Inoue Confirms End of Vagabond Manga by Year's End

posted on 2010-01-04 23:43 EST

Takehiko Inoue said last April that samurai manga will end in "1-2 years"

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Acclaimed manga creator Takehiko Inoue (Slam Dunk, REAL) confirmed on his website on Sunday that he will end his Vagabond samurai manga within the year. He had already said in April of last year that he will end the manga "within one or two years."

Inoue has been drawing the manga in Kodansha's Morning magazine since 1998, and Kodansha is publishing the 32th compiled volume in Japan this month. Viz Media published the 30th volume in North America in November. Viz also publishes Inoue's Slam Dunk and REAL manga.

The Agency for Cultural Affairs of the Japanese government gave Inoue the MEXT Art Encouragement Shinjin Prize in the Media Arts category last March. Inoue won the separate Media Arts Festival Award in the Manga category for Vagabond in 2000. The same manga earned the Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize in 2002.

Source: Oricon

Update: More background information added.