The usual questions about ‘Ashita no Joe’ are, the first, whether Joe was dead or alive. The second is this, which Joe had loved Yoko or Noriko. Actually, one of the creators Chiba answered the second question, “Noriko.” So why didn’t Chiba’s answer end the debate? There are the circumstances. Read more…
April 20th, 1973, Tokyo Once the issue of the magazine featuring the final episode of “Ashita no Joe” was released, all telephones in the editorial department began to ring at once. “Did Joe die?” “Does Joe live?” The chief editor repeated all through the day, Never say ‘dead’. Never say Read more…
“Ashita no Joe” Rikiishi Toru’s weight loss is well known, but Joe Yabuki also concerned with the weight problem several years later. In the comics, it was not clear how many kilos they have lost weight. I try to calculate based on the information on their class and figures in Read more…
‘Ashita no Joe’ was published about 50 years ago, 1968 – 1973. However, Joe is still loved by so many people in Japan. As if to prove our mind, there are several statues of Joe Yabuki in Tokyo. Let me show you three statues of his life-size. Statue of Joe Read more…
Joe Yabuki did not remember his parents. He lived in an orphanage as far as he can remember. His origins are all unknown. Parents’ names, birthplace, and birthday… So, can’t we know his age? How old was Joe when he became a champion? How old was Joe when he fought Read more…