Masami Kurumada
He achieved fame as the creator of popular manga, such as Ring ni Kakero, Fūma no Kojirō, Saint Seiya and B't X.
Because of this, the main characters of his works most of the time bear a resemblance to Takane Ryūji, the protagonist of Ring ni Kakero.
The main characters of his subsequent works have almost the same appearance and personality of Ryūji, specifically Jingi Kikukawa (Otoko Zaka), Kojirō (Fūma no Kojirō), Seiya (Saint Seiya), Teppei Takamiya (B't X), Shō (Silent Knight Shō), Aoi Tendō (Aoi Tori no Shinwa), Rindō Kenzaki (Ring ni Kakero 2), among others.
Besides Kurumada, other renowned manga artists that resort to the master Tezuka's technique include legendary authors Leiji Matsumoto, Monkey Punch and Shōtarō Ishinomori or Clamp.
His drawing style is very classic, reminiscent from the manga/anime aesthetics more predominant in the 1960s and 1970s, albeit a constant flaw in his art is an inconsistent trace and proportion unbalance.
Fans have created terms to refer to them such as Kurumada-ochi (車田落ち, Kurumada-ochi), meaning "Kurumada Fall", which designates the typical head-first falling characters, and Kurumada-futtobi (車田吹っ飛び, Kurumada-futtobi), meaning "Kurumada Launch", which refers to characters that are projected high into the air by opponents, to name a few.
Kurumada has stated in interviews that he obtains some creative influence from yesterday's authors considered masters of the manga medium today, such as Hiroshi Motomiya, Sanpei Shirato and Mitsuteru Yokoyama.
[2] Among his works that have been cancelled due to failing to attract fans: Otoko Zaka, Silent Knight Shō and Aoi Tori no Shinwa.
[citation needed] In Saint Seiya's case, Kurumada was forced by Shueisha, his publisher, to finish the manga after the Hades Arc, in 1991.
[citation needed] He put his manga in hiatus after he finished the mentioned arc, and resumed it in 2006 with Saint Seiya Next Dimension.
Megami-sama, Kenjirō Hata's Hayate no Gotoku, Chika Umino's Honey & Clover, Tite Kubo's BLEACH[citation needed], and their respective anime adaptations, among others.
French director Louis Leterrier has cited Kurumada and his manga Saint Seiya having a great impact on him since his youth.
[3] In 2010, Masami Kurumada was contacted by Warner Brothers to collaborate in a project for Leterrier's mythologically themed motion picture Clash of the Titans, remake of the original 1981 film.
Countless are the products of merchandise(action figures, T-shirts, toys, video games, ect) relative the works of Kurumada, sold all over the worlds with great success.
As stated before, Anime adaptations have been made for Saint Seiya, Fūma no Kojirō, B't X, and Ring ni Kakero, all closely follow his source manga works.
[15] Chinese Tencent has announced that it will produce live-action series TV of Saint Seiya by Masami Kurumada,[16] the release date it has not been made known.
Continuing his contributions as lyricist, Kurumada wrote the lyrics to the ending theme of the first and second season of the Saint Seiya: The Lost Canvas anime: Additionally, the release of a new CD containing the rest of songs with lyrics authored by Kurumada for the anime adaptations of his works Saint Seiya and Ring ni Kakero, is set for 2013.
