Nasu Masamoto is a Japanese author of juvenile literature, who was born in 1942 Hiroshima. When he was 3 years old, he actually experienced the atomic bombing by America in 1945. He survived somehow, and made his debut into the juvenile literature world when he was 30 years old. He released the first volume of Zukkoke Trio in 1978 February. It got very popular and sold well. They serialized Zukkoke Trio with no hesitation, and the series kept on until 2004.
Zukkoke Trio's main characters are the three boys who belong to the sixth grade of elementary school: Hachibe, Hakase, and Mo-chan. Hachibe's real name is Hachiya Ryohei. He was born as an only son of a greengrocery. He's good at sports, but no good at learning. Hakase is Yamanaka Shotaro. He is well-informed and often called Hakase (Learnt Man). He always wears eye-glasses. Okuda San-kichi is Mo-chan's real name. He eats well, moves so slow, and looks overweight. But most love his character.
They had been the ageless boys who belong to the sixth grade of elementary school from 1978 to 2004. I can say they were just like Charlie Brown and Nobi Nobita. But there are no stories that have no ending. The last story made them graduate from elementary school where they had belonged to for a long time. And the fans looked after them thanks to their stories.
Next year, in 2005 December, Nasu Masamoto released Zukkoke Middle-aged Trio in return for the fans' messages. He made the Zukkoke Trio middle-aged in the story. Why? The first book was published in 1978 as mentioned above. If they were 12 years old in 1978, they would be 40 years old in 2006. And Nasu decided to describe the trio in midlife.
Hachibe in age 39 already closed his greengrocery, and worked as the general manager of a convenience store. Everyday just passes by and no reason to doubt it. He got married around 20, and his old wife is already out of his sight in sex drive. So he makes a secret approach to another woman in a bar.
Hakase had longed to be a curator, but gave it up and became a teacher of junior high school. However, he doesn't gain public favor in his workplace for some problem children. Working as a teacher is so hard and some colleagues left before reaching to the retirement age. Stay a teacher or quit? He stands at the crossroad.
How is Mo-chan? Actual reading gives you the answer. I'd like you to try it. Anyway, the three appeared before us again. It is said they had drifted farther and farther apart after the elementary school graduation. But somehow they happen to meet again by a trick of fortune. What will they do together? I suppose you can enjoy the tale even if you are unfamiliar with their elementary school days.
It got very popular, and the next volume (age 41) was out in 2006 December. The middle-aged trio were serialized and the series kept on until 2015. In the last story, the trio in age 50 appear. It means that they grew up in conjuction with reality.