Susumu Matsushita

Susumu Matsushita (松下進 ''Matsushita Susumu''; born February 6, 1950, in Fussa, Tokyo) is a Japanese manga artist known for his unique American comic–influenced design. His most famous works are the designing of the mascots and of the Orix Buffaloes, the concept art for the '' Monkey Magic'' television series, and video game artwork for '' Hudson's Adventure Island series'' (1986), ''Motor Toon Grand Prix'' (1994), and '' Maximo: Ghosts to Glory'' (2001).

Early years

Born in February 6, 1950, Susumu Matsushita developed an aptitude for artistic design at a young age. He was influenced by animated Disney films featuring animal designs and by the American comics that were enjoyed by Matsushita's American uncle. He attended a specialized school and was educated in industrial design and later music where he gained a lasting appreciation for The Beatles. During this period, Matsushita attended an exhibition by Alan Aldridge in Ikebukuro's Seibu Department Stores. Fascinated by Aldridge's original illustrations for '' The Beatles Illustrated Lyrics'', the exhibition made a strong impression on Matsushita and he determined to learn how to use the airbrush. Within a few months of experimentation he completely shifted to graphic design and the airbrush became his primary tool.

Career

Matsushita began working as a freelance graphic designer in 1973. He had difficulties marketing himself initially, however his career gained momentum after securing a 1976 deal with Magazine House to produce magazine covers for the fashion magazine, ''Popeye''. This was soon followed by a contract with Shueisha in 1979 to creating artwork for '' Young Jump''. Matsushita's development of ''Young Jump''s mascot, Mac Bear (later Buddy Bear), was to provide a significant moment in his career as he would shift increasingly toward the development of characters and mascots.

Creating his own studio company in 1986, Matsushita immediately signed a contract with ASCII to produce covers for the video game magazine, '' Famicom Tsūshin'' (subsequently shortened to ''Famitsū''). With professional connections to the ''Jump'' magazine line and to ''Famitsū'', requests were made for the development of numerous mascots for magazine split-offs and for video game character designs. These in turn became business propositions for Matsushita to develop mascots for musical bands, sports leagues, and even commercial and industrial organizations.

Mascots and characters

Matsushita's illustrations have frequently appeared in video game magazines including the creation of numerous covers for publications such as the ''Jump'' magazine line and ''Famitsu'' (for which Matsushita has designed the mascot, ). Matsushita also designed for younger readers and is responsible for creating the mascots of numerous Famitsu spinoff magazines including:
*''Famitsu Bros.'' (for which Matsushita designed the mascot, )
*'' Satellaview Tsūshin'' (for which Matsushita designed )
*'' Famitsu PS'' (for which Matsushita created the )
*''Game Boy Tsushin'' (for which Matsushita created the )
He also drew the old Shueisha '' Business Jump'' magazine's mascot, which was a mouse.

Matsushita has also designed mascots and characters for video games and collectible card games including:
*'' Adventure Island'' (1986)
*The '' Derby Stallion'' series (1991)
* (1993)
*'' Down the World: Mervil's Ambition'' (1994)
*''Motor Toon Grand Prix'' (1994)
*'' Maximo: Ghosts to Glory'' (2001) and its sequel '' Maximo vs. Army of Zin'' (2003)
*'' The Magical Ninja: Jiraiya Kenzan!'' (2004, cancelled)
* (2012, limited release for Famitsu GREE's '' Aquarian Age'')
*" Maximum the Hormone" - A limited 2017 T-Card from Tsutaya (Culture Convenience Club)
*'' Tiny Barbarian'' (2017, Nicalis)
*'' Death end re;Quest'' (2018, final boss)

In addition to creating characters for games and game magazines, Matsushita has also designed mascots for numerous sports organizations like the mascots for the 1994 Asian Games which were being hosted in Hiroshima at the time, and . Matsushita designed the Gamba Osaka's as well as the former Orix Buffaloes' mascots and .

Matsushita's designs, mascots, and characters have also appeared in the Kitakyushu-based theme park Space World (Matsushita designed Lucky Rabbit and friends), Minato's All of Me Club, and as concept art for the '' Monkey Magic'' television series.

Exhibitions

Matsushita has exhibited his works on a number of occasions throughout his career. Career highlights include:
* (2003, Sony Building, Ginza, Tokyo)
* (2013, Gallery EpiCute, Chiyoda, Tokyo)
* (2019, Bunkamura in Shibuya, Tokyo's Dōgenzaka district)

Personal life

Matsushita is married to American-Japanese jazz singer Naomi Grace, for whom he acts as producer. Matsushita also performs with the band .

Notes

References

External links

Susumu Matsushita Enterprise

Susumu Matsushita's Blog

{{DEFAULTSORT:Matsushita, Susumu
1950 births
Japanese album-cover and concert-poster artists
Anime character designers
Japanese cartoonists
Japanese entertainers
Japanese guitarists
Japanese poster artists
Japanese video game designers
Living people
Manga artists from Tokyo
Musicians from Western Tokyo
People from Fussa, Tokyo
Japanese video game artists