Editing Eyeshield 21 (section)

== Production ==
Before the series was published regularly, Riichiro Inagaki and Yusuke Murata published two [[one-shot (comics)|one-shot]]s called {{nihongo4|''Eyeshield'' Part 1|前編|Zenpen}} and {{nihongo4|Part 2|後編|Kōhen}} on March 5 and 12, 2002, in ''[[Weekly Shōnen Jump]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://j-books.shueisha.co.jp/db/gensakulist.html|script-title=ja:作家データベース/原作者リスト|trans-title=Author's Database/Original Work's List|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101001033922/http://j-books.shueisha.co.jp/db/gensakulist.html|archive-date=October 1, 2010|publisher=[[Jump (magazine line)#Jump J-Books|Jump J-Books]]|language=ja}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|journal=[[Weekly Shōnen Jump]]|publisher=[[Shueisha]]|script-title=ja:アイシールド21 前編|trans-title=Eyeshield 21 Part 1|author1=Inagaki, Riichiro|author2=Murata, Yusuke|date=March 5, 2002|issue=14|language=ja|pages=143–178}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|journal=[[Weekly Shōnen Jump]]|publisher=[[Shueisha]]|script-title=ja:アイシールド21 後編|trans-title=Eyeshield 21 Part 2|author1=Inagaki, Riichiro|author2=Murata, Yusuke|date=March 12, 2002|issue=15|language=ja|pages=113–142}}</ref> When it would become a serial, the editorial department asked if Inagaki wanted to both write and draw the series, but Inagaki felt he was "so rookie",<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www7a.biglobe.ne.jp/~reach/notelog/200704/note-20070417.htm|archive-url=https://archive.today/20090408084921/http://www7a.biglobe.ne.jp/~reach/notelog/200704/note-20070417.htm|archive-date=April 8, 2009|script-title=ja:モネ展(下)|date=April 17, 2007|author=Inagaki, Riichiro|publisher=Kome Studio|access-date=June 8, 2013|language=ja}}</ref> so he asked Murata to be the illustrator. Before being asked to work on ''Eyeshield 21'', Murata had read some of Inagaki's manga and noted that they "had many cool design concepts of uniforms and equipment". He said, "it could be turned into a great manga story" and he would "be happy to take the challenge"; eventually he was chosen.<ref name="ann"/>

During ''Eyeshield 21''{{'}}s original run in the magazine, Inagaki went to the United States to see [[college football]] matches,<ref>{{cite book|last1=Inagaki|first1=Riichiro|last2=Murata|first2=Yusuke|title=Eyeshield 21, Volume 9|year=2006|publisher=[[Viz Media]]|isbn=978-1-4215-0638-8|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/eyeshield21vol9h0000inag}}</ref> and [[National Football League]] games.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Inagaki|first1=Riichiro|last2=Murata|first2=Yusuke|title=Eyeshield 21, Volume 31|year=2010|publisher=[[Viz Media]]|isbn=978-1-4215-2927-1}}</ref> Despite having never played American football, Inagaki chose this theme after deciding that he wanted to create "a protagonist that was wimpy at the beginning, yet could perform outstandingly in a sports game", and with this premise in mind he decided that American football would be "a very suitable material".<ref name="ann">{{cite web|url=http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/interview/2009-08-20/interview-riichiro-inagaki-and-yusuke-murata-creators-of-eyeshield-21|title=Interview: Riichiro Inagaki & Yusuke Murata, Creators of Eyeshield 21|author=Chang, Chih-Chieh|date=August 20, 2009|website=[[Anime News Network]]|access-date=October 10, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140331051858/http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/interview/2009-08-20/interview-riichiro-inagaki-and-yusuke-murata-creators-of-eyeshield-21|archive-date=March 31, 2014|url-status=live}}</ref> When originally creating ''Eyeshield 21'', Inagaki said he was wary because he did not want his manga becoming "a simulator of football".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www7a.biglobe.ne.jp/~reach/notelog/200604/note-20060419.htm|script-title=ja:プレーチャート|trans-title=Play chart|author=Inagaki, Riichiro|date=April 19, 2006|publisher=Kome Studio|language=ja|archive-url=https://archive.today/20080824220610/http://www7a.biglobe.ne.jp/~reach/notelog/200604/note-20060419.htm|archive-date= August 24, 2008}}</ref> The fact that football is not a popular sport in Japan also worried Inagaki. As last resort, he thought to turn the series into a "''[[Kamen Rider]]''-style masked hero story" if it could not met the popularity required for the magazine.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.otakuusamagazine.com/Newsletter/News1/Riichiro_Inagaki_Interview_5429.aspx|title=Riichiro Inagaki Interview|date=January 6, 2014|work=[[Otaku USA]]|publisher=Sovereign Media|access-date=January 13, 2014|author1=O'Mara, Sean|author2=Schley, Matt|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140114140456/http://www.otakuusamagazine.com/Newsletter/News1/Riichiro_Inagaki_Interview_5429.aspx|archive-date=January 14, 2014|url-status=live}}</ref> However, it was such a popular series that online commentators said that, considering the series' final length, the editors may have insisted that ''Eyeshield 21'' be kept going due to business reasons. However, Inagaki declared that the manga was "exactly how [he] wanted to tell the story" and that Murata also seconded it.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/feature/2019-11-27/interview-dr-stone-creators-riichiro-inagaki-and-boichi/.153475|title=Interview: Dr. Stone Creators Riichiro Inagaki and Boichi|author=Rattray, Tim|date=November 27, 2019|website=[[Anime News Network]]|access-date=November 30, 2019|archive-date=December 2, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201202072509/https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/feature/2019-11-27/interview-dr-stone-creators-riichiro-inagaki-and-boichi/.153475|url-status=live}}</ref>