Shinji Mizushima, the cartoonist father of numerous baseball manga, including Dokaben, Abu-san e Yakȳu-Kyō no Uta (A Baseball Fan’s Poem), unpublished in our country but from which the anime arrived in Italy with the title of Pat The Baseball Girl. The mangaka died on January 10 in a Tokyo hospital from pneumonia. His family held a private funeral service, thus respecting Mizushima’s wishes.
Shinji Mizushima’s career
Shinji Mizushima he was 82 years old. Behind him a profitable career, twice winner of the prestigious award Shogakukan. His works have been collected in more than 500 volumes tankōbon, thus making him one of the most prolific mangakas of all time.
Mizushima was born on April 10, 1939 in Niigata prefecture. He made his debut as a professional manga creator at the young age of 18 in 1958. He retired on December 1, 2020.
He stated at the time of the withdrawal:
I have worked hard for 63 years to date, but now I have decided to retire. I pray from the bottom of my heart for continued growth in the world of manga and baseball.
His best known work was without a doubt Dokaben, centered around a high school baseball team, launched in 1972 in the magazine Weekly Shōnen Champion by Akita Shoten. The work ended after 46 years.
An anime of the same title was subsequently produced from the manga, consisting of 163 episodes and produced by Nippon Animation, which was only partially broadcast in Italy under the title of Mr. Baseball.
Mizushima then released several sequels to Dokaben: Dai Koshien, which also features characters from other Mizushima manga, Dokaben Pro Yakyu-hen (Pro Baseball Arc), Dokaben Superstars-hen e Dokaben: Dream Tournament-hen. Dokaben: Dream Tournament-hen, the final arc, began in 2012 and ended in the magazine Weekly Shōnen Champion in June 2018.
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