{"rewrite":{"id":"r_80869dcf7af61d9673301175","clusterId":"c_92e0af541825403a68631577","slug":"hiroya-oku-confirms-he-drew-thunder-3-under-pen-name-yuki-ikeda","model":"deepseek-v4-1-flash","headline":"Hiroya Oku Confirms He Drew Thunder 3 Under Pen Name Yuki Ikeda","summary":"Hiroya Oku confirmed on social media Thursday that he created the Thunder 3 manga under the pen name Yuki Ikeda. He said the pen name kept a first-chapter surprise intact for new readers, one that the Oku name would have lessened. The series launched in Kodansha's Monthly Shonen Magazine in May 2022, entered its climax in January 2025, went on hiatus that March over Ikeda's health, returned in February, and ended on June 5.","whyItMatters":"The reveal reclassifies Thunder 3 as an Oku work from its 2022 launch, an authorship the pen name was chosen to hide, at a point when the series has already ended and Oku has said he plans to retire after Kanrekihime.","webCardHtml":"\u003cp\u003eThe Gantz creator said on social media Thursday that he wrote Thunder 3 as Yuki Ikeda to preserve a first-chapter surprise for first-time readers, which the Hiroya Oku name would have lessened. Ikeda launched the series in Kodansha\u0026#39;s Monthly Shonen Magazine in May 2022. It entered its climax in January 2025 and went on hiatus that March over Ikeda\u0026#39;s health, returned in February, and ended on June 5. Kodansha published the 10th volume on August 17; Kodansha USA shipped the eighth on February 10. An anime premiered on Fuji TV\u0026#39;s +Ultra block on July 8 and streams on Netflix.\u003c/p\u003e","blueskyPost":"Thunder 3 now sits as the only major Hiroya Oku work from the start of a run to its end under a name that was not his, since Yuki Ikeda carried the serialization from May 2022 through the June 5 finale.","twitterPost":"Yuki Ikeda carried Thunder 3 from its May 2022 launch to the June 5 finale. Hiroya Oku's name was not on any of it.","threadsPost":"Hiroya Oku watched Thunder 3 run from May 2022 to its June 5 finale under Yuki Ikeda, including the January 2025 climax and the health hiatus. The pen name was not a trick on readers. It was Oku deciding the work needed to be read without him.","newsletterBlurb":"Hiroya Oku confirmed on social media Thursday that he created Thunder 3 under the pen name Yuki Ikeda, saying the alias kept a first-chapter surprise intact for new readers. The series ran in Kodansha's Monthly Shonen Magazine from May 2022 until June 5, with a hiatus in 2025 over Ikeda's health. Kodansha USA publishes it in English, and an anime streams on Netflix.","attributionJson":"[{\"source\":\"Anime News Network\",\"url\":\"https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2026-09-26/gantz-creator-hiroya-oku-confirms-he-drew-thunder-3-manga-under-pen-name-yuki-ikeda/.242219\",\"title\":\"Gantz Creator Hiroya Oku Confirms He Drew Thunder 3 Manga Under Pen Name Yuki Ikeda\"}]","lintFlagsJson":null,"lintHits":0,"costUsd":0,"inputTokens":4534,"outputTokens":711,"status":"published","repairAttempts":0,"nextRepairAt":null,"factsAttemptedAt":1791086362,"createdAt":"2026-10-04T03:56:01.000Z","publishedAt":"2026-10-04T03:58:20.000Z","updatedAt":"2026-10-04T03:58:20.000Z"},"cluster":{"id":"c_92e0af541825403a68631577","canonicalTitle":"News\nGantz Creator Hiroya Oku Confirms He Drew Thunder 3 Manga Under Pen Name Yuki Ikeda","representativeArticleId":"a_a9fa5d573632ed3a5b47ea15","sourceCount":1,"writtenSourceCount":1,"writeAttempts":0,"isSolo":true,"entitiesJson":"{\"anime_titles\":[],\"manga_titles\":[\"Thunder 3\",\"Gantz\",\"Inuyashiki\",\"GIGANT\"],\"work_titles\":[],\"studios\":[],\"people\":[\"Hiroya Oku\",\"Yuki Ikeda\"],\"type\":\"news\",\"domain\":\"manga\",\"is_roundup\":false}","contentType":"news","status":"published","firstSeenAt":"2026-09-27T01:03:41.000Z","lastSeenAt":"2026-09-27T01:03:41.000Z","updatedAt":"2026-10-04T03:58:20.000Z"},"attribution":[{"source":"Anime News Network","url":"https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2026-09-26/gantz-creator-hiroya-oku-confirms-he-drew-thunder-3-manga-under-pen-name-yuki-ikeda/.242219","title":"News\nGantz Creator Hiroya Oku Confirms He Drew Thunder 3 Manga Under Pen Name Yuki Ikeda"}],"entities":{"anime_titles":[],"manga_titles":["Thunder 3","Gantz","Inuyashiki","GIGANT"],"work_titles":[],"studios":[],"people":["Hiroya Oku","Yuki Ikeda"],"type":"news","domain":"manga","is_roundup":false},"keyFacts":null}