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Jan-Ken-Pon 4-Panel Manga Earns Guinness Record for Most Strips
posted on by Jennifer Sherman
Shōji Izumi's Jan-Ken-Pon four-panel manga received the Guinness World Record for "Most strips published for the same yonkoma manga series" at a ceremony on Monday. As of November 24, the manga had published 15,000 strips.
Izumi launched the manga in the Asahi Shōgakusei Shimbun newspaper in September 1969. The story centers on the everyday lives of a level-headed older sister named Jan, a lively brother named Ken, and a curious younger brother named Pon. "Jan-ken-pon" is also the most common Japanese name for the hand game rock-paper-scissors.
The series' 15,095th strip below marks the announcement. In the strip, Pon answers the phone and is shocked to find out that the manga earned the Guinness World Record. He alerts his family, and they are equally surprised.
Izumi downplayed the achievement and said it is only the result of continuing day after day. The Japan Cartoonists Association chairman and manga creator Tetsuya Chiba (Ashita no Joe) believes the record is a monumental achievement and said, "Shōji Izumi is the pride of Japan's manga world."
Other Guinness World Record-winning manga include Osamu Akimoto's Kochira Katsushika-ku Kamearikouen-mae Hashutsujo ("Kochikame") for "most volumes published for a single manga series," Eiichiro Oda's One Piece for "The most copies published for the same comic book series by a single author," and Yasuhisa Hara's Kingdom for "Manga Written by the Most People."
Source: Comic Natalie
