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Masami Kurumada's Otoko-Zaka Manga Enters Final Arc
posted on by Crystalyn Hodgkins
Manga creator Masami Kurumada ended the "Honjin Shitō-hen" arc of his Otoko-Zaka manga on the Shonen Jump+ app and website with its sixth chapter on Saturday. The final page of the chapter revealed that the next arc of the manga will be the manga's final arc. The arc will be titled "Shōwa Sekigahara-hen."
Otoko-Zaka's initial eight-chapter revival began in Shū Play News, the official website of Shueisha's Weekly Playboy magazine, in June 2014 after three decades of hiatus.
The manga moved to Shonen Jump+ in 2017 with the "Keikai Otome" arc. The next arc, "Tenkataihei-hen" (Peace and Tranquility Arc), then launched in August 2018 and ran for seven chapters. The arc was compiled in the manga's eighth compiled book volume in November 2018. The next arc was "Takeshima Honjin-hen," which launched on February 9 and ended on March 29. The "Honjin Shitō-hen" arc launched on July 4.
The manga's story is set in the town of Kujūkuri in Chiba. Jingi Kikukawa is the unrivaled alpha male of the Tōun Middle School student body, and he has never lost a fight in 13 years. However, he goes down in defeat against Shō Takeshima, the ringleader in Western Japan who has his sights on the entire country. Jingi undergoes dangerous training in the art of fighting with Kenka-Oni, a demon who lives in Oniyama.
Kurumada (Saint Seiya, Ring ni Kakero) first serialized the manga in Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump magazine from 1984 to 1985. He said, "I became a manga creator to draw this manga." However, the series remained incomplete at three volumes for nearly 30 years. The manga never inspired an anime, but Seisei Ruten: Kurumada-ism, a 2005 CD of songs with lyrics written by Kurumada, featured an "Otoko-Zaka" song.
Source: Shonen Jump+
