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One-Punch Man Artist's Son Places 2nd in National High School Bodybuilding Championship

It's bodybuilding season, and that means muscular man-men in skimpy shorts showing off their muscular man-meat in the culmination of their hard work and dieting. The bodybuilding season generally starts in late February or early March with the Arnold Classic and concludes in early October with the crowning of Mr. Olympia at the Mr. Olympia competition. During these eight months, numerous other competitions run worldwide to determine the best-looking muscular bodies and physiques.

And while the spotlight is on the top bodybuilders, there's also some new talent in the high school circuit. One of those young talents is none other than Keisuke Murata, the son of One-Punch Man and Eyeshield 21 artist Yūsuke Murata, with his second-place finish at the Japanese High School Bodybuilding Championship.

Yūsuke Murata posted about his son's second-place ranking at the Japanese High School Bodybuilding Championship on his X (formerly Twitter) account on August 25. In his post, Murata told his son “Nice fight” and linked a Yahoo! Japan News repost of a VITUP! article with the results.

Yūsuke Murata then reposted his son's 11:05 p.m. comments on August 25. In Keisuke Murata's post, the high school bodybuilder said, “Now that things have settled down, I'd like to let you know! I came in second place in the high school bodybuilding competition! It's disappointing, but I'll keep working hard!!” Along with his comments, the young Murata posted a picture of himself performing the most muscular pose.

Keisuke Murata subsequently posted a video of his free posing routine to his X account on August 27. The song was a clear choice for the high school bodybuilder, the opening theme song of One-Punch Man, “The Hero!! ~Ikareru Ken ni Honō o Tsukero~”

Keisuke Murata competed in the 170-centimeter-and-under category in the championship and was beaten out by Yōsuke Ikeda. Ikeda subsequently went on the take home the overall win at the competition. So, Murata went up against stiff competition. A video showcasing the overall finalists is available through the Suponichi Kinniku YouTube channel.

Keisuke Murata's accomplishment is nothing to scoff at. The time and dedication to sculpt his muscles without the aid of performance-enhancing drugs is extraordinary. Hopefully, he will bounce back from this loss and take home first place in his next competition. And who knows, if Murata continues down the path of bodybuilding he might reach the pinnacle of Japanese bodybuilding, Mr. Japan, and even surpass the legendary nine-time Mr. Japan winner Masashi Suzuki.

Update: A paragraph about Keisuke Murata's free posing routine and video has been added.

Sources: Yūsuke Murata's X/Twitter account, Keisuke Murata's X/Twitter account (link 2), Yahoo! Japan News, Suponichi Kinniku's YouTube channel via Hachia Kikō