Naoki Urasawa/ 浦沢直樹

I wish more people will get to know him and read his manga as it his drawing and story are really very good. I shall put more info about him. Naoki Urasawa(浦沢直樹) is born on 1960-01-02 in Fuchu, Tokyo, Japan. He graduated from Meisei University with a degree in economics.

He made his professional manga debut with Beta!! in 1984. Three of his series have been adapted into anime: Yawara! A Fashionable Judo Girl, Master Keaton, and Monster. He has received the Shogakukan Manga Award three times, the Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize twice, and the Kodansha Manga Award once. As a storyteller, his most distinctive characteristics are his dense, multi-layered, interconnecting narratives, his mastery of suspense, clever homages to classic manga & anime from days gone by and a curious fascination with Germany.


Works:
Beta!!(1984): Made his professional debut with Beta!!.

Yawara! A Fashionable Judo Girl(1986-1993): Made his first official work (serialized in Big Comic Spirits, 1987-93), this manga has 29 volumes in total. Yawara! won the 35th Shogakukan Manga Award for general manga in 1990.

Pineapple ARMY(1986 to 1988): Published by Shogakukan from 1986 to 1988, this is a side-work produced alongside Yawara!. It composed of 10 volumes in total.

Dancing Policeman(1987): Published by Shogakukan. This manga is only one volume.

Master Keaton(1988-1994): Just after Pinneaple ARMY and while writing Yawara!, Urasawa began one of his most famous works, Master Keaton(serialized in Big Comic Original, 1988-94), and consists of 18 volumes in total. Hokusei Katsushika worked with Urasawa on it.

NASA(1988): Short story collection published in one volume by Shogakukan. A fantasy about a middle-aged office worker who trains every day in order to become Japan's first astronaut. This work also includes earlier short stories.

Happy!(1993-1999): Just after Yawara!, Urasawa began writing Happy! consists of 23 volumes in total.

Monster(1995-2001): After finishing Master Keaton, Urasawa began writing the manga which would become his most famous work: Monster. In 1994, He wrote Monster alongside Happy!, with Monster ending in 2001. Monster consists of 18 volumes in total and was serialized in Big Comic (1995-2001). Monster won the Shogakukan Manga Award for general manga in 2001.

Jigoro!(1994): Short story collection published in one volume by Shogakukan. It features four stories about Jigorou, Yawara's grandfather (from Yawara!) during his younger years. It also includes a samurai and a baseball story not related to Yawara!.

20th Century Boys(20世紀少年)(1999- 2006): After finishing Happy!, Urasawa began the all-popular 20th Century Boys. He wrote 20th Century Boys alongside Monster for two years, Monster ending in 2001. 20th Century Boys won Kodansha Manga Award for general manga in 2001, an Excellence Prize at the 2002 Japan Media Arts Festival, and the Shogakukan Manga Award for general manga in 2003.

PLUTO(2003-ongoing): His most recent project, PLUTO is a joint manga venture by Urasawa and the late Osamu Tezuka. Its story is based on a story arc of the original Astro Boy manga by Tezuka, "Chijou saidai no ROBOTTO" ("The World's Strongest Robot"). Pluto received an Excellence Prize at the 2005 Japan Media Arts Festival and the 2005 Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize Grand Prize. So far, 5 volumes have been published.

Awards:

* 1981: Return ;Début
* 1982: New Manga Artist Award of Shogakukan
* 1990: (35th) Shogakukan Manga Award (for Yawara!)
* 1997: (1st) Japan Media Arts Festival, Excellence Prize (for Monster)
* 1999: (3rd) Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize, Grand Prize (for Monster)
* 2001: (46th) Shogakukan Manga Award (for Monster)
* 2001: Kodansha Manga Award (for 20th Century Boys)
* 2002: (6th) Japan Media Arts Festival, Excellence Prize (for 20th Century Boys)
* 2003: Shogakukan Manga Award (for 20th Century Boys)
* 2004: Angoulême International Comics Festival Prize for a Series (for 20th Century Boys)
* 2005: (9th) Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize, Grand Prize (for Pluto)

External Links:
• Naoki Urasawa/ 浦沢直樹 English Wikipedia