{"id":70842,"date":"2026-08-12T14:07:02","date_gmt":"2026-08-12T05:07:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/?p=70842"},"modified":"2026-08-12T14:07:04","modified_gmt":"2026-08-12T05:07:04","slug":"gantz-author-hiroya-oku-to-retire-from-manga-following-the-end-of-his-latest-work-i-simply-dont-have-the-energy-anymore","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/gantz-author-hiroya-oku-to-retire-from-manga-following-the-end-of-his-latest-work-i-simply-dont-have-the-energy-anymore\/","title":{"rendered":"Gantz author Hiroya Oku to retire from manga following the end of his latest work. \u201cI simply don\u2019t have the energy anymore\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Hiroya Oku<\/strong>, 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<\/a>, citing a \u201clack of energy\u201d to continue with manga creation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oku clarifies that he isn\u2019t 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 \u201cenormous amount of mental and physical energy.\u201d This includes creating the story, drawing the artwork, and keeping the manga updated for an extended period of time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

First released in December 2025, Oku\u2019s 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 \u201cNeotype-16,\u201d 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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<\/a> (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\u2019s story through to the end.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Related: Third-party investigation deems Shogakukan\u2019s rehiring of convicted manga author as \u201ccomplicity in a human rights violation.\u201d Editor-in-charge draws criticism with new apology<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kodansha launches project to turn \u201canime openings\u201d for non-existent series into original IPs<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Kankrekihime will be Oku’s last work.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":67,"featured_media":70844,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_gspb_post_css":"","autoblue_enabled":true,"autoblue_custom_message":"","autoblue_shares":[{"did":"did:plc:uzrrhkfyjrfdsynj2voztcf2","date":"2026-08-12T05:07:10+00:00","uri":"at:\/\/did:plc:uzrrhkfyjrfdsynj2voztcf2\/app.bsky.feed.post\/3msuebnxqme2e","response":"{\"uri\":\"at:\/\/did:plc:uzrrhkfyjrfdsynj2voztcf2\/app.bsky.feed.post\/3msuebnxqme2e\",\"cid\":\"bafyreiar7icosstnzobjrznrdmhzfqtdiihdha53o7mbgsqevnkmhh6luu\",\"commit\":{\"cid\":\"bafyreih23m5jb6w6nnxp3526zy52ncavbzm4dpr5zeivzs73n6pjuvlenq\",\"rev\":\"3msuebnxzfm2e\"},\"validationStatus\":\"valid\"}"}],"autoblue_post_url":"","autoblue_publish_document":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,65],"tags":[73,17],"class_list":["post-70842","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-nongaming-news","tag-anime","tag-japan-related-news"],"blocksy_meta":[],"yoast_head":"\nGantz author Hiroya Oku to retire from manga following the end of his latest work. \u201cI simply don\u2019t have the energy anymore\u201d - 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