, né , was 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 ...

cartoonist A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in both drawing and writing cartoons (individual images) or comics (sequential images). Cartoonists differ from comics writers or comics illustrators/artists in that they produce both the litera ...

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles, genres and techniques to communicate ideas, to inspire feelings and emotions, or to entertain. Writers may develop different forms of writing such as novels, short sto ...

and director. Known as the "King of Manga" (漫画の帝王 (''Manga no Teiou)'' or 漫画の王様 (''Manga no Ousama)''), he is regarded as one of the greatest and most influential manga artists of all time. Outside of manga he is also one of the most prolific creators in the history of

anime is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...

, , and Japanese superhero fiction, creating several immensely popular long-running series such as '' Cyborg 009,'' the ''

Super Sentai The is a Japanese superhero team media franchise consisting of television series and films produced by Toei Company and Bandai, and aired by TV Asahi. The shows are of the '' tokusatsu'' genre, featuring live action characters and colorfu ...

'' series (later adapted into the ''

Power Rangers ''Power Rangers'' is an American media franchise created by Haim Saban, Shuki Levy and Shotaro Ishinomori built around a live-action superhero television series, based on the Japanese tokusatsu franchise ''Super Sentai''. It is currently ow ...

'' series which Ishinomori has also been credited for co-creating), and the ''

Kamen Rider The , also known as ''Masked Rider Series'' (until ''Kamen Rider Decade, Decade'' and except Thailand), is a Japanese superhero fiction, superhero media franchise consisting of tokusatsu television programs, films, manga, and anime, created by ...

'' series. He was twice awarded by the

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 1968 for '' Sabu to Ichi Torimono Hikae'' and in 1988 for ''Hotel'' and ''Manga Nihon Keizai Nyumon''. He was also known as prior to 1986, when he changed his family name to Ishinomori by adding the character in

katakana is a Japanese syllabary, one component of the Japanese writing system along with hiragana, kanji and in some cases the Latin script (known as rōmaji). The word ''katakana'' means "fragmentary kana", as the katakana characters are derived fr ...

Career

In December 1954, Ishinomori published his first work, ''Nikyuu Tenshi'', in '' Manga Shōnen''. In 1956, he moved to Tokyo and became an assistant to

Osamu Tezuka Osamu Tezuka (, born , ''Tezuka Osamu'', – 9 February 1989) was a Japanese manga artist, cartoonist and animator. Considered to be among the greatest and most influential cartoonists of all time, his prolific output, pioneering techniques an ...

. During his time working under Tezuka, Ishinomori worked on ''

Astro Boy ''Astro Boy'', known in Japan as , 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 volumes by Akita Shoten. Da ...

'' and '' Alakazam the Great''. In 1960, Ishinomori published '' Flying Phantom Ship'', which was later turned into an animated feature film in 1969. '' Cyborg 009'', created in 1963, became the first superpowered hero team created in Japan, featuring nine

cybernetic Cybernetics is the transdisciplinary study of circular causal processes such as feedback and recursion, where the effects of a system's actions (its outputs) return as inputs to that system, influencing subsequent action. It is concerned with ...

warriors. That same year, Kazumasa Hirai and Jiro Kuwata created Japan's first android

superhero A superhero or superheroine is a fictional character who typically possesses ''superpowers'' or abilities beyond those of ordinary people, is frequently costumed concealing their identity, and fits the role of the hero, typically using their ...

series, '' 8 Man'' (which predated Ishinomori's '' Kikaider'' by nine years). The success of the superhero TV series ''

'', produced by

Toei Company , simply known as Toei Company or Toei, is a Japanese entertainment company. Headquartered in Ginza, Chūō, Tokyo, it is involved in film and television production, distribution, video game development, publishing, and ownership of 34 movi ...

in 1971, led to the birth of the "transforming" (''henshin'') superhero (human-sized superheroes who transform by doing a pose, and use

martial arts Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defence; military and law enforcement applications; combat sport, competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; ...

to fight henchmen and the weekly monster), and resulted in many sequel shows to this day. Ishinomori then created many similar superhero dramas, which were once again all produced by Toei or in Sarutobi Ecchan's case

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. Slu ...

, including '' Android Kikaider'', ''

Kikaider 01 (Pronounced as ''Kikaider Zero One''), is a tokusatsu superhero TV series, and a sequel series to '' Android Kikaider''. Produced by Toei Company and Ishimori Productions, it was broadcast on NET (now TV Asahi) from May 12, 1973 to March 30, 19 ...

'', ', '' Inazuman'', '' Robotto Keiji'', '' Himitsu Sentai Gorenger'' (the first

series), '' Kaiketsu Zubat'', '' Akumaizer 3'', '' Sarutobi Ecchan'', the '' Toei Fushigi Comedy Series'', and countless others. He created popular children's shows, such as '' Hoshi no Ko Chobin'' (''Chobin, Child of the Stars'', 1974, a co-production with Studio Zero which was a major success on Italian television) and '' Ganbare!! Robokon''. In 1963, he founded the anime company Studio Zero. From 1967 to 1970, the manga '' 009-1'' was serialized in the Futabasha publication ''Weekly Manga Action''. It was written and illustrated by Ishinomori. There was a television drama of it in 1969 and eventually an anime in 2006. Ishinomori's art is reminiscent of that of his mentor, Osamu Tezuka. The true story of his first meeting with Tezuka was illustrated in a short four-page tale drawn up as supplementary material for the 1970s ''

'' manga reprints. In 1954, Ishinomori submitted his first official work, ''Nikyu Tenshi'', to a contest seeking new talent in the magazine, ''Manga Shōnen''. Tezuka was impressed by his drawings and sent a telegraph to Ishinomori, asking him to work as his assistant with ''Astro Boy''. In the American release, this story can be seen in Volume 15, along with Ishinomori's earliest work on the "Electro" story arc. After graduating from high school in 1956 Ishinomori moved to Tokiwa-so with Tezuka, and lived there until the end of 1961. Ishinomori illustrated a comic adaptation of the Super NES video game '' The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past'', which was produced for the American publication ''

Nintendo Power ''Nintendo Power'' was a video game news and strategy magazine from Nintendo of America, first published in July/August 1988 as Nintendo's official print magazine for North America. The magazine's publication was initially done monthly by Ninte ...

''. The comic consisted of 12 chapters, which were serialized from January 1992 (Volume 32) to December 1992 (Volume 43). The comic was republished as a graphic novel collection in 1993, and, as of 2015, is back in print through

Viz Media Viz Media, LLC is an American entertainment company headquartered in San Francisco, California, focused on publishing manga, and distribution and licensing Japanese anime, films, and television series. The company was founded in 1986 as Viz, ...

. He has been credited for some work with the ''

'', including videos, video games, the 1996 video of a Mighty Morphin Power Rangers World Tour Live on Stage event and the Power Rangers Zeo, Power Rangers Turbo and Power Rangers in Space tv series. At the end of 1997, Kazuhiko Shimamoto, a young and up-and-coming manga artist was contacted by an increasingly ill Ishinomori and asked if he would do a continuation, though more along the lines of a remake, of his 100-page, one-shot manga from 1970, '' Skull Man'', the manga that became the basis for ''Kamen Rider''. Ishinomori, who had been one of Shimamoto's boyhood heroes, faxed him copies of the proposed story and plot notes. Shimamoto was astounded that he had been chosen to work on his idol's final, great work. Shimamoto had already been involved in the revival of one of Ishinomori's other earlier works (including ''Kamen Rider'') but little did he dream that, as only one of many whom Ishinomori had inspired, he would be chosen for the final collaboration and resurrection of '' Skull Man''. It was also adapted into an anime in 2007.

Death and legacy

Ishinomori died of lymphoma and heart failure on 28 January 1998, just three days after his 60th birthday. His final work was the superhero TV series, '' Voicelugger'', televised in 1999. In 2000, the

Kamen Rider series The , also known as ''Masked Rider Series'' (until '' Decade'' and except Thailand), is a Japanese superhero media franchise consisting of tokusatsu television programs, films, manga, and anime, created by manga artist Shotaro Ishinomori. ''Ka ...

was revived with '' Kamen Rider Kuuga''. All of the series made in the Heisei era onwards credit Ishinomori as the creator. In 2001, Ishinomori Manga Museum named in his honor opened in Ishinomaki, Miyagi. Special trains in the Senseki Line were commissioned featuring his artwork generally leading to the museum. His work posthumously awarded him the Guinness World Record for most comics published by one author, totaling over 128,000 pages across 770 titles across 500 volumes. His influence, particularly on superhero media, is such that he has often drawn comparisons as being the manga counterpart to both

Stan Lee Stan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber ; December 28, 1922 – November 12, 2018) was an American comic book author, writer, editor, publisher, and producer. He rose through the ranks of a family-run business called Timely Comics which later bec ...

and

Jack Kirby Jack Kirby (; born Jacob Kurtzberg; August 28, 1917 – February 6, 1994) was an American comics artist, comic book artist, widely regarded as one of the medium's major innovators and one of its most prolific and influential creators. He grew ...

. Many manga artists have cited Ishinomori as an influence, including

Katsuhiro Otomo is a Japanese Mangaka, manga artist, screenwriter, animator, and film director. He first rose to prominence as a pioneer founder of the New Wave (manga), New Wave in the 1970s. He is best known as the creator of ''Akira (franchise), Akira'', bo ...

Naoki Urasawa is a Japanese manga artist and musician. He has been drawing manga since he was four years old, and for most of his professional career has created two series simultaneously. The stories to many of these were co-written in collaboration with hi ...

Go Nagai , better known by the pen name , is a Japanese manga artist and a prolific author of Japanese science fiction, science fiction, fantasy, Japanese horror, horror, and erotica. He made his professional debut in 1967 with ''Meakashi Polikichi'', b ...

, Kazuhiko Shimamoto, Keiko Takemiya, Moto Hagio, Taiyo Matsumoto, Tetsuya Chiba and Tetsuo Hara. Takemiya called him the 'flag-bearer of our time'. Hagio cited his influence on her drawing technique, stating that his images were 'truly marvelous'. One of Tezuka's former assistants, Shigeto Ikehara, stated Ishinomori to be one of the two cartoonists that Tezuka was ever truly jealous of (the other being Otomo). Ikehara stated that while Tezuka felt that he could not draw in a more realistic style than Otomo, with Ishinomori, he felt that he could not beat him with an Ishinomori-style manga. In a variation of ' The Top 100 Historical Persons in Japan' poll held in 2006, asking for the 'Greatest Geniuses in History', Ishinomori ranked 79th. The only other mangaka on this list were Osamu Tezuka and Fujiko F. Fujio. Fuku Suzuki portrays a young Ishinomori in '' Saber + Zenkaiger: Superhero Senki''.

Selected works

References

The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction ''The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction'' (''SFE'') is an English language reference work on science fiction, first published in 1979. It has won the Hugo Award, Hugo, Locus Award, Locus and BSFA Award, British SF Awards. Two print editions appea ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ishinomori, Shotaro 1938 births 1998 deaths Anime character designers Deaths from lymphoma in Japan Manga artists from Miyagi Prefecture Toei Animation Winners of the Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize (Special Award) Japanese television show creators

Career

Death and legacy

Selected works

References

External links