News

iCONTACT Soccer Manga's 1st Part Ends

This year's 21st issue of Kodansha's Weekly Shōnen Magazine published the ending of the first part of Hiroaki Igano and Kaya Tsukiyama's iCONTACT soccer manga on Wednesday. The manga's fourth compiled book volume will ship on June 17, and will be the final volume for the first part.

The manga centers on Shishi Sakurazaka, a soccer player in his third year of middle school. He has speed that puts dedicated track runners to shame, but has no talent for shooting a goal, which has led to him being an eternal benchwarmer. But one day, while playing an online soccer game, he meets a genius gamer.

Igano and Tsukiyama launched the manga in Weekly Shōnen Magazine in August 2021. Kodansha published the manga's third volume on March 17.

Igano and Tsukiyama most notable previously collaborated on The Knight in the Area, another soccer manga. That manga launched in Weekly Shōnen Magazine in 2006, and ended in 2017. Kodansha published the manga's 57th and final compiled book volume in 2017. The spinoff manga Area no Kishi Bangai-hen: Enokō Early Days about the high school days of Coach Iwaki debuted in 2007, and Kodansha's Manga Box app released the series. The original manga also inspired a four-panel gag comedy manga. A television anime adaptation premiered in 2012, and Crunchyroll streamed the series as it aired.

Tsukiyama and Igano also collaborated on the Kami-sama no Koibito manga, which launched in March 2019, and ended in February 2020.

Igano's other pseudonyms include Yuya Aoki (GetBackers), Tadashi Agi (The Drops of God), Ryō Ryūmon (Bloody Monday), Seimaru Amagi (Kindaichi Case Files original idea), and Yuma Ando (Psychometrer, Psychometrer Eiji, Sherlock Bones).

Source: Weekly Shōnen Magazine issue 21