Usamaru Furuya

Usamaru Furuya (古屋兎丸, Furuya Usamaru, born January 25, 1968 in Tokyo, Japan) is a Japanese manga artist. He graduated from Tama Art University where he majored in oil painting and developed an interest in sculpting and Butoh dance.

During elementary school, Furuya enrolled in the Osamu Tezuka Manga Correspondence Course and by the time he reached high school he had discovered a darker, more underground style. During college his work evolved from figurative to eventually dealing more with abstract shapes. In 1994 Furuya published his debut series Palepoli in Garo. After graduating from college, he initially planned to work as a full-time artist while doing illustrations on the side, but his manga became successful and his career blossomed.

Works

Manga

• Palepoli (パレポリ): Excerpted in Viz's defunct Pulp magazine and in Secret Comics Japan, also from Viz.
• Short Cuts (ショートカッツ): Licensed in English by Viz as Short Cuts.
• Garden
• Wsamarus 2001
• Marie no Kanaderu Ongaku (Marieの奏でる音楽): Licensed in French by Casterman as La Musique de Marie.
• Suicide Circle (自殺サークル): Licensed in French by Casterman as Le Cercle du Suicide.
• Donki Kōrin (鈍器降臨)
• π (パイ)
• Happiness (ハピネス)
• Lychee☆Hikari Club (ライチ☆光クラブ) (written by: Norimizu Ameya): Licensed in English by Vertical Inc as Lychee Light Club.
• Shōnen Shōjo Hyōryōki (少年少女漂流記)
• Kanojo wo Mamoru 51 no Hōhō (彼女を守る51の方法) (basis of Tokyo Magnitude 8.0): Licensed in English by CMX as 51 Ways To Save Her but never published due to the imprint's cancellation, and in French by Marvel Panini France as Tokyo Magnitude 8.
• Innosen Shōnen Jūjigun (インノサン少年十字軍)
• Genkaku Picasso (幻覚ピカソ): Licensed in English by Viz as Genkaku Picasso.
• Ningen Shikkaku (人間失格) (adaptation of No Longer Human by Osamu Dazai): Licensed in English by Vertical Inc as No Longer Human and in French by Casterman as Je ne suis pas un homme.

Illustrations

• Flowers

Films/Dramas

• ZOO (Screen Play, Storyboards, Character Designs)
• Noriko's Dinner Table (紀子の食卓) (Man in Coffee Shop)
• Ichiban Kirei na Mizu (いちばんきれいな水) (Original Work)
• Short Cuts (ショートカッツ) (Original Work)
• Love Exposure (愛のむきだし) (Miyanishi)

External links

• (Japanese) Usagi Hitori Club (Usamaru Furuya's Blog)
• (English) Usamaru Furuya Unofficial Web Site, Tokyo