Shoutarou ISHINOMORI (Person)

Shoutarou Ishinomori was a Japanese mangaka. He is considered the founder of the Sentai genre and is also called the “King of Manga”. His best-known work is “Cyborg 009”. He made a name for himself very early on as a developer of new techniques in the world of manga. His influence on the science fiction genre is comparable to that of Osamu Tezuka, who was a great source of inspiration for him.

Ishinomori grew up as the eldest son of six children in Ishinomori, Miyagi Prefecture, and attended Sanuma High School. While still a student, he sent some work to Manga Shounen magazine, where his first manga was published in 1954. After finishing school, he moved to Tokyo to become a professional mangaka.

In the beginning, he mainly drew shoujo manga, which was not very successful. When he began to draw shounen manga, success followed. His breakthrough came with “Cyborg 009”. In the 1980s, he published his works mainly in Seinen magazines. With his work “Japan Inc.: An Introduction to Japanese Economics”, he founded the genre of non-fiction manga. It deals with the depiction of the Japanese economy.

Ishinomori died of heart failure at the age of 60.

The “Ishinomori Manga Museum” was opened in his honour in Ishinomaki in 2001.

In late 2007, his personal collection, “Ishinomori Shoutarou Manga Daizenshuu”, comprising 770 works in 500 volumes and 128,000 pages, was recognised by the Guinness Book of World Records as the record for the most manga published by a single author.

Awards:
1967: 7th Kodansha Award for “Cyborg 009” and “Mutant Sabu” 1968: 13th Shougakukan manga award for “Sabu to Ichi Torimono Hikae” and “Jun: Shoutarou no Fantasy” 1988: 33rd Shogakukan Manga Prize for “Hotel” and “Japan Inc.: An Introduction to Japanese Economics” 1988: 17th Japan Cartoonists Association Award for “Japan Inc.: An Introduction to Japanese Economics” 1998: 2nd Osamu Tezuka Culture Award in the “Special Award” category

Source: www.anisearch.com/person/6335