TOKYO, Oct 27 — Tetsuya Chiba, a titan of Japanese manga best known for the legendary boxing series “Ashita no Joe”, has died aged 87, his publishers said Tuesday.
Chiba’s works often told stories about the physical and mental growth of young athletes across various sports including golf, boxing and the martial art kendo, while also showing the poverty, despair, joy and optimism of ordinary life in postwar Japan.
“Ashita no Joe”, published in the 1960s through the 1970s, featured a troubled young man who learns boxing in a juvenile detention centre and rises through the professional ranks to engage in epic rivalries.
Fans held a funeral after Joe’s main rival died in the story. Older fans can casually recite lines from the work, which also spawned enormously popular anime series, movies, video games, television commercials and theatrical productions.
