“Spartan X” Goro Shigeno
“SPARTAN X” Goro Shigeno
「キングオブマンガプロレス」： 茂野 吾郎
KING OF MANGA PRO-WRESTLING: GORO SHIGENO (REVISED VERSION)
This is Goro Shigeno. He is dressed as professional wrestling legend Mitsuharu Misawa.
I hope you will like it. I would appreciate your feedback for this drawing.
Extra Notes:
In honor of the upcoming sequel of the manga series “MAJOR” this March, I’ve decided to come up with a King of Manga Pro-Wrestling tribute to the long-running baseball comic series. This has been revised from the original version so that it would have the standard size of a trading card.
For this piece, I decided to draw Goro Shigeno once again as the late, great Mitsuharu Misawa. I first drew him as Misawa a few months ago, and the parallels between him and Misawa continue to amaze me to this day. I never thought that their similarities would go beyond the green uniform tights.
Like I said in the past, both Shigeno and Misawa are very passionate about their respective sports that they are willing to put their lives on the line for it. For Shigeno, this led to an injury that would eventually be detrimental for his Major League career. And sadly for Misawa, it eventually led to his tragic death in the wrestling ring. With the upcoming MAJOR 2nd (the sequel to MAJOR), I honestly hope that Goro wouldn’t suffer that same fate as Misawa.
Because I had modeled Goro as Misawa, I decided to use this as a springboard for my Ken Mayumura/Jun Akiyama and Toshiya Sato/Kenta Kobashi crossover fan art. That way, it would represent the three godfathers of Pro Wrestling NOAH. From there, I was able to come up with a new fictional wrestling promotion called Pro Wrestling MAJOR, which is more or less a parody of NOAH. (I even liked how the parody logo came out.) But since Akiyama and Kobashi are no longer with NOAH, I decided to limit the parody on this Shigeno/Misawa fan art instead.
I do hope to expand this further into a Manga Pro-Wrestling issue, but it remains to be seen what I can actually do at this point. After all, the new sequel MAJOR 2nd did note that Goro’s son is the new hero of the series, so it kinda dampened my mood for an upcoming match involving any of these three. But hey, maybe I’ll get motivated in the future.
I hope you’ll enjoy this piece.
“Burning” Toshiya Sato
“BURNING” Toshiya Sato
「キングオブマンガプロレス」： 佐藤 寿也
KING OF MANGA PRO-WRESTLING: TOSHIYA SATO (REVISED VERSION)
This is Toshiya Sato. He is a supporting character in the manga series “MAJOR”. He is dressed as professional wrestler Kenta Kobashi.
I hope you will like it. I would appreciate your feedback for this drawing.
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Extra Notes:
In honor of the upcoming sequel of the manga series “MAJOR” this March, I’ve decided to come up with a King of Manga Pro-Wrestling tribute to the long-running baseball comic series. This has been revised from the original version so that it would have the standard size of a trading card.
This time, I decided to draw Toshiya Sato as Kenta Kobashi. I originally wanted Toshiya to be dressed as Toshiaki Kawada, since Kawada’s childhood friendship and eventual rivalry with Mitsuharu Misawa parallels quite well with Sato’s friendship and rivalry with Goro Shigeno. However, I decided to use Kobashi instead.
Just like the Ken Mayumura/Jun Akiyama crossover, I picked Kenta Kobashi for this instance since he was one of the top guys in Mitsuharu Misawa’s promotion Pro Wrestling NOAH. It can even be said that he was THE top guy of NOAH at the height of its popularity.
In comparison, Toshiya is the more decorated player among the “three kings” of MAJOR (Shigeno, Sato, Mayumura). Among the three, he’s the one who became a Koshien champion, a Japanese major league MVP, AND a World Series champion. Even if the series didn’t really show it too much, I can bet that Toshiya would’ve gotten just as much fan support as Kobashi had in the real world.
Plus, both Kobashi and Sato appear to be good-natured guys when they’re not out kicking ass in their respective arenas. Kobashi always comes across to me as a cheerful and youthful guy, and he has this charisma that really makes him very popular with many Japanese fans. In comparison, Sato is the more polite man among the “three kings”, so it would make sense for many people to like him, especially the girls. Even though Shigeno is the hero of MAJOR, it’s Sato who is likely to get more appreciation.
And then, there’s this other comparison that I noticed, which may be a bit gloomy depending on how you see it. In the end, Kobashi is the one who had the most fulfilling pro-wrestling career since he was able to retire in his own terms, as opposed to Misawa who tragically died before he could retire. Sato hasn’t retired yet in the series, but Shigeno was forced to retire from the Major League due to injury, so it’s Sato who ended up having a more sustainable baseball career.
Personally, I really wanted to expand this further into a Pro Wrestling NOAH and MAJOR crossover. But since Kobashi is now a free agent with his own promotion Fortune Dream KK, it’s kinda hard for me to press for that crossover. But let’s see.
I hope you’ll enjoy this piece.
“Sternness” Ken Mayumura
“STERNNESS” Ken Mayumura
「キングオブマンガプロレス」： 眉村 健
KING OF MANGA PRO-WRESTLING: KEN MAYUMURA (REVISED VERSION)
This is Ken Mayumura. He is a supporting character in the manga series “MAJOR”. He is dressed as professional wrestler Jun Akiyama.
I hope you will like it. I would appreciate your feedback for this drawing.
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Extra Notes:
In honor of the upcoming return of the manga series “MAJOR” this March, I’ve decided to come up with a King of Manga Pro-Wrestling tribute to the long-running baseball comic series. This has been revised from the original version so that it would have the standard size of a trading card.
I know it’s odd that I’m doing a pro-wrestling fan art for a baseball series. But hey, Japan has a long-running pro-wrestling magazine called “Baseball Magazine”. At least this crossover fan art isn’t too far off.
To start things off, I decided to draw Ken Mayumura as Jun Akiyama. I decided to dress him as Akiyama mainly since the latter is known for his sternness. Hence, he became known as “Sternness”. If you’ve seen Mayumura throughout the series, you would notice that he also has a stern face. Heck, his face looks so ruthless that it just says, “I mean business!” and “Prepare to get hurt!”, just like Akiyama.
Of course, that doesn’t that Mayumura has no soft side, as evidenced by the MAJOR World Series OVA. Akiyama has also showed a soft and funny side through the years as well, but don’t think for a second that he still can’t kick your butt.
There’s also another reason why I chose a Mayumura-Akiyama crossover. You see, long before Akiyama became the current President of All Japan Pro-Wrestling (AJPW), he was one of the top guys in Mitsuharu Misawa’s promotion Pro Wrestling NOAH, along with Kobashi and Misawa himself. Mayumura, for his part, can be considered as one of the top baseball player characters in MAJOR, along with Goro Shigeno and Toshiya Sato.
Personally, I really wanted to expand this further into a Pro Wrestling NOAH and MAJOR crossover. But since Akiyama is currently the president of AJPW, not to mention the supposed bad relationship that AJPW has with NOAH at the present, I think it would be best if the crossover isn’t too prevalent here.
I hope you’ll enjoy this piece.
“The Peach Boy” Momotaroh
The Momotaroh
「キングオブマンガプロレス」： モモタロウ
KING OF MANGA PRO-WRESTLING: MOMOTAROH
This is my portrait of the professional wrestler Momotaroh. He is the main character of the Japanese comic series “THE MOMOTAROH” 「ザ·モモタロウ」.
I hope you will like it. I would appreciate your feedback for this drawing.
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EXTRA NOTES:
In honor of Pro-Wrestling Day in Japan (February 19), I decided to make a slight modification of m8y old 2014 drawing of The Momotaroh so that it would be formed as a trading card for my parody series King of Manga Pro-Wrestling.
I would’ve wanted to do much more for this day had I known about it much earlier. At this point, this is the only new thing I could think, so I hope you would enjoy it.
I might start doing this with the other drawings I did before, so that there would be more uniformity in my works.
“One Man of Talent” Eren Yeager
“One Man of Talent” Eren Yeager
「キングオブマンガプロレス」： エレン・イェーガー
KING OF MANGA PRO-WRESTLING: EREN YEAGER
This is Eren Yeager. He is dressed as professional wrestler Hiroshi Tanahashi.
I hope you will like it. I would appreciate your feedback for this drawing.
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Extra Notes:
As part of my upcoming project, I decided to re-draw Eren Yeager as “One Man of Talent” Hiroshi Tanahashi. I really enjoyed making this Attack on Titan & NJPW crossover, and I’m glad that Tanahashi himself liked the idea as well.
So how did I come up with this crossover idea? After I conceptualized Jean Kirstein as Kazuchika Okada, I decided to look for the best match for Eren Yeager. And since the legendary Okada vs. Tanahashi rivalry was fresh in my mind at that time, I thought Tanahashi was the perfect fit for Eren. It makes sense anyway, since they’re both the ace of their respective worlds. And yes, they’re also once in a century talents. Just as Tanahashi sees Okada as a rival, Eren and Jean feel the same for each other.
And when you think about it, Eren and Tanahashi are both titans as well, with Eren being able to become a Titan, and Tanahashi being an unquestionable titan in Japanese pro-wrestling.
When I first shared the idea on Twitter, I kinda hoped Tanahashi would like the piece I made then. I never thought he’d actually repost it as well. That moment will always stand out as one of the most overwhelming things to happen to me this year. It makes me wonder if he’ll like this piece as well.
The last time I drew Eren as Tanahashi was back in May this year. In this version, Eren’s body structure is much more faithful to the anime version. And personally, I really like this piece a lot more than the original one, because Eren actually looks like Eren. But just like my Jean drawing, I wasn’t too faithful with the design of Tanahashi’s outfit, because it was too complex for me. (And last time I checked, I wasn’t the only one who felt this way.)
Anyway, I hope you’ll enjoy this piece.
“Rainmaker” Jean Kirstein
“Rainmaker” Jean Kirstein
「キングオブマンガプロレス」： ジャン・キルシュタイン
KING OF MANGA PRO-WRESTLING: JEAN KIRSTEIN
This is Jean Kirstein. He is dressed as NJPW professional wrestler Kazuchika Okada.
I hope you will like it. I would appreciate your feedback for this drawing.
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Extra Notes:
As part of my upcoming project, I decided to re-draw Jean Kirstein as “Rainmaker” Kazuchika Okada. I’ve always thought this Attack on Titan & NJPW crossover idea is pretty cool, and I continue to wonder if NJPW is actually taking note of this.
You might be wondering how I came up with this crossover idea in the first place. Back when I first conceptualized it, the Jean Kirstein character was starting to grow on me, and I was starting to become a fan of Kazuchika Okada. From there, I started to note some similarities between the two. Both of the characters display a sense of arrogance and dominance over others, at least initially. They also appear to be well-off in life, with Okada supposedly being able to make money rain and Jean having a normal family life unlike the other members of Survey Corps.
But I guess the deciding factor was their hair, because both of them have very cool hairstyles. Heck, I even tried to have an Okada hairstyle myself, though it didn’t really materialize.
The last time I drew Jean as the “Rainmaker” was last May. In this version, Jean appears younger, and greater attention was paid in the details of his outfit. I can’t really say I was faithful with the Rainmaker outfit, though, since it’s really very complex. Still, I’m really happy with the final output, and how much of an improvement it was from my previous work.
I hope you’ll enjoy this piece.
“Leader of the Ark” Goro Shigeno
“Leader of the Ark” Goro Shigeno
「キングオブマンガプロレス」： 茂野 吾郎
KING OF MANGA PRO-WRESTLING: GORO SHIGENO
This is Goro Shigeno. He is dressed as professional wrestling legend Mitsuharu Misawa. I made this in celebration of Goro’s birthday. Happy birthday, Goro!
I hope you will like it. I would appreciate your feedback for this drawing.
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Extra Notes:
Being a fan of the baseball anime/manga series MAJOR, I decided to make a tribute of Goro Shigeno in honor of his fictional 27th birthday. (In canon, he was born on November 5, 1987.) I actually tried to think of other ideas which were more canon to the series. But since I was fresh off from making my Naruto tribute, I decided to do this instead as part of my “King of Manga Pro-Wrestling” parody series.
Besides, I’m not just drawing Goro as a pro-wrestler. I’m drawing him as the legendary Mitsuharu Misawa.
I drew Goro as Mitsuharu Misawa originally because Misawa is known for the color green. This happened to be the color of Goro’s major league team Indiana Hornets, and Goro’s baseball uniform really reminded me of Misawa’s ring attire.
After much thought, I realized that Goro and Misawa actually have a lot more in common. Both of them grew up in a non-traditional family, with Goro being an orphan at a young age and Misawa having divorced parents. Goro was very passionate about baseball, while Misawa was just as passionate about professional wrestling. Because of this passion, they knew even at a young age what they wanted to be when they grew up.
The parallels between the two eventually become quite chilling. Because both of them are very passionate in their respective sports, they were willing to put their bodies and their lives on the line in the name of the game. As a result, Goro would suffer serious injuries, most notably the injury in his right shoulder, and would come so close to death while giving it all in his sport. Misawa would also have his own share of injuries as a pro-wrestler, and sadly, one of those injuries proved to be fatal as he unexpectedly passed away shortly after performing his last match in 2009.
(This realization actually hit me so much, so I had to write it. Sorry if the tone suddenly became dark.)
To lighten things up, here’s one more similarity between the two. Both of them became very popular in the 1990s and the 2000s. However, it may be fair to say that Goro’s popularity in the manga world dwarfs in comparison to Misawa’s popularity in the pro-wrestling world.
Happy birthday, Goro Shigeno. And may God bless your soul, Mitsuharu Misawa.
“Dattebayo” Naruto Uzumaki
“Dattebayo!!” Naruto Uzumaki
「キングオブ漫画プロレス」： うずまき ナルト
[KING OF MANGA PRO-WRESTLING]: NARUTO UZUMAKI
This is Naruto Uzumaki as a pro-wrestling champion. This is my tribute to the NARUTO manga series, as it ends after 15 years of publication. Congratulations to Masashi Kishimoto for 15 years of Naruto.
I hope you will like it. I would appreciate your feedback for this drawing.
Extra Notes:
NARUTO is a series that could definitely be considered as a hallmark of my generation. I’m not a big fan of the series, but I did get to have a glimpse of what it’s about, and I can see how much fans it has through the years. As the series is about to end after 15 years in publication, I decided to give the manga my own tribute to acknowledge its legendary status.
This plan became even more definite after reading some of the latest chapters of the series, which actually got me a bit emotional even if I haven’t really read the series a lot.
When I made this piece, I used legendary Japanese pro-wrestler Kenta Kobashi as a reference for Naruto’s pose. I was somewhat imagining Naruto Uzumaki having a retirement ceremony similar to that of Kobashi. Maybe it’s because Kobashi’s ceremony was filled with orange streamers, which is the color that is also symbolic of Naruto. I guess Kobashi’s fighting spirit in the ring and generally cheerful demeanor also played a role here.
The design for the championship belt, if you’re interested, was actually based on the one used in a wrestling-themed cover page of Shonen Jump back in 2012.
In this piece, I decided to expand a bit on my “King of Pro-Wrestling” trading card game parody. This time, I renamed it as “King of Manga Pro-Wrestling”. I am considering doing this parody series for other future artworks.
Congratulations to Masashi Kishimoto for 15 years of Naruto. I wish you the best in your future works.
Raiga Suzuki
「キングオブプロレスリング」
「ＫＩＮＧ ＯＦ ＰＲＯ－ＷＲＥＳＴＬＩＮＧ」
This is Raiga Suzuki. He is a fictional professional wrestler who serves as the Ace of the fictional pro-wrestling organization Co-Bushi (Takeshi Kitano). He is the original character of Japanese Pixiv user Potaro (ぽたろ). Here, he is featured in a King of Pro-Wrestling PR trading card.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:
Special thanks to Potaro (ぽたろ) for giving me permission to use Raiga Suzuki.
www.pixiv.me/potarospinkick
cobushi.mangalog.com
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Extra Notes:
Despite the language barrier, I’ve enjoyed watching at the pro-wrestling manga of Potaro, from WOPW and now Co-Bushi. That’s the thing about pro-wrestling; if the spectacle of the match is good, language won’t really be that much of a barrier in allowing you to enjoy the match.
I’ve really wanted to draw Raiga Suzuki for a while already, and with my drawing skills better than how it used to be I thought it was time for me to give it a try.
I decided that the best way to present my piece is through a parody of the popular Bushiroad trading card game “King of Pro-Wrestling” (which is also the name of a popular pay-per-view show by New Japan Pro-Wrestling). It makes me wonder why I haven’t seen anyone do a similar parody yet.
I hope you enjoy it! Your constructive feedback is highly appreciated.
Manga Pro-Wrestling 「漫画プロレス」 