Ishinomori Shoutarou

Name In Native Language: 石ノ森章太郎

Previously spelled his name as “石森章太郎”. However, this was often misred as “Ishimori Shoutarou”, leading him to change the spelling to “石ノ森章太郎” in 1986.

Real Name: Onodera Shoutarou (小野寺章太郎)

Life: Jan 25, 1938 – Jan 28, 1998

While he was in high school, he made his debut with Nikyuu Tenshi in Manga Shounen (1954). Like most of the Japanese artists, Ishinomori was influenced by Tezuka Osamu. In 1956, he formed a coterie group with Akatsuka Fujio, Nagashima Shinji and Suzuki Mitsuaki. He moved to Tokyo after graduation, where he continued to work as a mangaka, starting with the war story Kaiketsu Harimao in 1959. Subsequently, he produced hit mangas such as the science fiction series Cyborg 009 (1964) and the historical series Sabu to Ichi Torimono Hikae (Big Comic, 1968-72). In the 1970s, Ishinomori created metamorphosis manga such as Kamen Rider and in the 1980s, he became a pioneer of a new manga category. In 1989, he commenced working on a large series about the history of Japan, Manga Nihon no Rekishi, which remained unfinished due to his death on January 28, 1998 at the age of 60.

Ishinomori was nicknamed the 'King of Manga' and is considered one of the pioneers of modern manga. He was also one of the most productive creators, producing over 120,000 pages of artwork in thirty years. It's rumored that he drew over 500 pages in one month!