Matsumoto Leiji

Associated Names: L. Matsumoto, MATSUMOTO Akira, MATSUMOTO L, MATSUMOTO Reiji, 松本あきら, 松本零士

Birth Place: Kurume, Fukuoka, Japan
Birth Date: January 25, 1938
Zodiac: Aquarius
Blood Type: B

The trademarks of Matsumoto are his unusual artstyle, the space opera and the manly romance stories.

Matsumoto's art might take some getting used to, but he is renowned for coming up with great stories and brilliant new concepts. Debuting in 1953 with a 16 page manga "Mitsubachi no Bouken" in Manga Shounen, he has authored nearly thirty manga series. His big break came in 1971, in the years between 53 and 71 he mostly produced Shoujo manga, much to his displeasure. In the late '70s and the early '80s, there was a big Matsumoto-boom when he drew his best known series. After that, things became more quiet around him, but the late '90s show a revival.
In 1997, Matsumoto began to create new adventures of Captain Harlock which can be admired on the Web in Japanese and in English.

Born on the same day as ISHINOMORI Shotaro, and both of them at the same time were assistants under TEZUKA Osamu.

His real name is Matsumoto Akira. Reiji is a pseudonym and means something like "Zero Warrior". His name is often rendered in romaji as "Matsumoto Leiji". Matsumoto is married to MAKI Miyako.

Leiji Matsumoto, the son of an air force pilot, was only fifteen years old when his first story, ‘Mitsubachi no Bouken’, was published in Manga Shônen. Soon, he created a varying oeuvre, at first inspired by Tezuka, in several genres: children's comics (‘Kuroi Hanabira’, ‘S no Taiyou’, science fiction (Denkou Ozma, Sexaroid, Kousoku Esper), westerns and others. He was one of the first mangakas whose manga and animation work crossed over internationally.

His fame came with the series Otoko Oidon, about the student Nobotta Oyama, who was rejected by all universities. Matsumoto mostly enjoyed creating war stories, but he had his biggest success with science fiction stories such as Uchuu Senkan Yamato, a series that was created simultaneously for TV and comics. His space pirate Captain Harlock first appeared in Arcadia in 1977. Around the same time, he set up other science fiction series, including Ginga Tetsudou 999 and Sennen Joou. His 1974 Sci-Fi anime ‘Space Cruiser Yamato’ earned fame in the USA from 1979 under the title 'Star Blazers'. Matsumoto was hired by the French band Daft Punk to animate their music videos from the album ‘Discovery’, and compiled into the 2003 anime movie 'Interstella 5555'.

Among his assistants there were SENNO Knife, SHINTANI Kaoru, and AKANA Shuu.

Matsumoto died of acute heart failure at a hospital in Tokyo on February 13, 2023, at 85.

Sources:
- MangaUpdates
- Anilist
- Ultimate Manga Guide