Ganbare!! Tabuchi-kun!!
Encyclopedia
is a yonkoma
manga
series by Hisaichi Ishii
which ran in the weekly Manga Action magazine from 1978 to 1979 in Japan
. After that series ended, Ishii continued creating more baseball gag comics which were then collected under the title and released from 1985 to 1989.
The main character of the gag comic series is based on (and named for) Kōichi Tabuchi
, a Japanese
professional baseball
player. While in most instances, the character in the manga is referred to using katakana
characters, the kanji
used for the real Tabuchi were used in one instance.
A series of three anime
films based on the manga were released in 1979 and 1980.
Sources:
Yonkoma
thumb|right|150px|Traditional Yonkoma layout, a comic-strip format, generally consists of gag comic strips within four panels of equal size ordered from top to bottom...
manga
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
series by Hisaichi Ishii
Hisaichi Ishii
is a Japanese manga artist born on 2 September 1951 in Tamano, Okayama Prefecture, Japan. He is best known outside of Japan for his manga series Nono-chan, which was made into the Studio Ghibli anime film My Neighbors the Yamadas. Topics covered by Ishii's manga include baseball , politics,...
which ran in the weekly Manga Action magazine from 1978 to 1979 in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. After that series ended, Ishii continued creating more baseball gag comics which were then collected under the title and released from 1985 to 1989.
The main character of the gag comic series is based on (and named for) Kōichi Tabuchi
Koichi Tabuchi
is a Japanese former professional baseball player, manager, and commentator.Tabuchi played for the Hanshin Tigers as catcher between 1969 and 1978, where his combination with pitcher Yutaka Enatsu was called the "Golden Battery"...
, a Japanese
Japanese people
The are an ethnic group originating in the Japanese archipelago and are the predominant ethnic group of Japan. Worldwide, approximately 130 million people are of Japanese descent; of these, approximately 127 million are residents of Japan. People of Japanese ancestry who live in other countries...
professional baseball
Professional baseball
Baseball is a team sport which is played by several professional leagues throughout the world. In these leagues, and associated farm teams, players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system....
player. While in most instances, the character in the manga is referred to using katakana
Katakana
is a Japanese syllabary, one component of the Japanese writing system along with hiragana, kanji, and in some cases the Latin alphabet . The word katakana means "fragmentary kana", as the katakana scripts are derived from components of more complex kanji. Each kana represents one mora...
characters, the kanji
Kanji
Kanji are the adopted logographic Chinese characters hanzi that are used in the modern Japanese writing system along with hiragana , katakana , Indo Arabic numerals, and the occasional use of the Latin alphabet...
used for the real Tabuchi were used in one instance.
A series of three anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
films based on the manga were released in 1979 and 1980.
Ganbare!! Tabuchi-kun!!
- Volume 1, ISBN none, January 1, 1979, FutabashaFutabashais a Japanese publishing company headquartered in Higashigokenchō, Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan.-List of magazines published by Futabasha:*Bravo Ski*Comic Seed!*Futabasha Web Magazine*Manga Action ZERO*Tōji Rō*Getter Robot Saga...
- Volume 2, ISBN none, June 20, 1979, Futabasha
- Volume 3, ISBN none, December 28, 1979, Futabasha
Ganbare!! Tabuchi-kun!!
(vol.1)- ISBN none, June 30, 1985, Futabasha (vol.2)
- ISBN none, December 8, 1985, Futabasha (vol.3)
- ISBN none, November 28, 1986, Futabasha (vol.4)
- ISBN 4-575-93117-9, April 29, 1988, Futabasha (vol.5)
- ISBN 4-575-93160-8, May 14, 1989, Futabasha
Sources: