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Furumachi, Uoto's Dr. Muscle Beetle Manga Ends on May 8
posted on by Joanna Cayanan
The manga launched in Weekly Shōnen Champion on January 23. Akita Shoten published the manga's first compiled book volume on April 8. Chi: On the Movements of the Earth manga artist Uoto is credited for the first volume's original concept.
The manga's story centers on Mamoru Genki, a macho young man who believes in protecting people, but he himself is driven by debt and is forced to commit robbery with a loosely organized crime gang. Mamoru and other gang members rob an insect museum of an old professor, whom he just met and "protected." Pushed to the limit, Mamoru unleashes the true power of his well-trained body, and tries to stick to his ideal of protecting people.
Furumachi and Taemyung Kim's Hisokani Asare (The Poachers) manga ran from May 2022 to February 2024 on Shogakukan's Manga ONE and Ura Sunday services. Shogakukan published five volumes of the manga.
Uoto launched the Chi: On the Movements of the Earth (Chi -Chikyū no Undō ni Tsuite- manga in Shogakukan's Big Comic Spirits in September 2020, and ended it in April 2022. Shogakukan published the manga's eighth and final compiled book volume in June 2022. Seven Seas Entertainment licensed the manga.
The manga won the Grand Prize for the 26th Annual Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize awards in April 2022. Uoto is the youngest ever to win the Grand Prize at 24 years old. The manga was nominated for the 68th Shogakukan Manga Awards in 2022. The manga ranked at #22 in Da Vinci's "Book of the Year" manga list in 2022.
The manga's 25-episode anime adaptation premiered on October 5. Episodes streamed on Netlix and ABEMA after each episode's airing.
Uoto's 100 Meters (Hyakuemu) manga is inspiring an upcoming anime film that will premiere in Japan on September 19. GKIDS will screen the film in North American theaters in October.
Source: Weekly Shōnen Champion combined issue 21/22
