Mitsuteru Yokoyama
Encyclopedia
was a Japanese manga artist
Mangaka
is the Japanese word for a comic artist or cartoonist. Outside of Japan, manga usually refers to a Japanese comic book and mangaka refers to the author of the manga, who is usually Japanese...

 born in Suma-ku
Suma-ku, Kobe
is one of 9 wards of Kobe City in Japan. It has an area of 30.0 km², and a population of 168,400 .There is a white sandy beach in this ward, which attracts tourists to the Kansai region for sun bathing and popular events during the summer season. The same beach has appeared in the classic...

, Kobe-shi, Hyogo. His personal name was originally spelled , with the same pronunciation. His works include Tetsujin 28-go
Tetsujin 28-go
is a 1956 manga written and illustrated by Mitsuteru Yokoyama, who also created Giant Robo. The series centred on the adventures of a young boy named Shotaro Kaneda, who controlled a giant robot named Tetsujin 28, built by his late father....

, Giant Robo
Giant Robo
is an original video animation series written and directed by Yasuhiro Imagawa , and inspired by Mitsuteru Yokoyama's manga series of the same name....

, Akakage, Babel II
Babel II
is a 1971 manga series by Mitsuteru Yokoyama.Yokoyama's manga has been animated three times: in 1973 as a television series, in 1992 as an original video animation series, and in 2001 as a 13 episode television series....

, Sally, the Witch
Sally, the Witch
, is the first magical girl genre anime in Japan. This may be the first shōjo anime as well. The first magical girl manga was Himitsu no Akko-chan but it took longer to be adapted into an anime. Both series deal with henshin style transformations , but neither is the first anime to feature this...

, Princess Comet, and adaptations of the Chinese classics Outlaws of the Marsh and Romance of the Three Kingdoms
Yokoyama Mitsuteru Sangokushi
is a Japanese anime series based on the Sangokushi manga by Mitsuteru Yokoyama, itself based on Eiji Yoshikawa's retelling of the Chinese literary classic Romance of the Three Kingdoms.-Shu Han: -Cao Wei: Cao hong...

.

Early life

Yokoyama spent his boyhood during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 and was evacuated to Tottori
Tottori Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region. The capital is the city of Tottori. It is the least populous prefecture in Japan.- History :Before the Meiji Restoration, Tottori encompassed the old provinces of Hōki and Inaba...

 with his family.
He graduated from Kobe municipal Ota junior high school and went on to the Kobe municipal Suma high school.
Osamu Tezuka
Osamu Tezuka
was a Japanese cartoonist, manga artist, animator, producer, activist and medical doctor, although he never practiced medicine. Born in Osaka Prefecture, he is best known as the creator of Astro Boy, Kimba the White Lion and Black Jack...

's "Metropolis
Metropolis (manga)
, also known as Osamu Tezuka's Metropolis or Robotic Angel is a Japanese manga by Osamu Tezuka published in 1949. It has been adapted into a feature length anime, released in 2001...

" made a deep impression on Yokoyama who wished to become a manga artist
Mangaka
is the Japanese word for a comic artist or cartoonist. Outside of Japan, manga usually refers to a Japanese comic book and mangaka refers to the author of the manga, who is usually Japanese...

 in earnest and so he contributed his works to a comic book in his high school days.
He entered the Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation
Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation
is a Japanese bank based in Yurakucho, Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. It is a member of the Sumitomo Group and Mitsui Group. As of the year 2009, SMBC was the second largest bank in Japan in terms of assets.-History:...

 after graduation from high school, but quit his job before five months passed because there was no time to draw a manga
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...

.
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.

Professional career

Yokoyama came out with the book "" 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, "".

In 1956, "Tetsujin 28-go" appeared serially in the magazine Shōnen after he resigned from the movie company.
"Tetsujin 28-go" became a popular work equal to Tezuka's "AstroBoy and its animated adaptation also made a smashing success. This prompted Yokoyama to become a full-time manga artist and to move to Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...

 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
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....

, such as "", "Akakage", "Sally the Witch", "Giant Robo", "Babel II" and so on.
With the writing of "" (1967–1971) and "Yokoyama Mitsuteru Sangokushi
Yokoyama Mitsuteru Sangokushi
is a Japanese anime series based on the Sangokushi manga by Mitsuteru Yokoyama, itself based on Eiji Yoshikawa's retelling of the Chinese literary classic Romance of the Three Kingdoms.-Shu Han: -Cao Wei: Cao hong...

 (Records of Three Kingdoms
Records of Three Kingdoms
Records of Three Kingdoms , is regarded as the official and authoritative historical text on the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history covering the years 184-280 CE. Written by Chen Shou in the 3rd century, the work combines the smaller histories of the rival states of Cao Wei , Shu Han and...

)" (1971–1986), he began a new chapter in his career as he drew mostly comics based on original stories with material from China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

's and Japan's History.

In 1991, "Yokoyama Mitsuteru Sangokushi
Yokoyama Mitsuteru Sangokushi
is a Japanese anime series based on the Sangokushi manga by Mitsuteru Yokoyama, itself based on Eiji Yoshikawa's retelling of the Chinese literary classic Romance of the Three Kingdoms.-Shu Han: -Cao Wei: Cao hong...

" won the prize for excellence from the Japan Cartoonist Association and an animated version was broadcast on TV Tokyo.

In July 1997, Yokoyama was hospitalized with myocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...

 and had an operation. He returned to work in next year March.

In 2004, while under medical treatment, Yokoyama won the MEXT
Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (Japan)
The , also known as MEXT or Monkashō, is one of the ministries of the Japanese government.The Meiji government created the first Ministry of Education in 1871....

 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
Coma
In medicine, a coma is a state of unconsciousness, lasting more than 6 hours in which a person cannot be awakened, fails to respond normally to painful stimuli, light or sound, lacks a normal sleep-wake cycle and does not initiate voluntary actions. A person in a state of coma is described as...

.
Yokoyama died in the hospital near his home at 22:00 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 doesn't let characters show their feelings too much.
He was better at a serious story manga rather than with comedy
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...

, but he drew some also.

Yokoyama is one of the originators of present day Japanese comics.
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
Tokusatsu
is a Japanese term that applies to any live-action film or television drama that usually features superheroes and makes considerable use of special effects ....

.
  • "Tetsujin 28-go" & "Giant Robo" are ancestors to the genre called Super Robot
    Super Robot
    is a term used in manga and anime to describe a giant robot or mecha, with an arsenal of fantastic super-powered weapons, extreme resistance to damage unless the plot calls for it, sometimes transformable or combined from two or more robots and/or vehicles usually piloted by young, daring heroes,...

    .
  • "" & "Akakage" are ninja
    Ninja
    A or was a covert agent or mercenary of feudal Japan specializing in unorthodox arts of war. The functions of the ninja included espionage, sabotage, infiltration, and assassination, as well as open combat in certain situations...

     manga which created a ninja boom. These comics present stories in which ninja
    Ninja
    A or was a covert agent or mercenary of feudal Japan specializing in unorthodox arts of war. The functions of the ninja included espionage, sabotage, infiltration, and assassination, as well as open combat in certain situations...

     are endowed with superhuman fighting capabilities.
  • " " is a Jidaigeki
    Jidaigeki
    is a genre of film, television, and theatre in Japan. The name means "period drama" and is usually the Edo period of Japanese history, from 1603 to 1868. Some, however, are set much earlier—Portrait of Hell, for example, is set during the late Heian period—and the early Meiji era is also a popular...

     in which real world persons appear.
  • "Sally the Witch", the first magical girl
    Magical girl
    belong to a sub-genre of Japanese fantasy anime and manga. Magical girl stories feature young girls with superhuman abilities, forced to fight evil and to protect the Earth. They often possess a secret identity, although the name can just refer to young girls who follow a plotline involving magic...

     manga/anime & "Princess Comet" are shōjo manga.
  • "Yokoyama Mitsuteru Sangokushi" is a historical story based on historical facts and historical novels.
  • "Babel II" is a supernatural power science fiction
    Science fiction
    Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...

     comics.

Hirohiko Araki

Hirohiko Araki
Hirohiko Araki
is a Japanese manga artist. He left school before graduating from Miyagi University of Education.Araki is best known for his long running series JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, published in Weekly Shōnen Jump starting in 1987. The story is full of references to Western music and Italy, both of which...

 said that he was conscious of Yokoyama's hard-boiled style in that he sticks to suspense
Suspense
Suspense is a feeling of uncertainty and anxiety about the outcome of certain actions, most often referring to an audience's perceptions in a dramatic work. Suspense is not exclusive to fiction, though. Suspense may operate in any situation where there is a lead-up to a big event or dramatic...

 and describes the hero's character drily.

Katsuhiro Otomo

A few characters of Katsuhiro Otomo
Katsuhiro Otomo
is a Japanese comic book creator, screenwriter and film director. He is best known as the creator of the manga Akira and its animated film adaptation. Otomo has also directed several live-action films, such as the 2006 feature film adaptation of the manga Mushishi.-Biography:Katsuhiro Otomo was...

’s "AKIRA
Akira (manga)
is a manga series by Katsuhiro Otomo. Set in a post-apocalyptic Neo-Tokyo, the work uses conventions of the cyberpunk genre to detail a saga of turmoil. Initially serialized in the pages of Young Magazine from 1982 until 1990, the work was collected in six volumes by Japanese publisher Kodansha...

" are named after characters from "Tetsujin 28-go."
  • "Shotaro Kaneda" is Shotaro Kaneda.
  • "Tetsuo Shima" is Tetsuo, the son of Dr. Shikishima who made Tetsujin.
  • "Colonel Shikishima" is Dr. Shikishima.
  • "No.28" of Akira is 28-go of Tetsujin.

Naoki Urasawa

Some names of characters in Naoki Urasawa
Naoki Urasawa
is a Japanese manga artist.-Early life:He graduated from Meisei University with a degree in economics. In 2008, Urasawa had a guest teaching post at Nagoya Zokei University, where he taught classes on manga.-Manga career:...

's "20th Century Boys
20th Century Boys
is a science fiction-mystery manga created by Naoki Urasawa. It won the 2001 Kodansha Manga Award in the General category, an Excellence Prize at the 2002 Japan Media Arts Festival, and the 2003 Shogakukan Manga Award in the General category. The last two volumes of the story were serialized under...

" are references to "Tetsujin 28-go."
  • "Professor Shikishima" is Dr. Shikishima.
  • "Shotaro Kaneda", a student of the Shikishima seminar, is Shotaro Kaneda.
  • "Professor Tetsuo Shikishima" of the movie version is Tetsuo Shikishima.

External links

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