# Mangaka that lost their mojo



## Zaru (Apr 28, 2014)

While I'm pretty sure there was a thread about this years ago, I think it's time to bring it up again.

Which manga artists can you think of that wrote a hit series but never really managed to repeat that success or kind of gave up trying/ended up in a years long slump?

So tell us which mangaka:

*- Failed to repeat their success*; Example being Watsuki who never got back on track after the great success of Kenshin

*- Stopped trying*; Example being Togashi who pained us with eternal hiatus for years (don't let his return this summer fool you)

*- Will probably suffer from one of these problems soon*; Examples being Kishimoto and Kubo who only ever wrote one hit series and will likely greatly disappoint after their current series meet a timely end


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## Mizura (Apr 28, 2014)

Rumiko Takahashi. I grew up with stuff like Ranma 1/2, but wtf is Kyoukai no Rinne? Is she even trying?

Let me throw in Oh! Great. That guy is a helluva great artist, but he never did try to do anything in terms of plot. Well, okay. But Then he decided to stop writing the script (good decision), and found... someone who's an even worse writer than her is (?!). Seriously, wtf is Biorg Trinity?


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## Yak (Apr 28, 2014)

*Kazushi Hagiwara* - Bastard!! once was and could have remained a mile-stone work of his even into the current decade. Instead... well, every Bastard!! reader knows what problems there are. Infinite hiatus. Pointless comedic relief and hentai input. I think he just stopped caring years ago.

*George Morikawa* - Hajime no Ippo is basically a legendary manga in its own field. But thats mostly because there are few other great boxing manga in the first place. On its own, the quality of it has dropped over the years and I'm afraid it will continue this downward spiral, effectively turning it into the "Bleach" of boxing manga. Besides, should he decide to ever do a new manga (which I doubt), it will most likely not be able to hold a candle to the Ippo series.


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## random user (Apr 28, 2014)

Buso Renkin was kinda popular...

But overall Watsuki's clinging to Kenshin now just seems desperate, first with the whole reboot and now he's doing a spin-off Shishio manga. While putting actually new manga on a break.

Just let it go, Watsuki.


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## Kanki (Apr 28, 2014)

Not sure if it applies but Kishimoto is a clear example of someone who lost his mojo. I dunno whether it's down to tiredness from doing it for so long, or a simple lack of motivation, but it's clear he's lost his touch. Naruto was once a great series with pretty good writing, particularly in P1. Maybe if he took some time off before creating a new series, he might be able to find his mojo again. 

Kubo lost his writing mojo after SS. The writing was once very good.


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## random user (Apr 28, 2014)

Overall the thread should have been probably called *Mangaka that haven't lost their mojo* as it is easier to just name those few authors who actually had a successful carrier throughout their life. Majority of mangaka burn out after their big hit. Which, to be fair, is understandable.

Most of the industry runs by this principle


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## Blue (Apr 28, 2014)

And then there's the dudes born to do manga.

One of the reasons Fairy Tail is good despite its considerable shallowness is that Mashima fucking loves it and loves drawing it.

Same with One Punch Man. Murata loves what he does. He says "it will be out when I'm done" and unlike every other person ever who said that, it comes pretty quickly.


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## Zaru (Apr 28, 2014)

Blue said:


> Same with One Punch Man. Miura loves what he does. He says "it will be out when I'm done" and unlike every other person ever who said that, it comes pretty quickly.



You mean Murata. Miura is the one who put Berserk on hiatus.

Murata is a fucking machine. He doesn't just make manga, he breathes art. The kind of guy who goes out of his way to make ultra detailled doublespreads, gif chapters and redraws for the heck of it. While he has a rough schedule, he kinda draws what he wants at his own pace and makes sure that it looks great.


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## Yak (Apr 28, 2014)

Blue said:


> And then there's the dudes born to do manga.
> 
> One of the reasons Fairy Tail is good despite its considerable shallowness is that Mashima fucking loves it and loves drawing it.
> 
> Same with One Punch Man. Miura loves what he does. He says "it will be out when I'm done" and unlike every other person ever who said that, it comes pretty quickly.



The amazing thing with the cases that just release their chapters / works when they deem them ready is, that they often find publishers who are willing to run with their shit. I mean, they got bills to pay, after all. So naturally there is pressure. It also takes a large amount of trust from your publisher to say "okay, release this stuff at your own pace. We will keep paying in the meantime because we trust this will be successful".


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## random user (Apr 28, 2014)

Gotta give Oda credit too, for a guy running history's most successful manga he's still into it. He said he sleeps like 4 hours a day. With his authority he could have easily put in on hiatus anytime and Shueisha would rub his feet if he released 1 chapter a year for the rest of his life.
Toriyama hated DB by it's end and quit big manga forever.


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## Seraphiel (Apr 28, 2014)

Toriyama's new manga is downright horrible, it's like he is stuck in the 80's but in a really bad and boring way.



Blue said:


> And then there's the dudes born to do manga.
> 
> One of the reasons Fairy Tail is good despite its considerable shallowness is that Mashima fucking loves it and loves drawing it.



FT has been horrible and boring ever since the Niravana arc though. While I can commend Mashima for his 3x chap releases in a week, constant color pages, extra pages and so on, the story is god damn repetitive and subpar. The first few chaps of the current arc were fine but then it fall in all the old and shitty routines Mashima does.


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## Yak (Apr 28, 2014)

random user said:


> Gotta give Oda credit too, for a guy running history's most successful manga he's still into it. He said he sleeps like 4 hours a day. With his authority he could have easily put in on hiatus anytime and Shueisha would rub his feet if he released 1 chapter a year for the rest of his life.



The case with Oda could actually be added to the list, not because he has lost his mojo or anything but it will be unlikely that he a) starts a second serious after this or even if he does then b) I doubt it would even be able to compare to the legacy he has left with One Piece.

I'm not a particularely great fan of the series but even I have to admit that it would be incredibly hard to beat One Piece in terms of length, quality and popularity. He's probably going to work his ass off for this one shot to make it really great and after that just live off the fruits of labor.


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## PhoenixRoy (Apr 28, 2014)

Blue said:


> And then there's the dudes born to do manga.
> 
> One of the reasons Fairy Tail is good despite its considerable shallowness is that Mashima fucking loves it and loves drawing it.
> 
> Same with One Punch Man. Miura loves what he does. He says "it will be out when I'm done" and unlike every other person ever who said that, it comes pretty quickly.



This. I'm not a fan of the Series Fairy Tail anymore, but I love Mashima's art and still skim the chapters weekly because of it. I love that he is constantly giving his character new outfits.

Yusuke Murata is a fantastic mangaka, I would put him as my all-time favorite, but the guy isn't a great writer. I will say he knows how to pick them though. On the series he was just an illustrator on, they were amazing. Such as Eyeshield 21, Denton Solar Prism Car, One-Punch Man etc...

Akira Toriyama doesn't seem to be too passionate about drawing anymore. I read the first couple chapters of Jaco, and the seemed lackluster at the time.


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## Zaru (Apr 28, 2014)

Seraphiel said:


> Toriyama's new manga is downright horrible, it's like he is stuck in the 80's but in a really bad and boring way.



Was waiting for someone to mention Toriyama. 
He's simply living off old success and probably stopped caring in the 90s. I was never a fan of his art style so his character design commissions make every game worse to me.
He doesn't even remember half the shit he drew, at least I got that expression from his interviews.


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## random user (Apr 28, 2014)

Yak said:


> The case with Oda could actually be added to the list, not because he has lost his mojo or anything but it will be unlikely that he a) starts a second serious after this or even if he does then b) I doubt it would even be able to compare to the legacy he has left with One Piece.
> 
> I'm not a particularely great fan of the series but even I have to admit that it would be incredibly hard to beat One Piece in terms of length, quality and popularity. He's probably going to work his ass off for this one shot to make it really great and after that just live off the fruits of labor.


I'd disagree here. I can see him going Arakawa's way. FMA was in many ways on OP level of success (not of course literally competing, but flying in the same transcendent bliss) and she out of the blue released this farm, slice of life manga that's tremendously successful now. She wasn't trying to beat FMA and just focused on what she really loved.
Oda, after fulfilling his duty with OP can settle with some smaller manga that will be a huge hit.


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## Yak (Apr 28, 2014)

random user said:


> I'd disagree here. I can see him going Arakawa's way. FMA was in many ways on OP level of success (not of course literally competing, but flying in the same transcendent bliss) and she out of the blue released this farm, slice of life manga that's tremendously successful now. She wasn't trying to beat FMA and just focused on what she really loved.
> Oda, after fulfilling his duty with OP can settle with some smaller manga that will be a huge hit.



While that is true, Arakawa's hitting a different sub-genre with her new work. Silver Spoon is entirely different from FMA which also factors into its greatness, imo. I don't think she would be as successful with another complex shounen like FMA. I do not know how Legend of Arslan is holding up but I don't think it is nearly in the same league as FMA.

Of course I could be wrong. It will all depend on how much energy and drive Oda has left once he is through with One Piece. It is, after all, considerably longer than FMA while maintinging a similar degree of quality and creativity. 

If he still has the juice for some smaller mangas, or even some great one-shots, I would gladly welcome that. But I'm having my doubts somehow.


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## Zaru (Apr 28, 2014)

Wait, Silver Spoon is by Arakawa? Now I need to read/watch it sooner.


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## Blue (Apr 28, 2014)

Zaru said:


> You mean Murata. Miura is the one who put Berserk on hiatus.


Ching chong chinese!

[YOUTUBE]QCbaMqyG2tA[/YOUTUBE]



Yak said:


> The amazing thing with the cases that just release their chapters / works when they deem them ready is, that they often find publishers who are willing to run with their shit. I mean, they got bills to pay, after all. So naturally there is pressure. It also takes a large amount of trust from your publisher to say "okay, release this stuff at your own pace. We will keep paying in the meantime because we trust this will be successful".


Well Miura Murata is a legend, so yeah, he can pretty much do whatever he wants with publishers. And his legend is continuing to this day, so it's not like they have cause to complain.



Seraphiel said:


> FT has been horrible and boring ever since the Niravana arc though. While I can commend Mashima for his 3x chap releases in a week, constant color pages, extra pages and so on, the story is god damn repetitive and subpar. The first few chaps of the current arc were fine but then it fall in all the old and shitty routines Mashima does.


FT has always been boring and horrible. If you're not there for the characters and the artwork, you shouldn't be there.

But then again I tend to dislike shounen and love great artwork, way more than I dislike shounen, so it shouldn't surprise anyone that FT and Bleach top my list of favorite shounen and OP comes in last.


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## random user (Apr 28, 2014)

Yak said:


> While that is true, Arakawa's hitting a different sub-genre with her new work. Silver Spoon is entirely different from FMA which also factors into its greatness, imo. I don't think she would be as successful with another complex shounen like FMA. I do not know how Legend of Arslan is holding up but I don't think it is nearly in the same league as FMA.
> 
> Of course I could be wrong. It will all depend on how much energy and drive Oda has left once he is through with One Piece. It is, after all, considerably longer than FMA while maintinging a similar degree of quality and creativity.
> 
> If he still has the juice for some smaller mangas, or even some great one-shots, I would gladly welcome that. But I'm having my doubts somehow.




I believe she only illustrates Arslan.

With Oda, no doubt the finale of OP will drain all his sources and he can even quit for a while. I mean the theoretical scale of OP final arc, whoosh. But Oda is one of those weirdos mangaka that marries their fans and work in a heap of garbage instead of a table. Guys like that generally never quit delivering in their life.


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## Yak (Apr 28, 2014)

Zaru said:


> Wait, Silver Spoon is by Arakawa? Now I need to read/watch it sooner.



You definitely should. In all its ordinary ways this manga is super refreshing and just feels... right. Sometimes it gives me this fuzzy feeling of comfort, probably because it really feels like a real-life story. 

Speaking of Murata, what makes him so great? What other stuff does he have in his resum?, I have hardly heard of him, to be honest. 


And coming back to the original point - Toru Fujisawa; I loved his Great Teacher Onizuka series, that was just fantastic. I know that he has made at least two spin offs from it but I don't think they just hit right on the mark with the success of the original series. I could be wrong, though.


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## Yak (Apr 28, 2014)

random user said:


> I believe she only illustrates Arslan.
> 
> With Oda, no doubt the finale of OP will drain all his souses and he can even quit for a while. I mean the theoretical scale of OP final arc, whoosh. But Oda is one of those weirdos mangaka that marries their fans and work in a heap of garbage instead of a table. Guys like that generally never quit delivering in their life.



The big fear with One Piece is that the grand finale that everyone is expecting isn't even remotely going to live up to what everyone is expecting. I mean, not that it won't be great, I deem that nearly impossible but it might be so drastically different from what everyone believes it will be that it might shatter some fans' hearts completely. Not that Oda would care though.


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## Zaru (Apr 28, 2014)

Yak said:


> Speaking of Murata, what makes him so great? What other stuff does he have in his resum?, I have hardly heard of him, to be honest.
> 
> And coming back to the original point - Toru Fujisawa; I loved his Great Teacher Onizuka series, that was just fantastic. I know that he has made at least two spin offs from it but I don't think they just hit right on the mark with the success of the original series. I could be wrong, though.


His only other major manga before was Eyeshield 21. A manga about american football, and not particularly realistic at that. He was still developing his talent back then, and you could see glimpses of the potential.
I've only really picked up on him since OPM. I don't know if he can write stories, but he doesn't need to if he's drawing other people's stories vv

Yeah, GTO was a huge hit but I don't think he put out anything even remotely as noteworthy afterwards.


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## Blue (Apr 28, 2014)

Yak said:


> Speaking of Murata, what makes him so great? What other stuff does he have in his resum?, I have hardly heard of him, to be honest.



Eyeshield 21 is the only thing he's done that's popular outside Japan, which is definitely something you should read. My favorite sports manga, and I don't tend to like sports manga.
In addition, he's an illustrator rather than an author, so his name often gets kicked to the side. But he's probably the single most talented and experienced manga artist working today. There's a couple of other names you could throw out there for top artist too, like Inoue and Obata.


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## random user (Apr 28, 2014)

Gotta also mention Tetsuo Hara, the illustrator of Hokuto no Ken. Arguably one of the best artists in the industry who ever lived. Considering his talent he pretty much wasted it on barely known historical pieces.



Yak said:


> The big fear with One Piece is that the grand finale that everyone is expecting isn't even remotely going to live up to what everyone is expecting. I mean, not that it won't be great, I deem that nearly impossible but it might be so drastically different from what everyone believes it will be that it might shatter some fans' hearts completely. Not that Oda would care though.


As long as Oda is satisfied with it, I guess


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## Zaru (Apr 28, 2014)

Blue said:


> Obata



I remember this guy being pretty famous back in the day, and Death Note looked like one of his best works, but while Bakuman was successful he kinda dropped the ball on the art style on that one. Too cartoony. And his smaller works inbetween are kinda... eh.

Fun fact about the 90s: Oda was Watsuki's assistant, who was Obata's assistant.
I don't know of any famous assistant successions like that in the 00s. Seems like a rare coincidence.


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## Yak (Apr 28, 2014)

Oh, Eyeshield 21... I think I took a look into that yeeears ago. Didn't run with me at that time, might give it another try now. 

Also, I wanted to note Akio Tanaka. Not because he is particularely known or successful but because he has created a manga together with Izo Hashimoto (the guy who wrote Akira among other series) that I count among my personal favourites, at least the first half of it - Shamo. The latter half I believe the artist has continued with the story on his own or something like that and it imo lost a lot of its original flair. Another work of Tanaka's I've read is Glaucos which is another fairly unknown but in its own regard fascinating series about a diver; but it never reached to Shamo's level and I am not even sure whether it was fully completed.


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## random user (Apr 28, 2014)

Speaking of...
Otomo, what happened to you...


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## SAFFF (Apr 28, 2014)

I'd say Hagiwara too, if he wasn't such a lazy sack of shit Bastard!! would probably still be as popular as it used to. It was even outselling Yu Yu Hakusho at one point in the 90s, then all the hiatuses happened and then Hagiwara apparently lost all his scripts in some accident and Bastard!! has just been declining ever since. 

Although I personally enjoyed his latest volume which a lot of people disliked.


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## random user (Apr 28, 2014)

Obata is like manga Shyamalan


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## Yak (Apr 28, 2014)

I think the problem with some mangaka that surface, have a huge hit and then fade into obscurity again is because they deliver a certain style of art or storytelling or both that fits one 'era' exactly but doesn't transpire well into the next. Some manga are more works of art rather than products you can sell to a broad audience for repeated consumation. 

Maybe fitting into that category or, perhaps, not quite so well - Tsutomu Nihei. Guy is probably most famous for Blame, I think? THAT was one dark and gritty peace of art that told a story open to so many interpretations with little to no text in it. Truly a piece of art I think but clearly not suited for a broad audience and therefore limited in lasting success but at the same time hard to surpass.


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## random user (Apr 28, 2014)

Another big factor is just how severe that industry is in general. The story with Togashi is very famous now. And recently with another female mangaka that got fired for missing the deadline.

We say "ah, he couldn't live up to his previous work" but there's a lot of stress going on behind the scenes. Sometimes you just physically and mentally can't go any longer. It's japan, so - had an argument with the chief editor, no work in this industry for you.
One small injury and your manga is on constant hiatus like DGM and then over.


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## Zaru (Apr 28, 2014)

random user said:


> Another big factor is just how severe that industry is in general. The story with Togashi is very famous now. And recently with another female mangaka that got fired for missing the deadline.
> 
> We say "ah, he couldn't live up to his previous work" but there's a lot of stress going on behind the scenes. Sometimes you just physically and mentally can't go any longer.
> One small injury and your manga is on constant hiatus like DGM and then over.



Weekly manga in particular are terrible. I don't know how people like Oda manage to survive that for so long. I've seen a sample schedule once, there was so little sleep and free time that they basically live and breathe manga. Typical extreme japanese work ethic, but it must DRAIN them.

A lot of mangaka just drop off the face of the earth as far as being publicly noticed goes.


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## Yak (Apr 28, 2014)

random user said:


> Another big factor is just how severe that industry is in general. The story with Togashi is very famous now. And recently with another female mangaka that got fired for missing the deadline.
> 
> We say "ah, he couldn't live up to his previous work" but there's a lot of stress going on behind the scenes. Sometimes you just physically and mentally can't go any longer. It's japan, so - had an argument with the chief editor, no work in this industry for you.
> One small injury and your manga is on constant hiatus like DGM and then over.



Yeah, I'm not delusional about what a hard field of work this is. But if we know, these people know, too. It is already part of their pop culture and a gigantic market. In its own way, it is like the fashion market which is basically jus a basin full of sharks. You either toughen the fuck up and somehow shoulder through all hardships while maintaining your absolute best form over the course of years - then you might make it as a lasting successful mangaka - or you don't.

Sink or swim, really. I wouldn't want to switch jobs with any of them. Still, that said, as a consumer I still have the right to expect a certain level of quality from the work I purchase (I know that most people read online but whatever, there's still those who actually buy their manga volumes in printed form because they love it and want to surport their mangaka). If its not provided, I either quit or become a nagging bitter customer. 

Anyway... getting off-topic now. 

What about some Hentai artists? Not going to actually spill some works here or anything but hey, surprisingly there are a couple of mangaka out there who provide amazing stories and art in their own field of work. Its literally 'FUCKING AWESOME'


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## SAFFF (Apr 28, 2014)

Yak said:


> What about some Hentai artists? Not going to actually spill some works here or anything but hey, surprisingly there are a couple of mangaka out there who provide amazing stories and art in their own field of work. Its literally 'FUCKING AWESOME'



Konkit is pretty awesome, I wish someone would emulate his art style in a hentai anime with a decent budget. Shit would be orgasmic.  Art style is pretty unique and his stories are funny.


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## random user (Apr 28, 2014)

Zaru said:


> Weekly manga in particular are terrible. I don't know how people like Oda manage to survive that for so long. I've seen a sample schedule once, there was so little sleep and free time that they basically live and breathe manga. Typical extreme japanese work ethic, but it must DRAIN them.
> 
> A lot of mangaka just drop off the face of the earth as far as being publicly noticed goes.


Yeah, that's why I love Japanese stuff in general. It's a different world out there, and everything they do reflects that, bringing a completely different level of experience. Oda sleeps 4 hours, in the west such approach would just technically be impossible. His insurance agency would force him to take a break, or force the publisher to give him a vacation. But in Japan he posts a message: "Sleep 4 hours a day, it's fun, please look forward to 10 more years of this".

You can only say "... Japan".


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## Yak (Apr 28, 2014)

random user said:


> Yeah, that's why I love Japanese stuff in general. It's a different world out there, and everything they do reflects that, bringing the completely different level of experience. Oda sleeps 4 fours, in the west such approach would just technically be impossible. His insurance agency would force him to take a break, or force the publisher to give him a vacation. But in Japan he posts a message: "Sleep 4 hours a day, it's fun, look forward to 10 more years of this".
> 
> You can only say "... Japan".



 Its like they are already born with the genetic imprint of ridiculous work ethics.

"What do you mean, your work day is 8 hours and you got the weekend off?"


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## random user (Apr 28, 2014)

Yak said:


> What about some Hentai artists? Not going to actually spill some works here or anything but hey, surprisingly there are a couple of mangaka out there who provide amazing stories and art in their own field of work. Its literally 'FUCKING AWESOME'


Not to mention some work in both fields, like Shirou Masamune, Rei Hiroe, Kenichi Sonoda.
Fucking Kiyohiko Azuma, Azumanga author


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## Dellinger (Apr 28, 2014)

Oda did say that he won't draw another manga after OP.

Also is this thread strict to manga only?


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## Zaru (Apr 28, 2014)

White Hawk said:


> Oda did say that he won't draw another manga after OP.
> 
> Also is this thread strict to manga only?



Well this IS the Manga section...


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## Donquixote Doflamingo (Apr 28, 2014)

Blue said:


> Ching chong chinese!
> 
> [YOUTUBE]QCbaMqyG2tA[/YOUTUBE]
> 
> ...



I think you mean Fan service. 

As the mast majority of Fairy tail characters are pretty awful, and the few that aren't like Gildarts and wendy is mostly because they hardly get any real panel time. So Hiro has yet to have a chance to turn them into garbage like the rest. 

Also Shounen>Everything else and Story/Characters>>>>>>>Art. Berserk and One punch man could have HxH level art, both would still be 10x better then Bleach. 

On-topic. Everyone has said all the authors that come to mind.


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## Mizura (Apr 28, 2014)

Fairy Tail: -character- fanservice. xD

Fairy Tail is like the fast food of the Shounen world. It's fairly predictable, lacks substance, bad for your health, but it comes with huge bums and big portions of fries. People aren't reading it because it's French cuisine or to experience something new, quite the contrary.


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## ZenithXAbyss (Apr 28, 2014)

Yak said:


> Yeah, I'm not delusional about what a hard field of work this is. But if we know, these people know, too. It is already part of their pop culture and a gigantic market. In its own way, it is like the fashion market which is basically jus a basin full of sharks. You either toughen the fuck up and somehow shoulder through all hardships while maintaining your absolute best form over the course of years - then you might make it as a lasting successful mangaka - or you don't.
> 
> Sink or swim, really. I wouldn't want to switch jobs with any of them. Still, that said, as a consumer I still have the right to expect a certain level of quality from the work I purchase (I know that most people read online but whatever, there's still those who actually buy their manga volumes in printed form because they love it and want to surport their mangaka). If its not provided, I either quit or become a nagging bitter customer.
> 
> ...


Well,If we're simply talking about Art, the circle UDON-ya is pretty top tier. 
Napata, yukimi, and Tosh too. (Artist of Shokugeki)


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## Inuhanyou (Apr 28, 2014)

I dunno what the exact criteria is, but Hajime Segawa is a weird example of an author who was so intimidated by the overwhelming success and popularity of the anime offshoot of his work that he lost control of his own vision for the series and had to end it in a hurry because his writing declined quickly.


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## Yak (Apr 29, 2014)

Mizura said:


> Fairy Tail: -character- fanservice. xD
> 
> Fairy Tail is like the fast food of the Shounen world. It's fairly predictable, lacks substance, bad for your health, but it comes with huge bums and big portions of fries. People aren't reading it because it's French cuisine or to experience something new, quite the contrary.



Pretty much this. Same reason why I still skip over Bleach every week. Okay, one of the reasons. First, I read to finish, second, its like a snack and it clears my head since there is little substance but its good enough to pass the wait for the stuff I wanna read.

@Zenith

UDON-YA  Yeeeesssss

How about Kisaragi Gunma? 

As for story AND art, Manabe Joji is my absolute top favourite. Probably because he has done both regular manga and later lots of hentai stuff.


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## Magician (Apr 29, 2014)

Inio Asano, I guess.

Just finished Oyasumi Punpun. Haven't read his other work but I doubt they're as good as this masterpiece.


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## random user (Apr 29, 2014)

♦Young Master♦ said:


> Inio Asano, I guess.
> 
> Just finished Oyasumi Punpun. Haven't read his other work but I doubt they're as good as this masterpiece.


Actually his other works are pretty good too, Umibe no onnanoko particularly.
You really should have at least checked them before listing him 

On that subject, I think he underwent sex change so now he's "she".


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## hussamb (Apr 29, 2014)

i want to add mano Akira from reborn. she lost her touch from the middle of the series and really killed it, that no one even cared when it was over...  and the ending was in the same level of the ending of " how i met you mother " !
also UESHIBA Riichi from Mysterious Girlfriend X, the manga need to be ended, it is so boring, just putting fillers chapter as he dont know what to do next with the plot !


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## hussamb (Apr 29, 2014)

and there is also kishi brother who made 666 Satan, he never did anything worth reading after the manga was over ...


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## hussamb (Apr 29, 2014)

the guys who did Death note managed to come back with another hit Bakuman ....


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## Wolfgang Grimmer (Apr 29, 2014)

random user said:


> Speaking of...
> Otomo, what happened to you...


he moved on to films
he has other great shorts too like domu a child's dream


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## random user (Apr 29, 2014)

That was a rhetorical question, he went downhill as a director as well. Combustible is his best work since basically Akira.

Doumu is pre-Akira though.


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## Wolfgang Grimmer (Apr 29, 2014)

uhh he has had a hand in some great stuff like roujin z and metropolis too


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## random user (Apr 29, 2014)

Well, he wrote them. And Roujin z is hardly great. So that's 1 success with Metropolis as screenplay writer.


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## Robin (Apr 29, 2014)

random user said:


> Overall the thread should have been probably called *Mangaka that haven't lost their mojo* as it is easier to just name those few authors who actually had a successful carrier throughout their life. Majority of mangaka burn out after their big hit. Which, to be fair, is understandable.
> 
> Most of the industry runs by this principle



don't forget the 90% who are pretty much always mediocre.


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## random user (Apr 29, 2014)

Mediocrity is a subjective state of being, it can apply to all of them. Hit is a hit, mediocre or not.


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## SAFFF (Apr 29, 2014)

hussamb said:


> and there is also kishi brother who made 666 Satan, he never did anything worth reading after the manga was over ...


Wasn't it cancelled at that?


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## SAFFF (Apr 29, 2014)

Yak said:


> Pretty much this. Same reason why I still skip over Bleach every week. Okay, one of the reasons. First, I read to finish, second, its like a snack and it clears my head since there is little substance but its good enough to pass the wait for the stuff I wanna read.
> 
> @Zenith
> 
> ...



Kisaragi Gunma is nother favorite of mine, love his lil side stories that have some continuity to them or connects to the main stories. 

Oh Manabe Joji is a GOAT, Ring X Mama is probably my favorite doujin series of all time. Then theirs his Dirty Pair and Vandread doujins.


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## hussamb (Apr 29, 2014)

Safellizer said:


> Wasn't it cancelled at that?



nope, and he had one manga after it that was a failure


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## Inuhanyou (Apr 29, 2014)

666 satan was indeed canceled early due to low ratings. Blazer drive was just a joke, as i doubt he wanted to end 666 early or in that half assed manner.


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## random user (Apr 29, 2014)

Blazer drive was such shite. Probably one of the worst follow up manga, period. Not that 666 Satan was anything good, but come on.


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## Zaru (Apr 29, 2014)

I couldn't even get halfway through the first chapter. Fucking stickers.


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## random user (Apr 29, 2014)

He actually made another manga after that which is so obscure nobody ever read it. Don't even know how it's called. Kami something. Who cares.


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## Jacob Shekelstein (Apr 29, 2014)

Eiichiro Oda. He needs to get his shit together. One Piece is garbage right now.


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## Agmaster (Apr 29, 2014)

Mizura said:


> Rumiko Takahashi. I grew up with stuff like Ranma 1/2, but wtf is Kyoukai no Rinne? Is she even trying?


Never seen it, but thanks for reminding me.  Ok, it's been two decades right?  It's time for a modern redux of Ranma Nibbun No Ichi.


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## Inuhanyou (Apr 29, 2014)

random user said:


> Blazer drive was such shite. Probably one of the worst follow up manga, period. Not that 666 Satan was anything good, but come on.



I would say that its simply fact that many of 666 best parts were comparable to, or better than Naruto's best parts. Whatever that says about either of them up to the person.

As for Rumiko, she hasn't made a stand out series since Mermaid's Scar IMO. From Ranma to Inuyasha, to Rinne. Every single long series of hers follows the same formula, cribs the same character types, and even literally takes the same art style of the previous series. She hasn't once evolved in decades, yet someone stays afloat somehow.


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## Gunners (Apr 29, 2014)

Kanki Is God said:


> Not sure if it applies but Kishimoto is a clear example of someone who lost his mojo. I dunno whether it's down to tiredness from doing it for so long, or a simple lack of motivation, but it's clear he's lost his touch. Naruto was once a great series with pretty good writing, particularly in P1. Maybe if he took some time off before creating a new series, he might be able to find his mojo again.
> 
> Kubo lost his writing mojo after SS. The writing was once very good.



I don't think he has lost his mojo, I think it is a case of mangaka not getting the opportunity to revise their work. Generally speaking, I don't think this fits well with a long running story; you kind of need to split the story into multiple smaller stories, so that one failing to hit the mark wouldn't be detrimental. 

It'd probably be better if Mangaka took 3 months of the year off, so that they could efficiently think ahead. 

Anyway: Nobuyuki  (Flame of Recca), Yellow Tanabe (Kekkaishi), Watsuki (Kenshin).

I wonder if the industry itself kills their passion. If they have the image in their head of what they want their product to look like, but they have to make concession after concession for the sake of their editors, I can easily understand why they would feel disheartened.
______
With Blazer Drive. I think, although I'm not too sure, the series was handed to Seishi Kishimoto with the idea of promoting some game.


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## Mizura (Apr 29, 2014)

Inuhanyou said:


> As for Rumiko, she hasn't made a stand out series since Mermaid's Scar IMO. From Ranma to Inuyasha, to Rinne. Every single long series of hers follows the same formula, cribs the same character types, and even literally takes the same art style of the previous series. She hasn't once evolved in decades, yet someone stays afloat somehow.


Ranma and Inuyasha had interesting concepts and/or world-building, at least. The Ranma anime was a blast, and while I eventually got bored of Inuyasha, at least the world was colorful. Kyoukai no Rinne has a dull concept and stuffs it into a normal world setting. *yawwn*


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## Agmaster (Apr 29, 2014)

The power of ranma and inu were the same strength that naruto has.  The world was huge and there were tons of interlinking characters to be interested in.  While she didn't explore as much as possible, it was way more than kishi did.


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## Inuhanyou (Apr 29, 2014)

Mizura said:


> Ranma and Inuyasha had interesting concepts and/or world-building, at least. The Ranma anime was a blast, and while I eventually got bored of Inuyasha, at least the world was colorful. Kyoukai no Rinne has a dull concept and stuffs it into a normal world setting. *yawwn*





She does better at slice of life, like maison ikkoku. Cause like you said, she can come up with great starting concepts and scenarios, but in every single long series she's done, it just drags on, and on, and on, and on and on, with almost nothing taking place.

Inuyasha could have ended in less than 50 episodes based on the actual content in the 500+chapter series if she knew how to start something with a mind of finishing it.

And yes, Rinne lost my interest fairly quickly after it started. I won't say its just because it wasn't an action series, but because it was just goddamned boring.


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## Snowless (May 1, 2014)

This is just speculation, but I can see Hajime Isayama going this route.
The fact that he said he was going to rewrite the ending because the series got popular leads me to believe it's not going to end very well, as much as I've enjoyed it thus far (granted, I've only watched the anime adaption).


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## Inuhanyou (May 1, 2014)

or maybe he's not going to kill everybody off now? which if any indication of sasha's supposed fate otherwise, I'd say that was a good result


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## Snowless (May 1, 2014)

His saying he's not going to kill off characters like he was before, paints a picture in my mind of the original FMA anime. Where everyone lives in a very contrived ending.


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## Inuhanyou (May 1, 2014)

nobody was supposed to die in that one though 

also, i don't think that its obviously going to be sappy or anything, it'll still be in the spirit of what isayama is known for i'm sure, just not as "fuck everything" as it otherwise would have been.


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## JiraiyaForever (May 13, 2014)

Oda lost his mojo. He created a large world with a ridiculous amount of characters and now has no idea how to bring it all together. Boring with a snail pace.

His next manga will be burned off the shelves as nobody will be able to forget how horrible the second half of OP was after the new world was hyped for a decade.


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## Stilzkin (May 14, 2014)

> Boring with a snail pace.



OP has always had a slow pace. People seem to forget that and then get frustrated.


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## Malvingt2 (May 14, 2014)

Inuhanyou said:


> I would say that its simply fact that many of 666 best parts were comparable to, or better than Naruto's best parts. Whatever that says about either of them up to the person.
> 
> *As for Rumiko, she hasn't made a stand out series since Mermaid's Scar IMO. From Ranma to Inuyasha, to Rinne.* Every single long series of hers follows the same formula, cribs the same character types, and even literally takes the same art style of the previous series. She hasn't once evolved in decades, yet someone stays afloat somehow.



Her best work in my honest opinion is Ramna 1/2.


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## random user (May 15, 2014)

JiraiyaForever said:


> Oda lost his mojo. He created a large world with a ridiculous amount of characters and now has no idea how to bring it all together. Boring with a snail pace.
> 
> His next manga will be burned off the shelves as nobody will be able to forget how horrible the second half of OP was after the new world was hyped for a decade.


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## Kirito (May 15, 2014)

too little shoujo mangaka in this list.

*Peach Pit* - Had a very successful run (Zombie Loan, Shugo Chara, Rozen Maiden, DearS) but now...where?
*Kawashita Mizuki* - Constrained by WSJ rules. She writes shoujo manga for a shounen magazine and it somehow works, hits it up with different styles of girltagonists but is sadly limited to shallow ecchi. If she just teamed up with Ohtaka Shinobu, Magi's art could have been a lot better aesthetically, and the romance aspect could have been better.
*Watase Yuu* - Zettai Kareshi. Then, Fushigi Yuugi. Or as I call it, Inuyasha with reverse harem and rape. After several years comes out with Arata Kangatari. 

shoujo as a whole needs a new marquee name after these three authors slowly go out. this new yaoi trend (i dont read any of that shit) needs to go and its not doing the industry any favors


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## MrCinos (May 15, 2014)

Jacob Shekelstein said:


> Eiichiro Oda. He needs to get his shit together. One Piece is garbage right now.


I wouldn't say it's garbage, but it is certainly much less interesting than it was before. It's been already several arcs in a row since I had any interest in anticipation of new chapters and I fear OP will continue degrading on my list of favorite shounens.

---

Also, a long time ago I was quite dissapointed that *Yabuki Kentaro* went from Black Cat to shitty To-Love-Ru (I still scroll through new T-L-R Darkness chapters though  ). Such a shame considering his incredible drawing skills.

*Youn In-Wan* went from making story to an excellent Shn Angyo Onshi to a really lackluster Defense Devil. Same thing with the SAO artist who is now working on mediocre Area D.

As for *Komi Naoshi* (Double Arts + several good oneshotes => Nisekoi), I don't even want to bother explaining...


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## Stilzkin (May 15, 2014)

MrCinos said:


> As for *Komi Naoshi* (Double Arts + several good oneshotes => Nisekoi), I don't even want to bother explaining...



If his series keep failing to even get a proper start I don't see how he could be considered to have lost his mojo.


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## Zaru (May 15, 2014)

MrCinos said:


> Also, a long time ago I was quite dissapointed that *Yabuki Kentaro* went from Black Cat to shitty To-Love-Ru (I still scroll through new T-L-R Darkness chapters though  ). Such a shame considering his incredible drawing skills.



Think of it this way. He's perfecting lewd drawings now, and maybe he'll draw something serious again someday... with his highly refined, top of the craft lewdness skills.
My body isn't even remotely ready.


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## Yak (May 16, 2014)

Gunners said:


> I don't think he has lost his mojo, I think it is a case of mangaka not getting the opportunity to revise their work. Generally speaking, I don't think this fits well with a long running story; you kind of need to split the story into multiple smaller stories, so that one failing to hit the mark wouldn't be detrimental.
> 
> It'd probably be better if Mangaka took 3 months of the year off, so that they could efficiently think ahead.



I get what you are saying, still, you make it sound as if a lot of mangaka just had to do that and they would get their shit back on track. I don't think it is this easy. Not everyone is simply a good writer. In Kubo's case for example, even if he did, he himself states that his modus operandi always starts by creating the characters and fitting the story around his character constructs later. 

I just don't think Kubo is a particularely good manga writer compared to some other, really good writers. He has always been more focused on style, substance came later.


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## Inuhanyou (May 16, 2014)

man you guys come up with terrible mangaka these days


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## Dragon D. Luffy (May 23, 2014)

I think a big problem of mangas is when the fans change from archive to serial reading. And then complain that the plot is moving too slowly. The fact is that in almost every series, the plot moves too slowly, and it's more fun when you're reading a bunch of chapters in one go. Though some are worse than the others.

But after I started reading webcomics, I've became much more accepting to mangas' pacing (you should see the slowness of some of the webcomics I read, it's horrible). For example, I think One Piece's current pacing is just fine.



Yak said:


> I get what you are saying, still, you make it sound as if a lot of mangaka just had to do that and they would get their shit back on track. I don't think it is this easy. Not everyone is simply a good writer. In Kubo's case for example, even if he did, he himself states that his modus operandi always starts by creating the characters and fitting the story around his character constructs later.
> 
> I just don't think Kubo is a particularely good manga writer compared to some other, really good writers. He has always been more focused on style, substance came later.



I've already accepted that Bleach is not about good writing and am just enjoying the style, really. Hey, at least his characters are likable and the fights/powers are really cool.

Thank god he managed to make the story somewhat better after the fiasco of the Deicide arc. It's still mediocre, but now it's not a joke anymore.

The pacing sucks though. It's hard to read it one chapter a week because the plot barely moves. But Bleach is amazing if you read a bunch of chapters at once, which is what I do.


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## Vandal Savage (Jan 5, 2015)

Since he hasn't been mentioned in this thread yet I'll mention Yoshio Sawai. He had the original Bobobo then Shintetsu Bobobo in WSJ then followed it up with Chagecha which was one of the fastest bombing series I've seen since I started following the Jump ToC several years back. It died after a mere 7 chapters (pretty sure one of the chapters is in the tankoubon is the one-shot)and I haven't seen Sawai since other than a minor Bobobo spin-off manga.

Another I'll mention is Nobuyuki Anzai. He had Flame of Recca which was pretty successful and followed it up a bit later with Marchen Awakens Romance (MAR) which was also successful by industry standards. Then he comes up which Mixim 11 which was just weak sauce all across the board. To me, it showed he didn't really have anything left in the tank after two hit battle manga and he probably doesn't know how to do any other kind of series. After Mixim 11 ended he hasn't worked on anything else.



Zaru said:


> While I'm pretty sure there was a thread about this years ago, I think it's time to bring it up again.
> 
> Which manga artists can you think of that wrote a hit series but never really managed to repeat that success or kind of gave up trying/ended up in a years long slump?
> 
> ...





Zaru said:


> Fun fact about the 90s: Oda was Watsuki's assistant, who was Obata's assistant.
> I don't know of any famous assistant successions like that in the 00s. Seems like a rare coincidence.



I'm probably one of the biggest Watsuki fanboys there is and upon reading some of his interviews in the Kenshin volumes one thing to me rings true and I can't dispute it. Rurouni Kenshin is a manga that is as great as it was because it was about as all-star a cast as you can have on it.

You had Eichiro Oda as his assistant as you mentioned but Watsuki also had Hiroyuki Takei as his assistant at the same time. There was definitely one more assistant whose name escapes me at the moment but his serialized works didn't reach the heights of the other two. Watsuki's interviews also mention the fact that his editor was pretty instrumental in the creation of Makoto Shishio and by extension the success of the Kyoto arc. 

I've liked a lot of Watsuki's post-Kenshin material and its a shame that he is so stuck on this series that he hasn't given his current series the attention it deserves or channeled his energy into a new potential hit. I can't help but wonder if he still had the same editor and same assistants if he wouldn't have much of an issue recreating the success of Kenshin with another series.


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## Badalight (Jan 5, 2015)

Kenshin really isn't that great for a samurai manga though. Lwac, vagabond, BOI, Samurai Executionter, etc... though those are all seinen.


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## Fourangers (Jan 6, 2015)

Kirito said:


> too little shoujo mangaka in this list.
> 
> *Watase Yuu* - Zettai Kareshi. Then, Fushigi Yuugi. Or as I call it, Inuyasha with reverse harem and rape. After several years comes out with Arata Kangatari.



She drew Fushigi Yuugi Genbu Kaiden and imo, turned out better than the original. I really liked it.

Shoujos huh...

*Yoko Kamio*: Hana Yori Dango's author. After a huge success from HYD, she drew Cat Street that while it wasn't bad, it wasn't a success.
*Hisaya Nakajo*: drew Hanakimi. 'nuff said.
*Naoko Takeuchi:* She drew Sailor Moon but after SM, she attempted few series here and there that failed terribly, tried to return to magic girl but didn't succeed and now it's milking her old successful series.
*Masami Tsuda:* The author of Kareshi Kanojo no Jijyo (aka, Kare Kano). I love Kare Kano but...she disappeared after this series.

Perfect Girl Revolu--HAHAHAHAHA, I'm just kidding.


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## Brian (Jan 7, 2015)

Hiroya Oku(Gantz) lost his damn mind after the Osaka Arc, you can tell he didn't care about the story anymore in the final arc.


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## Yak (Jan 9, 2015)

Beginning to spot first, slight symthoms for Shimabukurou. Toriko's lost a bit of its edge recently....



Am I opening a can of worms?


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## OmniOmega (Jan 9, 2015)

MrCinos said:


> Also, a long time ago I was quite dissapointed that *Yabuki Kentaro* went from Black Cat to shitty To-Love-Ru (I still scroll through new T-L-R Darkness chapters though  ). Such a shame considering his incredible drawing skills.



I felt bad snipping this post
Agreed with it too much
But almost everyone(I know of) who was mentored by Obata fell off except for Murata. 
Watsuki is out there eating ass and making Rurouni Kenshin V6800 while, like you said, Kentaro is drawing TLR (I scroll through too ).
Meanwhile, Murata is keeping it 300 and not totally eating shit. Maybe its because Murata doesn't write manga or anything.


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## Vandal Savage (Jan 19, 2015)

Badalight said:


> Kenshin really isn't that great for a samurai manga though. Lwac, vagabond, BOI, Samurai Executionter, etc... though those are all seinen.



I wasn't referencing Kenshin as a standard bearer for samurai manga. I was just bringing up the behind-the-scenes factors that likely contributed to it being such a loved and popular series when it was still serialized.


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## asdfa (Jan 19, 2015)

Most shounen authors.
Though not necessarily because of their own shortcomings (sometimes that as well), but of the shounen's shortcomings. When you have to follow so many tropes, establishments, expectations and limitations, after the initial prime peak (aka mojo) the repetition and triteness become more and more obvious the longer you go. And originality rarely pays off as people tend to flock to the familiar.


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## MightiestRooster (Mar 14, 2015)

Kaitani Shinobu.

Despite taking a long ass hiatus between each arc, after the musical chairs arc the manga just goes down and down and down (okey maybe a bit up at the preliminary for final round) until it actually reaches complete garbage with its ending. 

Which is really shame, since it used to be one of my absolute favourite mangas.


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## Muah (Mar 14, 2015)

whoever wrote fairytale.


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## Zaru (Mar 14, 2015)

Muah said:


> whoever wrote fairytale.



At which point do you think he still had it?


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## Hamtaro (Mar 17, 2015)

Zaru said:


> At which point do you think he still had it?



He definitely didn't have it during Edolas, that's for sure.


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## Jossaff (Mar 17, 2015)

Oda lost it


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## LordPerucho (Mar 17, 2015)

Brian said:


> Hiroya Oku(Gantz) lost his damn mind after the Osaka Arc, you can tell he didn't care about the story anymore in the final arc.



Yeah, looked clear when Nishi turned heel again for no reason and his character development got thrown away.


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## Succubus (Mar 17, 2015)

Hiroya Oku's previous works are terrible and get axed. I knew that Gantz turns to be bad. that's not a surprise.

*HEN* was considered one of the worst mangas of all-time.


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## Xin (Apr 29, 2015)

Blue said:


> One of the reasons Fairy Tail is good despite its considerable shallowness is that Mashima fucking loves it and loves drawing it.



That is true. 

I read somewhere that Mashima has prepared months of his manga in advance, simply because he loves creating it. 

But they are bound to only release one/week.


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## Patrick (Apr 29, 2015)

We could kinda count guys like Miura and Togashi here as well, although great they barely write anymore.


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## OS (Apr 29, 2015)

Mashima can like writing dog shit all he wants.


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## Lance (Apr 29, 2015)

Zaru said:


> At which point do you think he still had it?



He had it with Rave Master.


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## Godly Giraffe - King of the Uverworld (May 17, 2015)

Tohru Fujisawa, Rumiko Takahashi, and Watsuki come to mind. Albeit, I never liked that many of Takahashi's work. I semi-hated Ranma, for one, and Inuyasha was.... a colossal disaster. Kenshin and GTO were ok, entertaining the first time around but I get sick of them.

Wouldn't even count Toriyama as the dude's bound to be filthy rich for all-time off his Dragon Quest property alone.


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