[1] In 1986, Tsuruta made his professional debut, authoring his first manga series, the short work, Hiroku te suteki na uchū ja nai ka (広くてすてきな宇宙じゃないか, a.k.a.
What a Big Wonderful Universe It Is), which was serialized in Kodansha's Weekly Morning seinen magazine, set in a world where the land was sinking into water.
[1] Soon after, Tsuruta authored Spirit of Wonder, among his most famous works, in which he applied many of his inspirations, which was serialized in Kodansha's seinen magazines Weekly Morning and Afternoon between 1987 and 1996, and was later adapted into an anime series.
After Spirit of Wonder, Tsuruta wrote short manga works, and also illustrated numerous art books, which were quite successful.
In 2002, he provided the character designs for the anime series Abenobashi Mahō Shōtengai and also illustrated its manga adaptation.