Tetsuya Chiba, the manga master who drew Rocky Joe, has died

Serious mourning in the world of Japanese and global comics. Tetsuya Chiba, one of the most famous authors in the country, known to the general public above all for Ashita no Joe, in Italian Rocky Joe, the story of a street boy who becomes a professional boxer, constantly suspended between talent, anger and obsession, has died in Japan at the age of 87. The death occurred on October 22nd in a hospital in Tokyo, as often happens in Japan; the news was only made public several days later, after the funeral had already taken place in a strictly private manner, with only family members present.

Rocky Joe

Born in Tokyo on 11 January 1939 and raised for a good part of his youth in Manchuria, Chiba began drawing manga at 17, reaching fame with Rocky Joe, serialized in Weekly Shōnen Magazine between 1968 and 1973. The story, written by Asao Takamori, pseudonym of screenwriter Ikki Kajiwara, recounts the personal and sporting growth of Joe Yabuki, a very poor Japanese orphan who, after Having ended up in reform school, he meets former boxer Danpei Tange, who discovers his talent for boxing and decides to become his coach. Despite a difficult instinct to tame and a crude technique, Joe begins to climb the rankings, establishing himself as one of the most promising boxers in the country and worldwide. The manga addresses issues such as child abandonment, violence, microcrime, social marginalization, redemption. Its ending, with Yabuki sitting exhausted on the stool in his corner at the end of a devastating match against world champion Mendoza, remains one of the most iconic in comic book history. Two animated TV series were based on the work in 1970 and 1980, as well as animated films, live-action film productions and video games.

The other works

Chiba has drawn several other manga in his career. Among these, in Italy, Io sono Teppei and Tutti in campo con Lotti were published. In 1977 he won the Shōgakukan prize for manga with Notari Matsutarō, a series dedicated to sumo, published starting in 1973 and continuing with some interruptions until 1998. In 2024 he also received the Kikuchi Kan Prize, awarded for his artistic activity and for his commitment to supporting young authors and protecting the rights of cartoonists.