Real (manga)

Real
First tankōbon volume cover, featuring Tomomi Nomiya
リアル
(Riaru)
GenreDrama, sports[1]
Manga
Written byTakehiko Inoue
Published byShueisha
English publisher
ImprintYoung Jump Comics
MagazineWeekly Young Jump
DemographicSeinen
Original runOctober 28, 1999 – present
Volumes16

Real (Japanese: リアル, Hepburn: Riaru; stylized as REAL) is a Japanese wheelchair basketball-themed manga series written and illustrated by Takehiko Inoue. It has been serialized in Shueisha's seinen manga magazine Weekly Young Jump since October 1999, with the chapters collected into 16 tankōbon volumes as of August 2024. The series has been irregularly published in the magazine. In North America, the series is licensed for English release by Viz Media.

By November 2020, the manga had over 16 million copies in circulation. In 2001, Real won an Excellence Award at the fifth Japan Media Arts Festival.

Plot

The story revolves around three teenagers: Nomiya Tomomi, a high school dropout, Togawa Kiyoharu, an ex-sprinter who now plays wheelchair basketball and Takahashi Hisanobu, a popular leader of the high school's basketball team who now finds himself a paraplegic after an accident.

Real features a cast of characters who find themselves being marginalized by society, but are all united by one common feature: a desire to play basketball, with no place to play it in. Nomiya, being a high school dropout, has no future in his life. Togawa, being a difficult personality, finds himself constantly feuding with his own teammates. Takahashi, once a popular team leader, now finds himself being unable to move from the chest down. Real also deals with the reality of physical disabilities, and the psychological inferiority that the characters struggle against. The characters break through their own psychological barriers bit by bit.

Characters

Main characters

Kiyoharu Togawa (戸川 清春, Togawa Kiyoharu)
Kiyoharu Togawa, a junior high student forced into piano practice, nearly defeats his school's fastest runner in a race, sparking his dream of becoming Japan's top sprinter. After losing his right leg to osteosarcoma, he withdraws until meeting Tora, a mentor with the same disability, who introduces him to wheelchair basketball through the Tigers. His relentless competitiveness strains team dynamics, leading to a brief departure and later a mutiny. When recruited by Japan’s national team and the rival Dream, tensions escalate. Tomomi Nomiya, impressed by his skill, dubs him "Vince" after NBA star Vince Carter.
Tomomi Nomiya (野宮 朋美, Nomiya Tomomi)
Tomomi Nomiya, a high school dropout with delinquent tendencies, carries guilt over causing a traffic accident that paralyzed Yamashita Yasumi. Once passionate about basketball but excluded from his school team, he finds new purpose after encountering Kiyoharu playing wheelchair basketball. Becoming the Tigers' enthusiastic supporter, he bonds with Kiyoharu though rarely playing himself. After failing to join a professional team despite a strong tryout, he grows disillusioned and gains weight. Seeking redemption, he shaves his head and adopts a monk-like determination that gradually inspires those around him.
Hisanobu Takahashi (高橋 久信, Takahashi Hisanobu)
Hisanobu Takahashi, a high school basketball captain and top student, becomes paralyzed after a bicycle accident. His rigid worldview, which classifies people from A (best) to E (worst), collapses as he now considers himself inferior. Though briefly motivated by Tomomi's visit, he gives up upon realizing his paralysis is permanent, lashing out at his mother. A tense reunion with his estranged father forces him to confront long-held resentment. Later inspired by Shiratori, he attempts to join the Dreams wheelchair basketball team.

Supporting characters

Fumika Honjo (本城 ふみか, Honjō Fumika)
Fumika Honjo visits Hisanobu in the hospital following his accident. Though Hisanobu rates her as merely a "C" in his personal ranking system, she remains committed to their relationship despite his paralysis. She shares how her dog Angelina will also require wheelchair assistance, using this example to argue that disability doesn't render life meaningless.
Kumi Azumi (安積 久美, Azumi Kumi)
Kumi Azumi, a childhood friend of Kiyoharu, serves as manager for the Tigers. While attending driving school with Tomomi, she explains she's obtaining her license to transport Kiyoharu to team activities. Yama's comments about their compatibility as a couple create tension between Kumi and Kiyoharu, who remains silent about his feelings. Tomomi develops romantic interest in Kumi during their time together.
Hitoshi Yamauchi (山内 仁史, Yamauchi Hitoshi)
Hitoshi Yamauchi, known as Yama (ヤマ), is a former Tigers player with a progressive muscular condition (possibly Duchenne dystrophy) and a life expectancy not exceeding age 20. When Kiyoharu meets him two years after his amputation, Yama's carpe diem philosophy proves inspirational. As Yama's condition worsens and his attitude darkens, Kiyoharu reaffirms his value by calling him a "hero".
Mitsuru Nagano (長野 満, Nagano Mitsuru)
Mitsuru Nagano, a tall Japanese wheelchair basketball player studying at New South Wales University, defeats Kiyoharu and Tomomi in a street basketball game—Kiyoharu's first loss to another wheelchair player. His Australian-influenced speech patterns (frequently using "mate") and competitive ability motivate Kiyoharu to rejoin the Tigers. Impressed by Kiyoharu's skills, Mitsuru eventually joins the post-mutiny team.
Hisayuki Takahashi (高橋 久行, Takahashi Hisayuki)
Hisanobu's father, a former salaryman who worked long hours, first introduced his son to basketball by building a backboard and teaching him fundamentals. Their shared games became central to young Hisanobu's life before his father abruptly left the family eight years prior, abandoning corporate life to become a rural potter. Following Hisanobu's paralysis, his father returns to assume caretaker responsibilities, persistently countering his son's bitterness with steadfast support.
Kiyoharu's father
Following his wife's death, Kiyoharu's father—an unathletic former pianist—devotes himself to training his son as a piano prodigy. Though initially disappointed when Kiyoharu abandons piano for track, he eventually supports this decision. After Kiyoharu's amputation, his father's actions unintentionally contribute to his son's isolation during recovery.

Publication

Written and illustrated by Takehiko Inoue, Real started in Shueisha's seinen manga magazine Weekly Young Jump on October 28, 1999.[a] Its chapters have been collected by Shueisha into individual tankōbon volumes, with the first one published on March 19, 2001.[4] As of August 19, 2024, 16 volumes have been published.[5] After an indefinite hiatus started in 2014, the series resumed on May 23, 2019;[6] since then, the series has been published sporadically.[7]

In North America, the series is licensed for English language release by Viz Media, who announced the acquisition in November 2007.[8] The first volume was released on July 15, 2008.[9]

Volumes

No. Original release date Original ISBN English release date English ISBN
1 March 19, 2001[4]978-4-08-876143-5July 15, 2008[9]978-1-4215-1989-0
  • Chapters 1–6
2 September 19, 2002[10]978-4-08-876340-8October 28, 2008[11]978-1-4215-1990-6
  • Chapters 7–12
3 October 17, 2003[12]978-4-08-876511-2January 20, 2009[13]978-1-4215-1991-3
  • Chapters 13–18
4 November 19, 2004[14]978-4-08-876695-9April 21, 2009[15]978-1-4215-1992-0
  • Chapters 19–24
5 November 18, 2005[16]978-4-08-876882-3July 21, 2009[17]978-1-4215-1993-7
  • Chapters 25–30
6 November 17, 2006[18]978-4-08-877173-1October 20, 2009[19]978-1-4215-1994-4
  • Chapters 31–36
7 November 29, 2007[20]978-4-08-877352-0January 19, 2010[21]978-1-4215-3070-3
  • Chapters 37–42
8 October 29, 2008[22]978-4-08-877539-5April 20, 2010[23]978-1-4215-3071-0
  • Chapters 43–48
9 November 26, 2009[24]978-4-08-877762-7November 16, 2010[25]978-1-4215-3788-7
  • Chapters 49–54
10 November 26, 2010[26]978-4-08-879060-2November 15, 2011[27]978-1-4215-4051-1
  • Chapters 55–60
11 November 11, 2011[28]978-4-08-879232-3November 20, 2012[29]978-1-4215-4331-4
  • Chapters 61–66
12 November 22, 2012[30]978-4-08-879456-3October 15, 2013[31]978-1-4215-5840-0
  • Chapters 67–72
13 November 22, 2013[32]978-4-08-879716-8November 18, 2014[33]978-1-4215-7341-0
  • Chapters 73–78
14 December 19, 2014[34]978-4-08-890077-3March 15, 2016[35]978-1-4215-8221-4
  • Chapters 79–84
15 November 19, 2020[36]978-4-08-891618-7December 21, 2021[37]978-1-9747-2460-4
  • Chapters 85–90
16 August 19, 2024[5]978-4-08-893409-9October 28, 2025[38]978-1-9747-5864-7
  • Chapters 91–96

Chapters not yet in tankōbon format

  • Chapters 97–101

Reception

By November 2013, Real had 14 million copies in circulation.[39] By November 2020, the manga had over 16 million copies in circulation.[40] The sixteenth volume had an initial print run of 250,000 copies, making it Shueisha's 15th-highest first-print manga volume of 2024–2025 (period from April 2024 to March 2025).[41]

Real won an Excellence Award in the Manga Division at the fifth Japan Media Arts Festival in 2001. Citing the reason for the award: "Takehiko Inoue is well-known for Slam Dunk a serial comic on the subject of basketball. Real is another sports comic, but one whose story revolves around the novel theme of tough guys and wheelchair basketball. All of the Adjudication Committee members could hardly wait to read the next installments and had to content themselves with awarding Real the Excellence Prize. It would have been no surprise if Inoue had followed his success with Vagabond by winning the Grand Prize for the second year in a row with this terrific manga".[42]

A review at The Comics Reporter noted that "all of the skills that Inoue displayed in Slam Dunk have evolved for the better in Real", going on to conclude that "the emotional content is presented with a poise and certainty that's really nothing short of breathtaking."[43] The series has been praised for its "realism", and how it "breaks away from conventional portrayals of the disabled as innocent people who are weak in every way." Kazuyuki Kyoya, a wheelchair basketball player, has also expressed his approval of the series: "The manga calls for understanding of people not only in wheelchair basketball but also with various other disabilities. I’m impressed that the scenes in which Takahashi undergoes rehab are elaborately expressed."[44] About.com's Deb Aoki lists Real as the best new manga of 2008.[45]

Notes

  1. ^ It started in the magazine's 48th issue of 1999,[2] released on October 28 of that same year.[3]

References

  1. ^ "The Official Website for Real". Viz Media. Archived from the original on December 12, 2017. Retrieved December 11, 2017.
  2. ^ Web YoungJump - カバー コンテンツ - 1999年42号～52号. Web Young Jump (in Japanese). Shueisha. Archived from the original on December 20, 2002. Retrieved November 29, 2019.
  3. ^ ヤングジャンプ第48特大号のお知らせ. Weekly Young Jump (in Japanese). No. 47. Shueisha. 1999. p. 391. Archived from the original on June 28, 2023. Retrieved June 28, 2023.
  4. ^ a b "REAL 1" (in Japanese). Shueisha. Archived from the original on November 30, 2020. Retrieved November 29, 2019.
  5. ^ a b "REAL 16" (in Japanese). Shueisha. Archived from the original on August 18, 2024. Retrieved August 8, 2024.
  6. ^ Hodgkins, Crystalyn (May 8, 2019). "Takehiko Inoue Resumes 'REAL' Sports Manga on May 23". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on May 12, 2019. Retrieved May 9, 2019.
  7. ^
  8. ^ Loo, Egan (November 19, 2007). "Viz to Print REAL B-Ball Manga from Slam Dunk Creator". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on October 24, 2019. Retrieved November 29, 2019.
  9. ^ a b "Real, Vol. 1". Viz Media. Archived from the original on August 10, 2020. Retrieved November 29, 2019.
  10. ^ "REAL 2" (in Japanese). Shueisha. Archived from the original on November 30, 2020. Retrieved November 29, 2019.
  11. ^ "Real, Vol. 2". Viz Media. Archived from the original on August 10, 2020. Retrieved November 29, 2019.
  12. ^ "REAL 3" (in Japanese). Shueisha. Archived from the original on November 30, 2020. Retrieved November 29, 2019.
  13. ^ "Real, Vol. 3". Viz Media. Archived from the original on August 4, 2020. Retrieved November 29, 2019.
  14. ^ "REAL 4" (in Japanese). Shueisha. Archived from the original on November 30, 2020. Retrieved November 29, 2019.
  15. ^ "Real, Vol. 4". Viz Media. Archived from the original on August 9, 2020. Retrieved November 29, 2019.
  16. ^ "REAL 5" (in Japanese). Shueisha. Archived from the original on November 30, 2020. Retrieved November 29, 2019.
  17. ^ "Real, Vol. 5". Viz Media. Archived from the original on August 4, 2020. Retrieved November 29, 2019.
  18. ^ "REAL 6" (in Japanese). Shueisha. Archived from the original on November 30, 2020. Retrieved November 29, 2019.
  19. ^ "Real, Vol. 6". Viz Media. Archived from the original on August 9, 2020. Retrieved November 29, 2019.
  20. ^ "REAL 7" (in Japanese). Shueisha. Archived from the original on November 30, 2020. Retrieved November 29, 2019.
  21. ^ "Real, Vol. 7". Viz Media. Archived from the original on August 4, 2020. Retrieved November 29, 2019.
  22. ^ "REAL 8" (in Japanese). Shueisha. Archived from the original on November 30, 2020. Retrieved November 29, 2019.
  23. ^ "Real, Vol. 8". Viz Media. Archived from the original on August 9, 2020. Retrieved November 29, 2019.
  24. ^ "REAL 9" (in Japanese). Shueisha. Archived from the original on November 30, 2020. Retrieved November 29, 2019.
  25. ^ "Real, Vol. 9". Viz Media. Archived from the original on August 10, 2020. Retrieved November 29, 2019.
  26. ^ "REAL 10" (in Japanese). Shueisha. Archived from the original on November 30, 2020. Retrieved November 29, 2019.
  27. ^ "Real, Vol. 10". Viz Media. Archived from the original on August 9, 2020. Retrieved November 29, 2019.
  28. ^ "REAL 11" (in Japanese). Shueisha. Archived from the original on November 30, 2020. Retrieved November 29, 2019.
  29. ^ "Real, Vol. 11". Viz Media. Archived from the original on August 10, 2020. Retrieved November 29, 2019.
  30. ^ "REAL 12" (in Japanese). Shueisha. Archived from the original on November 30, 2020. Retrieved November 29, 2019.
  31. ^ "Real, Vol. 12". Viz Media. Archived from the original on August 10, 2020. Retrieved November 29, 2019.
  32. ^ "REAL 13" (in Japanese). Shueisha. Archived from the original on November 27, 2020. Retrieved November 29, 2019.
  33. ^ "Real, Vol. 13". Viz Media. Archived from the original on August 4, 2020. Retrieved November 29, 2019.
  34. ^ "REAL 14" (in Japanese). Shueisha. Archived from the original on November 19, 2020. Retrieved November 29, 2019.
  35. ^ "Real, Vol. 14". Viz Media. Archived from the original on August 10, 2020. Retrieved November 29, 2019.
  36. ^ "REAL 15" (in Japanese). Shueisha. Archived from the original on November 18, 2020. Retrieved November 11, 2020.
  37. ^ "Real, Vol. 15". Viz Media. Archived from the original on September 1, 2021. Retrieved September 1, 2021.
  38. ^ "Real, Vol. 16". Viz Media. Retrieved July 8, 2025.
  39. ^ Loveridge, Lyenzee (November 3, 2013). "Inoue's REAL Manga Has 14 Million Copies in Circulation". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on November 10, 2013. Retrieved November 9, 2013.
  40. ^ 漫画『リアル』6年ぶり新刊19日に発売 井上雄彦氏が描く"車いすバスケ". Oricon (in Japanese). November 12, 2020. Archived from the original on November 11, 2020. Retrieved November 11, 2020.
  41. ^ Cayanan, Joanna (April 7, 2025). "Manga With Biggest 1st Printings from Kodansha, Shogakukan, Shueisha: 2024-2025". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on April 7, 2025. Retrieved April 8, 2025.
  42. ^ "Manga Division – 2001 [5th] Japan Media Arts Festival Archive". Japan Media Arts Festival. Archived from the original on February 3, 2022. Retrieved November 11, 2020.
  43. ^ "Flipped!: David Welsh On Takehiko Inoue's Basketball Comics Real And Slam Dunk". The Comics Reporter. Archived from the original on December 17, 2008. Retrieved February 16, 2023.
  44. ^ "Inoue keeps it Real". The Star Online. Archived from the original on June 4, 2011. Retrieved February 16, 2023.
  45. ^ Aoki, Deb. "2008 Best New Manga". About.com. Archived from the original on December 25, 2012. Retrieved February 16, 2023.
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