Shotaro Ishinomori
BornShotaro Onodera
(1938-01-25)25 January 1938
Tome, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan
Died28 January 1998(1998-01-28) (aged 60)
Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan
OccupationManga artist
LanguageJapanese
Period1954–1998
GenreScience fiction
Notable works
Notable awardsTezuka Osamu Cultural Prize (1998)
Website
ishimoripro.com

Shotaro Ishinomori (石ノ森 章太郎, Ishinomori Shōtarō, 25 January 1938 – 28 January 1998) was a Japanese manga artist who became an influential figure in manga, anime, and tokusatsu, creating several immensely popular long-running series such as Cyborg 009, the Super Sentai series (later adapted into the Power Rangers series), and the Kamen Rider series. He was twice awarded by the Shogakukan Manga Awards, in 1968 for Sabu to Ichi Torimono Hikae and in 1988 for Hotel and Manga Nihon Keizai Nyumon.[2] He was born as Shotaro Onodera (小野寺 章太郎, Onodera Shōtarō) in Tome, Miyagi, and was also known as Shotaro Ishimori (石森 章太郎, Ishimori Shōtarō) prior to 1986, when he changed his family name to Ishinomori by adding the no (ノ) character in katakana.

Career

In December 1954, Ishinomori published his first work, Nikyuu Tenshi, in Manga Shōnen. In 1956, he moved to Tokyo and became an assistant to Osamu Tezuka. During his time working under Tezuka, Ishinomori worked on Astro Boy[3] and Alakazam the Great.[4] In 1960, Ishinomori published Flying Phantom Ship, which was later turned into an animated feature film in 1969.[5]

Cyborg 009, created in 1963, became the first superpowered hero team created in Japan, featuring nine cybernetic warriors. That same year, Kazumasa Hirai and Jiro Kuwata created Japan's first android superhero series, 8 Man (which predated Ishinomori's Kikaider by nine years). The success of the tokusatsu superhero TV series Kamen Rider, produced by Toei Company in 1971, led to the birth of the "transforming" (henshin) superhero (human-sized superheroes who transform by doing a pose, and use martial arts to fight henchmen and the weekly monster), and resulted in many sequel shows to this day. Ishinomori then created many similar superhero dramas, which were once again all produced by Toei or in Sarutobi Ecchan's case Toei Animation, including Android Kikaider, Kikaider 01, Henshin Ninja Arashi, Inazuman, Robotto Keiji, Himitsu Sentai Gorenger (the first Super Sentai series), Kaiketsu Zubat, Akumaizer 3, Sarutobi Ecchan, the Toei Fushigi Comedy Series, and countless others. He even created popular children's shows, such as Hoshi no Ko Chobin (Chobin, Child of the Stars, 1974, a co-production with Studio Zero which was a major success on Italian television) and Ganbare!! Robokon. In 1963, he also founded the anime company Studio Zero. From 1967 to 1970, the manga 009-1 was serialized in the Futabasha publication Weekly Manga Action. It was written and illustrated by Ishinomori. There was a television drama of it in 1969 and eventually an anime in 2006.

Ishinomori's art is reminiscent of that of his mentor, Osamu Tezuka. The true story of his first meeting with Tezuka was illustrated in a short four-page tale drawn up as supplementary material for the 1970s Astro Boy manga reprints. In 1954, Ishinomori submitted his first official work, Nikyu Tenshi, to a contest seeking new talent in the magazine, Manga Shōnen. Tezuka was impressed by his drawings and sent a telegraph to Ishinomori, asking him to work as his assistant with Astro Boy. In the American release, this story can be seen in Volume 15, along with Ishinomori's earliest work on the "Electro" story arc. After graduating from high school in 1956 Ishinomori moved to Tokiwa-so with Tezuka, and lived there until the end of 1961.

Ishinomori also illustrated a comic adaptation of the Super NES video game The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, which was produced for the American publication Nintendo Power. The comic consisted of 12 chapters, which were serialized from January 1992 (Volume 32) to December 1992 (Volume 43). The comic was republished as a graphic novel collection in 1993, and, as of 2015, is back in print through Viz Media.

At the end of 1997, Kazuhiko Shimamoto, a young and up-and-coming manga artist was contacted by an increasingly ill Ishinomori and asked if he would do a continuation (though more along the lines of a remake) of his 100-page, one-shot manga from 1970, Skull Man (the manga that became the basis for Kamen Rider). Ishinomori, who had been one of Shimamoto's boyhood heroes, faxed him copies of the proposed story and plot notes. Shimamoto was astounded that he had been chosen to work on his idol's final, great work.

Shimamoto had already been involved in the revival of one of Ishinomori's other earlier works (including Kamen Rider) but little did he dream that, as only one of many whom Ishinomori had inspired, he would be chosen for the final collaboration and resurrection of Skull Man. It was also adapted into an anime in 2007.

Death and legacy

One of the Mangattan Liners on the Senseki Line decorated with images of the eponymous character of Ganbare!! Robocon

Ishinomori died of heart failure on 28 January 1998, just three days after his 60th birthday. His final work was the tokusatsu superhero TV series, Voicelugger, televised a year later. Two years later, the Kamen Rider series would be revived with Kamen Rider Kuuga. All of the series made in the Heisei period credit Ishinomori as the creator. The Ishinomori Manga Museum named in his honor opened in Ishinomaki, Miyagi, in 2001.[6] Special trains in the Senseki Line were commissioned featuring his artwork generally leading to the museum.

His work posthumously awarded him the Guinness World Record for most comics published by one author, totaling over 128,000 pages across 770 titles across 500 volumes.[7]

Manga artists that have cited Ishinomori as an influence include Katsuhiro Otomo, Naoki Urasawa and Tetsuo Hara.[8][9][10]

Fuku Suzuki portrays a young Ishinomori in Saber + Zenkaiger: Superhero Senki.[11][12]

Selected works

Manga
Year(s) Original title Translated title Volumes
1954–55二級天使Nikyuu Tenshi1
1957–64竜神沼Ryuujin Numa / Dragon God Pond1
1960 空飛ぶゆうれい船 Flying Phantom Ship 1
1964–81サイボーグ009Cyborg 00936
1964–69さるとびエッちゃんSarutobi Ecchan5
1965–66ミュータント・サブMutant Sabu3
1966–72佐武と市捕物控Sabu and Ichi's Detective Memoirs17
1967–74009ノ1009-16
1967–68幻魔大戦Genma Wars2
1967–71ジュン - 章太郎のファンタジーワールドShoutaro's Fantasy World Jun2
1969–70リュウの道The Road of Ryuu8
1970スカルマンThe Skull Man1
1971宮本武蔵Miyamoto Musashi1
1971原始少年リュウPrimitive Boy Ryu3
1971劇画家畜人ヤプーDomestic Yapoo1
1971–72仮面ライダーKamen Rider4
1972–73ロボット刑事Robot Keiji3
1972–73変身忍者 嵐Transforming Ninja Arashi3
1973–74買厄懸場帖 九頭竜Baiyaku Kakebachou Kuzuryuu3
1972–74キカイダーKikaider6
1973–74イナズマンInazuman4
1974–75星の子チョビンChobin the Star Child1
1976–78ギルガメッシュGilgamesh6
1977–78多羅尾伴内 七つの顔をもつ男The Man With Seven Faces5
1979–81幻魔大戦 -神話前夜の章Genma Wars: Eve of Mythology3
1983–84八百八町表裏 化粧師808 Ward Inside and Out: Make-Up Artist3
1984–98HotelHotel37
1986マンガ日本経済入門Japan Inc.: An Introduction to Japanese Economics2
1986–87北斎Hokusai3
1987–88仮面ライダーBlackKamen Rider Black6
1988人間の條件The Human Condition4
1989–94仮面ライダーZOKamen Rider ZO1
1992ゼルダの伝説～神々のトライフォースThe Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past1
1994古事記 (石ノ森章太郎)Kojiki1
1996–97シャーロック・ホームズシリーズSherlock Holmes Series10
1997–98ドッグワールドDog World3
2024-25ベイブレードスパイラルBeyblade Spiral20

References

  1. ↑ Brubaker, Charles (13 November 2013). "That Strange, Strange Little Girl: "Sarutobi Ecchan"(1971)". Cartoon Research. Retrieved 3 March 2020.
  2. ↑ 小学館漫画賞: 歴代受賞者 (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Archived from the original on 29 September 2007. Retrieved 19 August 2007.
  3. ↑ Yadao, Jason S. (2009). The rough guide to Manga (1st ed.). London: Rough Guides. ISBN 9781858285610. OCLC 421814256.
  4. ↑ Shimamoto, Kazuhiko (2002). The Skull man. Ishinomori, Shōtarō, 1938-1998., Yoshimoto, Ray. Los Angeles, Calif.: Tokyopop. ISBN 9781931514651. OCLC 52120460.
  5. ↑ "Flying Phantom Ship (movie) - Anime News Network". www.animenewsnetwork.com. Retrieved 11 April 2020.
  6. ↑ "Sightseeing in Ishinomaki". Retrieved 29 August 2009.
  7. ↑ "Most comics published by one author". Guinness World Records. Retrieved 11 September 2016.
  8. ↑ "Katsuhiro Otomo On Creating 'Akira' And Designing The Coolest Bike In All Of Manga And Anime". Forbes. 26 May 2017. Retrieved 4 September 2021.
  9. ↑ "An Interview with Urasawa Naoki a Master of Manga". Otaku News. 9 June 2019. Retrieved 1 September 2021.
  10. ↑ "Tetsuo Hara On 'Fist Of The North Star' And His Enduring Love Of Manga". Forbes. 17 June 2021. Retrieved 1 September 2021.
  11. ↑ "『スーパーヒーロー戦記』本予告で物語の全貌が明らかに、鈴木福がゲスト出演「3歳の頃から大大大好き」" (in Japanese). Mynavi. 25 June 2021. Retrieved 25 June 2021.
  12. ↑ "「スーパーヒーロー戦記」鈴木福は石ノ森章太郎の墓参りして撮影、新ライダー情報も" (in Japanese). Natalie. 22 July 2021. Retrieved 22 July 2021.
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