is a Japanese

manga artist A is a comic artist who writes and/or illustrates manga. As of 2006, about 3,000 professional manga artists were working in Japan. Most manga artists study at an art college or manga school or take on an apprenticeship with another artist be ...

. In 2005, Wakui launched his first manga series, ''

Shinjuku Swan is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Ken Wakui. It was serialized in Kodansha's ''Weekly Young Magazine'' from 2005 to 2013, with its chapters collected in thirty-eight ''tankōbon'' volumes. It was adapted into a Japanese te ...

'', which performed well and received multiple adaptations. Following its success, Wakui launched ''

Tokyo Revengers is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Ken Wakui. It was serialized in Kodansha's ''Weekly Shōnen Magazine'' from March 2017 to November 2022, with its chapters collected in 30 ''tankōbon'' volumes as of November 2022. A ...

'' in 2017, which has also performed well.

Biography

After being fired from his first job, during his high school years, Wakui often spent time with street gangs. However, he later found work as a bar host and eventually graduated from high school. In 2004, Wakui entered ''

'' into the Weekly Young Magazine Newcomer Award, where it earned an honorable mention. The next year, it began serialization in ''

Weekly Young Magazine is a Japanese weekly anthology magazine published in Tokyo each Monday by Kodansha. The magazine was started on June 23, 1980 and is targeted at the adult male ( ''seinen'') demographic. It was published bimonthly (under the title ), on the seco ...

'', where it ran until 2013. The series performed well and earned a jury recommendation at the 12th

Japan Media Arts Festival The Japan Media Arts Festival is an annual festival held since 1997 by Japan's Agency for Cultural Affairs. The festival begins with an open competition and culminates with the awarding of several prizes and an exhibition. Based on judging by ...

. It was also adapted into two live-action films, which were released in May 2015 and January 2017. In March 2017, Wakui launched ''

'' in ''

Weekly Shōnen Magazine is a weekly ''shōnen'' manga anthology published on Wednesdays in Japan by Kodansha, first published on March 17, 1959. The magazine is mainly read by an older audience, with a significant portion of its readership falling under the male high ...

''. The series quickly became popular and won the

Kodansha Manga Award is an annual award for serialized manga published in the previous year, the event is sponsored by the publisher Kodansha. It is currently awarded in three categories: '' shōnen'', '' shōjo'', and general. The awards began in 1977, initially w ...

in the '' shōnen'' category in 2020. It has also received multiple adaptations, notably an

anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...

television series and a live-action film.

Works

* (2005–2013) (serialized in ''

'') * ''Abaddon'' (2010–2012) (serialized in ''Weekly Young Magazine'') * (2014–2015) (serialized in ''Weekly Young Magazine'') * (2015–2016) (serialized in ''

'') * (2017–2022) (serialized in ''Weekly Shōnen Magazine'')

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wakui, Ken Living people Manga artists Winner of Kodansha Manga Award (Shōnen) Year of birth missing (living people)