was a

manga Manga ( Japanese: 漫画 ) 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 prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is ...

writing duo formed by Japanese

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 . They formed their partnership in 1951, and used the Fujiko Fujio name from 1954 until dissolution of the partnership in 1987, upon Fujimoto's illness. The pair was best known for their popular comedies, including ''

Obake no Q-Tarō is a Japanese manga series by Fujiko Fujio and later Fujiko F. FujioThe series was written under "Fujiko Fujio" initially. When Fujiko F. Fujio and Fujiko A. Fujio decided to separate, Fujiko F. Fujio took over this series. about the ...

'', '' Ninja Hattori-kun'', ''

Kaibutsu-kun is a shōnen manga and anime series by Fujiko A. Fujio named after its protagonist. The first series was broadcast on TBS from April 21, 1968 to March 23, 1969. The second series was broadcast on TV Asahi from September 2, 1980 to Sept ...

'', and ''

Doraemon ''Doraemon'' ( ja, ドラえもん ) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Fujiko F. Fujio. The manga was first serialized in December 1969, with its 1,345 individual chapters compiled into 45 ''tankōbon'' volumes and ...

'', the main character of which is officially recognized as a

cultural icon A cultural icon is a person or an artifact that is identified by members of a culture as representative of that culture. The process of identification is subjective, and "icons" are judged by the extent to which they can be seen as an authentic ...

of modern Japan. From the outset they adopted a collaborative style where both worked simultaneously on the story and artwork, but as they diverged creatively they started releasing individual works under different names, Abiko as , and Fujimoto as . Some influences of most of their projects are the works of acclaimed manga artist

Osamu Tezuka Osamu Tezuka (, born , ''Tezuka Osamu''; – 9 February 1989) was a Japanese manga artist, cartoonist, and animator. Born in Osaka Prefecture, his prolific output, pioneering techniques, and innovative redefinitions of genres earned him such ...

and many US

cartoon A cartoon is a type of visual art that is typically drawn, frequently animated, in an unrealistic or semi-realistic style. The specific meaning has evolved over time, but the modern usage usually refers to either: an image or series of imag ...

s and

comic book A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...

s—including the works of

Hanna-Barbera Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, Inc. ( ) was an American animation studio and production company which was active from 1957 to 2001. It was founded on July 7, 1957, by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera following the decision of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to c ...

Biography

Hiroshi Fujimoto and Motoo Abiko were both from

Toyama Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Toyama Prefecture has a population of 1,044,588 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 4,247.61 km2 (1,640.01 sq mi). Toyama Prefecture borders Ishikawa Prefecture to the ...

. Fujimoto was born on December 1, 1933, and Abiko on March 10, 1934. Abiko transferred to Fujimoto's elementary school in Takaoka City and happened to see Fujimoto drawing in a notebook. The two became lifelong friends, and during the early years of their friendship kept their illustrations hidden from friends and classmates out of embarrassment. In junior high school they were greatly influenced by

and his manga series '' Shin Takarajima''. Fujimoto built a homemade

episcope Episcope may refer to: *An opaque projector *The ministry of Oversight within various Christian Churches and in ecumenical dialogue. *An indirect vision device similar to a periscope used in armoured fighting vehicle An armoured fighting vehi ...

and together they wrote a piece for it called ''Tenküma'', which was their first collaborative work. They started submitting work to periodicals such as ''

Manga Shōnen was a monthly manga magazine published by Gakudōsha between December 1947 and October 1955. The magazine was important in forming and promoting shōnen manga in post-war Japan. Legacy The magazine was first published on 20 December 1947. ...

'' and opened a joint savings account through

Japan Post was a Japanese statutory corporation that existed from 2003 to 2007, offering postal and package delivery services, banking services, and life insurance. It's the nation's largest employer, with over 400,000 employees, and runs 24,700 pos ...

to which they both contributed funds and which they used to purchase art supplies. They divided all income and expenses equally between each other, a practice they continued throughout the life of their partnership. In high school they made their publishing debut, ''Tenshi no Tama-chan'' being adopted for serialization by ''Mainichi Shogakusei Shimbun'' in 1951. That same year they paid a visit to Tezuka's residence in

Takarazuka, Hyōgo 270px, Takarazuka City Hall 270px, Aerial view of Takarazuka city center The kanji (UTF-8 code FA1016), which is part of Takarazuka's official name (), is not available on all systems. (It can be entered in Wikipedia with HTML character & ...

and showed him illustrations for their work titled ''Ben Hur''. Tezuka complimented the two, some years later commenting that he knew then they were going to be major figures in the manga industry. Abiko and Fujimoto treasured the meeting with the respected Tezuka, and kept the ''Ben Hur'' illustrations for their entire lives. It was at this time they decided to make their partnership permanent, initially adopting the name Tezuka Fujio out of respect, later changing this to Azhizuka Fujio when they perceived adoption of the Tezuka name as too close to that of their idol. Because both Fujimoto and Abiko were eldest sons respectively, they decided to take company jobs after graduating from high school in 1952. Fujimoto found employment with a confectionery company, and Abiko began working for the Toyama Newspaper Company. However, Fujimoto suffered a workplace injury when an arm was caught in machinery, and he quit within a matter of days. Fujimoto then dedicated his time to submitting work to periodicals, with Abiko assisting him on the weekends. Their first serial as Ashizuka Fujio was terminated in a few episodes, followed by success with the post-apocalyptic science fiction series . They elected to move to Tokyo in 1954 as professional manga artists at Fujimoto's urging, Abiko only reluctantly as he had steady employment at the Toyama Newspaper Company. Their first place of residence was a two-

tatami A is a type of mat used as a flooring material in traditional Japanese-style rooms. Tatamis are made in standard sizes, twice as long as wide, about 0.9 m by 1.8 m depending on the region. In martial arts, tatami are the floor used for traini ...

mat room at the second floor of a watch shop. They eventually moved to the

Tokiwa-sō was an apartment building in Toshima, Tokyo, Japan famous for being the early living-quarters of many prominent manga artists. Description Tokiwa-sō was a Japanese style no-frills apartment building, two stories high, built of wood. It was one ...

apartment complex when Tezuka offered them a room that he was moving out of. Together with Hiroo Terada and several other manga artists of the period, they formed a collaborative group called . At the apartment complex where the group was based, they enjoyed a period of productivity that had Fujimoto and Abiko carry up to six serials a month for publication. Additionally, Abiko contributed to Tezuka's works as an artist assistant, such as drawing a blizzard on the last page of '' Jungle Emperor''. The workload proved excessive, and in 1955 on return to Toyama for

Japanese New Year The is an annual festival with its own customs. Since 1873, the official Japanese New Year has been celebrated according to the Gregorian calendar, on January 1 of each year, . However, some traditional events of the Japanese New Year are par ...

the pair missed all the deadlines for their serials. The loss of credibility with publishers hurt Fujimoto and Abiko for over a year, during which time they concentrated on solo projects, purchasing a television set in

Akihabara is a common name for the area around Akihabara Station in the Chiyoda ward of Tokyo, Japan. Administratively, the area called Akihabara mainly belongs to the and Kanda-Sakumachō districts in Chiyoda. There exists an administrative district ca ...

and making independent films with an 8mm camera. By 1959 they left ''Tokiwa-sō'' and eventually moved to Kawasaki in

Kanagawa Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Kanagawa Prefecture is the second-most populous prefecture of Japan at 9,221,129 (1 April 2022) and third-densest at . Its geographic area of makes it fifth-smallest. Kanag ...

. In the

1960s File:1960s montage.png, Clockwise from top left: U.S. soldiers during the Vietnam War; the Beatles led the British Invasion of the U.S. music market; a half-a-million people participate in the 1969 Woodstock Festival; Neil Armstrong and Buzz ...

Fujimoto and Abiko founded ''Fujiko Studio Co., Ltd.'', a joint manga production company. Fujimoto found time to get married in 1962, at the age of 28. In 1963 Fujimoto and Abiko established Studio Zero with Shin'ichi Suzuki, Shotaro Ishinomori, Jirō Tsunoda and Kiyoichi Tsunoda. Later

Fujio Akatsuka was a pioneer Japanese artist of comical manga known as the Gag Manga King. His name at birth is 赤塚藤雄, whose Japanese pronunciation is the same as 赤塚不二夫. He was born in Rehe, Manchuria, the son of a Japanese military poli ...

joined, and at its peak the studio employed about 80 people. The studio produced several animated films such as ''

Astro Boy ''Astro Boy'', known in Japan by its original name , is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Osamu Tezuka. It was serialized in Kobunsha's ''Shōnen'' from 1952 to 1968. The 112 chapters were collected into 23 '' tankōbon'' ...

''. For Fujimoto and Abiko these were some of their most productive years, resulting in series such as ''

'' which eventually were made into

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 on television. It was at this time that Abiko started making manga for a more mature audience, with titles such as ''Teresa Tang'' and ''Kuroi Salesman''. Abiko got married in 1966 at the age of 32. Fujimoto concentrated on titles for children, with a particular interest in science fiction. ''

'' was created in 1969 and immediately surged in popularity with children in Japan. ''

CoroCoro Comic is a Japanese monthly manga magazine published by Shogakukan, established on May 15, 1977. Its main target is elementary school-aged boys, younger than the readers of shōnen manga, shōnen manga. Several of its properties, like ''Doraemon'' and ...

'' released its first issue in 1977 to showcase the works of Fujiko Fujio. With syndication of Doraemon on

TV Asahi JOEX-DTV (channel 5), branded as (also known as EX and and stylized as TV asahi), is a television station that is owned and operated by the subsidiary of certified broadcasting holding company , itself controlled by The Asahi Shimbun Comp ...

in 1979, a surge of popularity saw up to a dozen collaborative and solo works by Fujimoto and Abiko picked up for publication and syndication throughout the 1980s. ''Doraemon'' is the only work by the duo to ever get an official release in English-speaking countries, most notably the United States. But English dubs of work such as Perman and Ninja Hattori-kun aired in Asia. In 1987, citing creative differences, Fujimoto and Abiko ended their long partnership to concentrate on solo projects. From now on, Abiko would work at ''Fujiko Studio K.K.'' and Fujimoto in ''Fujiko F. Fujio Pro K.K.'' Abiko adopted the pen name Fujiko A. Fujio, while his former partner wrote under the pseudonym Fujiko F. Fujio. Abiko concentrated on work incorporating more

black humor Black comedy, also known as dark comedy, morbid humor, or gallows humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally considered serious or painful to discu ...

while Fujimoto focused on works for tweens. According to Abiko, the cause for the dissolution of the partnership was due to Fujimoto discovering he had

liver cancer Liver cancer (also known as hepatic cancer, primary hepatic cancer, or primary hepatic malignancy) is cancer that starts in the liver. Liver cancer can be primary (starts in liver) or secondary (meaning cancer which has spread from elsewhere to th ...

and heart disease in 1986, and the desire of both Fujimoto and Abiko to settle issues of copyright and finances before Fujimoto's death in 1996. A documentary was aired on TV Asahi on February 19, 2006, chronicling the life and times of Fujiko Fujio. A Fujiko F. Fujio museum opened in

Kawasaki, Kanagawa is a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, one of the main cities of Greater Tokyo Area and Keihin Industrial Area. It is the second most populated city in Kanagawa Prefecture after Yokohama, and the eighth most populated city in Japan (includin ...

on September 3, 2011, which features a reproduction of Fujio's studio and a display of their artwork. Fujimoto died from liver failure in

Shinjuku is a special ward in Tokyo, Japan. It is a major commercial and administrative centre, housing the northern half of the busiest railway station in the world ( Shinjuku Station) and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, the administration ...

on September 23, 1996. Abiko died at his home in Kawasaki on April 7, 2022.

Awards

* 1963 –

Shogakukan Manga Award The is one of Japan's major manga awards, and is sponsored by 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 given since ...

for ''Old Song'' and ''Tebukuro Tecchan'' * 1981 – Kawasaki City's * 1982 –

for children's manga * 1989 – * 1989 – * 1997 – The first

Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize Named after Osamu Tezuka, the is a yearly manga prize awarded to manga artists or their works that follow the Osamu Tezuka manga approach founded and sponsored by Asahi Shimbun. The prize has been awarded since 1997, in Tokyo, Japan. Curre ...

Grand Prize

Works

Fujiko Fujio's works

Fujiko F. Fujio's works

Fujiko A. Fujio's works

Notes

References

Citations Bibliography *

External links

Yahoo! カテゴリ – 漫画家藤子不二雄リンク切れ

at The Ultimate Manga Guide

at The Ultimate Manga Guide

at The Ultimate Manga Guide
Fujiko F. Fujio Museum
in Tama Ward , Kawasaki {{DEFAULTSORT:Fujio, Fujiko 1933 births 1996 deaths 1934 births 2022 deaths Fujiko Fujio Collective pseudonyms Manga artists from Toyama Prefecture People from Toyama Prefecture Pseudonymous artists