Buronson will be one of the guests on a special edition of the Japanese TV show Mandō Kobayashi, devoted to the legends of Shōnen Jump to mark Shueisha’s centennial. Announced by Fuji TV on October 9, the program airs on Saturday, November 14, from 6:00 to 7:30 PM Japan time (as scheduled) on the Fuji TV ONE Sports & Variety channel. Recording has wrapped, and the show’s official account promises “one stunning revelation after another.”
A special edition devoted to Hiroshi Motomiya
Hosted by comedian Kendo Kobayashi since 2012, Mandō Kobayashi is a show entirely about manga. This special edition, “Shōnen Jump Legends Assemble” (“少年ジャンプ”レジェンド集合SP), centers on Hiroshi Motomiya and the artists who followed in his footsteps. It coincides with the launch of Motomiya’s complete works by Shueisha, starting November 19. Motomiya himself does not appear on the show.
Fuji TV points to the weight of three of his series in the publisher’s history. Otoko Ippiki Gaki Daishō (1968), Kōha Ginjirō (1975) and Ore no Sora, Keiji-hen (1979) are each credited with helping one of the group’s magazines pass the one-million-copy mark, namely Weekly Shōnen Jump, Monthly Shōnen Jump and Weekly Young Jump.
Buronson and Shinji Hiramatsu on the same set
Three authors appear in the studio: Buronson, Shinji Hiramatsu and Tetsuya Saruwatari (Tough). Yoshihiro Takahashi (Ginga, Nagareboshi Gin), Hisashi Eguchi, Takashi Shimada of Yudetamago (Kinnikuman), Akira Miyashita (Sakigake!! Otokojuku) and Keisuke Itagaki (Baki) take part by video. Yasuhisa Hara (Kingdom) sent a written message.
Buronson’s presence makes perfect sense. He broke into the business at Motomiya Pro in the early 1970s. In his book “Drawing Evil and Lies” (悪と嘘を描く), he recalls that editor Shigeo Nishimura first saw him as “the shady guy Motomiya brought back from the army,” before pushing him to write.
Shinji Hiramatsu, seated next to him, is not there by chance either. He drew Doberuman Deka, serialized in Shōnen Jump from 1975 to 1979, the series that established Buronson as a writer years before Hokuto no Ken. The two had already teamed up on a short story in 1974.
As for the host, Kendo Kobayashi sets the tone: “The foundation of every Jump manga and every one of its heroes! I’m going back to Motomiya’s work from the very beginning.”
The show will also be available on the Fuji TV ONE smart service and through some providers such as J:COM, with no rebroadcast announced so far. To follow Buronson’s career, the chronology of his works and his interviews are on the site. The Fuji TV press release is available on PR Times.
