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Fist of North Star creator Buronson hasn't had a new manga in three years because no one will publish him... but he's "still not ready to lose to the youngers"

Despite creating one of the most influential manga of all time, Fist of the North Star's Buronson can't get his more recent manga published.

Fist of the North Star manga cover
Image credit: VIZ media

The influence of Fist of the North Star continues to be felt today. Creator Yoshiyuki Okamura, who is best known by his pen name Buronson, helped popularize the seinen genre of manga and helps guide and develop young manga artists. However, he believes he still has more stories to tell; the problem is that the Fist of the North Star creator can’t get anyone to publish his new work.

In an interview with Bunshun Online, which was first translated by Automaton, Buronson talked about the difficulty he’s facing getting new work published at the age of 78.

“These days, offers don’t come anymore, so I have to bring in the manuscripts myself,” he said. It should be noted that Buronson is still active in the manga community; he runs a private manga school for aspiring creators. “And even though nobody wants to use the ones I bring, I really want to see if a work written at my age with my current ability still holds up among modern-day readers. That’s why I’m forcibly bringing in my works to editors. But I think that behind my back they’re just saying, ‘Oh, not that old geezer again.’”

Buronson goes on to mention that part of his inspiration comes from his students. Though editors seem to doubt that he’s got more stories to tell at his age, he says he’s “still not ready to lose to the youngers.”

“Recently, I’ve been writing a lot of stuff based on my hobbies, which are golf and horse racing. I’m also currently writing a story about a porn actress and a story about a swindler. I think maybe two of my scripts could go well, and it would be nice if they actually get greenlit by the publishers.”

That is a pretty diverse selection of stories from the 78-year-old creator of Fist of the North Star, but we could see it working. Hopefully, someone gives him a chance to see how he can compete in the current manga landscape.


Trent Cannon

Trent Cannon: Trent is a freelance writer who has been covering anime, video games, and pop culture for a decade. (He/Him)

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