Genre Action Published by Shogakukan Magazine Weekly Shōnen Magazine | Written by Ikki Kajiwara Demographic Shōnen | |
Illustrated by Jiro Tsunoda
Jōya Kagemaru | ||
Karate Master (空手バカ一代, Karate Baka Ichidai, lit. "A Karate-Crazy Life") is a Japanese manga drawn by Jiro Tsunoda and Jōya Kagemaru, with the story written by Ikki Kajiwara. The story was inspired by the life of the real life martial artist Mas Oyama.
The manga was published in Weekly Shōnen Magazine between 1971 and 1977, and accumulated in 29 tankōbon volumes. The anime television series was produced by Tokyo Movie and aired Wednesdays, from 19:30 to 20:00, on NET from October 3, 1973 to September 25, 1974, totaling 47 episodes.
The manga was first adapted into a live-action film by Toei as Karate Baka Ichidai, which was released on 14 May 1977 (the English release title was Karate for Life). It was directed by Kazuhiko Yamaguchi and starred Shin'ichi ("Sonny") Chiba. The two-part film, Shin Karate Baka Ichidai: Kakutōsha, which was directed by Takeshi Miyasaka and released in 2003 and 2004 to commemorate the seventeenth anniversary of Kajiwara's death, is often treated as an adaptation of the manga, but its direct source is a book by Hisao Maki, Kajiwara's younger brother.
The anime is now available on Hulu (in the U.S.) under the name Karate Master. Discotek Media has licensed the anime for home video release in North America.
Reception
The success of the manga and the anime are often credited for producing a "karate boom" in Japan in the early 1970s.