From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Naoki Urasawa (浦沢直樹, Urasawa Naoki
?, born January 2, 1960 in Tokyo, Japan[1])
is a Japanese manga artist.
Early
life
He graduated from Meisei University[1]
with a degree in economics. In 2008, Urasawa had a guest
teaching post at Nagoya Zokei University, where
he taught classes on manga. [2]
Mangaka
career
He made his professional manga debut with Return in 1981.[1]
Three of his series have been adapted into anime: Yawara! A Fashionable Judo
Girl, Master Keaton, and Monster.
He has received the Shogakukan Manga Award three
times, the Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize
twice, and the Kodansha Manga Award once. As a
storyteller, his most distinctive characteristics are his dense,
multi-layered, interconnecting narratives, his mastery of suspense,
clever homages to classic manga & anime and a frequent use of
German characters and
settings.
In 2008 the winner of the Pulitzer Prize for fiction Junot
Diaz praised Monster series and added that "Urasawa is
a national treasure in Japan."[3] In
December 2009 8th Viz Media released his Monster Box Set 1.[4]
Music
career
As a hobby Urasawa is also the vocalist and guitarist of a rock
band.[5] He
released his debut single Tsuki ga Tottemo... in 2008 and
his debut album Half Century Man in 2009.
Works
- Beta!!
- He made his professional debut in 1983 with Beta!!, a
gag one-shot.
- Yawara! A Fashionable Judo
Girl
- Urasawa's first official work and real breakthrough; published
from 1986 to 1993 (serialized in Big Comic Spirits, 1987-93),
this manga has 29 volumes in total. This judo romance comedy is about a female judo
champion who wants to have fun just like other girls, but her
strict grandfather wants her to triumph in tournaments.
Yawara! won the 35th Shogakukan Manga Award for
general manga in 1990.[6]
- Pineapple ARMY
- Published by Shogakukan from 1986 to 1988, this is a
side-work produced alongside Yawara!. Pinneaple
ARMY is composed of 10 volumes in total. The story was written
by Kazuya Kudou and the artwork is Urasawa's. The plot is about an
ex-military man who trains others to defend themselves on the
condition that he never gets involved... but eventually he always
does.
- Dancing Policeman
- Published by Shogakukan in 1987. This manga is only one
volume.
- Master
Keaton
- Just after Pinneaple ARMY and while writing
Yawara!, Urasawa began one of his most famous works,
Master Keaton. Master Keaton was published from
1988 to 1994 (serialized in Big Comic Original, 1988-94), and
consists of 18 volumes in total. Hokusei Katsushika worked with
Urasawa on it. The story revolves around a boy born to an English woman of
noble birth and a Japanese zoologist. After his parents'
divorce at the age of 5, Keaton moves to England with his mother.
As an adult, he studies archeology at Oxford
University, where he meets his future wife with whom he has a
daughter (Yuriko). However, they too divorce after five years.
Meanwhile, Keaton works as an operative/detective for Lloyd's of
London where he is known for his abilities he acquired as a
master sergeant in the SAS, as a veteran of the Falklands War, and
as one of the members of the Iran Embassy incident. These
experiences help him carry out his dangerous work as an insurance
investigator. Although he works at Lloyds, his dream is to excavate
an ancient civilization in a Danube basin.
- NASA
- Short story collection published in one volume by Shogakukan in
1988. A fantasy about a middle-aged office worker who trains every
day in order to become Japan's first astronaut. This work also
includes earlier short stories.
- Happy!
- Just after Yawara!, Urasawa began writing
Happy!, which began in 1993 and ended in 1999.
Happy! consists of 23 volumes in total. The copy from the
back of the first tankōbon reads: "Miyuki Umino was a senior in
high-school. Although Miyuki, her two younger brothers and her
younger sister were poor, they were happy living together. But, one
day all of a sudden her older brother's debt of 250 million yen
fell upon them. To pay back the debt Miyuki quit school. What was
the incredible choice she took to do this?".
- Monster
- In 1994, after finishing Master Keaton, Urasawa began
writing the manga which would become his most famous work:
Monster. He wrote Monster alongside
Happy!, with Monster ending in 2001.
Monster consists of 18 volumes in total and was serialized
in Big Comic
(1995-2001). Monster is licensed by Viz Media. The final volume was released in
December 2008. Monster won the Shogakukan Manga Award for
general manga in 2001.[6]
- Jigoro!
- Short story collection published in one volume by Shogakukan in
1994. It features four stories about Jigorou, Yawara's grandfather
(from Yawara!) during his younger years. It also includes
a samurai and a baseball story not related to
Yawara!.
- 20th
Century Boys (Nijusseiki Shōnen)
- In 1999, after finishing Happy!, Urasawa began the
all-popular 20th Century Boys. He wrote 20th Century
Boys alongside Monster for two years,
Monster ending in 2001. Urasawa has finished the series
after 22 volumes. The concluding chapters were released under the
title 21st Century Boys. It was licensed by Viz, however,
at Urasawa's request, its release was rescheduled until after
Monster finished its English serialization due to the
change in his art style over time. Publication in the US began in
February 2009. 20th Century Boys won Kodansha
Manga Award for general manga in 2001,[7]
an Excellence Prize at the 2002 Japan Media Arts Festival,
and the Shogakukan Manga Award for
general manga in 2003.[6]
- PLUTO
- Beginning in late 2003, PLUTO is a more realistic
retelling of a famous story by the late Osamu Tezuka. Its story is based on a
story arc of the original Astro Boy manga by Tezuka, "Chijō
saidai no ROBOTTO" ("The World's Strongest Robot").
Pluto received an Excellence Prize at the 2005 Japan Media Arts Festival and
the 2005 Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize
Grand Prize. The series ended in early 2009, at 8 volumes. "PLUTO"
has been licensed by Viz, and as of December, the first six volumes
have been released.
- Billy
Bat
- Thriller manga started in October 2008 that follows
Japanese-American comic book artist Kevin Yamagata as he draws the
popular detective series "Billy Bat". When he learns he may have
unconsciously copied the character from an image he saw while
serving in occupied Japan, he returns to Japan to get permission to
use Billy Bat from its original creator. Upon arriving there,
however, he becomes embroiled in a web of murder, cover-ups, and
prophecy that all leads back to Billy Bat.
- Mangari Michi
- Gag manga featuring the two mangakas that appeared in 20th
Century Boys. Started in July 2009.
Awards
References
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