Yoshihiro Togashi

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search
In this Japanese name, the family name is Togashi.
Yoshihiro Togashi
Born Togashi Yoshihiro
冨樫 義博
April 27, 1966 (1966-04-27) (age 43)
Yamagata Prefecture, Japan
Nationality Japanese
Occupation Manga artist
Known for YuYu Hakusho
Hunter × Hunter
Spouse(s) Naoko Takeuchi

Yoshihiro Togashi (冨樫 義博 Togashi Yoshihiro?, born April 27, 1966 in Yamagata Prefecture[1]) is a Japanese manga artist. He began drawing manga at an early age and, during college, was recognized for his talent by publisher Shueisha. Togashi has authored numerous manga series in different genres during the past three decades. He is perhaps best known for writing and illustrating YuYu Hakusho and Hunter × Hunter series, both of which have been published in the popular Weekly Shōnen Jump magazine. Togashi is married to Naoko Takeuchi, who is also a manga artist.

Contents

[edit] Biography

[edit] Early life

Togashi was born in Shinjō, Yamagata.[1] Togashi began drawing manga casually in his first to second year of elementary school.[2] In high school, Togashi joined the fine arts club and was later enrolled at Yamagata University where he studied education in hopes of becoming a teacher.[1] During college, he submitted some of his manga work to the publisher Shueisha.[1] In 1986, at age 20, he authored a manga titled Buttobi Straight (ぶっとびストレート?) for which he received the Tezuka Award, the most prestigious award for new comic artists in Japan.[3][2][4] Another manga by Togashi titled Jura no Miduki (ジュラのミヅキ?) was as an honorable mention in Shueisha's annual Hop Step Award Selection magazine in 1987.[5] He began his professional career as a manga artist with Shueisha shortly thereafter.

[edit] Career

Some of Togashi's earliest published works for Shueisha include Ōkami Nante Kowakunai!! (狼なんて怖くない!!?, lit. I'm Not Afraid of the Wolf!!), a collection of comedy manga short stories. Some of the the stories were published in Weekly Shōnen Jump prior to a tankōbon release in 1989. Between 1989 and 1990, Togashi authored Ten de Shōwaru Cupid (てんで性悪キューピッド?, lit. Altogether Wicked Cupid), a four volume ecchi-romance manga involving the affairs of a normal boy who meets and then gets stuck befriending a beautiful devil girl.

In 1990, Togashi made a name for himself with his next series YuYu Hakusho (幽☆遊☆白書?, lit. Poltergeist Report). Based on his interests in the occult and horror films, the plot features the character Yusuke Urameshi, a dead boy with an attitude and a high level of spiritual energy who eventually returns to life and spends his time defeating demons in the human world. The manga, which lasted 175 chapter over 19 tankōbon from 1990 to 1994, would go on to sell 44,000,000 copies in Japan, earn Togashi a Shogakukan Manga Award in 1994, and receive a hit anime adaptation.[6][7] In 1995, he created Level E (レベルＥ?), a science fiction manga depicting a fantastic universe in which extraterrestrials draw an innocent human into their rather strange intrigues. Comprised of three volumes, it was first published in Weekly Shōnen Jump in 1995 and ran until 1997.[8][9][10]

Togashi began his next major series Hunter × Hunter (ハンター×ハンター?), an action-adventure manga which began serialization in 1998. The story revolves around the protagonist Gon Freecss, a bright-eyed, good-hearted boy with talent who wishes to become a "Hunter", a person with fearsome skills who bend all their formidable attention towards reaching a specific goal. Hunter × Hunter also performed very well commercial, with the first 20 volumes selling nearly 37,000,000 copies in Japan as of June 2007.[6] The series, though still ongoing, has taken numerous breaks in recent years, the first of which was due to Togashi falling ill.[11][12][13][14] It's most recent hiatus began on December 3, 2008, but it is set to continue in January 2010.[15]

Togashi also created a series called Trouble Quartet (トラブル・カルテット?), an adult sports manga with homosexual characters and cross-dressing. Shueisha decided to not publish the comic in Weekly Shōnen Jump.[16] It was instead published by Wani Magazine in 1998.[17]

[edit] Personal life

Togashi is married to Sailor Moon creator Naoko Takeuchi.[1][3] The two were introduced at a party hosted by Kazushi Hagiwara in August 1997. The following year, Takeuchi assisted Togashi for short time by adding screentone to his manga Hunter × Hunter.[18] Togashi and Takeuchi were married on January 6, 1999. In attendence for the ceremony were several fellow manga artists and voice actors from both the Sailor Moon and YuYu Hakusho anime series.[19] The couple has one son.[2] The two have since collaborated on a children's book titled Oobo— Nu— Tochiibo— Nu— (おおぼーぬーとちぃぼーぬー?), which Takeuchi wrote and Togashi illustrated.[20]

Togashi enjoys board game-style video games and bowling with his family. He also likes watching horror movies, and considers his favorites to be Joyû-rei (Don't Look Up) and Dawn of the Dead. Togashi cites visual effects designer H. R. Giger as a major influence.[2]

[edit] Works

[edit] Manga

  • Sensēha Toshishita!! (1986, later featured in Ten de Shōwaru Cupid Volume 4)[21]
  • Jura no Miduki (1987, featured in Hop Step Award Selection Volume 1)[5]
  • Ōkami Nante Kowakunai!! (1989, tankōbon published by Shueisha)
    • Buttobi Straight (1987)
    • Tonda Birthday Present (1987, published in Weekly Shōnen Jump)
    • Occult Tanteidan (1988 - 1989, two parts published in Weekly Shōnen Jump)
    • Horror Angel (1988, published in Weekly Shōnen Jump)
    • Ōkami Nante Kowakunai!! (1989, published in Weekly Shōnen Jump)
  • Ten de Shōwaru Cupid (1989 - 1990, serialized in Weekly Shōnen Jump)
  • YuYu Hakusho (1990 - 1994, serialized in Weekly Shōnen Jump)
  • Level E (1995 - 1997, serialized in Weekly Shōnen Jump)
  • Trouble Quartet (1998, published by Wani Magazine)
  • Hunter × Hunter (1998 - ongoing, serialized in Weekly Shōnen Jump)

[edit] Other

  • Official Hunter × Hunter Guide (2004, published by Shueisha)[22]
  • YuYu Hakusho Who's Who Underworld Character Book (2005, published by Shueisha)[23]
  • YuYu Hakusho Illustrations (2005, published by Shueisha)[24]
  • Oobo— Nu— Tochiibo— Nu— (2005, published by Kodansha)

[edit] References

 This article contains Japanese text. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of kanji and kana.
  1. ^ a b c d e "Vol.13［巻頭インタビュー］冨樫義博 [Vol.13 The First Page Interview Yoshihiro Togashi]" (in Japanese). Yamagata River and National Highway Office. http://web.archive.org/web/20050426022307/http://www.thr.mlit.go.jp/yamagata/u-zen/013/13_p01.html. Retrieved 2009-12-17. 
  2. ^ a b c d Togashi, Yoshihiro (2003). "Interview: Yoshihiro Togashi". Shonen Jump (San Francisco, CA: Viz Media) 1 (5). ISBN 0-71486-01847-6. 
  3. ^ a b "SHONEN JUMP: Yoshihiro Togashi". Shonen Jump. http://shonenjump.viz.com/whatisjump/jumpartist/index.php?bid=15. Retrieved 2009-12-05. 
  4. ^ Togashi, Yoshihiro (October 1989). 狼なんて怖くない!! [Ōkami Nante Kowakunai!!]. 1. Shueisha. p. 145. ISBN 4-08-871336-2. 
  5. ^ a b ホップ☆ステップ賞 Selection [Hop Step Award Selection]. 1. Shueisha. March 15, 1987. p. 69. 
  6. ^ a b Michiko (May 6, 2007). "The Rise and Fall of Weekly Shōnen Jump: A Look at the Circulation of Weekly Jump". ComiPress. http://comipress.com/article/2007/05/06/1923. Retrieved 2008-02-28. 
  7. ^ "小学館漫画賞：歴代受賞者 [Shogakukan Manga Award: Past winners]" (in Japanese). Shogakukan. http://comics.shogakukan.co.jp/mangasho/rist.html. Retrieved 2007-08-19. 
  8. ^ "レベルE／1 [Level E/1]" (in Japanese). Shueisha. http://books.shueisha.co.jp/CGI/search/syousai_put.cgi?isbn_cd=4-08-872071-7&mode=1. Retrieved 2009-12-05. 
  9. ^ "レベルE／2 [Level E/2]" (in Japanese). Shueisha. http://books.shueisha.co.jp/CGI/search/syousai_put.cgi?isbn_cd=4-08-872072-5&mode=1. Retrieved 2009-12-05. 
  10. ^ "レベルE／3 [Level E/3]" (in Japanese). Shueisha. http://books.shueisha.co.jp/CGI/search/syousai_put.cgi?isbn_cd=4-08-872073-3&mode=1. Retrieved 2009-12-05. 
  11. ^ "Hunter X Hunter on Hiatus". Anime News Network. November 16, 2005. http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2005-11-16/hunter-x-hunter-on-hiatus. Retrieved 2009-12-05. 
  12. ^ "Hunter X Hunter Interupted". Anime News Network. February 12, 2006. http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2006-02-12/hunter-x-hunter-interupted. Retrieved 2009-12-05. 
  13. ^ "Hunter X Hunter Manga Put on Hold in Japan Again". Anime News Network. February 10, 2007. http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2007-12-10/hunter-x-hunter-manga-put-on-hold-again. Retrieved 2009-12-05. 
  14. ^ "Hunter X Hunter Manga to Restart on October 6". Anime News Network. August 27, 2008. http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2008-08-27/hunter-x-hunter-manga-to-restart-on-october-6. Retrieved 2009-12-05. 
  15. ^ "Hunter X Hunter Manga to Reportedly Return on January 4". Anime News Network. November 11, 2009. http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2009-11-11/hunter-x-hunter-manga-to-reportedly-return-on-january-4. Retrieved 2009-12-05. 
  16. ^ Togashi, Yoshihiro (May 2003). YuYu Hakusho. 1. Viz Media. p. 187. ISBN 1-56-931904-9. 
  17. ^ "Amazon.co.jp： トラブル・カルテット (ワニマガジンコミックス): まんだ 林檎: 本 [Trouble Quartet (Wani Magazine Comics)]" (in Japanese). Amazon.com. http://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/4898293379/. Retrieved 2009-12-06. 
  18. ^ Takeuchi, Naoko (January 1999). "武内直子姫の社会復帰ぱーんち！！(Round 2) [Princess Naoko Takeuchi's Return to Society Punch!! (Round 2)]" (in Japanese). Young You (Shueisha). 
  19. ^ Takeuchi, Naoko (March 1999). "武内直子姫の社会復帰ぱーんち！！(Round 4) [Princess Naoko Takeuchi's Return to Society Punch!! (Round 4)]" (in Japanese). Young You (Shueisha). 
  20. ^ "おおぼーぬーとちぃぼーぬー [Oobo— Nu— Tochiibo— Nu—]" (in Japanese). Kodansha. http://shop.kodansha.jp/bc2_bc/search_view.jsp?b=3245365. Retrieved 2009-12-06. 
  21. ^ てんで性悪キューピッド [Ten de Shōwaru Cupid]. 4. Shueisha. March 24, 1994. p. 169. ISBN 4-08-871674-4. 
  22. ^ "HUNTER×HUNTERハンター協会公式発行ハンターズ・ガイド [Official Hunter × Hunter Guide]". Shueisha. http://books.shueisha.co.jp/CGI/search/syousai_put.cgi?isbn_cd=4-08-873701-6&mode=1. Retrieved 2009-12-06. 
  23. ^ "幽・遊・白書　公式キャラクターズブック　霊界紳士録｜冨樫　義博／（株）樹想社 [YuYu Hakusho Who's Who Underworld Character Book]" (in Japanese). Shueisha. http://books.shueisha.co.jp/CGI/search/syousai_put.cgi?isbn_cd=4-08-873732-6&mode=1. Retrieved 2009-12-04. 
  24. ^ "冨樫義博　幽・遊・白書画集｜冨樫　義博 [YuYu Hakusho Illustrations]" (in Japanese). Shueisha. http://books.shueisha.co.jp/CGI/search/syousai_put.cgi?isbn_cd=4-08-873733-4&mode=1. Retrieved 2009-12-04. 

[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoshihiro_Togashi"