| Pineapple Army | |
 Firsttankōbon volume cover | |
| パイナップルARMY (Painappuru Āmī) | |
|---|---|
| Genre | |
| Manga | |
| Written by | Kazuya Kudo |
| Illustrated by | Naoki Urasawa |
| Published by | Shogakukan |
| English publisher | |
| Magazine | Big Comic Original |
| Original run | 1985 –1988 |
| Volumes | 8(List of volumes) |
Pineapple Army (Japanese:パイナップルARMY,Hepburn:Painappuru Āmī) is a Japanesemanga series written by Kazuya Kudo and illustrated byNaoki Urasawa. It was serialized inShogakukan's magazineBig Comic Original from 1985 to 1988, with the individual chapters collected into eighttankōbon volumes.Viz Media licensedPineapple Army for English release in North America in the early 1990s, but left it incomplete.
The series stars Japanese-American Jed Goshi (ジェド・豪士), a formerUnited States Marine who served in theVietnam War. After leaving the marines he fought all over the world as amercenary, before retiring in 1979. Now living in New York, he makes a living training others in combat. Goshi does not discriminate against those he trains, whether itsBengali militiamen, salarymen, or four little girls.
Pineapple Army is written by Kazuya Kudo and illustrated byNaoki Urasawa.Takashi Nagasaki came up with the premise of the manga, but Urasawa tried to add humor because he found it "difficult".[2] It initially takes place in New York, but because the editor believed the magazine's main demographic was male, the setting changes to Europe at a certain point.[3]
Written by Kazuya Kudo and illustrated by Naoki Urasawa,Pineapple Army was serialized in the magazineBig Comic Original from 1985 to 1988. It is Urasawa's first major work and he would go on to drawYawara! simultaneous with it. The individual chapters were collected into eighttankōbon volumes byShōgakukan between March 29, 1986, and July 30, 1988.[4][5] A six-volumebunkoban edition was published between November 17, 1995, and March 16, 1996.[6][7]
In 1988,Viz Media began publishingPineapple Army in English in a chapterly comic book format. These had new cover art drawn in a drastically different art style by an unknown artist.[1] But the run was unsuccessful and cancelled after ten issues were released. Although, one graphic novel collecting them was also published with an afterword byJames D. Hudnall.[1] The manga is also licensed in France byGlénat,[8] in Spain byPlaneta DeAgostini Comics, and in Sweden by Epix Förlag.[9]
| No. | Japanese release date | Japanese ISBN |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | March 29, 1986[4] | 4-09-181081-0 |
| 2 | April 30, 1986[10] | 4-09-181082-9 |
| 3 | October 30, 1986[11] | 4-09-181083-7 |
| 4 | February 28, 1987[12] | 4-09-181084-5 |
| 5 | May 30, 1987[13] | 4-09-181085-3 |
| 6 | September 30, 1987[14] | 4-09-181086-1 |
| 7 | May 30, 1988[15] | 4-09-181087-X |
| 8 | July 30, 1988[5] | 4-09-181088-8 |
Manga criticJason Thompson stated thatPineapple Army was a modest success in Japan, but failed in America. He speculated that Viz's decision to commission new covers by an unknown artist drawn in a "Dave McKean-style" might have been misleading when the reader opened them and saw little girls throwing hand grenades.[1] In 2012, Thompson said thatPineapple Army was his least favorite Urasawa work available in English. While the art is good, he felt the artist had not developed his own style yet and showed too much of hisKatsuhiro Otomo influence. Thompson largely compared it toGolgo 13 (which Kudo previously wrote for) with its self-contained mercenary stories, but stated that the chapters are much shorter and thus feel rushed.[1] In France,Pineapple Army was nominated for Best Scenario at the 2025Japan Expo Awards.[16]