AKIRA
TORIYAMA
Creator and Artist, Dragon Ball Z, Dragon Ball and SandLand. |
| Akira
Toriyama debuted as a comic creator and artist in 1979
with his first title Dr. Slump in Weekly Shonen Jump.
It became an instant hit selling over 35 million copies
in Japan. In 1985, he was also responsible for developing
Dragon Ball that became serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump.
In Japan, it became a record-breaking best seller with
over 120 million copies sold. |
KAZUKI
TAKAHASHI
Creator and Artist, Yu-Gi-Oh. |
| Kazuki
Takahashi is a comic creator and artist for Shueisha Inc.
In 1996, he became part of Weekly Shonen Jump with Yu-Gi-Oh!
, featuring a story revolving around a card game, that
is still being published today. The card game featured
in the comic became a real card game, the Yu-Gi-Oh! Cards.
The graphic novels including all related materials have
sold over 34 million copies. |
EIICHIRO
ODA
Creator and Artist, One Piece. |
| Eiichiro
Oda debuted in Weekly Shonen Jump in 1997 as a comic creator
and artist with One Piece . It is currently being published
in the magazine and the latest graphic novel Volume 24
broke all previous records with 2.52 million copies in
its initial print run. Overall, it has sold over 65 million
copies. Oda is the most popular comic creator and artist
in Japan today, starting out by earning the Hop Step Award
(monthly award given by Jump for amateurs) as well as
the Tezuka Award. |
HIROYUKI
TAKEI
Creator and Artist, Shaman King |
|
Hiroyuki Takei debuted in Weekly Shonen Jump in 1997 by
creating Butsu Zone . He then became one of the most popular
creators and artists in Japan by creating Shaman King
in 1998. To date, with the release of all 19 volumes of
the graphic novel, this title has sold over 16 million
copies. It was produced as an anime in 2001 and it became
an instant hit. Takei was awarded the Hop Step Award and
Tezuka Award. |
MASASHI
KISHIMOTO
Creator and Artist, Naruto |
|
Masashi Kishimoto is a comic creator and artist for Shueisha
Inc. and debuted in Weekly Shonen Jump in 1999 with Naruto
.Naruto became a big hit with both boys and girls. Kishimoto
added a modern flavor to the ancient world of Japanese
ninja to make it a popular novel. It will become an anime
series airing on Japanese networks this fall. To date,
with the release of all 13 volumes of the graphic novel,
this title has sold 12 million copies. Kishimoto has received
the Hop Step Award. |
