balanced diet. I also happen to have one of those body types that doesn't gain weight easily, and I've always hovered around 52 kg [George's Note: ~114.64 lbs]. For a professional--or I should say, for any boxer really--this is the most basic of basics. If you can't manage your weight properly, you can't call yourself a real boxer.
Ring ni Kakero is one of the manga I hold closest to my heart. The relationship between Kiku and Ryuji is very similar to the one between me and my own sister. I see the resemblance in the way that the older sister has a determined, unyielding spirit, while the younger brother is quieter and more reserved... but mostly, like Kiku I feel that my own sister is someone who deeply understands what boxing means to me.
When I resolved to become a boxer, my sister was the first person I told. And when I left Okinawa to pursue my dream, everyone around me was against it--even my parents--everyone except my sister. She said to me 'Do what you think is right', and she has supported me in many ways over the years. When I see Ryuji, I'm reminded of my own past, and I can't help but say 'Ganbare!' to him. Ganbare, Ryuji! I'm cheering for you on your quest to become the World Champion!!"
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Volume 2 would come out two months later, on March 31, 1978, while the manga's serialization was in the middle of Ryuji vs. Kenzaki III, the final fight of the Metropolitan Tournament. For this volume Masami Kurumada (seen here in a picture that you can often find of him online) quickly went over the events of the manga found in the volume, Ryuji vs. Kenzaki I, & why characters like Ryuji & Kenzaki are so willing to put themselves through the entire tough road that boxing requires people to travel:
"In this volume the crybaby Ryuji takes an interest in boxing and voluntarily steps up to the ring. He is thrilled by his bloody fight with Kenzaki, and shows his manly spirit as they exchange blows to the face. What is it that motivates these men to engage in the intense combat sport of boxing? It is not simply the fighting spirit of human beings, but rather the desire to 'prove' that they are alive in this world."
As for the afterword we have Koichi Wajima, "The Man on Fire", who from 1971 to 1974 was the Undisputed Light/Junior-Middleweight Champion by being both WBA & WBC Champion at the time, and would later regain the WBA title in 1976, before losing it in 1977 & retiring after one more match a month later, with a record of 30-6-1 (with 25 KOs); unlike Gushiken, though, Wajima was actually credited here as a former champion. For Volume 2 Wajima went over what he felt was the "key to winning" in boxing, training:
"The Key to Winning is More Training!
Koichi Wajima
Former World Junior-Middleweight Champion
People often say 'Boxing is such a difficult sport!', but I don't agree. Boxing isn't uniquely difficult: other sports are just as challenging. No matter the sport, if you want to stand out from the pack and become a world-class contender, you've got to put in many times the effort as your peers and train, train, train.
The important thing about training in boxing is that you must be able to tolerate doing the same thing over and over. If you don't drill the same things again and again you won't see any results. It is critical for you to overcome that monotony.
There are actually not that many fundamental techniques that you must master in boxing. There are, for example, only three basic punches: the hook, uppercut, and straight punch. In a real match, though, just knowing those punches isn't enough. The key to victory is how well you can put those basics into practice. That is why I train alone. How can I win? How can I defeat this opponent? I have to figure that out in my head first, and that strategizing dictates how I train. I think training in this way, where you must struggle to find the answers on your own, helps those fundamentals stick.
After that, there's the question of your stamina and your power. In the Junior-Middleweight class especially, the difference in stamina between Japanese and non-Japanese is starkly apparent. Training is the only thing that can bridge this gap, and you will have to practice three or four times as much as them.
Ryuji, you who dream of becoming a pro boxer: I hope what I've written today will prove useful in your own training. I am rooting for you to become World Champion.
Finally, let me give a shoutout here to the dango shop 'Wajima' in Sayamagaoka... I'm often there so come have a bite sometime!"
[George's Note: According to Tripadivsor, Wajima is still open to this day, about 0.6 miles from Sayamagaoka Station in Tokorozawa, Saitama. Maybe the now-80 years old former world champion still goes there to eat once in a while!]
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Volume 3 came out on June 30, 1978, starting a move over to new volumes coming out every three months instead of two, and by this point in the manga the Champion Carnival was on the verge of beginning, marking the slow shift from RnK's original character drama-focused style to the spectacle it'd become iconic for; in fact, future Golden Japan Jr. member Ishimatsu Katori had debuted right around the time of this book's release. For this volume Masami Kurumada compared boxing to the ways kids would often get into fights, sometimes over completely trivial matters:
"In the social world of children, it is common for kids to hit each other without reason. It happened when I was a kid, too. If someone didn't like your face, or the way you ate your lunch... that was enough to earn you a punch or a kick! Likewise, in the boxing ring, we hit each other without a good reason. If we had to give one, perhaps we could say it is for the sake of a man's dream... it's the same as the world of children, isn't it? Yes, but then men's dreams have always been childish in nature..."
As for the afterword, it's actually amusing to see that Ishimatsu had debuted in the manga's serialization around this point, because Volume 3 has a piece written by the man who (more than likely) was his namesake: Yuji Suzuki, a.k.a. Guts Ishimatsu. By the release date of this book he had literally just retired 10 days prior, but Guts Ishimatsu is someone known for being more or less unpredictable. In 1974 he managed to become WBC Lightweight Champion by winning a match that no one really expected him to win, mainly because the man's win/loss record was notoriously mixed, with a final record of 31-14-6 (with 17 KOs), i.e. he only won ~60.78% of his matches; Ishimatsu also became OPBF Lightweight Champion in 1972. Still, it was that unpredictable nature of his career, plus his legendary "Guts Pose" after winning matches (which has since become a part of Japanese culture, even getting its own recognized day, April 11, the day Ishimastu become WBC Champion), that made him beloved in his home country and after retiring he's become a similarly beloved actor & entertainer, usually portraying a boke for comedy (despite actually being extremely smart & insightful in real life); you might have also seen him in Hollywood films like Empire of the Sun & Black Rain. For Volume 3 Guts Ishimatsu decided to explain how he got into boxing:
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| True to his style, Guts Ishimatsu included a handprint with his signature. |
"The Visceral Appeal of Boxing...!
Guts Ishimatsu
Former World Lightweight Champion
To survive in this world, we must discover our own path, and face all the perils that life throws our way... As far back as I can remember, I was always a neighborhood bully, and when it came to fighting I was invincible. Two days after graduating middle school my father gave me 3,000 yen and sent me off alone to Tokyo.
Of course, all this fighting I did as a kid trained me well for my future aspirations--not king of the block, but king of the boxing world, a World Champion. I wanted to become a pro boxer and start making money right away, but the rules said I needed to be 17, and I was only 15. I told a trainer, 'I've never lost a street fight... I'm ready right now!', but he brushed me off. So I had to wait until I was 17, and in the meantime I got a job. I went from job to job, working in a milk shop, a printer, a bento shop, as a driver, a laborer... I must have changed jobs 23 times, but I never lost sight of my dream to be a pro boxer. It was all for that.
When I finally became a real boxer, I was surprised to learn how different boxing matches were from my childhood street fights. I trained twice as hard as others. When a sparring opponent would land a hit on me, immature as I was, it would really burn me up inside, and I shed tears along with my sweat. I would go and watch that opponent training, study his punches, and then train relentlessly with the punching bag until I couldn't lift my arms anymore. Then when I'd mastered his punches, in our next match I would pay it back to him with interest.
It was through this physical process of learning, by direct experience with my body, the styles of many different boxers, that I started to understand the ABCs of boxing. Like many other professions, in boxing you eventually must commit yourself fully: I can support myself this way! I can make money from this! Going halfway won't do in this sport. And when you've been a World Champion once, you won't be satisfied stepping down from the role of Main Eventer. Once you've tasted the glory of boxing, it's something you won't forget. I too am planning to make a comeback and once again claim the title of World Champion. It'll take all the 'Guts' this body of mine has learned...
Ryuji! Follow in my footsteps, and let us both become World Champions!"
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Volume 4 would see release on September 30, 1978, which would be right as the Champion Carnival was nearing its end for the actual serialization itself, so the fight going on at this point would be Ryuji vs. Kawai. As for what Masami Kurumada had to say in the author's note, he talked about the idea that a man should keep his promises... hopefully:
"A man's word... To me, once a man makes a promise, he must keep it, no matter what. It seems no one cares about that these days though, especially politicians. Yet once a man speaks his words, it can carry such weight that it can cost him his life... I, too, shall keep my promise to make my deadlines...... probably!?"
Meanwhile, this volume's afterword was written by Kuniaki Shibata, a retired boxer who managed to become WBC Featherweight Champion from 1970 to 1972, WBA Junior-Lightweight (a.k.a. Super-Featherwieght) Champion in 1973, & finally WBC Junior-Lightweight Champion from 1974 to 1975, before retiring in 1977 with a record of 47-6-3 (with 25 KOs); he was also a former gym mate of Guts Ishimatsu's. Unfortunately, there's little other information I can find regarding Shibata, as much like Koichi Wajima he didn't go on to become a commonly seen TV personality, actor, or even a recurring analyst, like what Yoko Gushiken & Guts Ishimatsu both went on to do, in some way or another. As for what Shibata decided to write about for Volume 4's afterword, he regaled how he got into boxing, what his specialties in the ring were, and how Ryuji's journey reminded him of himself:
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| From this point on signatures were not included. |
"From My First Fight, I Was Hooked...
Kuniaki Shibata
Former Featherweight Champion
Junior-Lightweight Champion
My obsession with boxing began when I was in the third year of middle school. In those days, Fighting Harada was at the height of his exploits, and it was very exciting to watch his matches on TV.
When I entered my second year of high school my dream of becoming a pro boxer could no longer remain pent up within me, and I bid farewell to my hometown of Hitachi in Ibaraki Prefecture and set out for Tokyo. After passing the pro-test bout, I had my first fight at the age of 17. I will never forget that experience. It's hard for me to call it boxing in the traditional sense: it was more like I became completely absorbed in the moment and lost all sense of time. When I came to my senses one minute and twenty-five seconds later, my opponent had fallen. Who knows how many punches I threw that fight, but I must have gotten lucky and landed some good ones.
My specialty punches are my left hook and my right straight, but they were the product of a great deal of training. Learning those specialty punches struck fear into the hearts of my opponents, and gave me confidence heading into my fights. I first trained on that left hook, to make it my very own weapon. Where other fighters would spend a month training to learn the left hook, I spent three months, drilling until I felt fully satisfied. After that I did the same thing with the right straight.
Cutting weight is an integral part of boxing, and it's something I have struggled with too. I sometimes feel like cutting weight is half the battle. Of course, if you can't cut, you can always go up a weight class, but in reality it's not that easy. I experienced firsthand how in each weight class the power level of the punches is completely different.
I'm a devoted reader of Ring ni Kakero myself, but when I read about Ryuji-kun's dreams of becoming a pro boxer, and see him giving his all to his training, it's as if I'm watching a younger version of myself. Ryuji, I'm here cheering for you to become the World Champion!"
[George's Note: Considering how Ryuji's two signature punches are his Right Straight & Boomerang Hook/Square/Teleios, which is a (corkscrew) left hook, it's entirely possible that Kurumada based Ryuji on Kuniaki Shibata, to some extent.]
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Volume 5 released on December 31, 1978, the very last day of the year, and coincidentally enough this was right as the Nichibei Kessen/Japan vs. USA Chapter was finishing up with Ryuji vs. Black Shaft. For this volume Masami Kurumada's author's note saw him talk about how men long to be "tough", and how learning judo early on helped him get some good legs:
"A man can only live if he is tough. Being tough, being strong... this is one of a man's greatest longings. Is there a man among us who has not fantasized about singlehandedly beating up and clearing out the local thugs and bullies? I was no different: like many children, when I was in elementary school I joined the judo club because I wanted to be of some use in any schoolyard scraps that might break out. And thanks to Judo I've got super strong legs today..... Hahaha."
As for the afterword, this time around it came via Kazuo "Royal" Kobayashi, who prior to his professional career won the All-Japan Amateur Boxing Championships, Featherweight Division, in both 1971 and 1972 & even competed in the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, though he didn't win a medal for his country. He got his "Royal" nickname when he went pro in 1973, eventually becoming the Lineal & WBC Junior-Featherweight Champion in 1976, before later moving back up to his original weight class & becoming OPBF Featherweight Champion in 1978 (he's actually credited as the reigning champion in this volume), which he'd retain until 1981 before retiring following his last loss, accumulating a pro record of 35-8 (with 27 KOs) & an amateur record of 34-3 (with 28 KOs). For Volume 5 Kobayashi went over how he promised he'd go to the Olympics, and how he became better by imitating his senpai, Kuniaki Shibata:
"I'll See You at Munich!
Royal Kobayashi
Former Junior-Featherweight Champion
Current Oriental and Pacific Boxing Federation Featherweight Champion
In middle school I did Track & Field, and in high school I did Karate and Kendo, so I had confidence in my stamina, but after high school I immediately joined the jieitai so that I could train my body in hopes of one day becoming a pro boxer.
When I told them, '26 months from now, you're gonna see me at the Munich Olympics', they laughed.
So I enrolled with a training gym, and for two consecutive years I was the amateur champion, and after that, as I'd promised them, I went to Munich.
My very first fight took place only one month after I'd started boxing. The only punch I knew was the left straight. I was very scared before the fight, but when the time came and the bell rung, it only took 3 hits from that left straight and my opponent went down, KO.
At the end of that year, I saw my senpai Kuniaki Shibata's fight on TV. He knocked out his opponent with that incredible left hook of his, and after the match was over, I ran outside filled with excitement and headed straight to the gym. There, I practiced his left hook over and over, and even now I remember the sweat I spilled that night. That left hook is now one of the greatest weapons in my arsenal.
The lesson here is that no matter what you set out to do, you must imitate strong people if you want to get stronger yourself. I still follow this advice myself, and study and imitate the strengths of other fighters.
And, indeed, when I read Masami Kurumada's Ring ni Kakero there are aspects of Ryuji that I feel I must learn from. I know Ryuji will become World Champion one day. Ryuji, keep fighting!!"
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Volume 6 took slightly longer to come out than usual, coming out nearly four months after the last on April 15, 1979, though it marked the start of some sense of consistency with the tankouban releases, as while the exact number of months varied for the remaining volumes they at least would all come out on the 15th day. In terms of serialization Golden Japan Jr.'s fights with the Shadow Clan's best warriors were happening, so this is right as the series had fully transitioned into the "SF Boxing" that readers in Japan would eventually call it, since this was the point where "Superblows" became a common fixture. For the author's note Masami Kurumada remembered how he almost never saw his father cry... except for when his own mother passed away:
"A man should not show his tears to others...! I've been told this by my father since I was a child. Come to think of it, I never saw my father cry, and he was the image of strength to me as a child. But as strong as he was, he cried helplessly when his own mother died. The ability to make even the strongest man cry... I guess mothers have that kind of power."
Meanwhile, Volume 6 is notable because this marks the end of featuring pro boxers writing the afterwords, though there would be two later volumes featuring boxers. Volume 7 would be where the anime started adapting from, i.e. the shift from character drama to "SF Boxing", so it definitely seemed like it was intentional to move away from pro boxers after this one. Finishing up this initial run was Shoji Oguma (though the furigana says "Okuma"; whoops), who debuted as a pro in 1970 & would become WBC Flyweight Champion in 1974, though he'd lose the title just three months later. However, in 1980 Oguma would manage finally win back the WBC Flyweight Championship, along with Lineal Championship, and would be awarded Comeback of the Year by The Ring magazine. Oguma then lost both titles in 1981, before eventually retiring in 1982 after challenging for the WBA Super-Flyweight Title; his record was 38-10-1 (with 20 KOs). For Oguma's afterword here he explained why he decided to go with boxing, instead of another sport he enjoyed, like kendo:
"I Chose Boxing
Shoji Oguma
Former Flyweight World Champion
January 1970. I'll always remember that date, when I joined the New Japanese Kimura Boxing Gym, headed by Shichiro Kimura.
Why did I choose to dedicate my life to boxing...? It's something I wonder about myself. Even I have a hard time giving an adequate answer to that question.
One thing I know for sure is that Kendo left an indelible impression on me in middle school. The glorious intensity of those matches... that feeling when all your nerves are concentrated on your opponents movements and shinai--and then you strike! The satisfaction, the pleasure of it...
It has some similarities to boxing, don't you think?
Indeed, although the various martial arts may employ different forms and a different philosophy, in the end, on a deeper level I believe they are the same.
In any event, I chose boxing.
That year, on December 26th, I had my debut fight against [Kenji] Yoshii. And I've been fighting ever since.
When I step up to the ring, I'm already in a kind of trance. My vision is focused entirely on my opponent; I see nothing else. It's as if the space outside of the ring becomes an empty void. That focused unity of the mind is something I owe, in large part, to my experiences with Kendo.
In terms of our personalities, there's some striking similarities between myself and Ryuji Takane. Like him, I am generally rather mild-mannered and quiet, but when I enter the ring it's like a switch is flipped. My friends have even told me, hey... are you sure you're not TOO competitive?!
When I see little details like that, it's hard for me to read about Ryuji and think of him as some random stranger. I love manga, so when I read about Ryuji's exploits in Ring ni Kakero, I fall completely into the fantasy that I'm there fighting alongside him!
Right jab... left straight!
It's you and me Ryuji... which of us will conquer the world first...? The race is on!"
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Volume 7 came out on July 15, 1979, and by this point the manga's serialization it was early into the World Tournament, setting up the fights with Team France; this is where the manga will be for the remainder of volumes we'll be covering in this first part. For the author's note Masami Kurumada (seen for the next three volumes wearing a baseball shirt, possibly from a game played by Jump's mangaka at the time) remembered the old idea of making a wish on a shooting star... and how it reminded him of a sad memory:
"It is said that if you see a shooting star, and make a wish before it disappears, your wish will come true. In Tokyo, it is rare to see a shooting star, let alone a starry sky, but when I was a student in Sotobo, Chiba, I went camping with some friends and we were able to stars streaming across the sky one after the other--an almost frightening number of them. A year later, one of my friends was killed in an accident. I wonder what kind of wish he made that night..."
With boxers now (mostly) done with we move on to who the majority of Ring ni Kakero's tankouban afterwords were actually written by: Other Shonen Jump Mangaka. First up was Norihiro Nakajima (seen wearing what looks to be the opposing baseball team's shirt), co-creator & artist of Astro Kyudan/Team Astro, the mid-70s baseball manga that Kurumada looked to for inspiration when he decided to move RnK into the over-the-top spectacle that it'd become renown for; seriously, no one can prepare for Team Astro. By this point Nakajima had finished his most iconic solo work, the delinquent manga Asataro-den, a few months prior & was actually right on the verge of having his next series, Sasurai Kishido, getting cancelled; Norihiro Nakajima would pass away in 2014 from colon cancer, at age 64. For Volume 7 Nakajima cheered on Kurumada & praised the "passion" found within Ring ni Kakero:
"Masami Kurumada, We're Rooting for You!
Norihiro Nakajima
Mangaka
To me, manga is a canvas on which I can paint the world of men. To capture the kindness of men, the real way they live their lives, within the four corners of a page... that is what I aspire to.
Until recently, the generation of younger people known as the 'Shirake Seidai/Apathetic Generation' has finally started to show signs of casting off that malaise. Now we're hearing words like 'enthusiasm' and 'passion' to describe them.
And I say: all to the good! Apathy is not something a man needs in his world.
You've got to have passion, to be ready to burn for something. Don't worry: when you're young, you can recover quickly from minor burns. But my sincere advice is: find something you can feel passionate about.
The world of men that Masami Kurumada depicts in Ring ni Kakero can rightly be called a world of passion.
Ryuji has found his passion in boxing, a solitary sport. Ryuji is not a naturally gifted genius. He doesn't win fights with one punch. While he does build a foundation with the Power Wrist and Power Ankle, and he receives advice from his elder sister Kiku, Ryuji's victories are never guaranteed, and danger always accompanies him.
This is the life a man aspires too, a life of struggle. And this is something Masami Kurumada understands.
I think for a manga artist, trying to produce a hit is a lot like searching for a needle in a haystack. It's quite common that, despite all your striving, the readers reject your vision--but this doesn't mean that creating a hit is entirely the product of chance, either. It's the manga artists who can make the readers feel their passion, and stir up the readers' own passions... that's the ticket, I believe. And with Ring ni Kakero, Masami Kurumada has acquired this passport.
The 'Masami Jumbo Jet' has only just taken off, soaring now into the open skies and possibilities of manga... we're all excited to see where he goes from here!"
[George's Note: The Power Wrist & Ankle are actual wrist & ankle weights that were sold in Japan during RnK's serialization, with the manga apparently giving them a surge in sales at the time, & would later be renamed the Dragon Wrist & Ankle for the Ring ni Kakero 1 "Deluxe Edition" re-release, as well as Ring ni Kakero 2 & the RnK1 anime, to avoid trademark infringement. The Power Ankle is even an item in the Pokémon series, though renamed the "Power Anklet" in English.]
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Volume 8 released on October 15, 1979, right as the battles with Team Germany in the semi-finals of the World Tournament were happening. By this point Ring ni Kakero had truly become a sheer spectacle of a boxing manga, with supremely powerful superblows attracting readers into buying each new issue of Shonen Jump that was coming out at the time. Fittingly, the author's note for Volume 8 saw Masami Kurumada (in his best Casey at the Bat cosplay, I'm sure) talk about the introduction Ryuji's Boomerang Hook, the original superblow:
"The Boomerang Hook is born! This was a memorable issue for me. Up to now, Ring ni Kakero has been slowly gaining steam in both popularity and quality, but this issue marks the big breakthrough. Like a rumbling in the depths of the earth, Ryuji had been steadily accumulating his strength, but now he has roared forth all at once and blasted off on a marvelous winning streak. To keep up with Ryuji, I pledge to keep drawing until my arm falls off! And as a manga drawer, too, I'll keep striving to make each day better than the last."
[George's Note: Masami Kurumada specifically used the word "漫画屋/mangaya", or "manga drawer" (more literally "manga shop/seller"), rather than the proper "漫画家/mangaka", or "manga artist", as he felt he wasn't truly worthy of the proper term until he debuted Otoko Zaka in 1984.]
The afterword here was written by Osamu Akimoto (seemingly off to the motorcycle races), a close friend of Kurumada's (as they're both Tokyo born & raised) & creator of Kochira Katsushika-ku Kameari Kouen Mae Hashutsujo/This the Police Box in Front of Kameari Park in Katsushika City, better known in short as Kochikame: Tokyo Beat Cops, i.e. "The Longest-Running Manga in Shonen Jump History (& Of All Time, Until Golgo 13 Beat It)". By the time of Volume 8's release Kochikame was only around 152 chapters into its eventual 1,950+-chapter, 40-year serialization (& has since made the occasional one-off return in Shonen Jump), and for this afterword Akimoto talked about the kind of man he knew Kurumada to be:
"Let's Devote Our Lives to This Sacred Duty
Osamu Akimoto
Mangaka
Kurumada-san was born in Tokyo in Tsukishima, and I was born in Katsushika, so we're both Shitamachi kids. That's why there's an understanding between us, and I feel those famous words, 'The child of Edo is like the carps that stream in May: all mouth but empty inside' describe him perfectly. To those unfamiliar with that expression, it means to talk a big game without anything to back it up. If I could sum up Kurumada, he has always has this expression on his face like he's about to pull a knife on you!
I hear that in school he was quite the womanizer, and you'd need more than two hands to count the number of teary-eyed women he left behind.
He's formed this gang called 'Shinwakai' [George's Note: This was the collective name for Kurumada's assistants at the time], which has achieved some notoriety in the Tsukishima area. It's said that the young men loyal to Kurumada have pledged their very lives to him, and would throw themselves off a building if he only asked...
Kurumada is someone who feels a moral obligation to humanity, and this is his philosophy: 'Men without means or education, how else can you live? You birds who have broken away from the flock, give your lives to duty.'
[shmuplations' Note: These are a play on the lyrics of a song apparently.]
He was perhaps one misstep away from falling into the yakuza life, swaggering through the alleys of Kabukicho, wandering and lost...
But instead he took TWO missteps, and became a manga artist. Although he was born into the yakuza, there are few now who know of the tattoo of Benten-sama which adorns his back...
Fond as he is of saying 'those without honor aren't fit to be human!', Kurumada never misses a deadline. That is the sense of duty he shows to his editors.
As the saying goes, 'Fires and fights are the flowers of Edo.' If he hears a fight breaking out in the neighborhood, Kurumada will immediately drop the pen in his hand for a long knife, and rush out to the scene in his setta.
OK! You're amazing, Masami-chan!!"
[George's Note: Akimoto's last line uses the word "nikuize", which is usually translated in the negative (hate, detest, etc.) but can also be translated in the positive (amazing, admirable, etc.), and since he wrote it in hiragana & used the "-chan" suffix he likely meant for it to be positive, but in a playful & sarcastic way.]
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We end this first part with Volume 9, which came out on January 15, 1980, right as the World Tournament was coming to its end with the fights against Team Greece. For the author's note, Masami Kurumada (in his final baseball shirted appearance) talked about how much he hated losing:
"There's nothing I hate more than losing! I've been like that since I was a kid. I especially remember when I would lose a fight, walking home and crying all the way... those tears were not from the pain of the blows I received: it was the sting of losing, and the sense of my own powerlessness...
I'm an adult now, but I still have the same attitude: I'd rather die than be a loser! So I'm going to keep giving it my all, so that I never have to taste the bitter tears of defeat again!!"
For the afterword there's Satoshi Ikezawa (who looks to be on the same baseball team as Kurumada), who first saw some minor success in Jump in the early 70s with raunchy school comedy Arashi! San-piki, but would truly become iconic in the second half of the decade with supercar race manga Circuit no Okami/The Circuit Wolf, which would achieve a level of success that's still rarely seen in Jump to this day, namely in regards to getting color pages for its chapters. Specifically, it saw 82 out of its total 230 weekly chapters get color pages, a number that only Haikyu!! (100), Bleach (117), Kochikame (151), & One Piece (209, as of this piece) have surpassed! Okami had ended about half a year prior to Volume 9's release, and Ikezawa's next two series for Jump (Diamond Star & Kaido Racer GO) would both see quick cancellation; Ikezawa's next big manga would be Circuit no Okami II: Modena no Ken in Weekly Playboy from 1989 to 1995. As for Volume 9 of RnK, Satoshi Ikezawa recalled what he thought when he first met Masami Kurumada, and how he might become, in Ikezawa's own words, The "Don" of Manga:
"Aim to be The 'Don' of Manga!
Satoshi Ikezawa
Mangaka
Shaved head, suteteko pants and haramaki, wooden geta... a man with the look and power of someone who could jump on you at any moment if you speak out in any way that offends him...
This was my first impression of Kurumada. At that time, he was still working as the assistant of mangaka Ko Inoue, and I believe I first met him over a game of mahjong.
Honestly, when I met him, he struck me as someone very unlike the generation of manga artists that had preceded us, nor did he seem at all like someone's assistant (to be fair, neither did I). I remember thinking privately, 'This guy isn't cut out to be a manga artist.' His eyes, however, were gleaming with passion and ambition...
Still, I had a hard time imagining that passionate energy being channeled into the form of your typical manga artist: shoulders hunched over your desk for long hours, fingertips moving with a slow and careful determination... no, Kurumada struck me more as someone whose path in life would one day lead him to join the yakuza. And amazingly Kurumda is now the author of a manga that depicts the uber-yakuza world! Though he is someone very familiar to me, I am happy to see him succeeding with his intense, richly personified characters.
[George's Note: Ikezawa's mention of Kurumada's 'uber-yakuza world' is jokingly referring to Aidokushashou ni wa Te wo Dasuna!!/Don't Mess with the Reader's Award!!, a short parody seen in Issue #13 of 1979 of Jump where Kurumada & his Shinwakai assistants are portrayed as yakuza who kill their fellow mangaka in order to win Jump's Reader's Award by default... only for themselves to all get murdered by Hiroshi Motomiya in the end. It'd later get included in the book Jitsuroku! Shinwakai in 1983.]
In addition, he, myself, Kontaro, and Osamu Akimoto have formed what we consider to be the strongest team in the manga world... a baseball team called the "Daimanzoku." When we are not busy with our manga, we have fun on the field and devote our energy to creating the manga of tomorrow.
[shmuplations & George's Note: Ikzeawa's 'Daimanzoku' would normally be read as 'Extremely Satisfied', but he has changed the kanji for 'man' to the one used in the word 'manga' & 'zoku' to the one used for 'team/gang/tribe'--translated it would be 'The Great Comic Clan', though considering Ikezawa's semi-comical tone in this afterword it could maybe also be read as 'The Seriously Aimless Clan'. If you're curious what Norihiro Nakajima's opposing baseball shirt said, it was "Kaientai", a reference to modern Japan's first corporation.]
Masami Kurumada... will he become the true 'Don' of the manga world?! I too look forward to seeing him fulfill that potential. Above all, he is a man who is completely interested in himself."
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I'll be doing this throughout all three part of this series throughout the year, but a major & heartfelt "Thank You" to shmuplations for translating the author's notes & afterwords for these first nine volumes. While the first six featuring the pro boxers are interesting in & of themselves from their own perspectives, I think the last three featuring the mangaka are an especially cool look at how Masami Kurumada was looked at by his peers in Shonen Jump at the time, so knowing that 12 of the remaining 15 tankouban also feature managaka-written afterwords leaves me immensely curious about what else we'll see when we return with Part 2 (which will feature Volumes 10 to 18) later this year!
Ring ni Kakero © Masami Kurumada/Shueisha
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