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Kochikame's Akimoto Wins Kan Kikuchi Prize
posted on by Rafael Antonio Pineda
Osamu Akimoto, the creator of the Kochira Katsushika-ku Kamearikouen-mae Hashutsujo (Kochikame) manga, received the 64th Kan Kikuchi Prize on Thursday. The annual prize is awarded to notable literary, film, theatrical, sports, newspaper, and broadcast creators. Akimoto was awarded for "launching the Kochikame manga in 1976, and continuing serialization without breaks for 40 years." The Society for the Promotion of Japanese Literature and the literary magazine Bungei Shunjū present the award.
Akimoto published the final chapter of Kochikame — after four decades of serialization — in the 42nd issue of Weekly Shonen Jump on September 17. The manga's 200th and final compiled volume also shipped on September 17. The manga series has approximately 150 million copies in print as of June when the 199th volume shipped.
The manga centers on the crazy adventures of middle-aged policeman Kankichi Ryōtsu. Akimoto debuted Kochira Katsushika-ku Kamearikouen-mae Hashutsujo in 1976, and it has become Weekly Shonen Jump's longest-running manga series. The manga has earned the Guinness World Record for "most volumes published for a single manga series."
Akimoto plans to publish four new manga across four different Shueisha publications, starting with the Black Tiger manga in December. Each of the series were referenced as short stories, and are not necessarily full series.
Source: Oricon Style via Otakomu
