The term "longevity manga" is not unfamiliar to everyone, and unlike today's popular manga, longevity manga has a more tenacious survival than ordinary manga, and the popularity accumulated over the years has made these comics a part of the lives of many readers. Among the longevity manga, there are even some works that have been serialized in a single book for more than 100 volumes. At the rate of 4 volumes per year, the average age of these works can reach 25 years old, which is truly a monster work that has accompanied many readers since birth. So what exactly are the works that fit into this category? And what is the impetus for these works to be able to live so long? In this article, let's take a closer look at these works, which have a total of more than 100 volumes.

● Manga works with more than 100 volumes

"Oolong Police Station (こちら Ge 飾区亀有公園前Police Station)" (1~191 volumes) Akimoto Osa

"Skull 13 (ゴルゴ13)" (1~173 volumes) さいとう?たかを

"Wonderful Kitchen Daddy (クッキングパパ)" (1~128 volumes) うえやまとち

"Nanjie Emperor (ミナミの帝王)" (1~127 volumes) Original: Tennoji Dai, Painting: 郷力也

"Delicious Challenge (Delicious しんぼ)" (1~110 volumes) Original: Tetsuya Yanya, Painting: Hanasaki アキラ

"The Tale of Ten Hands (弐十手物語)" (all 110 volumes) Original: Kazuo Koike, manga: Satomi Kami

"**The Godfather (静かなるドン)" (all 108 volumes) Nitta たつお

"Mr. Aura" (107 volumes) Shinji Mizushima

"The First God Fist (はじめの一歩)" (1~107 volumes) Morikawa ジョージ

『Floating Wave Cloud (floating wave cloud)』 (1~103 volumes) ジョージ Akiyama

"Oguchi Mei (あさりちゃん)" (all 100 volumes) Muroyama まゆみ

*As of August 2014

In Japan, a total of 11 manga works with more than 100 volumes have been published (excluding derivatives published on Wikipedia). The work with the largest number of volumes is "Oolong Police Station (こちら格飾区亀有公園前Police Station)", and the most recent work to achieve this record is "Oguchi Mei (あさりちゃん)". In general, the majority of the works of youth manga magazines on the list are aimed at the younger age group, such as "Weekly Shonen Jump"1, "Weekly Shonen Magazine"1, and "School Yearbook"1, and the rest are "BigComic"4, "MORNING"1, "Manga SUNDAY"1, "Weekly Manga GORAKU"1, and "Weekly POST"1. In fact, "Weekly Post" is not even a manga magazine...... Most of the content is sports, era things, food, **, etc., covering a very wide range and no specific tendency.

That's right, there's a sense of the oldness of the times. In fact, most of the main readers of these more than 100 volumes of manga have already entered society, and it seems that there is nothing wrong with saying that they are middle-aged. These people are characterized by being out of place in fashionable places, such as if you put a row of "Daddy Chef" on the bookshelf of a café in Aoyama, then I am afraid that no one will dare to approach this area full of disobedience. These works do have a strong sense of existence. Manga with more than 100 volumes are often suitable for leisure time reading in places such as food houses and barber shops. While eating ramen, I read a book to pass the time, and finally left immediately after eating the ramen, and continued reading when I came back to this restaurant next time. For many readers, in addition to the magazines they pay for every week, there are also some works that "don't read if you don't read them". For example, if a coffee shop has a bookshelf full of single books, most people who like comics tend to choose this store inadvertently. However, what I read here is not a work that is about to be completed, but a work of great longevity like an inexhaustible spring.

If you want to talk about the charm of these works, many friends may say that they are characteristic, painting skills, storytelling, and in line with the times, but I think the real charm of these works is "randomness". Occasionally, when you read it, you think it's quite interesting.,Even if you forget about some supporting characters or the plot, it doesn't matter.。 On the other hand, many of the serialized works in the industry are high tides every week, which is too hard for both readers and authors. Popularity is important, but it doesn't have to be the number one. Longevity comics are like a symbol of magazines, and the zài itself attracts readers.

Next, let's ask Haruyuki Nakano, a manga researcher. "If you want to talk about why longevity comics are interesting, first of all, the writers, assistants, and editor-editors have worked together for many years to make them a well-trained group. Such a group is able to compensate for each other's shortcomings and make the creative process dynamic. "Nakano told us that such a team can give people a sense of stability. It's easy to get stuck in a loop of the same work for many years, and I'm afraid readers will get tired of it then. However, more than 100 volumes of manga usually cleverly avoid this loop, as they possess an unbeatable weapon called "stability".

"A longevity comic often has its own fixed plot pattern, which brings readers a certain sense of stability while the comic can also be eternal. In the industry, this model is known as "Roundabout Manga (ぐるぐるマンガ)". "Let the most basic plot be repeated over and over again, so that even readers who haven't read it for half a year can enjoy any of the volumes, and it would be even better if they could make people want to read another volume immediately after reading it. Once both the reader and the writer are accustomed to this pattern, it will be possible to occasionally change or add some characters or elements of substantiality. In this way, the pressure of serializing new works for many years can also be injected into the work?,I see.。

"For this reason, longevity comics need to establish a good character, world view, general plot, etc. from the beginning. The first five volumes will feel dense, and then the creation of patterns will begin, so that readers will be attracted for a long time. "The reason why there are more uncles in more than 100 volumes of comics is that they are relatively in line with the daily life of office workers and the wavelength of patterned comic magazines. For them, buying comic magazines one day a week has become a part of their lives, and so has longevity comics. There are countless thrilling works, but what we seek from the manga that accompanies us all the time is not this kind of excitement, but "timeless" enjoyment. Therefore, if the long-term serialized work is completed, it will be very risky for the magazine. Those readers who occasionally flipped through the magazine for the sake of this long-lived manga will cease to exist, and the crisis will immediately stake. "It seems that as long as the number of manga readers continues to age, there may be more longevity manga in the future.

Drawn? Text = Kitao トロ / "Da Vinci" September issue "Go れ! トロイカ学習帖」