Sunao Matsumoto (October 24, 1969 – July 15, 2004), known professionally as Sunao Yoshida (吉田直 ''Yoshida Sunao''), was a Japanese

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living writing novels and other fiction, while others aspire to ...

. He was born in

Fukuoka Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Fukuoka Prefecture has a population of 5,109,323 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 4,986 Square kilometre, km2 (1,925 sq mi). Fukuoka Prefecture borders S ...

and graduated from La Salle Junior and Senior High School in

Kagoshima , abbreviated to , is the capital city of Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. Located at the southwestern tip of the island of Kyushu, Kagoshima is the largest city in the prefecture by some margin. It has been nicknamed the "Naples of the Eastern wor ...

. He attended

Waseda University , abbreviated as , is a private university, private research university in Shinjuku, Tokyo. Founded in 1882 as the ''Tōkyō Senmon Gakkō'' by Ōkuma Shigenobu, the school was formally renamed Waseda University in 1902. The university has numerou ...

and earned a

Master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

from

Kyoto University , mottoeng = Freedom of academic culture , established = , type = National university, Public (National) , endowment = ¥ 316 billion (2.4 1000000000 (number), billion USD) , faculty = 3,480 (Teaching Staff) , administrative_staff ...

. Yoshida died of a lung blockage in 2004. Yoshida was known primarily for "Light novels," a category in Japanese publishing that includes youth-oriented stories, often featuring

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 ...

-style cover illustrations. In 1997, Yoshida was awarded the ''Sneaker Taisho'' literary prize for his

debut novel A debut novel is the first novel a novelist publishes. Debut novels are often the author's first opportunity to make an impact on the publishing industry, and thus the success or failure of a debut novel can affect the ability of the author to p ...

, ''Genocide Angel''. He was the author of the novel series ''

Trinity Blood is a series of Japanese light novels written by Sunao Yoshida with illustrations by Thores Shibamoto and originally serialized in ''The Sneaker''. Set 900 years after an apocalyptic war between humans and vampires, the series focuses on the ...

'', which was serialized in

Kadokawa Shoten , formerly , is a Japanese publisher and division of Kadokawa Future Publishing based in Tokyo, Japan. It became an internal division of Kadokawa Corporation on October 1, 2013. Kadokawa publishes manga, light novels, manga anthology magazines su ...

's ''

The Sneaker is a Japanese light novel magazine that was published by Kadokawa Shoten between 1993 and 2011. It was launched April 1993 then proceeded to be published monthly for most of its run. The magazine was aimed at a young adult male audience. It serial ...

'' magazine. The popularity of ''The Sneaker'' dropped significantly after Yoshida's death. The ''Trinity Blood'' series was published in North America by

Tokyopop Tokyopop (styled TOKYOPOP; formerly known as Mixx Entertainment) is an American distributor, licensor and publisher of anime, manga, manhwa and Western manga-style works. The German publishing division produces German translations of licensed J ...

. Two years after Yoshida's death, from January to October 2006, his home village of Ashiyamachi, Fukuoka, in conjunction with publishers

Gonzo Gonzo may refer to: People * Gonzo (nickname), a list of people with the nickname * Radislav Jovanov Gonzo (born 1964), Croatian music video director Radislav Jovanov, also known as Gonzo * Matthias Röhr (born 1962), German musician whose stage ...

and

Broccoli Broccoli (''Brassica oleracea'' var. ''italica'') is an edible green plant in the cabbage family (family Brassicaceae, genus ''Brassica'') whose large flowering head, stalk and small associated leaves are eaten as a vegetable. Broccoli is cl ...

, held a "Sunao Exhibit" to memorialize his achievements.

Gainax Gainax Co., Ltd. (stylized as GAINAX; ja, 株式会社ガイナックス, Hepburn romanization, Hepburn: ) is a Japanese anime studio famous for productions such as ''Neon Genesis Evangelion'', ''Royal Space Force: The Wings of Honnêamise, Roya ...

's scheduled project

Neppu Kairiku Bushi Road is a Japanese media franchise that was originally announced in 2003 by the title ''Neppu Kairiku Bushi Lord'' as a collaboration between the companies Gainax, Takara and Broccoli. After the death of story creator Sunao Yoshida in 2004 and the ...

was indefinitely delayed after his death, as he was supposed to be its world designer.Gainax Pages - Nepuu Kairiku Bushilord
/ref> The project was eventually taken over by

Kinema Citrus is a Japanese animation studio, founded on March 3, 2008, by former Production I.G and Bones members and based in Suginami, Tokyo. Its business directors are Muneki Ogasawara, Yuichiro Matsuka and Masaki Tachibana. Notable works include '' Tokyo ...

and

Orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower *Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum * ...

and completed in 2013.

Publications

*''Jenosaido Enjeru - Hangyaku Kamigami''. (Genocide Angel: Treason of the Gods) 1997. Kadogawa Shoten. *''Toriniti Burado Rage Against the Moons''. (Trinity Blood: Rage Against the Moons) six volumes, 2001-2004. Kadogawa Shoten. *''Toriniti Burado Reborn on the Mars''. (Trinity Blood: Reborn on Mars) six volumes, 2001-2003. Kadogawa Shoten. *''Toriniti Burado Reborn on the Mars "Kyokko no Kiba"''. (Trinity Blood: Reborn on Mars 7, Aurora's Tusk) unfinished.

References

4. Nguyen, Dominic. "Trinity Blood". (November 2006) ''Newtype USA''. p. 146. 20th-century Japanese novelists 21st-century Japanese novelists 1969 births 2004 deaths Writers from Fukuoka Prefecture {{Japan-writer-stub