Yoshito Usui, 1958-2009



Yoshito Usui, a comics artist and creator of the internationally popular manga, Crayon Shin-Chan, died while hiking near his home in Kasukabe. He was found at the bottom of a cliff near Mount Arafune. Usui had gone hiking on the 11th and fell out of contact with family members soon after, not answering his cell phone. The police began searching at his wife's request on the 15th; the body was discovered on the 19th by a hiker and identified by family and dental records on Sunday. Usui frequently hiked in the area, although perhaps not that close to Mount Arafune.

Usui was born in Shizuoka. He began his career in the mid-1980s and became a contributor to the magazine Action. His most famous serial in that magazine was Crayon Shin-chan, about a five-year-old. It went on to a popular solo series, an internationally-distributed animated version and extensive merchandising including video games. The manga was published in France by Sakka and by Planeta DeAgostini Comics in Spain, where the character became very popular. The manga was published in North America by CMX. CMX has published nine volumes to date, with a tenth due in December. CMX was able to launch its version after the cartoon's run on Adult Swim.

Usui continued to create comics that never quite matched the success of his signature feature. Current publishers Manga Town will continue serializing Usui's work until its December issue. There has been no decision about new episodes of the animated series schedule for release next month.

He was 51 years old.
 
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