Kinnikuman Manga Goes On an Extended Hiatus Till Further Notice

On Thursday, May 14th, the manga-ka duo Takashi Shimada and Yoshinori Nakai, known as Yudetamago, announced they were going to extend the hiatus of their Kinnikuman Manga because of the Covid-19 pandemic. They have withheld the update return date, stating that they will announce it in the future.

The hiatus, which started on April 20th, was originally slated to end on May 18th.

This announcement made it clear that the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic in Japan has not been suppressed. The creators stressed on the fact that the health of their staff and staff’s family is their first priority. They also cited that Japan’s State of Emergency has been extended.

When the duo announced the hiatus initially, they explained that their manga creation process was manual, using pens and paper. So, for this reason, the duo and their assistants had to commute to the studio and work for long hours for several days a week.

They also added that many of their staff members lived with elderly family members. Thus, after consulting with Shueisha, Yudetamago decided to put the manga on a break for now.

During this hiatus period, Shueisha is posting old one-shot manga and other works by the duo for free. The manga-kas encouraged the fans to “Knock-out the virus with our friendship power!”

The original Kinnikuman wrestling manga ran from 1979 to 1987, until the duo decided to pick-up from where they left it and resumed the original manga as a free web manga in 2011.

A brief summary of the plot of Kinnikuman:

Kinnikuman (a.k.a. Kinniku Suguru) is a cowardly, clumsy, moronic, gyuudon-devouring excuse for a superhero (or Choujin) who just happens to be the prince of an alien planet. But despite his pathetic appearance, he is very honorable and can become quite powerful when he needs to be. With his sidekick Meat-kun and fellow Choujins Terryman and Ramenman there to help him, Suguru quests to become the greatest Choujin on the planet. Whether with a combination of tremendous heart and stamina (The Burning Inner Strength) or the “Power of Friendship”, Kinnikuman frequently defeats villians 10 times more powerful than him and often causes his enemies to have a change of heart and join him. Though he seems destined to be an idiot forever, slowly but surely Kinnikuman becomes worthy of the title “Hero.”

The original manga has inspired many television Anime series and films like Kinnikuman, Kinnikuman Nisei – Second Generations, Takatae Ramenman, Ultimate Muscle, Ultimate Muscle 2.

Yudetamago also published a one-shot manga in 2015 for Shueisha’s Grand Jump magazine.

Then, in June 2019, for the first time in 11 years, they published a one-shot in the Weekly Shonen Jump.

In the 1980s, Kinnikuman Toy figures gained huge popularity. They were imported to the United States, where they were sold under the name “M.U.S.C.L.E.” 4Kids Entertainment also broadcast the anime adaptation of Yudetamago’s Kinnikuman Nisei – Second Generations (Ultimate Muscle: The kinnikumanLegacy) as Ultimate Muscle on television.

Source: Anime News Network