REAL, Inoue's other basketball manga

I'm glad you guys updated this! I didn't realize Takehiko Inoue had another basketball manga (I live under a rock, I know). I only own the first three volumes of Slam Dunk, but this seems more up my alley as it's aimed at an older audience. Everyone's past posts really speak highly of it and has me wanting to pick up the first volume.
 
Weekly Young Jump Issue #25 Cover REAL
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I've always found these kind of fourth-wall breaking illustrations by Inoue really off-putting. He probably draws them in these candid poses to resemble sports magazine photos, but it doesn't really jibe with the manga itself.
 
Inoue posted this yesterday (translated), I didn't realize it had been over 4 years since the last episode was released!

Real 85 episode 33 pages will be published in the Young Jump released on May 23.

I am also glad to be able to draw cartoons.

The publication is about four and a half years.

When I finished my name, when I finished putting in the pen, it was only personal impression, but there was something that came to my heart.

Now it is already in preparation for the next.

There was a place where I did not notice that I wrote as an athlete and I wrote as an athlete because of a mistake in speech. .
I was nervous, but my feelings switched. Excuse me, I will fix it with a book.

When I handed over the manuscript to editor in charge I, I always said, "I've been waiting for you,"

"I've been waiting for four and a half years," he said.

Thank you very much to the readers who have been waiting for the next episode of Volume 14 for a long time.
 
It's also been 4 years since Vagabond. #327 came out in May 2015. Maybe this is an ice-breaking moment for Inoue.

Do you think Vagabond might return? I haven't read it yet just because i fear that i will end up loving it, but it will never end.

But if even one episode comes out again, it'll give me enough hope to finally read it :ganishka:
 
Back in April, an editor of an Argentinean publisher of manga quoted a Japanese source to say that Inoue could be back with Real and Vagabond in the near future. This was in response to a fan's question to the Argentinean publisher.

This was before it was officially announced that Real would resume. So, fingers crossed we see some movement on Vagabond in the near future.
 
Do you think Vagabond might return?
Inoue hasn't said anything, and that matters more than anything I'd say on the matter. But yeah, I've got faith he'll return eventually. It's a question of how dedicated he is to it though. Because if he comes back only half-assed, then whether he's drawing or not, the ending won't be great.

I haven't read it yet just because i fear that i will end up loving it, but it will never end.
Everyone has different opinions on the subject, but I don't feel that not having an ending would invalidate the significance of the work that he's already accomplished. There's plenty to dive into and enjoy, even if this is "the end."
 
I have been wanting to start REAL. I was reluctant because of how long it has been on hiatus. I don't mind reading something ongoing -- but when the future of the series seemed bleak (to me, anyway) I always think twice.
 
I'm not believing anything until I see it. Inoue's issues with continuing Vagabond may run deeper than his physical ability to work on it, he expressed misgivings about portraying, understanding and in essence validating a killer (which fascinatingly manifests in the writing imo). I could see him returning to it with a different perspective, but whether it's sooner or later he's got to reconcile that (perhaps with the idea of the "life-giving sword"). In any case, he basically put a bookend on it in The Last Manga Exhibition. I don't think that helped either, essentially writing beyond the conclusion of Musashi's confrontation with Kojiro, but it's there if anyone's interested in closure, and I agree with Walter the series already stands on its own, as is. It's got numerous stories and arcs it completes beautifully, and not having another, final, fight doesn't diminish what came before it. It may even be poetic if it ends up this way.
 
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REAL has been a pleasure to read so far. Over the past few months I've bought new series that I've been wanted to read and get into for a while, but none have captivated me as much as REAL. Maybe it's my childhood love of basketball, maybe it's Inoue's unabashed love of the sport, art and writing ability, maybe its the well-balanced cast of characters... something about this series just clicks with me. I jumped at the opportunity to pick up the first 6 volumes at a very good price online (ex-library, but they were in great shape) and have not looked back since. I'm very much looking forward to purchasing the other volumes and seeing where the story progresses from here (despite it being on hiatus until recently). I'm almost worried I won't like Slam Dunk as much after this :ganishka:
 
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