Abu-san
Abu-san (Japanese: あぶさん) is a baseball manga series written and illustrated by Shinji Mizushima. It tells the story of fictional baseball player Yasutake Kageura (景浦安武, Kageura Yasutake). It started to be serialized in 1973,[1] and ended on February 5, 2014 after 976 chapters.[2][3] The first manga volume was released on May 15, 1974[4] and the last one, the 107th volume, was released on March 28, 2014.[5]
| Abu-san | |
 A volume cover of Abu-san | |
| あぶさん | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Sports (baseball) |
| Manga | |
| Written by | Shinji Mizushima |
| Published by | Shogakukan |
| Magazine | Big Comic Original |
| Demographic | Seinen |
| Original run | 1973 – 2014 |
| Volumes | 107 |
In 1977, it received the Shogakukan Manga Award for seinen/general manga.[6] In 2004, Mizushima auctioned off the right to appear as a character in Abu-san for over ¥3 million, as a fundraiser for Mangajapan.[7] As of 2013, the series has sold over 22 million copies.[3]
The Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks currently honours Squad no.90, which belongs to Yasutake Kageura.
References
- "Kochikame Manga Reaches 1,750 Chapters, Abu-san Reaches 100 Volumes". Retrieved April 17, 2012.
- "あぶさん完結 今季限りでホークス退団". Daily Sports Online (in Japanese). Retrieved December 17, 2014.
- あぶさん ： 長寿野球マンガが41年の歴史に幕 ついにホークス退団. Mainichi Shimbun Digital (in Japanese). Retrieved December 17, 2014.
- あぶさん 1 (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Retrieved September 30, 2010.
- あぶさん 107 (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Retrieved December 17, 2014.
- 小学館漫画賞：歴代受賞者 (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Archived from the original on 23 January 2008. Retrieved 2008-01-22.
- "Become a Manga Character". Anime News Network. 2004-09-02. Retrieved 2007-12-31.