Otoko Ippiki Gaki Daishou is likely a manga most have never even heard of but it has a special place in manga history, being one of the titles that propelled early Shonen Jump to success, and the first Shonen Jump manga to get an anime.

Despite it's age, beginning in 1968 it's aged really well, in part to an excellent translation but it's also full of well written characters, good beats and clear panelling with art that could seem dated but I find beautiful.

We follow Mankichi Togawa a boy living in rural Japan and his growth as a person, starting out with typical small town delinquent fights but quickly escalating into bigger and bigger conflicts, which aren't even all physical. This makes the story always feel fresh as something new is happening and the stakes are elevated, but with these stakes Mankichi learns more and continues to grow.

Speaking of Mankichi, our main character is amazing! Being a boy who exudes charisma, and I feel like the writing really pulls this off, you can't help but love him! He's cocky and can have a temper, but he always does the right thing, he's honourable and makes mistakes which he learns from. Throughout the story he becomes better and better and more people flock towards him which is a joy to see, i'd describe it as something similar to One Piece or other shounen where people gravitate to the main character, but this is Mankichi's main focus and it does it well! Side characters are great too, with the younger characters like Trumpet and Eye-Patch Ginji being great supports for Mankichi while providing good comedy. Then theres the older cast which often serve to guide or foil Mankichi, like the old Monk who helps him throughout his journey. I love how it never ignores characters either, it could have easily thrown characters like Trumpet and the children at the beginning to the wayside but it always flashes back to them so we get a sense of what theyre feeling and how the town is doing when Mankichi is away. Similarly it could have ditched Mankichis love interest but it continues to show her, and on the topic of female characters they aren't bad! There aren't many but theyre portrayed well I think for 1968, Mankichis Mother is a force of good and clealry works hard for her son. Chairman Mito is also depicted as a powerful old woman which I feel is a novel villain character!

The artwork is excellent with it always being clear what's going on, it's a breeze to read pages and some of the spreads or set pieces are very impactful. Particularly ones which convey just how many people Mankichi is about to fight. I love how bold some of the linework is and it works well with the contrast, the main characters often having black jackets or hats so the pages are balanced in a nice way. If you're used to more modern artsyles I'd highly suggest sticking with this and opening up your mind to how manga was made and drawn at the time, it might be less detailed, a bit rough or the liens are bold but it's beautiful in it's own way, especially to me.

I think this series is criminally underrated or underlooked, more people should read it and give it a shot because it's such a joy to read. Currently as of writing only 49 chapters are translated but I hope more are in the future, please give it a shot!