Manga artist Kentaro Yabuki, renowned for works like the "To Love Ru" series, "Black Cat," "Yamato Genso Ki," and "Ayakashi Triangle," has been in the industry for 28 years. While he currently doesn't have a serialized work, Yabuki-sensei remains beloved by many, especially for his unparalleled ability to draw female characters.
On July 23, Yabuki-sensei shared a heartwarming anecdote on his X (formerly Twitter) account about a recent hotel stay with his family, which quickly garnered an enthusiastic response from fans.
To his surprise, while staying at the hotel, Yabuki-sensei discovered a complete set of his manga, "Black Cat"—a work he created 25 years ago—on a bookshelf in the building! He posted, "I never expected to reunite with a 25-year-old work like this. It made me incredibly happy."
Overwhelmed with emotion, he left a handwritten note expressing his gratitude to the hotel. He also shared a photo of the note, which read:
"I am the author of 'Black Cat.' Thank you for the hotel's thoughtful service, like giving fireworks to my children and other warm gestures. Thank you for placing my manga on the bookshelf for guests to read." What's more, Yabuki-sensei drew an illustration of the protagonist, Train Heartnet, and signed it!
He even added a humorous postscript: "If the books on the shelf are ever rotated and this manga is removed, it's totally fine, I won't be too sad (lol)."
This heartwarming, "god-tier" response from the artist earned immense praise from fans: "Sensei is truly full of love!", "The staff who finds this is going to freak out lol", "That hotel is instantly becoming a pilgrimage site!", "Definitely a god-tier response ❤️".
Many fans were also surprised to realize that "Black Cat" is already 25 years old. This series was serialized in "Weekly Shonen Jump" for about five years and was Yabuki-sensei's first long-running work. Its unique world-building and character designs introduced many to his talent, with some characters even making appearances in his later work, "To Love Ru."
This incident truly highlights Yabuki-sensei's warm personality. A hand-drawn shikishi (illustration board) by a manga artist is an incredibly rare collectible, and this note might just become a permanent display at the hotel. As for his humorous remark about the manga being removed, it perfectly showcases his playful side!