is a Japanese

manga artist A manga artist, also known as a mangaka (), is a Cartoonist, comic artist who writes and/or illustrates manga. Most manga artists study at an art college or manga school or take on an apprenticeship with another artist before entering the indus ...

born in

Sumida, Tokyo is a Special wards of Tokyo, special ward in the Tokyo, Tokyo Metropolis in Japan. The English translation of its Japanese self-designation is Sumida City. As of 1 April 2025, the ward has an estimated population of 287,766 and a population dens ...

. He was invited with '' Spriggan'' story writer Hiroshi Takashige to go to a comic convention in

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

in 1996 as a guest of honor due to his work on ''Spriggan''. He worked on other manga comics before he went on to create ''

Project ARMS ''Project ARMS'', simply known in Japan as ''ARMS'', is a Japanese manga series written by Kyoichi Nanatsuki and illustrated by Ryoji Minagawa. It was serialized in Shogakukan's ''Weekly Shōnen Sunday'' from March 1997 to April 2002, with ...

'' with fellow manga artist, Kyoichi Nanatsuki. His first name is sometimes

transliterated Transliteration is a type of conversion of a text from one writing system, script to another that involves swapping Letter (alphabet), letters (thus ''wikt:trans-#Prefix, trans-'' + ''wikt:littera#Latin, liter-'') in predictable ways, such as ...

as Ryouji.

History

Minagawa was born in

.『漫画家人名事典』日外アソシエーツ、2003年、p.362、 He was the classmate of Masaomi Kanzaki when he was studying in high school. He made his manga debut with ''HEAVEN'' in 1988. From 1991 to 1996, he worked with fellow artist Hiroshi Takashige in working on the 11 volumes of '' Spriggan''. His work had brought him fame across North America and Europe. After work on ''Spriggan'' was complete, he went on to do ''Kyo'' in 1996, followed by the creation of ''ARMS'' from 1997 to 2002. In 1999, he received the 44th

Shogakukan Manga Award The is one of Japan's major manga are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is ...

s in the '' shōnen'' category for ''

''. In 2003, he created ''D-Live!!''. In December 2006, he had done work on a manga named ''S.O.L.'' He is currently attending to work on a new manga called '' Peacemaker'', serializing in ''Ultra Jump''. Subsequently, he has been working on another manga called ''ADAMAS'', which had been serialized in

Kodansha is a Japanese privately held publishing company headquartered in Bunkyō, Tokyo. Kodansha publishes manga magazines which include ''Nakayoshi'', ''Morning (magazine), Morning'', ''Afternoon (magazine), Afternoon'', ''Evening (magazine), Eveni ...

's Evening magazine. He said in an interview that he was inspired to be a manga artist when he watched films made by

George Lucas George Walton Lucas Jr. (born May 14, 1944) is an American filmmaker and philanthropist. He created the ''Star Wars'' and ''Indiana Jones'' franchises and founded Lucasfilm, LucasArts, Industrial Light & Magic and THX. He served as chairman ...

Francis Ford Coppola Francis Ford Coppola ( ; born April 7, 1939) is an American filmmaker. He is considered one of the leading figures of the New Hollywood and one of the greatest filmmakers of all time. List of awards and nominations received by Francis Ford Coppo ...

and

Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg ( ; born December 18, 1946) is an American filmmaker. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, Spielberg is widely regarded as one of the greatest film directors of all time and is ...

Known works

Manga

*''HEAVEN'' (1988): Original creator, also his debut manga. *'' Spriggan'' (1991–1996) : Art *'' Kyo'' (1996): Original creator *''

'' (1997-2002) : Original creator *'' D-Live!!'' (2003–2006): Original creator *'' S.O.L.'' (2006): Original creator *'' Intruder'': Original creator *''Peace Maker'' (2007): Original creator *''ADAMAS'' (2007): Original creator

TV

*''Project ARMS'' (TV: 2001) : Original creator *'' Kiddy Grade'' (TV: 2002–2003) : Eyecatch Illustration (ep 14)

Video games

*'' Critical Blow'' (PlayStation): Character Designer *'' Genei Tougi: Shadow Struggle'' (PlayStation): Character Designer *'' Live A Live'' (SNES): Character Designer ("Present Day" chapter) *''

'' (PlayStation 2): Original Artist *'' Spriggan: Lunar Verse'' (PlayStation): Original Creator *''

Tekken 5 is a 2004 fighting game developed and published by Namco for arcade game, arcades, before being ported to the PlayStation 2 in 2005. It is the fifth main game in the ''Tekken'' series, marking the tenth anniversary of the series. The game is set ...

'' (PlayStation 2):

Marshall Law ''Marshall Law'' is an Australian television series, which aired on the Seven Network in 2002, starring Lisa McCune and Alison Whyte as lawyers and sisters. History The show was originally conceived as a legal drama mixed with ''Ally McBeal' ...

and Lee Chaolan 3P Character Model Designer *''

Tekken 6 is a 2007 fighting game developed and published by Bandai Namco Games. It is the sixth main and seventh overall installment in the ''Tekken'' franchise. It was released on arcades in November 2007 as the first game running on the PlayStation ...

'' (PlayStation 3, Xbox 360): Roger Jr. 3P Character Model Designer *''

Tekken Tag Tournament 2 ''Tekken Tag Tournament 2'' is a 2011 fighting game, the eighth installment in the ''Tekken'' fighting game series and the sequel to ''Tekken Tag Tournament''. It was released for the arcade game, arcades in September 2011. It received an updat ...

'' (PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii U): Miguel Caballero Rojo 2P Character Model Designer *'' Tsukiyo ni Saraba'' (PlayStation 2): Character Designer

Other works

* Minagawa contributed an illustration for the '' Metal Gear Solid'' Premium Package edition released in Japan, which is featured in the ''Metal Gear Solid Classified'' booklet. The artwork depicts the six main members of FOXHOUND, the antagonists in the game.

References

External links

Official Site
(Archived from May 9, 2008) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Minagawa, Ryoji Ryōji Minagawa 1964 births Living people Manga artists from Tokyo People from Sumida