Mitsuteru Yokoyama

Mitsuteru Yokoyama
Born June 18, 1934
Kobe, Japan
Died April 15, 2004(2004-04-15) (aged 69)
Tokyo, Japan
Nationality Japanese
Occupation Manga artist
Known for Tetsujin 28-go[1]
Giant Robo'

Mitsuteru Yokoyama (横山 光輝 Yokoyama Mitsuteru, June 18, 1934 – April 15, 2004) was a Japanese manga artist born in Suma-ku, Kobe-shi, Hyogo. His personal name was originally spelled Mitsuteru (光照), with the same pronunciation. His works include Tetsujin 28-go, Giant Robo, Akakage, Babel II, Sally the Witch, Princess Comet, and adaptations of the Chinese classics Water Margin and Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

Early life

Yokoyama spent his boyhood during World War II and was evacuated to Tottori with his family. He graduated from Kobe municipal Ota junior high school and went on to the Kobe municipal Suma high school. Osamu Tezuka's "Metropolis" made a deep impression on Yokoyama who wished to become a manga artist in earnest and so he contributed his works to a comic book in his high school days. He entered the Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation after graduation from high school, but quit his job before five months passed because there was no time to draw a manga. He found a new job as a publicity department member for a movie company based in Kobe and pursued his manga artist career on his free time.

Career

Yokoyama came out with the book "Otonashi no Ken (音無しの剣 Sword without sound)" for his manga artist début, which caught Osamu Tezuka's attention.

In 1955, Yokoyama had a title serialized in the magazine Shōjo for the first time, "Shirayuri Koushinkyoku (白ゆり行進曲 White Lily March)".

In 1956, "Tetsujin 28-go" appeared serially in the shōnen magazine after he resigned from the movie company. "Tetsujin 28-go" became a popular work equal to Tezuka's Astro Boy and its animated adaptation also made a smashing success. This prompted Yokoyama to become a full-time manga artist and to move to Tokyo the same year.

In 1964, he established Hikari Production, an incorporated company. Making good use of his vast exposure to movies during his previous job, he produced consecutive popular hits in various genres, both in comics and anime, such as Iga no Kagemaru (伊賀の影丸 Kagemaru of Iga), Akakage, Sally the Witch, Giant Robo, Babel II and so on. With the writing of "Suikoden (水滸伝 Water Margin)" (1967–1971) and Yokoyama Mitsuteru Sangokushi (Records of Three Kingdoms) (1971–1986), he began a new chapter in his career as he drew mostly comics based on original stories with material from China's and Japan's History.

In 1991, Yokoyama Mitsuteru Sangokushi won the prize for excellence from the Japan Cartoonist Association[2] and an animated version was broadcast on TV Tokyo.

In July 1997, Yokoyama was hospitalized with myocardial infarction and had an operation. He returned to work in next year March.

In 2004, while under medical treatment, Yokoyama won the MEXT Prize of the Japan Cartoonist Association.

On the morning of April 15, 2004, Yokoyama suffered burns all over his body due to a fire breaking out in his house. His condition deteriorated and he fell in a coma. Yokoyama died in the hospital near his home at 10:00 p.m. on the same day, aged 69.

Style

The attractions of Yokoyama's works are calculated story deployment and an elaborate setting. On the other hand, Yokoyama liked light characterizations and didn't let characters show their feelings too much. He was better at a serious story manga rather than with comedy, though he nonetheless drew comics in the latter genre.

While Tezuka established the technique to draw Japanese comics, it was Yokoyama who established the format of various genres of current Japanese comics and anime. Whereas many comic artists prefer their original stories not to be changed when adapted, Yokoyama was realistic and tolerant, so many of his works were made into animation or Tokusatsu.

Influence on the manga world

Hirohiko Araki

Hirohiko Araki said that he was conscious of Yokoyama's hard-boiled style in that he sticks to suspense and describes the hero's character drily.[3]

Katsuhiro Otomo

A few characters of Katsuhiro Otomo’s "AKIRA" are named after characters from "Tetsujin 28-go."

Naoki Urasawa

Some names of characters in Naoki Urasawa's "20th Century Boys" are references to "Tetsujin 28-go."

References

  1. ↑ "Fire kills Japanese manga artist". BBC. April 16, 2004. Retrieved 2011-10-23.
  2. ↑ "List of recipients of the Japanese Cartoonist Association Awards" (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 2007-02-19. Retrieved 2007-02-28.
  3. ↑ Manga Meister vol.3 (Japanese)
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