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 ...

. Among his most famous works is the

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...

series ''

Spirit of Wonder ''Spirit of Wonder'' is a Japanese anthology manga series written and illustrated by Kenji Tsuruta. It was serialized in Kodansha's ''seinen'' manga magazines ''Morning'' and ''Monthly Afternoon'' from 1986 to 1995. A single-episode origin ...

'', which has been adapted into 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 ...

series and brought him much acclaim.

Profile

During his formative years in university as a student of

optical science Atomic, molecular, and optical physics (AMO) is the study of matter-matter and light-matter interactions; at the scale of one or a few atoms and energy scales around several electron volts. The three areas are closely interrelated. AMO theory in ...

, Tsuruta, who had initially wanted to be a photographer, had been inspired by the works of numerous

authors, such as

Robert A. Heinlein Robert Anson Heinlein (; July 7, 1907 – May 8, 1988) was an American science fiction author, aeronautical engineer, and naval officer. Sometimes called the "dean of science fiction writers", he was among the first to emphasize scientific accu ...

, and manga artists, such as

Yukinobu Hoshino is a Japanese manga artist. Life He was born in Kushiro, Hokkaidō and dropped out of Aichi Prefectural University of Fine Arts and Music after two years of studying mid-semester from the fine arts department. He moved to Tokyo in order to pu ...

and his manga ''Sabertooth Tiger'', which had inspired him to create manga. He has also cited

Tetsuya Chiba is a Japanese manga artist famous for his sports stories. Chiba's works include ''Ashita no Joe'', his best known work, and ''Notari Matsutarō''. Many of his early titles are still in print due to continued popularity. Life He was born in Ch ...

and his manga among his inspirations. Soon after graduating, he wrote numerous

dōjinshi , also romanized as ', is the Japanese term for self-published print works, such as magazines, manga, and novels. Part of a wider category of '' doujin'' (self-published) works, ''doujinshi'' are often derivative of existing works and created ...

and was an assistant to numerous manga artists, prior to making his debut as a professional manga artist. In 1986, Tsuruta made his professional debut, authoring his first manga series, the short work, , which was serialized in

Kodansha is a Japanese privately-held publishing company headquartered in Bunkyō, Tokyo. Kodansha is the largest Japanese publishing company, and it produces the manga magazines ''Nakayoshi'', ''Afternoon'', ''Evening'', ''Weekly Shōnen Magazine'' an ...

's ''

Weekly Morning is a weekly Japanese seinen manga magazine published by Kodansha. It debuted in 1982 as . The digital edition of the magazine is titled . In 2006 a spin-off magazine called was launched (formerly bimonthly), featuring stories like ''Saint ''� ...

seinen is an editorial category of Japanese comics marketed toward young adult men. In Japanese, the word ''seinen'' literally means "youth", but the term "''seinen'' manga" is also used to describe the target audience of magazines like ''Weekly Ma ...

magazine, set in a world where the land was sinking into water. Tsuruta has cited that the inspiration to this debut work of his came during a train journey from Tokyo to the ocean at

Odawara is a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 188,482 and a population density of 1,700 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Geography Odawara lies in the Ashigara Plains, in the far western por ...

, during which he had seen numerous rice paddies and thought of the possibility of a train line passing through the ocean, after which he wanted to create a work where he could use this image. Soon after, Tsuruta authored ''

'', among his most famous works, in which he applied many of his inspirations, which was serialized in Kodansha's seinen magazines ''Weekly Morning'' and ''

Afternoon Afternoon is the time after solar noon. It is the time when the sun is descending from its peak in the sky to somewhat before its terminus at the horizon in the west. In human life, it occupies roughly the latter half of the standard work and s ...

'' between 1987 and 1996, and was later adapted into an anime series. After ''Spirit of Wonder'', Tsuruta wrote short manga works, and also illustrated numerous art books, which were quite successful. In 2002, he provided the character designs for the anime series '' Abenobashi Mahō Shōtengai'' and also illustrated its manga adaptation. In 2000 and 2001, Tsuruta received the 31st and 32nd

Seiun Award The is a Japanese speculative fiction award given each year for the best science fiction works and achievements during the previous calendar year. Organized and overseen by , the awards are given at the annual Nihon SF Taikai, Japan Science Fict ...

s for outstanding artist of the year. He has also received the

Hayakawa Award The is an annual poll conducted by '' Hayakawa's S-F Magazine'' for the best Japanese short story, illustrator, and foreign short story, voted by the readers from their issues in the previous year. The honor has been awarded since 1989. Award wi ...

for best illustrator, in 2000.

Works

Tankōbon

*''

'' (serialized in ''Morning'' and ''

'', 1986-1995) * *''

Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi is a Japanese anime television series created by Gainax, with animation produced by Gainax and Madhouse, and directed by Hiroyuki Yamaga. It was broadcast for thirteen episodes on Kids Station from April to June 2002. The series was licensed ...

'' (character designs, illustrator of manga) *''Forget-me-not'' * (anthology) * (original story:

Shinji Kajio is a Japanese author of science fiction and fantasy. The film '' Yomigaeri'' is based on Kajio's novel of the same name and he also co-wrote the manga series (2008) with Kenji Tsuruta (who additionally illustrated the series), which was serial ...

) * (licensed by

Dark Horse Comics Dark Horse Comics is an American comic book, graphic novel, and manga publisher founded in Milwaukie, Oregon by Mike Richardson in 1986. The company was created using funds earned from Richardson's chain of Portland, Oregon comic book shops known ...

) *''La Pomme Prisonnière'' (ポム・プリゾニエール, 2014)

Artbooks

* *''Eternal'' * * * (CD-ROM artbook)

Other works

* ''

The Sky Crawlers is a Japanese novel series by Hiroshi Mori (writer), Hiroshi Mori. First published by Chuōkōron-shinsha in June 2001 and spanning six books, it follows the journeys and tribulations of a group of young fighter pilots involved in dogfight w ...

'' (illustrations)

References

External links

Scientific Boys Club (certified fansite)
* https://web.archive.org/web/20001022104154/http://www.gainax.co.jp/special/tsuruta/tsuruta-e.html {{DEFAULTSORT:Tsuruta Kenji 1961 births Manga artists from Shizuoka Prefecture People from Hamamatsu Japanese illustrators Living people