When thinking of the combination of Baku Yumemakura and Jiro Taniguchi, the first thing that comes to mind is the manga version of “The Summit of the Gods,” a monumental mountain novel that was serialized in the magazine “Subaru” from the July 1994 issue to the June 1997 issue.
The other “The Summit of the Gods”, depicted with overwhelming and detailed expressiveness, received the same great praise as the original novel. “The Summit of the Gods” was later made into a live-action film and a French animation, and as you know, it continues to be supported by many fans around the world even today. Baku Yumemakura also spoke passionately about unknown episodes with his ally who he has worked with on various other works, and the untold story behind the birth of the masterpiece. We will deliver the footage to you.
Today I had the opportunity to take a peek inside the event venue at the Kitakyushu Manga Museum, which is hosting the “Drawer Taniguchi Jiro Exhibition,” and it was very interesting.
You see, apart from SF, I prefer manga to novels, and lately I’ve been reading more manga. I haven’t been reading novels much lately.
As for novels, the ones I still read – and by that I mean the same ones over and over – are mostly works by Ryotaro Shiba, classics that serve as reference material, or works that I wanted to read in the past but didn’t have the chance to, so I don’t read many novels by contemporary authors anymore. The opportunities to read them are when I think “this looks interesting,” and also when I’m on the selection committee for a novel award, so I read the nominees at that time. These are the few opportunities I have to read contemporary novels.
I would say I read about 10 novels by contemporary authors a year, but I’m still very much into manga (laughs).
Speaking of Jiro Taniguchi, first there is Blue Fighter (1980-1981). I first met Jiro Taniguchi when I got my hands on Blue Fighter, and that connection led to me later adapting Garou Densetsu into a manga. The title is a play on the word Bull Fighter, so it goes by Blue Fighter.
The story begins, and just before you know it, you see this (※1). This kind of expression, including the illustrations, was quite rare at the time.
D’Angelo, a former world champion, is fascinated by the powerful Japanese boxer Rege and aims to take him to the world stage as a promoter…
View all images

This is a full-scale fighting novel with the protagonist being Tamba Bunshichi, a wandering fighter who studies all kinds of martial arts, including karate. It is still an immortal masterpiece after 38 years. Since 2006, the title has been changed to “New Garou Densetsu”.

By the way, this picture (※2) is amazing, isn’t it? A jazzman is playing music to create an image, and I think this was the first time that Jiro Taniguchi had suddenly inserted a musical performance scene into a battle scene.
It may just be that I don’t know about it, but I think this is a phenotype that no one has ever tried before.
