Makoto Raiku
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, known by the pen name , is a
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 ...
known for creating the ''
Zatch Bell! ''Zatch Bell!'', known in Japan as , is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Makoto Raiku. It was serialized in Shogakukan's ''shōnen'' manga magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Sunday'' between January 2001 and December 2007, wit ...
'' franchise. Starting off an assistant for
Kazuhiro Fujita is a Japanese manga artist. He graduated from Nihon University. He made his professional manga debut in ''Weekly Shōnen Sunday'' in 1989. He is most famous for the manga '' Ushio & Tora'', for which he won Shogakukan Manga Award for shōnen in ...
on his manga ''
Ushio & Tora is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Kazuhiro Fujita. It was serialized in Shogakukan's ''shōnen'' manga magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Sunday'' from January 1990 to October 1996, with its chapters collected in thirty-three ' ...
'', he began creating several one-shots for the
Weekly Shōnen Sunday is a weekly ''shōnen'' manga magazine published in Japan by Shogakukan since March 1959. Contrary to its title, ''Weekly Shōnen Sunday'' issues are released on Wednesdays. ''Weekly Shōnen Sunday'' has sold over 1.8billion copies since 1986, ...
''shōnen'' manga anthology such as ''Bird Man'' (about a young
pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...
), ''Hero Ba-Ban'' (about a cheerful, but weak
superhero A superhero or superheroine is a stock character that typically possesses ''superpowers'', abilities beyond those of ordinary people, and fits the role of the hero, typically using his or her powers to help the world become a better place, ...
) and ''Genmai Blade'' (about a teenage medicinal
exorcist In some religions, an exorcist (from the Greek „ἐξορκιστής“) is a person who is believed to be able to cast out the devil or performs the ridding of demons or other supernatural beings who are alleged to have possessed a person, ...
, of which he created both a one-shot and a two-part story). By 1999, he had created the series ''Newtown Heroes'', which was published in '' Shōnen Sunday Super'', a seasonal publication featuring upcoming
manga artists 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 bef ...
and one-shots from the main ''Sunday'' book.


Biography


Debut

In 2001, Raiku started the manga series ''
Konjiki no Gash!! ''Zatch Bell!'', known in Japan as , is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Makoto Raiku. It was serialized in Shogakukan's Shōnen manga, ''shōnen'' manga magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Sunday'' between January 2001 and Decem ...
'', which began publication in
Shogakukan is a Japanese publisher of dictionaries, literature, comics (manga), non-fiction, DVDs, and other media in Japan. Shogakukan founded Shueisha, which also founded Hakusensha. These are three separate companies, but are together called the Hit ...
's ''
Weekly Shōnen Sunday is a weekly ''shōnen'' manga magazine published in Japan by Shogakukan since March 1959. Contrary to its title, ''Weekly Shōnen Sunday'' issues are released on Wednesdays. ''Weekly Shōnen Sunday'' has sold over 1.8billion copies since 1986, ...
'', and in 2003, inspired 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 ...
version (''Konjiki no Gash Bell!!'') produced by
Toei Animation () is a Japanese animation studio primarily controlled by its namesake Toei Company. It has produced numerous series, including ''Sally the Witch,'' ''GeGeGe no Kitarō,'' ''Mazinger Z'', ''Galaxy Express 999'', ''Cutie Honey'', ''Dr. Slump'', ' ...
. In English-speaking countries, both the manga and anime are known as ''Zatch Bell!''. In one chapter of the Konjiki no Gash Bell!! manga, Raiku makes an appearance with his own story, and also plays the role of Umagon's partner in the game, Konjiki no Gash Bell!!: Electric Arena (prior to the introduction of
Kafka Sunbeam The anime and manga series ''Zatch Bell!'', known in Japan as for the manga and for the anime, features an extensive cast created and illustrated by Makoto Raiku. The series takes place in Modern day Japan and follows a genius teenager name ...
). In 2003, ''Konjiki no Gash!!'' received the 48th
Shogakukan Manga Award The is one of Japan's major manga awards, and is sponsored by Shogakukan, Shogakukan Publishing. It has been awarded annually for serialized manga and features candidates from a number of publishers. It is the oldest manga award in Japan, being ...
in the Shōnen category.


Civil trial

In June 2008, Raiku brought a case against
Shogakukan is a Japanese publisher of dictionaries, literature, comics (manga), non-fiction, DVDs, and other media in Japan. Shogakukan founded Shueisha, which also founded Hakusensha. These are three separate companies, but are together called the Hit ...
to
Tokyo District Court is a district court located at 1-1-4 Kasumigaseki, Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan.Supreme Court of Japan websit東京地方裁判所の紹介Retrieved on August 7, 2011 See also *Judicial system of Japan The judiciary (also known as the judicial sys ...
because they lost five of his coloured works. He demanded 3,300,000 yen as compensation. According to the beginning of his statement, he decided to do it because he does not want publishers and their editors to look down on manga artists. In addition, Raiku was treated extremely badly for a long time. Moreover, the price of compensation represented by Shogakukan was only 500,000 yen. Raiku claimed that they had underestimated him too much. On July 28, 2008, they had their first public session. Shogakukan agreed they were responsible for the loss with a reservation on financial value of the lost works as it was not clear. Recommended by the judge, both parties agreed to
settle Settle or SETTLE may refer to: Places * Settle, Kentucky, United States * Settle, North Yorkshire, a town in England ** Settle Rural District, a historical administrative district Music * Settle (band), an indie rock band from Pennsylvania * ''S ...
the claim. After the case was settled, Makoto Raiku announced he would no longer do business with Shogakukan, and switched to
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 ...
. His first work for Kodansha was ''
Animal Land is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Makoto Raiku. The series follows a human baby abandoned by his mother who ends up in a world inhabited solely by animals and is raised by a tanuki (Japanese raccoon dog). It was original ...
'', which was serialized in '' Bessatsu Shonen Magazine''.


Self-Publishing

Raiku's third serialization, ''Vector Ball'', ran in Kodansha's ''
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 ...
'' from April 2016 until its abrupt end in March 2017, after Raiku refused to continue the story based on suggestions from his editor that he had previously agreed to follow. Over the next several years, he re-released his 3 serializations as ebooks, with both ''Konjiki no Gash!!'' and ''Animal Land'' receiving bonus content. In 2022, Raiku started a new manga studio, Birgdin Board, under which he had ownership of his previous manga. He began working on a new series, a sequel to ''Konjiki no Gash!!'' which was published online by Raiku and Birgdin Board starting in March 2022.


Works

*''Bird Man'' * * * * * * * * * *


Associated Manga Authors


Master

*
Kazuhiro Fujita is a Japanese manga artist. He graduated from Nihon University. He made his professional manga debut in ''Weekly Shōnen Sunday'' in 1989. He is most famous for the manga '' Ushio & Tora'', for which he won Shogakukan Manga Award for shōnen in ...


Fellow Assistants under Tanabe

*
Kazurou Inoue is a Japanese manga artist from Sano, Tochigi Prefecture. He received recognition for his manga at the 40th Rookie Comic Awards. After training under Kazuhiro Fujita, he published ''Heat Wave'' in '' Shōnen Sunday Super'' in 2001. He is most ...
*Tatsuya Kaneda *
Nobuyuki Anzai is a Japanese manga artist Best known for creating ''Flame of Recca'' and ''MÄR''. He was an assistant of Kazuhiro Fujita. He made his debut as a manga artist after he received an honorable mention in Shinjin Comic Taisho (Shogakukan Beginners ...


Raiku's Assistants

*
Yellow Tanabe is a Japanese manga artist. She was an assistant for Mitsuru Adachi and Makoto Raiku and made her debut in 2002 with the short story ''Lost Princess''. She is best known for the manga series '' Kekkaishi'', which has been adapted as an anime t ...
*Aiko Koyama *Youhei Sakai


References


External links

*
Birgdin Board website

Raiku Makoto's official blog (current)

Raiku Makoto's official blog (old)
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Raiku, Makoto Manga artists from Gifu Prefecture Living people 1974 births