Hisashi Eguchi's "Susume" and "Stop"
Go!! & Stop!!
I would like to " note " the manga artists who have influenced me, not just those I like.
This time, it's Hisashi Eguchi, whom I read often from elementary through junior high school. (After that, due to my usual habits, my opportunities to read his work decreased drastically lol)
And speaking of Hisashi Eguchi's masterpieces, they are " Susume!! Pirates " and " Stop!! Hibari-kun! ".
These were gag manga serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump, and they were truly hilarious.
I think "Susume!! Pirates" was around the time I was in the middle grades of elementary school, and it became the foundation of my sense of humor. Especially the ghost story episode about the "running old lady"—it was so funny that it became a craze among my classmates, and I can't forget it. (Sorry for the obscure reference.)
After that, with "Hinomaru Gekijo" in between, "Stop!! Hibari-kun!" began serialization, and around this time, I started to notice the extraordinary sense in the art that Hisashi Eguchi drew.
Even looking at the title pages, they are almost like illustrations. I felt that both the composition and the imagery had a wonderful sense of style.
Also, the girls drawn by Hisashi Eguchi are truly adorable. (Note: Hibari-kun is not a girl!)
It's a nostalgic memory of mine to have admired his title pages that used color tones and tried to imitate them in art class using poster colors.
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In his manga, musicians that Hisashi Eguchi liked at the time would sometimes appear, which felt fresh to elementary and junior high school students.
Artists like Motoharu Sano and Ryuichi Sakamoto... sometimes he would introduce the LPs he was listening to in the afterword or similar sections, which really piqued my interest.
The fact that I, as a junior high student, started consciously listening to people related to Niagara and YMO is undoubtedly due to Hisashi Eguchi's influence.
Thinking about it now, I feel that for me as an elementary and junior high student, Hisashi Eguchi's manga were like a "window" into the world of stylish adults.
He is still active as an illustrator today, and whenever I see his art style, it always reminds me of those days.
@eguchiworks
https://www.instagram.com/eguchiworks/
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