News

Momoko Sakura's GJ8 Man Anime Goes on Hiatus Until October After Her Passing

The official website for the net anime adaptation of the late manga creator Momoko Sakura's "GJ8 Man" character announced on Wednesday that the anime's 23rd episode has been delayed from September 8. The "GJ8 Man ni Kiitemiyō" program has also been delayed from August 28. The newspaper Sports Hochi reported that episode 23 is delayed until October 8.

After visiting Gujō Hachiman for research, Sakura decided to create the GJ8 Man character due to her love for the city. The anime's story follows Joe Gorō, a boy who lives a carefree life in the small city of Gujō Hachiman in Gifu Prefecture. One day an old self-professed "water fairy" appears in front of Joe. He tells him to help people and grants Joe the power to turn into "GJ8 Man" (a pun on Gujō Hachiman, as the NUMBER 8 is pronounced "hachi" in Japanese, and the "hachi" in "Hachiman" uses the kanji for the NUMBER 8).

The anime has been debuting an episode with English subtitles on the eighth of almost every month since October 2016. The anime's second season premiered last November.

Design company LIGHTAIR Inc. is producing the anime. BOB Hiroo (Hiroo Nabata), president of LIGHTAIR Inc. and native of Gujō Hachiman, is the director and producer. He also designed the characters alongside Sakura and voices both GJ8 Man and Water Fairy in the series. Sakura wrote the script for the anime, voiced the character Warumono, and wrote the lyrics for the series' opening and ending theme songs.

Sakura recently passed away on August 15 due to breast cancer. She was 53. She was best known for her Chibi Maruko-chan manga, which inspired a television anime that is consistently the #2 rated anime series in Japan. The first anime series ran from 1990 to 1992, and the ongoing second series premiered in 1995.

Sources: GJ8 Man anime's website, Sports Hochi