Mangaka Jinpachi Mori passed away on November 21st, at 7:24am. He lost his battle with esophageal cancer at the age of 57. It was revealed last year, in July that he had the cancer inside of him, so he may very well have fought the cancer for over 2 years before succumbing to the disease.
Mori was born in Sasebo, Nagasaki in 1958. After his graduation from the Nihon University College of Art, he started writing in magazines, premiering his debut manga, Kisai no Hito in Shogakukan’s Big Comic Original magazine in 1988, with art by Osamu Uoto. The manga centers around Kawata Yoshio, a family court judge who loved flowers. It received a live-action television drama in 1993 on TBS.
Other manga of his include Benkei in New York, Tsuchi no Ko, Tajikarao, Saiban’in no Megami, and Nozomi.
Mori challenged the strengthening of Japanese juvenile law, and encouraged social and community-based rehabilitation of delinquent juveniles. His final work is a book titled, Kisai no Hito kara Kimi e no Yuigon: Sasebo Koichi Dokyusei Satsugai Jiken to Shonen-ho, where he discusses the history of juvenile law in Japan. You can find it on Amazon.jp here.
Manga creators like Mori, such as Tooru Fujisawa, the creator of Great Teacher Onizuka and Kouji Mori, the creator of Holyland, are all pivotal authors, as despite them being in the 50’s, still write and discuss the idea of understanding and connecting with the youth, even once you leave that part of your life, as you yourself understand the struggles of adolescence, and the trials of entering adulthood. May Jinpachi Mori rest in peace, and may his family be well.
Source: ANN
