The most recent issue of Shogakukan’sBig Comic Superiormagazine announced thatGantzcreator Hiroya Oku will soon begin work on a new manga. Okuhas worked on various mangasinceGantz’sconclusion, with his last work,Gigant, concluding in 2021. As the series neared its end, he regularly used his social media to give updates on the final chapters.
Gantzwas serialized from 2000 to 2013 in Shueisha’sYoung Jumpmagazine, with 37 compiled volumes. Dark Horse Comics published the series in the US, and it inspired a 26-episode anime adaptation - currently available on Crunchyroll - as well as a CGI movie,Gantz:O, several Japanese live-action adaptations, and two spin-off manga. Alive-action film adaptation was announcedin 2021.
Gantzfollows Kei Kurono, who gets involved in a violent after-death game in which he needs to kill aliens to survive. It was a hit with Japanese and international audiences, becoming one of the most well-known manga/anime of its era. Oku stated the newseries is still in his head and he can’t wait to start drawing it, and he will try his best to make a good story out of it. No release date has been provided as of yet.
Hiroya Oku’s Other Famous Works
Going from Gantz to Gigant
After finishingGantz, Oku worked onInuyashikifrom 2014 to 2017, with all 10 volumes published in English by Kodansha. The seriesalso received an anime adaptation, which was released in 2018 and is available on both Amazon Prime Video and Crunchyroll. It revolves around a 58-year-old man frustrated with life, who then discovers he has terminal cancer. While in an emotional crisis, he is consumed by a mysterious light and wakes up as a machine. He decides to use his new powers to do good deeds, but the origin of his new body remains unanswered.
In 2017, Oku startedGigant, his most recent work, which was finished in 2021, also in 10 volumes. Seven Seas publishes the manga in English. The plot follows Rei Yokoyamada, a teenager who dreams of becoming a filmmaker. Frustrated with a bad beginning, he accidentally discovers pornographic actress Papico, of whom he is a fan, lives near him. They end up meeting, and this could be the simple start of a romance, but then, when she tries to help an old man, something strange, with “gigant” proportions happens.
Despite little information about the new manga, Hiroya Oku has a distinctive style and fans who have been waiting for something new sinceGigantended can finally be sure that there is something coming soon.
