Manga artist Tetsuya Chiba (ちばてつや), the author of Ashita no Joe, died on October 22, 2026, at the age of 87. The Japan Cartoonists Association (日本漫画家協会), which he chaired, announced his passing on October 27. The funeral was held privately with his family, as he had wished. He was also a touchstone for both creators of Hokuto no Ken, Tetsuo Hara and Buronson.
Born in Tokyo in 1939, Tetsuya Chiba spent his childhood in Manchuria before returning to Japan after the war. He made his professional debut in 1956. From 1968, he drew Ashita no Joe in Weekly Shōnen Magazine, from a script by Asao Takamori, the pen name of Ikki Kajiwara. The boxing manga became a cultural phenomenon. In 2024, Chiba became the first manga artist to receive the Order of Culture, Japan’s highest cultural honor.
Tetsuo Hara’s tribute
On the day of the announcement, Tetsuo Hara posted a sketch on X that evokes Joe Yabuki, the hero of Ashita no Joe, with a single word, “Sad…” (哀しい、、、).
Hara has often talked about his formative years. His bedrock remains the gekiga of Ryōichi Ikegami, but he names Tetsuya Chiba among the artists he imitated early on (Nihon Keizai Shimbun, 2023). Interviewed by the magazine Kōken in 2026, he puts him alongside Shōtarō Ishinomori among the authors who shaped him outside gekiga (our translation). That same year, in his interview with L’Internaute (in French), he mentions Ashita no Joe among the manga of an era he lived through in middle school and high school.
Buronson and the ending of Doberuman Deka
The link also runs through Buronson. In his essay “Depicting Evil and Lies” (悪と嘘を描く, Shōgakukan, 2026), the writer explains that the final scene of Doberuman Deka is a tribute to Ashita no Joe. The hero, Jōji Kanō, dies in a white tuxedo, burned down to white ashes. Buronson says he called Tetsuya Chiba to ask for his blessing, and got it.
The book also mentions Akio Chiba, Tetsuya’s younger brother. He often had Buronson over for meals back when the young writer didn’t have a penny to his name. When success went to Buronson’s head, it was Akio who put him in his place, telling him he had become pathetic. Buronson says the lesson in humility never left him (our feature on the essay).
With him, manga loses one of its giants. Hokuto Chronicles extends its condolences to his family, his loved ones and all the readers of Ashita no Joe.
