 In 1978, "Kinnikuman" almost won the 9th Akatsuka Award and then debuted in the 1979 #2 (December 1978) issue of Weekly Shōnen Jump.Although the editorial staff viewed it as a childish work that was popular, then editor-in-chief Shigeo Nishimura saw through this and headed for Osaka in order to persuade their parents into letting them become professional manga creators.At the time, both young men were already looking for jobs, but Nishimura promised to take care of them and even got them an apartment in Tokyo.