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Wednesday, January 3, 2024 saw Captain Tsubasa creator, author, and illustrator Youichi Takahashi announce his intent to retire from creating manga in any capacity. The news comes from the 19th volume of the series’ magazine, where it was confirmed that the last chapter of his series will coincide with the ending of the series’ magazine itself.
Takahashi has also commented on the future of the Captain Tsubasa series beyond its looming retirement, with some seemingly encouraging news for fans of his series. Per Takahashi’s apparent announcement within his series’ magazine, he intends to draft a final “World Cup” arc which can be used as a basis for other kinds of adaptations in the future.
In essence, it seems that Takahashi’s retirement isn’t necessarily the end of his Captain Tsubasa series and franchise given his above intent to draft a final arc for the series. While it’s unclear what form this final arc would take, it nevertheless creates the opportunity for the series to get some definitive closure at some point in the future.
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Captain Tsubasa mangaka set to retire due to age and health problems, per latest announcement
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As mentioned above, Takahashi’s retirement may mark the end of his involvement with the Captain Tsubasa series, but there seems to be hope for an eventual conclusion yet. While it’s unclear who would take over on the series and what form this aforementioned final arc would take, it can be presumed that Takahashi would be involved with oversight to give it canonicity.
Takahashi cites his age and health problems as the reason for his retirement, which is a tale as old as time amongst those creators within the manga industry. Hunter x Hunter mangaka Yoshihiro Togashi’s health issues are a prime example of what can happen when creators push themselves too hard for their work. The tragic and untimely death of Berserk’s Kentaro Miura also serves as a warning to those who try to sacrifice their health for the works they create.
Likewise, fan reception to this news has been incredibly supportive and thankful rather than critical and argumentative. While there is typically at least a small portion of every fanbase which falls into the latter category of reception, Takahashi’s announcement of foundational plans for a final arc is likely mitigating this. The fact that Takahashi will likely be involved with the oversight of whatever form this final arc takes is also likely having an impact.
The Captain Tsubasa manga series is one of the longest ongoing, having first begun in April 1981 in Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump magazine. Including breaks, the manga has been ongoing for over 40 years, with roughly 29 of those years seeing the series actively serialized. Several anime films, television anime series, and original video animations have also been spawned by Takahashi’s original manga series.
Be sure to keep up with all anime, manga, film, and live-action news as 2023 progresses.
