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The story
On 5ch’s Nandemo Jikkyo (Live News) board, a self-described expert’s claim that “if you’ve made 3 or more hits, you’re a top-tier manga artist” sparked debate, and a thread formed to hunt down artists who actually clear that bar. It kicked off with someone pointing out that even Akira Toriyama really only has two signature works, and names like Shinji Mizushima, Masami Yuki, Naoki Urasawa, Yoshihiro Togashi, Yusei Matsui, and Riichiro Inagaki came up one after another. Opinions split over how to rate artists like Eiichiro Oda and Gosho Aoyama, who each landed one single explosive hit, and the talk even spread into the anime adaptation boom of “Naro-kei” (web-novel-turned-published) series.
What people said
Re: #5
He also did Dragon Quest's character designs the whole time, so it's way more than just 3 works.
Guess it can't be helped since her art style's a bit hard for guys to get into?
Re: #6
Can't tell without you naming actual titles.
Re: #10
If anything, barely anyone fails to finish a series that *wasn't* cancelled.
Re: #11
'Can't tell' basically answers itself.
Tomoe ga Yuku!
BASARA
7SEEDS
Don't Call It Mystery
That's who it is.
Re: #16
Only know the last one.
The one with the afro detective, right?
Re: #20
His other stuff's fun too, but nothing beats Ushio and Tora or Karakuri Circus.
Re: #18
Well, girls do read shonen manga, but not many guys read shojo manga.
Though some artists, like CLAMP, crossed over into shonen magazines too.
Re: #23
Nah, just answer the question.
Well, fine either way.
Togashi
Naoki Urasawa
Katsutoshi Kawai
Ryoji Minagawa
Masami Yuki
Looking at this, hitting 3 is a pretty low bar for Shogakukan artists…
Re: #27
Masami Yuki's impressive because he lands hits across totally different genres.
Gosho Aoyama: "Guess so?"
George Morikawa: "Ahaha!"
Re: #29
What about the Sailor Ace guy?
Re: #29
Conan
Yaiba
Magic Kaito
Re: #34
At minimum it should mean getting an anime or movie adaptation.
Re: #32
More importantly, how do you even know Kuno-kun (the perm-haired guy)?
Re: #36
Oh, so his name's Kuno, huh.
Probably because he's always 'kunou' (in anguish) — guess that tracks.
The shogi one by the Takagi-san author
The ninja one by the Takagi-san author
The manager one by the Takagi-san author
A monster who's already got 3 anime adaptations, with a 4th just a matter of time.
Re: #42
You didn't need to keep saying 'by the Takagi-san author.'
Re: #42
It's the ninja one that's the issue, though…
Riichiro Inagaki (Eyeshield 21, Dr. STONE, Trillion Game)
Those are the top-tier manga artists, in my book.
Re: #46
Inagaki's wife being the cutest Pretty Cure voice actress is just winning at life way too hard.
No matter how many half-baked works you crank out, in baseball terms that's still just a string of cheap singles (slang for a weak, barely-there hit).
Re: #48
A single fluke can happen, though.
An amateur might get lucky and hit one home run in a season of MLB at-bats, but there's zero chance they'd bat .300 — that's the point.
Re: #64
Not a manga artist, but a 'Naro' web novelist — FUNA.
Re: #64
Yasutaka Tsutsui is the one I associate with anime adaptations.
Re: #64
Tomihiko Morimi —
The Tatami Galaxy
The Night Is Short, Walk On Girl
Penguin Highway
The Eccentric Family
Re: #65
The 'Average Stats' one getting an anime → makes sense
The 'Potion' one getting an anime → barely makes sense
The 'Gold Coins' one getting an anime → wait, what?
Re: #77
Is there really that big a gap in quality between the Potion one and the Gold Coins one?
Re: #77
The Potion manga got boring after the artist changed.
Re: #90
Isn't H2 kind of a bigger deal than people give it credit for?
Re: #90
H2
MIX
Hiatari Ryoukou! (Nice Weather)
Koji Koji (4 volumes total)
And this is why she's treated like a legendary manga artist?
Re: #98
Because she won the title of 'national anime,' that's why.
Crayon Shin-chan's the same deal.
Re: #98
Her essay collection sold 2 million copies too — she's a monster.
Background and Key Points of This Debate
There’s no strict, agreed-upon definition on 5ch for the “3 or more hits” standard itself. Posters split between those who count an anime or movie adaptation as proof of a hit, and those who go by sales figures or whether a work “really sold” — the thread saw a “got an anime, counts as a hit” camp clash with a “one explosive hit is more impressive” camp. From the latter camp came comparisons likening single-megahit artists like Eiichiro Oda and Gosho Aoyama to a high batting average, versus artists who stack up several solid-but-not-huge hits (Yoshihiro Togashi, Naoki Urasawa, Masami Yuki, and others). One thing readers might misread: the “2 works” or “3 works” tallies cited here are a show-of-hands count based on posters’ memories, not a rigorous check against official sales data or awards. That the discussion spread into the anime adaptation boom of “Naro-kei” (web-novel-turned-published) series shows that the very definition of a “hit” is shifting across media, not just among print manga artists.
※This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Nandemo Jikkyo G) thread “An expert says “if you’ve made 3+ hits, you’re a top-tier manga artist” — well, hold on.”
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