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Hiroya Oku, the manga creator behind Gantz, Inuyashiki, and GIGANT, says he plans to retire from the manga industry after completing his current series, Kanreki Hime (The Sweet Sixty Princess). The veteran mangaka shared the news in an interview with Kodansha’s Courrier, saying he no longer has the energy required to create and serialise manga after more than three decades in the industry.
Talking about Kanreki Hime, Oku explained that the series was conceived as the final work of his career.
“Out of all the ideas that occur to me in everyday life, I only turn the ones that stay with me into manga. I still come up with plenty of ideas, but I’ll be turning 60 next year. At my age, I intend for Kanreki Hime to be my final manga before retiring.”
When asked if he intends to continue in any capacity, he added: “No. I’m done. I still have the desire to create, but coming up with a story, drawing it, and continuing that process requires an enormous amount of mental and physical energy. I simply don’t have the energy to do that anymore.”
pic.twitter.com/HVWEILb9mW
— 奥 浩哉 (@hiroya_oku) August 13, 2026
“Kanreki Hime is my way of bringing my career as a manga artist to a close. The older men in the story reflect the people creating it, including myself. I drew this manga believing it would show the way of life of an ordinary older man chosen to be the protagonist. There are no aliens or UFOs in this one, but I hope you’ll stay with it until the very end.”
Happy #MangaMonday! That’s gotta hurt…
Panel comes from the GANTZ G Omnibus by #GANTZ creator @hiroya_oku and team, available wherever you buy manga.#DHMangapic.twitter.com/UpkklE4ac1
— Dark Horse Comics (@DarkHorseComics) June 15, 2026
Oku has spent more than 30 years in the manga industry. He made his debut with the romantic comedy Hen, which began serialisation in Weekly Young Jump in 1989 before moving on to darker, science fiction-driven works that established his reputation.
He is best known for Gantz, the long-running sci-fi action manga that ran from 2000 to 2013. Mixing graphic violence, moral dilemmas, horror, and high-concept science fiction, the series became one of the defining seinen manga of its era and received multiple anime adaptations, films, games, and the CG animated feature Gantz: O. Oku later created Inuyashiki, a science fiction drama about an elderly man transformed into a cyborg, and GIGANT, which combined giant monster action with social commentary and celebrity culture. Across his works, Oku has become known for detailed digital artwork, cinematic action sequences, and stories that incorporate everyday life with surreal science fiction.
His latest series, Kanreki Hime (The Sweet Sixty Princess), is a notable departure from those themes. Rather than focusing on aliens, monsters, or futuristic technology, the manga centres on older adults and explores ageing and everyday life, with Oku describing it as a more personal work inspired by his own stage of life.
The retirement announcement comes just months after a theatrical anime adaptation of Oku’s sci-fi manga GIGANT was announced. Revealed by K2 Pictures during a press conference at the Cannes Film Festival in May, the film will be the studio’s first animated feature project.
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