‘Ashita No Joe’ Manga Creator Tetsuya Chiba Dies at 87
WHO:
NY Post - Chiba’s publisher announced his death.
ABC News Entertainment - Tetsuya Chiba was a Japanese manga artist best known for the boxing series *Ashita no Joe*, also called *Fighting for Tomorrow*.
Anime News Network - Chiba was 87 when he died.
Anime News Network - Chiba was nominated to the Japan Art Academy alongside Yoshiharu Tsuge as one of its first two manga creators.
Anime News Network - Chiba was chair of the Japan Cartoonists Association.
WHAT:
ABC News Entertainment - Chiba died.
Anime News Network - Chiba’s *Hinemosu Notari Nikki* autobiographical short essay manga went on hiatus because of his poor health.
Anime News Network - Chiba received Japan’s Order of Culture, becoming the first manga creator to receive the honor.
Anime News Network - *Ashita no Joe* inspired television anime in 1970 and 1980, and anime films in 1980 and 1981. The story was reimagined with new characters in a science-fiction setting in the 2018 anime *Megalobox*; its sequel, *Megalobox 2: Nomad*, premiered in April 2021.
Anime News Network - The manga’s first official English release, titled *Ashita no Joe: Fighting for Tomorrow*, was published in December 2024.
WHERE:
NY Post - Chiba died in Tokyo.
Anime News Network - Chiba died in a Tokyo hospital.
Anime News Network - Chiba was born in Tokyo and spent his early childhood in what is now northern China.
WHEN:
Anime News Network - Chiba’s *Ashita no Joe* ran from 1968 to 1973.
Anime News Network - Chiba launched *Hinemosu Notari Nikki* in *Big Comic* in December 2015; it went on hiatus on September 25.
Anime News Network - Chiba made his professional manga debut at age 17, while still in high school, in 1956.
Anime News Network - Chiba had heart surgery to place a stent in his coronary artery in January 2022. He wrote in a 2024 blog post that he had also undergone eye surgery.
Anime News Network - Chiba received the Order of Culture in 2024.
WHY:
Anime News Network - Chiba died of myelodysplastic syndrome, a cancer affecting blood cells in the bone marrow.
Anime News Network - Chiba paused *Hinemosu Notari Nikki* because of poor health.
Anime News Network - Chiba said in November 2021 that he had admitted himself to a Tokyo hospital after feeling unwell following the summer. He reported abnormalities in his heart valve, coronary artery, and throat, and began treatment for a throat tumor.
Anime News Network - The Order of Culture recognizes people who have made “outstanding contributions in developing” Japanese culture.
HOW:
Anime News Network - Chiba’s *Megalobox* was credited as originating from *Ashita no Joe*.
(UPDATED October 27, 2026 18:02 UTC)
Tetsuya Chiba, the celebrated manga artist behind the boxing classic *Ashita no Joe*, has died at 87 in a Tokyo hospital from myelodysplastic syndrome, a cancer affecting blood cells in the bone marrow. First published in 1968, *Ashita no Joe* inspired television anime, films and the later series *Megalobox*, and its first official English edition appeared in 2024. Chiba was also chair of the Japan Cartoonists Association and, in 2024, became the first manga creator to receive Japan’s Order of Culture.
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(UPDATED October 27, 2026 15:06 UTC)
Japanese manga artist Tetsuya Chiba, best known for the boxing series *Ashita no Joe*, died at 87 in a Tokyo hospital from myelodysplastic syndrome, a cancer affecting blood cells in the bone marrow. His manga ran from 1968 to 1973 and inspired anime adaptations, while its legacy continued with the science-fiction series *Megalobox*. Chiba was also chair of the Japan Cartoonists Association and became the first manga creator to receive Japan’s Order of Culture.