Yoshihiro Togashi

Yoshihiro Togashi (冨樫 義博, Togashi Yoshihiro, born April 27, 1966) is a Japanese manga artist. He began drawing manga at an early age, before being recognized for his talent by publishing company Shueisha while attending college. Togashi has authored several manga series in different genres during the past three decades. He is perhaps best known for writing and illustrating the YuYu Hakusho (1990–1994) and Hunter × Hunter (1998–present) series, both of which are some of the best-selling manga in history. Togashi is married to Naoko Takeuchi, the author of Sailor Moon.

The native form of this personal name is Togashi Yoshihiro. This article uses Western name order when mentioning individuals.
Yoshihiro Togashi
Native name
冨樫 義博
Born (1966-04-27) April 27, 1966
Shinjō, Yamagata, Japan
OccupationManga artist
SubjectShōnen manga
Years active1986–present
Notable worksYuYu Hakusho
Level E
Hunter × Hunter
Notable awardsTezuka Award (1986)
Shogakukan Manga Award (1993)
Spouse
​
(m. 1999)​
Children2
Signature

Biography

Early life

Born in Shinjō, Yamagata[1][2] to a family that owned a paper shop,[3] Togashi began drawing manga casually in his first to second year of elementary school.[1][2][4] In high school, Togashi joined the fine-arts club; he later enrolled at Yamagata University where he studied education in the hope of becoming a teacher.[1] During college he submitted some of his manga work to Weekly Young Jump, published by Shueisha.[1][2] In 1986, at age 20, he authored a manga titled Buttobi Straight (ぶっとびストレート, Buttobi Sutorēto) for which he received the Tezuka Award, the most prestigious award for new comic artists in Japan.[4][5][6] Another manga by Togashi titled Jura no Mizuki (ジュラのミヅキ) was an honorable mention in Shueisha's first annual Hop Step Award Selection magazine, published in 1988.[7] After having given up his goal of becoming a teacher, Togashi was contacted by an editor of Weekly Shōnen Jump during his senior year of college, who asked him to move to Tokyo.[2]

Career

Togashi's earliest published works for Shueisha include Ōkami Nante Kowakunai!! (狼なんて怖くない!!, lit. I'm Not Afraid of the Wolf!!), a collection of comedy manga short-stories. Weekly Shōnen Jump published some of the stories prior to a tankōbon release in 1989. Between 1989 and 1990, Togashi authored Ten de Shōwaru Cupid (てんで性悪キューピッド, lit. An Ill-tempered Cupid in Heaven), a four-volume romance manga involving the relationship between a normal, human boy and a beautiful, devil girl.

In 1990 Togashi made a name for himself with his next series YuYu Hakusho (幽☆遊☆白書, lit. Poltergeist Report). Based on his interests in the occult and in horror films, the plot features the character Yusuke Urameshi, who is killed and brought back to life as an "Underworld Detective". The manga, which lasted 175 chapters over 19 tankōbon from 1990 to 1994, went on to sell over 50 million copies worldwide, earned Togashi a Shogakukan Manga Award in 1994, and received a hit anime adaptation.[8][9] In 1995, he created Level E (レベルE), a science fiction-comedy manga. Comprising three volumes, it was first published in Weekly Shōnen Jump in 1995 and ran until 1997.[10][11][12] Level E was adapted into an anime television series in 2011.[13]

Togashi's next major series Hunter × Hunter (ハンター×ハンター), an action-adventure manga, began serialization in 1998. The story revolves around the protagonist Gon Freecss, a young boy in search of his father, who is a legendary, elite member of society called a "Hunter". This manga also performed very well commercially, with the first 20 volumes selling nearly 55 million copies in Japan as of August 2011.[14] In 2008, Togashi tied with One Piece author Eiichiro Oda as the fifth favorite manga artist from a poll posted by the marketing research firm Oricon.[15]

In 2017, Togashi wrote the two-chapter manga Akuten Wars (悪天ウォーズ). It was illustrated by Hachi Mizuno and published in the September and November issues of Grand Jump Premium.[16]

Personal life

Togashi is married to Naoko Takeuchi, the creator of Sailor Moon.[1][2][5] The two were introduced at a party hosted by Kazushi Hagiwara in August 1997. The following year, Takeuchi assisted Togashi for a short time by adding screentone to his manga Hunter × Hunter.[17] Togashi and Takeuchi were married on January 6, 1999. In attendance for the ceremony were several fellow manga artists and voice actors from both the Sailor Moon and Yu Yu Hakusho anime series.[18] The couple have two children and have collaborated on a children's book titled Oobo— Nu— Tochiibo— Nu— (おおぼーぬーとちぃぼーぬー), which Takeuchi wrote and Togashi illustrated.[4][19][20]

Togashi enjoys board-game-style video games and bowling with his family.[4] He also likes watching horror movies,[21] and considers Don't Look Up and Dawn of the Dead his favorites.[4] Togashi cites visual effects designer H. R. Giger as a major influence.[4] Togashi suffered from an immense amount of stress while working on YuYu Hakusho, which caused him inconsistent sleep patterns and chest pain.[22] On March 29, 2011, Togashi and his fellow manga artists posted messages on the official Shōnen Jump website in support of the victims of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami.[23] He has a younger brother named Hideaki Togashi, who is also a manga artist. The Togashi Paper Store run by his mother is still open in Shinjō, Yamagata.[3]

On May 24, 2022, Togashi created a Twitter account that was later verified by Shueisha. He gained over a million followers in one day, and 2 million in 72 hours.[24][25][26] He is the most-followed manga artist on the platform, with over three million followers.[26][27]

For years, he has been suffering from chronic back issues, leading to several hiatuses spanning multiple years. Due to these issues, he is only able to draw sporadically and only while laying down.[28]

Style

Manga critic Jason Thompson stated that "Togashi is no ordinary mangaka; he does things his own way", furthering that his first one-shots were a mix of school comedy and "splatter-film horror references". At age 24, Togashi created a hit with the supernatural fighting comedy YuYu Hakusho, one of the "obvious imitators" of the Dragon Ball formula of "start out as a comedy and then, once the readers like the characters, have them kick the crap out of each other". Then, rather than continue the series for as long as possible to maximize his profit, Togashi ended the series abruptly. He then created the "0% fighting and 100% humor" science-fiction horror manga Level E.[29]

Togashi's style of artwork began with screentone but gradually developed into minimalism.[4] Both Rika Takahashi of EX.org and Claude J. Pelletier of Protoculture Addicts found the art style in Hunter × Hunter much simpler than YuYu Hakusho and Level E.[30][31] Thompson noted that artwork during Hunter × Hunter's magazine run is often "sketchy" and missing backgrounds, but Togashi goes back and fixes it for its collected tankōbon release.[29] He also wrote that Togashi has a love of gore and noted that some panels in Hunter × Hunter are apparently censored for gore, being covered with screentone.[29]

Since 2006, Togashi has taken numerous lengthy hiatuses while serializing Hunter × Hunter.[32] Some were due to illness and lower back pain,[33][34] while reasons for others were never disclosed.[35][36] In 2012, Thompson speculated that Togashi's slow output was "because he's a perfectionist who enjoys his work and wants to do things himself", noting that his assistants could potentially be called upon further.[29] In his 2017 book Sensei Hakusho, which recounts his work as Togashi's assistant from 1990 to 1997, Kunio Ajino stated that Togashi was unusually generous to his staff.[37] In July 2022, Togashi revealed that he was unable to sit in a chair for two years due to his back and hip problems, but was able to resume drawing by doing so while lying down.[38]

Manga artists Nobuhiro Watsuki and Pink Hanamori have cited Togashi and YuYu Hakusho as an influence.[39][40] He is one of the favorite artists of Naruto author Masashi Kishimoto.[41] Jujutsu Kaisen author Gege Akutami is very influenced by Togashi and inspired by YuYu Hakusho and Hunter × Hunter.[42][43]

Works

Manga
  • Sensēha Toshishita!! (1986, later featured in Ten de Shōwaru Cupid Volume 4)[44]
  • Jura no Miduki (1987, featured in Hop Step Award Selection Volume 1 and later in Ten de Shōwaru Cupid Volume 4)[7]
  • Ōkami Nante Kowakunai!! (1989, tankōbon published by Shueisha)
    • Buttobi Straight (1987)
    • Tonda Birthday Present (1987, published in Weekly Shōnen Jump)
    • Occult Tanteidan (1988–1989, two parts published in Weekly Shōnen Jump)
    • Horror Angel (1988, published in Weekly Shōnen Jump)
    • Ōkami Nante Kowakunai!! (1989, published in Weekly Shōnen Jump)
  • Ten de Shōwaru Cupid (1989–1990, serialized in Weekly Shōnen Jump)
  • YuYu Hakusho (1990–1994, serialized in Weekly Shōnen Jump)
  • Level E (1995–1997, serialized in Weekly Shōnen Jump)
  • Hunter × Hunter (1998–present), serialized in Weekly Shōnen Jump)
  • Akuten Wars (2017, published in Grand Jump Premium, story only, illustrated by Hachi Mizuno)[16]

Other

References
  1. "Vol.13[巻頭インタビュー]冨樫義博" [Vol.13 The First Page Interview Yoshihiro Togashi] (in Japanese). Yamagata River and National Highway Office. Archived from the original on February 4, 2006. Retrieved December 17, 2009.
  2. Fujie, Kazuhisa & Wyman, Walt (2005). YuYu Hakusho Uncovered: The Unofficial Guide. Tokyo, Japan: DH Publishing Inc. pp. 11–2.
  3. "Manga Planet Visits....Yoshihiro Togashi's Childhood Home - Manga Planet". Manga Planet. April 5, 2018. Archived from the original on June 19, 2018. Retrieved April 18, 2018.
  4. Togashi, Yoshihiro (2003). "Interview: Yoshihiro Togashi". Shonen Jump. San Francisco: Viz Media. 1 (5). ISSN 1545-7818.
  5. "SHONEN JUMP: Yoshihiro Togashi". Shonen Jump. Retrieved December 5, 2009.
  6. Togashi, Yoshihiro (October 1989). 狼なんて怖くない!! [Ōkami Nante Kowakunai!!]. Vol. 1. Shueisha. p. 145. ISBN 978-4-08-871336-6.
  7. ホップ☆ステップ賞 Selection [Hop Step Award Selection]. Vol. 1. Shueisha. March 15, 1988. p. 69. ISBN 978-4-08-871111-9.
  8. "Atari and Funimation Expand Relationship with New Publishing Agreement; Atari to Produce Video Games Based on FUNimation's Yu Yu Hakusho Hit Anime" (Press release). Beverly, Massachusetts: Business Wire. May 15, 2003. Retrieved September 8, 2010.
  9. 小学館漫画賞: 歴代受賞者 [Shogakukan Manga Award: Past winners] (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Archived from the original on September 29, 2007. Retrieved August 19, 2007.
  10. レベルE/1 [Level E/1] (in Japanese). Shueisha. 1996. ISBN 978-4-08-872071-5. Retrieved December 5, 2009.
  11. レベルE/2 [Level E/2] (in Japanese). Shueisha. 1996. ISBN 978-4-08-872072-2. Retrieved December 5, 2009.
  12. レベルE/3 [Level E/3] (in Japanese). Shueisha. 1997. ISBN 978-4-08-872073-9. Retrieved December 5, 2009.
  13. "Yoshihiro Togashi's Level E Manga Gets Anime in 2011". Anime News Network. October 25, 2010. Retrieved November 13, 2010.
  14. "『HUNTER×HUNTER』日本テレビ系にてアニメ化決定！" [Decision by NTV to animation Hunter × Hunter!] (in Japanese). Famitsu. August 2, 2006. Retrieved September 4, 2011.
  15. "Oricon: Nana's Yazawa, DB's Toriyama are Most Popular". Anime News Network. March 4, 2008. Retrieved September 5, 2010.
  16. ""Hunter x Hunter" Author Teams Up With Rookie On Short Manga". Crunchyroll. August 19, 2017. Retrieved February 22, 2018.
  17. Takeuchi, Naoko (January 1999). "武内直子姫の社会復帰ぱーんち!!(Round 2)" [Princess Naoko Takeuchi's Return to Society Punch!! (Round 2)]. Young You (in Japanese). Shueisha.
  18. Takeuchi, Naoko (March 1999). "武内直子姫の社会復帰ぱーんち!!(Round 4)" [Princess Naoko Takeuchi's Return to Society Punch!! (Round 4)]. Young You (in Japanese). Shueisha.
  19. Togashi, Yoshihiro (December 25, 2009). 名前 [Name]. Hunter × Hunter. Vol. 27. Shueisha. ISBN 978-4-08-870065-6.
  20. おおぼーぬーとちぃぼーぬー [Oobo— Nu— Tochiibo— Nu—] (in Japanese). Kodansha. Retrieved December 6, 2009.
  21. Togashi, Yoshihiro (October 1989). 狼なんて怖くない!! [I'm Not Afraid of the Wolf!!] (in Japanese). Shueisha. p. 77. ISBN 978-4-08-871336-6.
  22. Togashi, Yoshihiro (1994). Yoshihiro Togashi Speaks. ヨシりんでポン![Yoshirin de Pon!] (in Japanese). pp. 13–4.
  23. ジャンプのマンガ家から被災者のみなさまへのメッセージが続々届いてます [A message to the victims from the authors of Jump manga] (in Japanese). Shueisha. March 29, 2011. Archived from the original on May 17, 2011. Retrieved May 7, 2011.
  24. "漫画家・冨樫義博氏がTwitterアカウントを開設、集英社「ご本人のアカウント」". ORICON NEWS. May 25, 2022. Retrieved May 25, 2022.
  25. "Hunter x Hunter Manga Creator Yoshihiro Togashi Opens Twitter Account to Share In-Progress Work". Crunchyroll. May 25, 2022. Retrieved May 25, 2022.
  26. "Yoshihiro Togashi Is Already Twitter's 2nd Most-Followed Manga Artist". Anime News Network. May 25, 2022. Retrieved May 25, 2022.
  27. "@Un4v5s8bgsVk9Xp" (Yoshihiro Togashi) on Twitter
  28. Morrissy, Kim (July 7, 2022). "Yoshihiro Togashi Addresses His Health Problems in Art Exhibition Message". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on July 6, 2022. Retrieved July 7, 2022.
  29. "Jason Thompson's House of 1000 Manga - Hunter x Hunter". Anime News Network. April 26, 2012. Retrieved February 22, 2018.
  30. Takahashi, Rika. "Hunter x Hunter". EX.org. Archived from the original on October 6, 1999. Retrieved February 22, 2018.
  31. Matsuda, Miyako; Pelletier, Claude J. (June 2001). "Anime Stories: Hunter X Hunter". Protoculture Addicts. No. 66. Protoculture Inc. pp. 64–5. ISSN 0835-9563.
  32. "Graphs, Charts Chronicle Hunter x Hunter Manga's Many Hiatuses". Anime News Network. February 24, 2016. Retrieved February 22, 2018.
  33. "Hunter X Hunter on Hiatus". Anime News Network. November 16, 2005. Retrieved February 22, 2018.
  34. "Hunter x Hunter Manga Goes on Hiatus With Plans to Return By End of Year". Anime News Network. August 31, 2017. Retrieved February 22, 2018.
  35. "HunterXHunter To Resume Serialization". Anime News Network. August 30, 2007. Retrieved February 22, 2018.
  36. "Hunter X Hunter Manga Put on Hold in Japan Again". Anime News Network. December 10, 2007. Retrieved February 22, 2018.
  37. "New Manga Creator, Veteran Continue Debate Over Assistants' Working Conditions". Anime News Network. January 11, 2018. Retrieved February 22, 2018.
  38. "Yoshihiro Togashi Addresses His Health Problems in Art Exhibition Message". Anime News Network. July 4, 2022. Retrieved July 6, 2022.
  39. "Rurouni Secrets". Rurouni Kenshin Profiles. Viz Media. 2005. pp. 185–191. ISBN 978-1-4215-0160-4.
  40. "Interview: Pink Hanamori". Anime News Network. September 1, 2005. Retrieved February 22, 2018.
  41. Kishimoto, Masashi (December 4, 2009). NARUTO―ナルト―[秘伝·皆の書]オフィシャルプレミアムファンBOOK. Naruto (in Japanese). Japan: Shueisha. pp. 74–81. ISBN 978-4-08-874834-4.
  42. Okishima, Kei (July 8, 2020). "Jujutsu Kaisen: Im Interview mit Mangaka Akutami Gege". Japan Digest (in German). Doitsu News Digest. Archived from the original on October 22, 2020. Retrieved October 22, 2020.
  43. Martigan, Val (October 7, 2020). "Gege Akutami: "Pour le héros de mon manga, je me suis inspiré de mon frère"". Le Figaro Magazine (in French). Archived from the original on October 22, 2020. Retrieved October 22, 2020.
  44. センセーは年下!! [The Teacher is Younger!!]. Ten de Shōwaru Cupid. Vol. 4. Shueisha. March 24, 1994. p. 169. ISBN 978-4-08-871674-9.
  45. Studio Bentstuff. "バイオハザード 3 ラスト エスケープ 公式ガイドブック 脱出遂行編 CONTENTS" [Biohazard 3: The Last Escape Official Guidebook Contents] (in Japanese). ASCII. Archived from the original on September 23, 2015. Retrieved March 22, 2012.
  46. HUNTER×HUNTERハンター協会公式発行ハンターズ・ガイド [Official Hunter × Hunter Guide] (in Japanese). Shueisha. June 2004. ISBN 978-4-08-873701-0. Retrieved December 6, 2009.
  47. 幽・遊・白書 公式キャラクターズブック 霊界紳士録|冨樫 義博/(株)樹想社 [YuYu Hakusho Who's Who Underworld Character Book] (in Japanese). Shueisha. March 2005. ISBN 978-4-08-873732-4. Retrieved December 4, 2009.
  48. 冨樫義博 幽・遊・白書画集|冨樫 義博 [YuYu Hakusho Illustrations] (in Japanese). Shueisha. 2005. ISBN 978-4-08-873733-1. Retrieved December 4, 2009.
  49. "｢アイシールド21｣の村田雄介氏が執筆した、週刊少年ジャンプ公認の｢漫画の描き方｣マンガ、ジャンプコミックス｢ヘタッピマンガ研究所R｣(集英社)が6月3日(金)に発売!" ["Eyeshield 21" was written by Dr. Yusuke Murata, Weekly Shōnen Jump's official "How to draw manga" comics, Graphic Novels "Hetappi Institute Comics R" (Shueisha), June 03 (Friday) released!] (in Japanese). Dream News. June 3, 2011. Retrieved July 10, 2011.
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