Hiroya Oku, the Japanese manga artist behind popular series such as Gantz, Hen, and Gigant, has announced that he will retire from the industry following the conclusion of his latest work, Kanrekihime (The Sweet Sixty Princess). Oku talked about this decision in a recent interview with Courrier Japon, citing a “lack of energy” to continue with manga creation.
Oku clarifies that he isn’t out of ideas and still very much possesses a creative drive as he turns 60 next year. Rather, he finds that he no longer has the capacity to go through the entire manga creation process, which requires an “enormous amount of mental and physical energy.” This includes creating the story, drawing the artwork, and keeping the manga updated for an extended period of time.
First released in December 2025, Oku’s final work Kanrekihime starts with a group of middle-aged men living in a shared house. In fear of dying alone, they purchase a magical drug called “Neotype-16,” which turns whoever drinks it into a beautiful young girl. The story follows the men as they learn to live around one of their friends who has undergone the sex change.
With his retirement in mind, Oku plans for Kanrekihime to be his swan song. He created it with the intention of showing readers the point-of-view of a middle-aged protagonist. He also projected the creators of the manga (himself included) onto the middle-aged characters in the story. Oku jokes that while there are no aliens or UFOs like his other manga, he hopes readers will see Kanrekihime’s story through to the end.
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