{"id":911459,"date":"2026-09-27T10:06:08","date_gmt":"2026-09-27T10:06:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/911459\/"},"modified":"2026-09-27T10:06:08","modified_gmt":"2026-09-27T10:06:08","slug":"gantz-creator-hiroya-oku-confirms-he-drew-thunder-3-manga-under-pen-name-yuki-ikeda-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/911459\/","title":{"rendered":"Gantz Creator Hiroya Oku Confirms He Drew Thunder 3 Manga Under Pen Name Yuki Ikeda &#8211; News"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Series ended on June 5<\/p>\n<p>  <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"427\" alt=\"thunder\" border=\"1\" src=\"\/thumbnails\/max300x600\/cms\/news.9\/237093\/thunder.jpg\" class=\"lazyload\"\/>Image via <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.co.jp\/-\/en\/dp\/4065289289\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Amazon<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u00a9Yuki Ikeda, Kodansha<\/p>\n<p>Manga creator <a href=\"https:\/\/www.animenewsnetwork.com\/encyclopedia\/people.php?id=5771\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Hiroya Oku<\/a> (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.animenewsnetwork.com\/encyclopedia\/manga.php?id=3749\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Gantz<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.animenewsnetwork.com\/encyclopedia\/manga.php?id=16455\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Inuyashiki<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.animenewsnetwork.com\/encyclopedia\/anime.php?id=39571\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">GIGANT<\/a>) confirmed on social media on Thursday that he created the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.animenewsnetwork.com\/encyclopedia\/manga.php?id=29869\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Thunder 3<\/a> manga under the pen name <a href=\"https:\/\/www.animenewsnetwork.com\/encyclopedia\/people.php?id=250631\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Yuki Ikeda<\/a>. He said that he wrote the series under a pen name in order to maintain a story surprise in the first chapter for first-time readers, a surprise that would have been lessened if readers saw the Hiroya Oku name.<\/p>\n<p data-pasted=\"true\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.animenewsnetwork.com\/encyclopedia\/company.php?id=15577\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Kodansha USA<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.animenewsnetwork.com\/news\/2024-03-30\/kodansha-usa-licenses-you-must-be-this-tall-to-propose-mobile-suit-gundam-cucuruz-doan-island-more-\/.209376\" data-pasted=\"true\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">publishes<\/a> the series in English and describes the story:<\/p>\n<p>Three ordinary schoolboys come into possession of a DVD that supposedly opens a gateway to a parallel universe, but when their backs are turned Pyontaro&#8217;s little sister Futaba passes through and gets kidnapped by the aliens that have overrun that version of Earth! Discovering that their cartoonish bodies make them supermen in the hyper-realistic parallel universe, the boys set out to rescue Futaba.<\/p>\n<p>Ikeda launched the series in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.animenewsnetwork.com\/encyclopedia\/company.php?id=88\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Kodansha<\/a>&#8216;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.animenewsnetwork.com\/encyclopedia\/manga.php?id=20840\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Monthly Shonen Magazine<\/a> in May 2022. The series <a href=\"https:\/\/www.animenewsnetwork.com\/news\/2025-01-06\/yuki-ikeda-thunder-3-manga-enters-climax\/.219737\" data-pasted=\"true\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">entered<\/a> its climax in January 2025, then went on <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/thunder3_ikeda\/status\/1895384043908431880\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">hiatus<\/a> in March that same year due to Ikeda&#8217;s health. The manga <a href=\"https:\/\/www.animenewsnetwork.com\/news\/2025-12-04\/yuki-ikeda-thunder-3-manga-resumes-serialization-in-february\/.231676\" data-pasted=\"true\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">returned<\/a> from its hiatus in February. The manga <a href=\"https:\/\/www.animenewsnetwork.com\/news\/2026-05-06\/yuki-ikeda-thunder-3-manga-ends-on-june-5\/.237093\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">ended<\/a> on June 5. Kodansha published the manga&#8217;s 10th volume on August 17. Kodansha USA shipped the eighth volume on February 10.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The anime <a href=\"https:\/\/www.animenewsnetwork.com\/news\/2026-06-11\/thunder-3-tv-anime-reveals-ending-song-july-8-debut-in-new-video\/.238414\" data-pasted=\"true\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">premiered<\/a> on the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.animenewsnetwork.com\/encyclopedia\/company.php?id=17634\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">+Ultra<\/a> programming block on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.animenewsnetwork.com\/encyclopedia\/company.php?id=30\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Fuji TV<\/a> and other channels on July 8 at 24:45 JST (effectively July 9 at 12:45 a.m. JST). The anime is exclusively streaming worldwide on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.animenewsnetwork.com\/encyclopedia\/company.php?id=10441\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Netflix<\/a> starting on July 8.<\/p>\n<p>Oku <a href=\"https:\/\/www.animenewsnetwork.com\/news\/2026-08-11\/gantz-creator-hiroya-oku-plans-to-retire-after-finishing-kanrekihime-manga\/.240481\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">announced<\/a> in an interview with Courrier Japon in August that he plans to retire after he finishes his latest manga <a href=\"https:\/\/www.animenewsnetwork.com\/encyclopedia\/manga.php?id=38186\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Kanrekihime<\/a> (The Sweet Sixty Princess).\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Oku <a href=\"https:\/\/www.animenewsnetwork.com\/news\/2024-11-07\/gantz-creator-hiroya-oku-to-work-on-new-manga\/.217610\" data-pasted=\"true\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">launched<\/a> the Kanrekihime (The Sweet Sixty Princess) manga in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.animenewsnetwork.com\/encyclopedia\/company.php?id=57\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Shogakukan<\/a>&#8216;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.animenewsnetwork.com\/encyclopedia\/manga.php?id=19910\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Big Comic Superior<\/a> magazine in December 2025. Shogakukan published the manga&#8217;s first compiled book volume on May 29.<\/p>\n<p>Oku&#8217;s Gantz manga ran from 2000 to 2013. The manga inspired a television anime, a CG anime film, two Japanese live-action films, and two spinoff manga. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.animenewsnetwork.com\/encyclopedia\/company.php?id=26\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Dark Horse Comics<\/a> released the manga in North America. Oku <a href=\"https:\/\/www.animenewsnetwork.com\/news\/2020-01-09\/hiroya-oku-writes-new-gantz-e-historical-spinoff-manga\/.155097\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">launched<\/a> the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.animenewsnetwork.com\/encyclopedia\/manga.php?id=27631\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">GANTZ:E<\/a> historical spinoff manga with artist <a href=\"https:\/\/www.animenewsnetwork.com\/encyclopedia\/people.php?id=237754\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Jin Kagetsu<\/a> in January 2020. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.animenewsnetwork.com\/encyclopedia\/company.php?id=909\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Shueisha<\/a>&#8216;s Jump TOON vertical-scrolling manga <a href=\"https:\/\/www.animenewsnetwork.com\/news\/2023-05-30\/shueisha-launches-vertical-scrolling-manga-service-jump-toon-in-2024\/.198600\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">service<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.animenewsnetwork.com\/news\/2024-06-23\/gantz-manga-gets-full-color-vertical-scrolling-version-on-jump-toon-service\/.212296\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">launched<\/a> a new vertical-scrolling full-color edition of the manga titled GANTZ: T in July 2025. The Deadline website <a href=\"https:\/\/www.animenewsnetwork.com\/news\/2020-09-13\/deadline-entertainment-website-lists-hollywood-gantz-adaptation\/.163972\" data-pasted=\"true\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">reported<\/a> a Hollywood live-action of the manga in November 2021.<\/p>\n<p>Sources: Hiroya Oku&#8217;s X\/<a href=\"https:\/\/www.animenewsnetwork.com\/encyclopedia\/company.php?id=24886\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Twitter<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/hiroya_oku\/status\/2103039225272930705\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">account<\/a>, Thunder 3&#8217;s X\/Twitter <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/thunder3_ikeda\/status\/2103062192417636608\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">account<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Series ended on June 5 Image via Amazon \u00a9Yuki Ikeda, Kodansha Manga creator Hiroya Oku (Gantz, Inuyashiki, GIGANT)&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":911460,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[49,48,75],"class_list":["post-911459","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-entertainment"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/911459","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=911459"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/911459\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/911460"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=911459"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=911459"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=911459"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}