Shinji Mizushima

Japanese manga artist (1939–2022)

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Shinji Mizushima

Mizushima in September 2009

Born| (1939-04-10)April 10, 1939
Niigata, Japan
Died| January 10, 2022(2022-01-10) (aged 82)
Tokyo, Japan
Occupation| Manga artist
Nationality| Japanese
Period| 1958–2020
Notable works| Dokaben
Abu-san
Notable awards| Shogakukan Manga Award (1974, 1977)
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Shinji Mizushima (水島 新司（みずしま しんじ）, Mizushima Shinji, April 10, 1939 – January 10, 2022) was a Japanese manga artist. He is best known for several baseball manga, such as Yakyū-kyō no Uta, Dokaben, and Abu-san. He is a two-time recipient of the Shogakukan Manga Award. His works have been collected into more than 540 tankōbon volumes, making him one of the most prolific manga artists of all time.

## Biography

[edit]

Mizushima began his career in 1958 when his debut work, Shinya no Kyaku, was awarded by a local manga magazine based in Osaka. He moved to Tokyo in 1964, where he began to publish numerous works for the Shōnen King magazine. His first serious work involving baseball came in 1969, when he published Ace no Jyōken. He also began to work for the Shōnen Sunday and Shōnen Champion magazines in 1970, where he published his first major hits in Otoko do Ahou Kōshien and Zenikko. His most iconic work, Dokaben, was first serialized on Shōnen Champion in 1972, and Yakyū-kyō no Uta was published in Monthly Shōnen Magazine the same year. Abu-san began publication on Big Comic Original in 1973. He received the Shogakukan Manga Award in 1974 for Otoko do Ahou Kōshien and Deba to Bat, and again in 1977 for Abu-san.[1]

Mizushima's serialized works gained major standing around this period, making him a fixture in the manga industry and the foremost author of baseball manga. In 1975, he published Ikkyu-san; the continuation to Otoko do Ahou Kōshien, for Shōnen Sunday and Kyūdō-kun for Shōnen Big Comic in 1976. In 1977, he started Ikkyū Nyūkon, a magazine specializing in baseball manga, where he serialized Hakkyū no Uta, the counterpart to Yakyū-kyō no Uta set in the Pacific League. In 1981, he began publication of Hikari no Kojirō; an audacious work featuring an entirely original Japanese baseball league and commission.

In 1983, Mizushima published Dai Kōshien; a work featuring characters from Dokaben, Yakyū-kyō no Uta, Otoko do Ahou Kōshien, Ikkyū-san, Kyūdō-kun, and many of the other popular high-school baseball manga he had authored up until then. Mizushima continued to author numerous works through the 1980s, most notably Niji wo Yobu Otoko (1987) and Ohayō K-jirō (1990).

During the 1990s, Mizushima began to build on his most successful works, starting Dokaben Pro-yakyū hen in 1995 on the Shōnen Champion magazine, and Yakyū-kyō no Uta Heisei hen in 1997 for Mister Magazine. Mizushima continued this trend with Shin Yakyū-kyō no Uta (2000) and Dokaben Super Stars hen (2004), and has also continued to author Abu-san, which has spanned over 90 volumes since its inception in 1973. In 2004, Mizushima auctioned off the right to appear as a character in Abu-san for over 3 million yen as a fundraiser for Mangajapan.[2]

Mizushima marked his 50th anniversary as a manga artist in 2007, and Shōnen Champion placed Dokaben on its front cover along with messages and illustrations from many other manga artists such as Osamu Akimoto, Takao Saito, Mitsuru Adachi, Takehiko Inoue, Rumiko Takahashi, Fujiko Fujio, and Hiroshi Takahashi to celebrate Mizushima's achievements. Other enthusiasts and baseball icons including Sadaharu Oh, Shigeo Nagashima, Takeshi Kitano, Hideki Matsui, and Kenji Jojima also contributed messages. Mizushima remained the oldest active manga artist to serialize on weekly publications, 13 years older than the next-youngest artist (Osamu Akimoto).

In 2007, he won the 36th Japan Cartoonists Association Award in the category "Literary Giant Award".[3]

Mizushima announced his retirement on December 1, 2020.[4][5] His last manga was an Abu-san one-shot published in August 2018.[5] Mizushima died from pneumonia in a Tokyo hospital on January 10, 2022, at the age of 82.[5]

## Works

[edit]

Mizushima is known as an avid Hawks fan, and the title character of Abu-san spends his entire career playing for the Nankai Hawks team. Mizushima depicts real baseball players, coaches, and managers in many of his manga, and the events taking place within his manga often mirror those of the real Japanese baseball world, with his fictitious characters interacting with real existing players. However, non-Japanese baseball players ceased to appear in his works authored during or after the 1990s (with notable exceptions such as Rodney Pedraza and Bobby Valentine, who make very brief appearances), after a non-Japanese player's agent demanded payment for using his client's name and image without permission. Because a single game can sometimes take months of serializations to complete, in certain scenes, Mizushima unknowingly changes the batting order and handedness of less important players. Another staple error in Mizushima's manga is consistency in the type of batting helmet used (the helmet covers the left ear for right-handed hitters, and the right ear of left-handed hitters).

### List of major works

[edit]

Listed alphabetically except for series works, which are listed chronologically.

Years  | Name  | Total number of volumes

|
|

1974–2015  | Abu-san (あぶさん) | 107
2009  | Abu-san no Yakyuu Jinsei (あぶさんの野球人生‐全56章) | 2
1974  | Alps-kun (アルプスくん) | 2
1983  | Dantotsu (ダントツ) | 7
1972–1981  | Dokaben (ドカベン) | 48
1983–1987  | Dai-Kōshien (大甲子園) | 26
1995–2004  | Dokaben Pro-yakyū hen (ドカベン プロ野球編) | 52
2004–2012  | Dokaben Super Stars hen (ドカベン スーパースターズ編) | 45
2012–2018  | Dokaben Dream Tournament hen (ドカベン ドリームトーナメント編) | 34
2012  | Dokaben Dream Tournament hen Bekkan (ドカベン ドリームトーナメント編 別巻 山田太郎に挑む名選手傑作選) | 1
1993  | Ganbare Drinkers (がんばれドリンカーズ) | 2
1984–1986  | Gokudō-kun (極道くん) | 14
1958  | Hakkyū no Uta (白球の詩) | 9
1981–1984  | Hikari no Kojirō (光の小次郎) | 19
1946  | Hoero Waka Tora (ほえろ若トラ) | 2
1992  | I Love Baseball | 1
1976  | Ikkyū-san (一球さん) | 14
1974  | Itadaki Yasubē (いただきヤスベエ) | 3
2009– ?  | Kaa-chan no Kōshien – Taiyō no Seishun | 0
1977–1981  | Kyūdō-kun (球道) | 19
2008– ?  | Naite Tamaruka | 0
1987–1989  | Niji wo Yobu Otoko (虹を呼ぶ男) | 10
1989–1995  | Ohayō K-jirō (おはようKジロー) | 29
1970–1975  | Otoko do Ahou Kōshien (男どアホウ甲子園) | 28
1988  | Stopper (ストッパー) | 12
1975  | Yakyū Taishō Gen-chan (野球大将ゲンちゃん) | 3
1973  | Yakyū-kyō no Uta (野球狂の詩) | 17
1998  | 'Yakyū-kyō no Uta Heisei hen (野球狂の詩平成編) | 3
2000  | Shin Yakyū-kyō no Uta (新・やきゅうきょうのうた) | 12
2006  | Yakyū-kyō no Uta VS. Dokaben (野球狂の詩 VS.ドカベン) | 1
1970  | Zenikko (銭っ子) | 5

## References

[edit]

1. ^ 小学館漫画賞：歴代受賞者 (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Archived from the original on October 12, 2010. Retrieved August 19, 2007.
2. ^ "Become a Manga Character". Anime News Network. September 2, 2004. Archived from the original on March 20, 2007. Retrieved December 31, 2007.
3. ^ "36th Japan Cartoonists Association Awards Announced". Archived from the original on November 14, 2012. Retrieved February 10, 2013.
4. ^ Mateo, Alex (December 1, 2020). "Dokaben Baseball Manga Creator Shinji Mizushima Retires". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on December 1, 2020. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
5. ^ a b c 水島新司さん、肺炎のため死去…８２歳、「ドカベン」「野球狂の詩」など野球漫画の第一人者. Sports Hochi (in Japanese). Retrieved January 16, 2022.

## External links

[edit]

* Shinji Mizushima at Anime News Network's encyclopedia

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Shogakukan Manga Award – General

1950s|

* Būtan by Noboru Baba (1955)
* Oyama no Kaba-chan by Eijo Ishida (1956)
* Manga Seminar on Biology and Biiko-chan by Osamu Tezuka (1957)
* Little Black Sambo and Shiawase no Ōji by Tarō Senba (1958)
* Korisu no Pokko by Jirō Ōta and Bonko-chan and Fuichin-san by Toshiko Ueda (1959)

1960s|

* Science-kun no Sekai Ryokō by Reiji Aki (1961)
* Susume Roboketto and Tebukuro Tecchan by Fujiko Fujio (1962)
* Fight Sensei and Stop! Nii-chan by Hisashi Sekitani (1963)
* Osomatsu-kun by Fujio Akatsuka (1964)
* Paki-chan to Ganta by Kazuo Maekawa (1965)
* Sabu to Ichi Torimono Hikae by Shotaro Ishinomori (1967)
* Animal 1 and Inakappe Taishō by Noboru Kawasaki (1968)
* Fire! by Hideko Mizuno (1969)

1970s|

* Glass no Shiro by Masako Watanabe and Gag Ojisan and Oya Baka Tengoku by Ryuzan Aki (1970)
* Hana Ichimonme by Shinji Nagashima and Minashigo Hutch by Tatsuo Yoshida (1971)
* Tōchan no Kawaii Oyome-san and Hashire! Boro by Hiroshi Asuna (1972)
* Otoko Doahō Kōshien and Deba to Batto by Shinji Mizushima (1973)
* The Drifting Classroom by Kazuo Umezu (1974)
* Golgo 13 by Takao Saito (1975)
* Abu-san by Shinji Mizushima (1976)
* Notari Matsutarō by Tetsuya Chiba (1977)
* Haguregumo by George Akiyama (1978)
* Tosa no Ippon Tsuri by Yūsuke Aoyagi (1979)

1980s|

* Hakatakko Junjō and Gangaragan by Hōsei Hasegawa and Jarinko Chie by Etsumi Haruki (1980)
* Sunset on Third Street by Ryōhei Saigan (1981)
* Tsuribaka Nisshi by Jūzō Yamasaki and Ken'ichi Kitami (1982)
* Hidamari no Ki by Osamu Tezuka (1983)
* Human Crossing by Masao Yajima and Kenshi Hirokane (1984)
* Bokkemon by Takashi Iwashige (1985)
* Oishinbo by Tetsu Kariya and Akira Hanasaki (1986)
* Hotel and Manga Nihon Keizai Nyumon by Shotaro Ishinomori (1987)
* Genji Monogatari by Miyako Maki (1988)
* Yawara! by Naoki Urasawa (1989)

1990s|

* F by Noboru Rokuda (1990)
* Kazoku no Shokutaku and Asunaro Hakusho by Fumi Saimon (1991)
* Okami-san by Ichimaru and Miyamoto kara Kimi e by Hideki Arai (1992)
* Kaze no Daichi by Nobuhiro Sakata and Eiji Kazama (1993)
* Bokkō by Hideki Mori (1994)
* Ron by Motoka Murakami and Gallery Fake and Tarō by Fujihiko Hosono (1995)
* Gekka no Kishi by Junichi Nōjō (1996)
* Azumi by Yū Koyama (1997)
* Aji Ichi Monme by Zenta Abe and Yoshimi Kurata (1998)

2000s|

* Monster by Naoki Urasawa (2000)
* Heat by Buronson and Ryoichi Ikegami (2001)
* 20th Century Boys by Naoki Urasawa (2002)
* Dr. Kotō Shinryōjo by Takatoshi Yamada (2003)
* Iryū by Tarō Nogizaka and Akira Nagai (2004)
* A Spirit of the Sun by Kaiji Kawaguchi and Rainbow: Nisha Rokubō no Shichinin by George Abe and Masasumi Kakizaki (2005)
* Bengoshi no Kuzu by Hideo Iura (2006)
* Bambino! by Tetsuji Sekiya and Kurosagi by Takeshi Natsuhara and Kuromaru (2007)
* Gaku: Minna no Yama by Shinichi Ishizuka (2008)
* Shinya Shokudō by Yarō Abe (2009)

2010s|

* Ushijima the Loan Shark by Manabe Shōhei and Space Brothers by Chūya Koyama (2010)
* Kids on the Slope by Yuki Kodama (2011)
* I Am a Hero by Kengo Hanazawa (2012)
* Mogura no Uta by Noboru Takahashi (2013)
* Asahinagu by Ai Kozaki and Aoi Honō by Kazuhiko Shimamoto (2014)
* Umimachi Diary by Akimi Yoshida and Sunny by Taiyo Matsumoto (2015)
* Blue Giant by Shinichi Ishizuka and Jūhan Shuttai! by Naoko Matsuda (2016)
* After the Rain by Jun Mayuzuki and Kūbo Ibuki by Kaiji Kawaguchi (2017)
* Hibiki: Shōsetsuka ni Naru Hōhō by Mitsuharu Yanamoto and Kenkō de Bunkateki na Saitei Gendo no Seikatsu by Haruko Kashiwagi (2018)
* Aoashi by Yūgo Kobayashi and Kaguya-sama: Love Is War by Aka Akasaka (2019)

2020s|

* Dead Dead Demon's Dededede Destruction by Inio Asano and Police in a Pod by Miko Yasu (2020)
* Nigatsu no Shōsha by Shiho Takase and Don't Call It Mystery by Yumi Tamura (2021)
* Medalist by Tsurumaikada (2022)

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