After the manga’s finale, Kaguya-sama: Love Is War creator Aka Akasaka revealed that he is retiring as a manga artist. He announced his retirement via his official Twitter account.
While this means Akasaka will no longer illustrate manga, this doesn’t mean he will quit the industry. Instead, Akasaka will continue to work on manga, but as a writer.
Aka Akasaka's Impressive Track Record
Many manga fans are no doubt familiar with Akasaka and his impressive body of work. But for those who aren’t, Akasaka is a manga artist from Niigata, Japan who began his career back in 2011 with Sayonara Piano Sonata.
He followed this up with ib: Instant Bullet which was serialized between 2013 to 2015. Though his big break was Kaguya-sama: Love Is War, a romantic comedy manga series that began serialization in Miracle Jump back in 2015.
Kaguya-sama became a major hit, and as of April 2021, the series had over 15 million copies in circulation.
Its popularity was also boosted by the release of the anime adaptation by A-1 Pictures which began in 2019.
Even before Kaguya-sama ended, Akasaka began a new manga project entitled Oshi no Ko, another weekly title that is serialized in Weekly Young Jump.
Instead of being the illustrator, Akasaka only serves as the series’ writer, with illustration duties handled by Mengo Yokoyari (of Scum’s Wish fame).
Oshi no Ko also proved to be a hit, enough that an anime series adaptation being made by Doga Koba was announced and is set to release in 2023.
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Aka Akasaka Retires as a Manga Illustrator
In his statement, Akasaka said that he is planning to retire as a manga artist. Although, he clarified that he would retire only from illustrating manga as he still has plans to continue writing stories.
He also mentioned how thankful he is for the fans' support during the over seven-year-long serialization of Kaguya-sama.
While he will no longer draw for manga titles, Akasaka said that he intends to continue drawing as a hobby.
Although we will no longer see manga drawn by Akasaka, we will continue to get new titles with stories written by him.
After all, aside from the ongoing Oshi no Ko, Akasaka is also gearing up to launch a new manga with an up-and-coming illustrator.
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