Back in the Saddle Again

“

I found Toshi Arakino's Back in the Saddle Again quite interesting. It's a shame the art quality is so poor. (ぼくは、荒木之利くんの『鞍にかえろう』がおもしろかった。絵がへたなのが残念。)

Boku wa, Arakino Toshi-kun no "Kura ni Kaerō" ga omoshirokatta. E ga heta na no ga zannen.

”

—Norihiro Nakajima, Weekly Shonen Jump 1978 Issue #26

Back in the Saddle Again (鞍にかえろう, Kura ni Kaerō) is a Japanese shonen manga one-shot manuscript written and illustrated by Hirohiko Araki. It was mentioned in the 1978 Issue #26 of Weekly Shonen Jump as a final candidate for the April 1978 Young Jump Award.

Araki submitted the work using the pen name Toshi Arakino (荒木之 利, Arakino Toshi).

Summary

Back in the Saddle Again was a story written by Araki when he was eighteen years old. While no visuals and plot details are known, it was potentially another western inspired work due to the title. As it did not win the Young Jump Award, its contents were never released to the public. Norihiro Nakajima, who was a judge for the Young Jump Award at the time, stated that he enjoyed the story but found the art to be poor.

Gallery

• 
  Back in the Saddle Again among other Young Jump Award submissions
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  Young Jump Award comments
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  Comment from Norihiro Nakajima
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  Weekly Shonen Jump 1978 Issue #26

Trivia

• The namesake of the story is likely "Back in the Saddle Again" by Gene Autry, due to the song's inclusion on the soundtrack for the movie Semi-Tough. The movie itself was featured on one of Araki's movie lists, and a single release of the song came out in March 1978. Additionally, Gene Autry's fame as a cowboy entertainer might also have influenced this choice.