The Development of Contender Cody

This is the development history of the Contender Cody. The whole text was derived from Fujima Kunisada's journal page and translated by 36u6s.

## Timeline of events

 **2018** | November
 **2020** | June
 October
 **2021** | January
 February

## Development and release

### 2017: New series inspiration

Early traces of the manga series was found in as early as late 2017. In his childhood, in elementary school, Kunisada has enjoyed reading shōnen manga, even action, adventure, fantasy, and science fiction manga. Ever since the first video games have came out, he has always enjoyed playing them, and it has also been his hobby ever since during his childhood. He grew fond of the franchise, and drew out his own creatures, and the characters with inspiration that he saw in the games, manga, and other media. After he graduated from high school, Kunisada met Maruko Jinko, creator of Crystal Jewels, and was also good friends with him. Jinko's speeches have encouraged him to create a manga series. Inspired by Dragon Ball, My Hero Academia, and other superhero-related manga and movies, he created his full debut work, *Let's Go! The BrawlBall Kids!*, a story of a 10-year-old boy who aims to become a BrawlBall champion, and adventures along with his friends and other associates.

The series was published in August of 2017. It was inspired by many anime and manga tropes and styles as well as video game references, and the series is known for it's overarching story. Kunisada stated "the story has it's touching moments. It also teaches the readers that giving up on your dreams won't be good for them. You must do your best, and fight every day." Despite the characters having simple designs due to Kunisada's poor art style at that time, the series reached a lot of viewers. A month later, when he heard about the author looking for an artist for a manga adaptation, Kunisada created another series called *Super Ninja SUPER WORLD*, a manga adaptation based on Super NInja, the video games series. That series was also published for Monthly BangBang Magazine in Japan. The reason why he decided to do the adaptation of Super Ninja is because he is influenced by ninjas and their lifestyles in the old age. Kunisada have stated "I've always understand the physical abilities of the ninjas. That really is outstanding". There were plans for the second story arc for the series, but before it happens, he ended the Super Ninja series because the qualities of the Super Ninja manga is complicated and he wanted to create a series of his own. The series he wanted to create is a shonen series, the *sword-themed one*.

Kunisada have stated, "I have always figured that I would make something interesting out of my imagination. This would also be an opportunity to come up with what I got in mind. I've always wanted to do a series about ninjas, but not a series based on another media". One day, he read more works containing ninjas in training, which have inspired him to do something new with his imagination, and gave him more elements to put in his new series. Kunisada is fascinated by ninjas and shurikens, so he decided to study about their skills and their abilities to give to his characters. His most favorite of their attacks are using throwing stars “shurikens” to attack their opponents. So within that inspiration, Kunisada decided to create a brand new series. "I've decided to make a new manga series. It's about a character who throws Shurikens as their signature move. I've always found it so fascinating!" He called the series ***Shuriken Warrior Koichi***, featuring a boy who wants to become the best ninja.

### 2018: New series prototype

Shuriken Warrior Koichi (Japanese:**手裏剣(しゅりけん)戦士(せんし)光一(こういち)** *The Shuriken Warrior Koichi*) is a prototype of *Shuriken Rantō Cryptoverse* by Fujima Kunisada in Japan. The prototype of the series was marked to be released in October 2018 and then created in about November 2018 in Japan. This early prototype is more traditional than the more sci-fi-themed series *Shuriken Rantō Cryptoverse.* Kunisada have stated "I've figured that the traditional style for my new manga would suit it very well due to it's plot structure." Before the series was decided, Kunisada have wondered what would it be like if the series is set in the old era. The story doesn’t suit him because he didn’t want to come up with a story that takes place in history of Japan. And he stated, "It is so hard learning what happened in the old days. I figured that I should make a *present-day story*." So he decided that the final idea that would be the setting of the whole series would be that the main story takes place in a present, but part of Japan have kept the past lifestyle. Such as the big ancient city, where most warriors live in. Kunisada have stated that he would be working on the full story for the series. When he did the very first draft of the series, he wanted to create some ordinary characters, such as Koichi (prototype of Koji Kiyoshi), intended to already be a ninja in training. Since then, Kunisada have begun to brainstorm this character.

At first, he wanted to make a story with a older character, who was already a ninja in the first place, who happens to be looking for the meaning of life and the reason for his existence in the era. However, he finds that a story with a much younger and more ordinary character would suit the audience very well. Kunisada have stated “I figured if I made a *young main character* who was struggling with his dreams, it would show great depth of his character”. The whole story, and all of the plots and important events take place entirely in Japan, setting in the present and partially the past. Kunisada have stated "I wanted to create a mysterious city that never evolves". He wanted to write the story where the main character from the city of Japan, who goes to junior high school. However, he mysteriously wandered to an old town from 500 years ago called "Star Bridge Town". He was kidnapped by masters of the town, and he was convinced that he has "the heart of will", the heart that is assigned to people by birth. Kunisada wanted to add the love interest that resembles Sora or Atashino. A little more is known about the female character, because Kunisada didn’t give her a name, so she is referred as “Haoa”.

The final main plot was that the boy named Koichi (no last name known), being a chosen one who has a secret item, which mysteriously sent him to the Star Tribe in "Star Bridge Town". He met a tall man, where he masters Shuriken in order to attack his enemies. The reason why he was sent to the Star Tribe was because legends say that anyone holding a rare Sharp Heart can be able to save the world, which Koichi was holding the Sharp Heart (which he have found in his room, given by his missing father). The Sharp Heart holds all kind of magic around the world that anyone can use. He appears to be accompanied by a girl without a name (a prototype of either Sora Nijiko or Aoha Atashino), who also appears to be his childhood friend, and sometimes a geeky friend, who has inventions carried with him. The task of Koichi and his friends are to gather all the 20 orbs around Japan, and Koichi's goal is to search for his father. The colors of the 20 orbs are red, blue, green, yellow, gold, silver, crystal, amethyst, ruby, sapphire, emerald, orange, jade, diamond, pearl, krypton, pink, esper, light, and black. (The orbs are also a prototype for the series). Along the way in his journey, he meets the white and blue giant dragon.

After they have found the 20 orbs all over Japan, they will be granted access to the Dojo Tower to find the Shuriken Master in order to challenge them. Koichi have won after he defeated the master with his Shuriken Techniques. Koichi would find that his father was the top Champion of the Dojo Tower, so he convinces him to come back to his family. The ending of the series would be that he becomes a Master of Shuriken. The ending also states that Koichi and the unnamed girl married in the future. The oneshot of the series was created in November, and it was intended to be released in Monthly BangBang Special Magazine. Kunisada planned to put an one shot into a full story. However, by time the series was completed, it wasn't released publicly in Japan, but more like Kunisada's personal work. Kunisada have stated, "the reason why I wouldn't publish this in the magazine is because this is the work I consider a draft. It's not an official release". It remained unpublished and it was never released in any magazine or tankobon for unknown reasons. However, a very few pages are yet to exist. One day, an accident at a studio occur, and majority of Kunisada's works of the series was caught on fire, which is a reason why none of the pages could be found. However, before it was remade, Fujima Kunisada scrapped the whole idea, and decided to take a break.

### 2019: New series confirmation

Since New Years Day in 2019, for a couple of months, Kunisada was taking a break from being a mangaka, even making his recent series into hiatus, until he heard an announcement from Maruko Jinko that there will be a spin off series from Crystal Jewels, and is looking for a new mangaka. Since Jinko and Kunisada have known each other for a couple of years, Kunisada have thought about it. "Working with a friend is like a dream to me. It's great to have someone cooperate into partnership!" Kunisada and Jinko have discussed the new manga series, and he told Kunisada that the series will be published in the Monthly BangBang Comics Magazine. Kunisada told Jinko that he accepted the offer because he have known about Crystal Jewels for several years.

Kunisada have finally announced that he will write a new shōnen manga for the Crystal Jewels adaptation. At first, he would make an adaptation of the anime series, Crystal Jewels Start! However, due to his artstyle, it would be unfortunate for him to create such an adaptation. Kunisada have stated "I have watchedCrystal Jewels since I was a kid. Since it was one of my favorite series to watch, I decided that doing a manga adaptation would make me very happy. I am glad to work with a friend like Maruko Jinko!" Then, another manga was brainstormed, where Kunisada's ideas include storylines that takes place after Kouchu's story in the anime. And since he was curious to see what the ending storyline was like, he was enlightened to take the offer. He and Ichigo would have a son named Koichi (another prototype of Koji Kiyoshi). However, for unknown reasons, the plan was changed. He decided to make a reboot version of Crystal Jewels, taking place from the beginning of the series, having Kouchu as the main character of the manga. However, the series did not make it through the final phrase for unknown reasons. Kunisada have stated, "I've never thought that making a adaptation of a Crystal Jewels anime would be hard. I read four series of the adaptation of the anime, but the storyline and plot are pretty awkward, doesn't make sense, or it's weird"

Kunisada somehow wanted to reboot the Shuriken Warrior Koichi series, but that option seemed to be impossible to do so due to inaccessibility. "I don't think it's possible to bring back Shuriken Warrior Koichi because I am not much into ancient and old era stuff anymore. I think I should create something more high tech and something with a more science-fiction tone. Maybe I should make something where all the elements combine into one!" In September of 2019, after *Let's Go! The BrawlBall Kids* ended, Kunisada decided that he will create another series, in the original format. Even ending of *Let's Go! The BrawlBall Kids!* have inspired him to create a new original series. And since all of his work were burn in an accident, he decided to work in a different studio. In the studio, he have written some drafts for the new series, causing the new Crystal Jewels manga productions to be cancelled. He combined elements from *Let's Go! The BrawlBall Kids!*, *Super Ninja SUPER WORLD*, and other shonen manga into one to create a more successful series.

### 2020: New series finalization

Kunisada wanted a more science-fiction genre, and realized that the traditional vibe does not suit well with him. However, before he offered Kunisada another series that he could work on, Jinko was sick and is unable to continue the franchise. However, after inspiration from all of his works, including many anime series and superhero movies, Kunisada accepted an offer to create his very own series. "I wanted to create something original. I want to create a setting where everything is in it's modern setting. The new series is called "Shuriken King", and it would be Kunisada's next work. It was planned to be released in April 3, 2020 in Japan for Monthly BangBang Magazine. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the planned release date for the chapter was postponed to later October 2020.

The name for the new manga series doesn't sound pleasant to Kunisada, so he have to come up with a new name. When he comes up with a new name for the series, Kunisada have thought about ninjas throwing shurikens, then superheroes throwing shurikens. Next, since it is a shonen manga, it would include lots of battles. Then, Kunisada have thought about a watch, which is a device that is used to controlling powers. Inside the watch would be the element krypton. Kunisada have thought a lot about krypton, and he wanted to create the big universe for the series. So therefore, he created the unique name for the manga, Cryptoverse (romanized contraction of **krypto**-n and uni-**verse**). Then, Kunisada's names for the manga series went by just Cryptoverse, Cryptoverse Adventures, and Cryptoverse Brawling Heroes. However, these titles are also scrapped before he came up with a final title. He came up with the name Cryptoverse for the part of the title because he have familiar interests with krypton.

The series finally came by, under a completely different title, which was called *Shuriken Rantō Cryptoverse,* (literally meaning *Shuriken Brawl Cryptoverse*) which have taken months for Kunisada to come up with. The title, Shuriken Rantō Cryptoverse, was created because the author, Kunisada, included the word, "Shuriken" to indicate that the main character throws Shuriken to attack, and the word, *"Cryptoverse"*, is a romanized Katakana contraction of "krypton universe" (from the element, krypton, used for light). The series can be sometimes abbrieviated as "SBCr", or "Kuribasu". So the series was greenly for production. At first, Kunisada thought that the series will released in Monthly BangBang Comics. But he likes the concept of Shuriken Rantō Cryptoverse so much that he wanted the weekly story to gain the reader's interest, son he confirmed that the series will run on Weekly BangBang Comics instead of the monthly release, like his previous works.

He revealed the logo for the upcoming manga series in June 2020, but he didn't even created a chapter or characters yet. He did revealed the logo, but for unknown reasons, it was changed on October 2020, with a more "rounded" style, in a different perspective and format. However, this series was meant to be the sequel to the previous series. However, Kunisada stated that he wanted the story to have "characters explore the world around learning more about life than adventure". In early November of 2020, Kunisada redesigned the character, and his name was Koji Kiyoshi instead of Koichi, and he has a original design before it was altered in the final piece. Kunisada has designed the characters, Koji, Saburo, and Sora, in December 2020 before the start of the series (which that design would be used for the Weekly BangBang Comics Cover). Kunisada also stated that he really enjoyed playing the role playing games all of these years that he have decided to make the series of his own, bringing the elements, and "turning them around to a new direction". At the end of 2020, Kunisada have begun brainstorming the first chapter draft. The series was advertised in the magazine by Issue 44, scheduled to be released in Weekly BangBang Comics, Issue 47.

### 2021: New series release

In New Years Day, Kunisada was in a middle of designing the first page draft, and he plans to release the final version of the first chapter by early February. In January of 2021, a month before the series' debut, Kunisada have already designed the very first page of the manga, which appears to have a slightly different design than the rest of the chapter covers, under a different and longer name. However, that wasn't changed in the finalized version of the manga. Koji's outfit was also changed for unknown reasons. Kunisada have stated "I should focus on the main character and his motive. The most important thing about the series is mainly the main character's struggle. If I would make any manga series with a character struggling to reach their goal, they would learn on their way to achieve it." Kunisada have wanted Koji to have a bright personality, and an empathic character.

Before the series was even released in the BangBang Comics magazine, which it was approved before, Kunisada have thought about different ideas for the manga series. At first, the story might begin where the main character Koji went over to befriend everyone at his new school, but since he doesn’t have a Crystal Monster yet, he gets made fun of. Kunisada have stated, "Some people believe that beginnings are easy, but they are absolutely not. Things goes wrong at first, you don't fit in with the new group, and they reject you. But if you try to believe in yourself, later, the situation wouldn't become much of a problem". The rest of the first idea is left unknown, which is why Kunisada wanted to start off introducing the Crystal Monsters, and the rest of the backstory of the Crystal World within the story. However, that didn’t get into the final piece of the manga either. Kunisada have stated that he named creatures and people "Crystal Monsters", and "Crystal Brawlers", because he is so familiar with Crystals that he thought that it would be a great idea to create the Crystal Ball. Since the whole universe is full of Crystal Balls all over, the universe is called the Crystal Universe, and the planet, Earth, is called the Crystal World.

Kunisada’s last idea was that Koji’s mother assigned him to Crystal Brawlers Junior High School, in which Koji is excited to go there. He thought that he should end the first chapter with Koji and Roakijushiku winning the battle against Darkslash, but instead he have made them lose the battle for some reason. The character outfits have to be altered, and their personalities also have to be altered. Koji, failing the exam, and being defeated by Darkslash have shown an example of what "character struggling" should be for Kunisada, and he wanted to see how the characters develop over the series. By the time the series was released in BangBang Comics in the fifth issue, many fans have begun to go through the series as they enjoy reading it. However, when he was working on the second chapter for the series, Kunisada didn't want to continue the function where people control the superpowers with the special watch. He thought about fusions by watching Dragon Ball Z Kai, and more anime. Kunisada have stated, "people wanted to see more character designs, so I think that fusion is a good thing. The fused characters will be mostly humans, not animals." The concept of fusion have been use since the second chapter of the series. From that point forward, Shuriken Rantō Cryptoverse have continued.

## References

* https://www.mangaboxers.com/the-backstory-of-sbcr
* https://www.historyofbbc.com/shuriken-warrior-koichi
* https://www.historyofbbc.com/Kunisada-design-origin
* https://www.historyofbbc.com/how-Kunisada-came-up-with-the-series