From the end of the 60’s, I think it’s safe to speak of a small “manga boom”, with many popular titles beginning publication, such as Ashita no Joe, Lupin iii, Doraemon or Golgo 13. For this reason, I will focus every new post from now on on a single year. I warn you to proceed with caution, you might get hooked. 1967 is where it really kicks off, so I’ll keep it short for 1966, focusing on one of my all-time favorites!
Best Manga of 1966
Sabu to Ichi Torimono Hikae – Shoutarou Ishinomori, 1966-1973
The adventures of Sabu, a young investigator and the blind sword master Ichi. Basically a samurai/detective series and yes, it is exactly as good as it sounds. As you may know, Ishinomori started out as Osamu Tezuka’s assistant and you may find the two drawing styles very similar. But Sabu to ichi Torimono Hikae is the manga where Ishinomori really comes into his own as an artist. Around 1970 was a time when all of his work was brimming with creativity. His drawings really shine in this historical setting and I was drooling all over them. I suspect a lot of the images are influenced by cinema of the time but there’s some more abstract drawings that seemed to be spilled onto the page straight from his brain. How does that work, you ask? Well, thanks for asking, I’m not sure but I’d say: probably through the nose. Also, reading this a while after Lone Wolf and Cub, I can say with almost certainty that some of these panels directly inspired panels of the latter series. Yes I know the art styles are nothing similar. Trust me on his, and that’s the first and probably last time I’ll tell you to trust my expertise.
If you find yourself getting bored in the beginning, don’t worry. The first few chapters were a bit too wordy, but the rest of them are just perfect.
Shounen no Uta series – Ken Tanaka, 1966
Or Song of Youth series. A silent one-shot, published in the seinen Garo-magazine, consisting of several different stories about a poor young beggar. Original and appealing art. The gags might make you laugh, but they’ll leave you sad. Just how I like it.
Honorable mentions:
Kyojin no Hoshi – Ikki Kajiwara, Noboru Kawasaki, 1966-1971
A very popular and influential baseball manga. Wish I could find it, though.
Zatouichi – Hiroshi Hirata, 1966
An adaptation of two popular movies about Zatouichi, the blind swordsman Ishinomori based his character Ichi on. Translation is incomplete, so far.
Kuroi Ame ni Utarete – Keiji Nakazawa, 1966
Keiji Nakazawa was a survivor of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima. He fictionalized his own experiences in his major and more popular work, Hadashi no Gen. But Kuroi Ame ni Utarete or Struck by Black Rain is an earlier manga where he attempted to return to his memories. Nakazawa has a bit of a wonky drawing style and kind of cluttered pages, which might make his work more appealing to fans of older comics, like Will Eisner’s The Spirit, rather than manga fans. But once he starts picturing these horrible events, you won’t be able to look away.
Fun facts: Golgo 13-author Takao Saitou started a James Bond manga in 1966. I also found out there was such a Batman-craze in Japan, someone madea Batman-manga. And Osamu Tezuka wrote a manga about werewolves, called The Vampires.
Sorry, more trivia than recommendations. And no captions 🙁 Next post will be longer! Thanks for reading anyway, and let me know if I missed your favorite manga!
Next up: Best manga of 1967
Previous posts:
Best manga of 1945-1950
Best manga of 1951-1960
Best manga of 1961-1965
