is a Japanese

manga artist A manga artist, also known as a mangaka (), is a Cartoonist, comic artist who writes and/or illustrates manga. Most manga artists study at an art college or manga school or take on an apprenticeship with another artist before entering the indus ...

that usually works as the illustrator in collaboration with a writer. He is best known for '' Crying Freeman'' (1986–1988), written by Kazuo Koike, and ''

Heat In thermodynamics, heat is energy in transfer between a thermodynamic system and its surroundings by such mechanisms as thermal conduction, electromagnetic radiation, and friction, which are microscopic in nature, involving sub-atomic, ato ...

'' (1999–2004), written by

Buronson , known by the pen names and , is a Japanese manga writer. Making his debut in 1972, he first found success with the hardboiled detective manga series '' Doberman Deka'' (1975–1979) alongside illustrator Shinji Hiramatsu. He is best-known fo ...

. The latter won the 2001

Shogakukan Manga Award The is one of Japan's major manga are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is ...

for general manga. Ikegami received the Fauves d'Honneur at the 2023

Angoulême International Comics Festival The Angoulême International Comics Festival (AICF; ) is the second largest comics festival in Europe after the Lucca Comics & Games in Italy, and the third biggest in the world after Lucca Comics & Games and the Comiket of Japan. It has occur ...

. Yoshihide Fujiwara is a former assistant of Ikegami's.

Career

After graduating from junior high school, Ikegami moved to Osaka and drew manga while working as a billboard sign painter, debuting at the age of 17 writing rental comics. Urasawa Naoki no Manben: Ikegami Ryoichi (S3E1, 2016), NHK Educational TV In 1966, he published a story called in the

gekiga is a style of Japanese comics aimed at adult audiences and marked by a more cinematic art style and more mature themes. ''Gekiga'' was the predominant style of adult comics in Japan in the 1960s and 1970s. It is aesthetically defined by sharp ...

magazine '' Garo'' that caught the eye of fellow ''Garo'' contributor, Shigeru Mizuki, who offered him a job as his assistant. Ikegami accepted and moved to Tokyo where he worked as Mizuki's assistant for two and a half years. From a young age Ikegami had admired

Takao Saito was a Japanese manga artist, although he rejected the term and considered his work gekiga. He was best known for '' Golgo 13'', which has been serialized in '' Big Comic'' since 1968, making it the oldest manga still in publication. ''Golgo 1 ...

and Yoshiharu Tsuge, so he was delighted to work with Tsuge as Mizuki's assistant. Ikegami is also a fan of American comics, particularly

Neal Adams Neal Adams (June 15, 1941 – April 28, 2022) was an American comic book artist. He was the co-founder of the graphic design studio Continuity Associates, and was a Creator ownership, creators-rights advocate who helped secure a pension and re ...

. Ikegami has worked on several popular series, such as '' Mai, the Psychic Girl'' with writer Kazuya Kudo, '' Crying Freeman'', with writer Kazuo Koike, as well as ''

Sanctuary A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred space, sacred place, such as a shrine, protected by ecclesiastical immunity. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This seconda ...

'' and ''

'' with writer Sho Fumimura. He also wrote and drew '' Spider-Man: The Manga'', a manga version of

Spider-Man Spider-Man is a superhero in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appearance, first appeared in the anthology comic book ''Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in ...

and collaborated with Garon Tsuchiya for the manga ''Box''. In 2001, he won the

for general manga as the artist of ''

''. He became a professor at Osaka University of Arts in 2005. From 2016 to 2020, he and Sho Fumimura created ''

Begin Begin or Bégin may refer to: People *Begin (surname) Music * Begin (band), a Japanese pop trio * ''Begin'' (David Archuleta album) * ''begin'' (Riyu Kosaka album) * ''Begin'' (Lion Babe album) * ''Begin'' (The Millennium album) * ''beGin'' ...

'' in '' Big Comic Superior''. Ikegami teamed up with writer Richard Woo for ''M no Shirushi -MacArthur Ansatsu Keikaku-'' (2020) for ''Big Comic Superior''. It tells the story of a plot to assassinate

Douglas MacArthur Douglas MacArthur (26 January 18805 April 1964) was an American general who served as a top commander during World War II and the Korean War, achieving the rank of General of the Army (United States), General of the Army. He served with dis ...

. A character called Kēichi Kurata (played by

Masataka Kubota is a Japanese actor. History Kubota was born in Kanagawa Prefecture. He is the youngest of three male brothers. He hoped to become a vehicle mechanic and enrolled in the mechanical department of Kanagawa Technical Senior High School. While Kub ...

) in the TV-drama '' GeGeGe no Nyōbō'' is modeled after him. He did a collaboration manga for the anime ''

Girls und Panzer , abbreviated as ''GuP'' or ''Garupan'' , is a Japanese franchise created by Actas. It depicts a competition between girls' high schools practicing tank warfare as a sport. The series was directed by Tsutomu Miz ...

''.

Selected works

* (1970–1971): Written by Kōsei Ono and Kazumasa Hirai * (1973–1977): Written by Kazuo Koike, serialized in general-interest magazine ''

Shūkan Gendai is a general-interest weekly magazine published by Kodansha in Tokyo, Japan. History and profile ''Shūkan Gendai'' was started in 1959. The magazine has its headquarters in Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital o ...

'' * (1974–1979): Written by Tetsu Kariya, serialized in ''

Weekly Shōnen Sunday is a weekly manga magazine published in Japan by Shogakukan since March 1959. Contrary to its title, ''Weekly Shōnen Sunday'' issues are released on Wednesdays. ''Weekly Shōnen Sunday'' has sold over 1.8billion copies since 1986, making it ...

'' * (1980–1982): Written by Tetsu Kariya, serialized in ''Weekly Shōnen Sunday'' * (1981–1986): Written by Kazuo Koike * (1985–1986): Written by Kazuya Kudō, serialized in ''Weekly Shōnen Sunday'' * (1986–1987): Written by Kazuya Kudō * (1986–1988): Written by Kazuo Koike * (1990–1991): Written by Kazuo Koike * (1990–1995): Written by Sho Fumimura * (1991–1992): Written by Oji Hiroi * (1996–1998): Written by Buronson * (1998–2004): Written by Buronson * (2000–2004) * (2004–2011): Written by Buronson * (2013–2015): Written by Buronson * (2015–2016): Written by Hideo Yamamoto * ''

'' (2016–2020): Written by Sho Fumimura * (2020–present): Written by Riichiro Inagaki

References

External links

Ryoichi Ikegami Official Website
(Japanese)

Jason Thompson's article about the Spider-man manga

The Illustrious Career of Ryoichi Ikegami
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ikegami, Ryoichi 1944 births Inkpot Award winners Living people Manga artists from Fukui Prefecture Gekiga creators Academic staff of Osaka University of Arts