is a Japanese

sports Sport is a physical activity or game, often competitive and organized, that maintains or improves physical ability and skills. Sport may provide enjoyment to participants and entertainment to spectators. The number of participants in ...

manga are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...

series written by Shinji Morisue and illustrated by Hiroyuki Kikuta. It is about high school gymnast Shun Fujimaki as he pursues his goal of competing in the 2000

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a Multi-s ...

, and is in part based on Morisue's experiences as an Olympic champion. The series was published in

Shogakukan is a Japanese publisher of comics, magazines, light novels, dictionaries, literature, non-fiction, home media, and other media in Japan. Shogakukan founded Shueisha, which also founded Hakusensha. These are three separate companies, but ...

's ''shōnen'' manga magazine ''

Weekly Shōnen Sunday is a weekly manga magazine published in Japan by Shogakukan since March 1959. Contrary to its title, ''Weekly Shōnen Sunday'' issues are released on Wednesdays. ''Weekly Shōnen Sunday'' has sold over 1.8billion copies since 1986, making it ...

'' from June 1994 to October 2000, with its chapters collected into 34 ''

tankōbon A is a standard publishing format for books in Japan, alongside other formats such as ''shinsho'' (17x11 cm paperback books) and ''bunkobon''. Used as a loanword in English, the term specifically refers to a printed collection of a manga that w ...

'' volumes. The series was adapted as a 30-episode

anime is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...

television series titled ''Gambalist! Shun'', produced by

Sunrise Sunrise (or sunup) is the moment when the upper rim of the Sun appears on the horizon in the morning, at the start of the Sun path. The term can also refer to the entire process of the solar disk crossing the horizon. Terminology Although the S ...

and broadcast on

Yomiuri TV JOIX-DTV (channel 10), branded as , is the Kansai region flagship station of the Nippon News Network and the Nippon Television Network System, owned by the , itself a subsidiary of Yomiuri Chukyo FS Broadcasting Holdings. FYCS is partially c ...

from July 1996 to March 1997. In 1998, ''Ganba! Fly High'' received the 43rd

Shogakukan Manga Award The is one of Japan's major manga are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is ...

for the '' shōnen'' category.

Media

Manga

''Ganba! Fly High'' is written by Shinji Morisue and illustrated by Hiroyuki Kikuta. Morisue based the series on his own real-life experiences in winning the gold in horizontal bar in the Los Angeles Olympics in 1984 and wanted to inspire more kids to try gymnastics themselves. It was serialized in

's ''

'' from June 8, 1994, to October 18, 2000. Shogakukan collected its chapters into thirty-four ''

'' volumes, released from December 10, 1994, to December 18, 2000.

Anime

A 30-episode anime television series adaptation, titled , was produced by

and broadcast on

from July 1, 1996, to March 10, 1997.

Reception and legacy

In 1998, the manga won the 43rd

for the '' shōnen'' category. The gold-medalist gymnast Kōhei Uchimura has credited the series with helping to inspire him in the sport.

References

External links