Fujio Akatsuka, 1935-2008

Fujio Akatsuka, creator of several gag-driven manga and a past winner of the Shogakukan Manga Award, died of complications arising from pneumonia on Saturday in a Tokyo hospital. He was 72 years old.

Akatsuka was born in Manchuria to a military police officer and his wife. He would moved to Tokyo at the age of 19, taking a job in a chemical factory while he honed his craft as a cartoonist. He would move into the famous Tokiwa-so apartment building.

His debut series was Arashi wo Koete in 1956, his Nama-chan was his first hit in 1958, and Osomatsu-kun became a major hit for Shonen Sunday starting in 1962, solidifying his reputation as one of the masters of Japanese gag humor. Winning the Shogakukan Manga Award in the mid-'60s only further solidified his reputation. He would go on to create the series Mooretsu Atarou, Tensai Bakabon and Himitsu no Akko-chan. The last of those three is remembered as an early, important work in the popular "magical girl" genre. Several of his works were adapted for television, including all of those listed in this paragraph.

He was the Literary Giant Award from the Japan Cartoonists Association in 1997. He later gained notoriety in 2000 by creating manga in braille for the bling.

In recent years, Akatsuka suffered from a number of ailment, including cancer (1998) and a cerebral hemorrhage (2002).

He was preceded in death by his wife Machiko, and is survived by a daughter. Fans remembered the artist and his creations at the museum created to honor his work.

I would have to think that's one of the animated versions of a character from Tensai Bakabon.
 
posted 8:15 am PST | Permalink
 

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