is a Japanese mangaka, creator of several

anime is hand-drawn and computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japanese, (a term derived from a shortening of ...

and manga series. His wife Miyako Maki is also a manga artist.

Early life

Matsumoto was the middle child of a family of seven brothers, and, in his early childhood, Matsumoto was given a 35mm

film projector A movie projector is an opto-mechanical device for displaying motion picture film by projecting it onto a screen. Most of the optical and mechanical elements, except for the illumination and sound devices, are present in movie cameras. Modern ...

by his father, and watched American cartoons during the Pacific War. During this time, he gained an interest in science fiction novels by authors Unno Juza and

H. G. Wells Herbert George Wells"Wells, H. G."
Revised 18 May 2015. ''

mangaka''.

Space opera

Matsumoto is famous for his space operas such as ''

Space Battleship Yamato is a Japanese science fiction anime series produced and written by Yoshinobu Nishizaki, directed by manga artist Leiji Matsumoto, and produced by Academy Productions. The series aired in Yomiuri TV from October 6, 1974 to March 30, 1975 ...

'' and ''

Galaxy Express 999 is a Japanese manga series. It is written and illustrated by Leiji Matsumoto, later adapted into a number of anime films and television series. It is set in a spacefaring, high-tech future in which humans have learned how to transfer ...

''. His style is characterized by mythological and often tragic storylines with strong moral themes, noble heroes, feminine heroines, and a love of strange worlds and melancholy atmosphere.

Career

Matsumoto made his debut under his real name, Akira Matsumoto, in 1954 with ''Mitsubachi no bōken'' in the magazine ''

Manga Shōnen was a monthly manga magazine published by Gakudōsha between December 1947 and October 1955. The magazine was important in forming and promoting shōnen manga in post-war Japan. Legacy The magazine was first published on 20 December 1947. ...

''. Matsumoto had his big break with ''Otoko Oidon'', a series that chronicled the life of a

rōnin A ''rōnin'' ( ; ja, 浪人, , meaning 'drifter' or 'wanderer') was a samurai without a lord or master during the feudal period of Japan (1185–1868). A samurai became masterless upon the death of his master or after the loss of his master ...

(a young man preparing for university entrance exams), in 1971. In 1972 he also created the mature-themed dark comedy Western

seinen is an editorial category of Japanese comics marketed toward young adult men. In Japanese, the word ''seinen'' literally means "youth", but the term "''seinen'' manga" is also used to describe the target audience of magazines like '' Weekly Ma ...

series, Gun Frontier, for Play Comic magazine, which ran from 1972 to 1975. Around the same time he started a series of unconnected short stories set during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, ''Senjo Manga Series'', which would eventually become popular under the title ''

The Cockpit The Cockpit can refer to: * Cockpit Theatre, a 17th-century theatre in London (also known as the Phoenix) that opened in 1616 * The Cockpit Theatre (Marylebone), Cockpit, a theatre in London, England that opened in 1970 * The Cockpit (OVA), ''The C ...

''. He was involved in ''

'' (1974) and created the highly popular series ''

Space Pirate Captain Harlock is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Leiji Matsumoto. It was serialized in ''Play Comic'' from 1977 to 1979, with the chapters collected into five ''tankōbon'' volumes by Akita Shoten. The series follows the titular Capt ...

'' and ''

'' (both 1977). In 1978, he was awarded the

Shogakukan Manga Award The is one of Japan's major manga awards, and is sponsored by Shogakukan Publishing. It has been awarded annually for serialized manga and features candidates from a number of publishers. It is the oldest manga award in Japan, being given since ...

for shōnen for ''Galaxy Express 999'' and ''Senjo Manga Series''. Animated versions of ''Captain Harlock'' and ''Galaxy Express 999'' are set in the same universe, which spanned several spin offs and related series, most notably '' Queen Emeraldas'' and '' Queen Millennia''. Matsumoto supervised the creation of several music videos for the

French house French house, also known as French touch, filter house and tekfunk, is a style of house music originally produced by French musicians in the 1990s. It is a form of Euro disco and a popular strand of the late 1990s and 2000s European dance m ...

group Daft Punk, set to tracks from their album '' Discovery''. These videos were issued end-to-end (making a full-length animated movie) on a DVD release titled '' Interstella 5555: The 5tory of the 5ecret 5tar 5ystem''. About two dozen bronze statues – each perhaps four feet tall – of characters and scenes from ''Space Battleship Yamato'' and ''Galaxy Express 999'' were erected in the downtown area of Tsuruga in 1999. Each statue includes a plaque at its base explaining the character, and featuring Matsumoto's signature. Himiko Cruise Ship

Matsumoto worked with Yoshinobu Nishizaki on ''Space Battleship Yamato'' (known outside Japan under various names, but most commonly as '' Star Blazers''). Matsumoto created a manga loosely based on the series, and the Yamato makes cameo appearances (sans crew) in several of his works including the ''Galaxy Express 999'' manga. A recent work by Matsumoto called ''

Great Yamato is a Japanese science fiction anime series produced and written by Yoshinobu Nishizaki, directed by Mangaka, manga artist Leiji Matsumoto, and produced by Academy Productions. The series aired in Yomiuri Telecasting Corporation, Yomiuri T ...

'' featuring an updated Yamato had to be renamed ''Great Galaxy'' due to legal issues with Nishizaki. As of 2009, Matsumoto and Nishizaki were working on independent anime projects featuring the acclaimed ''Space Battleship Yamato'', with the conditions that Matsumoto cannot use the name ''Yamato'' or the plot or characters from the original, and Nishizaki cannot use the conceptual art, character or ship designs of the original. Since Nishizaki's death in 2010, it is uncertain whether these restrictions will continue to apply. In August 2014, to celebrate the 60th anniversary of his debut, Matsumoto launched the manga ''Captain Harlock ~Jigen Kōkai~'' ('' Captain Harlock: Dimensional Voyage''), illustrated by Kōichi Shimahoshi, in the pages of

Akita Shoten is a Japanese publishing company headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo. It was founded by Teio Akita on 10 August 1948. As of 2020, the company's president is Shigeru Higuchi. Magazines Male-oriented manga magazines ''Shōnen'' magazines * – Bimo ...

's ''

Champion Red is a monthly Japanese ''seinen'' manga magazine, published on the 19th each month by Akita Shoten since August 19, 2002 (cover date October 2002), initially published as a ''shōnen'' magazine. Since 2015, the magazine slogan is . was a sp ...

'' magazine. ''Dimensional Voyage'' is a retelling of the original 1978 ''

'' manga. It had been licensed in the U.S. by Seven Seas. Matsumoto is one of the 'Frontier Ambassadors' of Koriyama City ( Fukushima Prefecture).

Personal life

His wife is shōjo manga artist Miyako Maki (better known as the creator of the doll

Licca-chan , full name , is a dress-up doll series introduced in Japan on July 4, 1967 by Takara, enjoying the same kind of popularity in Japan as the Barbie series does in the United States. Takara had sold over 48 million Licca-chan dolls as of 2002, ...

, the Japanese equivalent of

Barbie Barbie is a fashion doll manufactured by American toy company Mattel, Inc. and launched on March 9, 1959. American businesswoman Ruth Handler is credited with the creation of the doll using a German doll called Bild Lilli as her inspiration. ...

Health

On November 15, 2019, Matsumoto suffered severe respiratory problems and collapsed during an event in

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The ...

, Italy, for the 40th anniversary tour celebrating the Captain Harlock anime adaptation. He was taken in hospital in critical condition, and had a breathing tube inserted after he was checked into the emergency unit. However, he was considered to be out of danger two days later.

List of works

*''Great Galaxy'' (formerly ''

'') *''

Harlock Saga is a manga series written and illustrated by Leiji Matsumoto. An adaptation of Wilhelm Richard Wagner epic music drama ''Der Ring des Nibelungen'', it tells the story of space pirate Captain Harlock and his crew as they try to stop a m ...

Der Ring des Nibelungen'' *'' Queen Millennia'' (aka Queen of 1000 Years) *'' Starzinger'' (part of the ''

Force Five ''Force Five'' is an American adaptation of five different anime television series. In the United States, this series was primarily shown only in New England, Pennsylvania, and Virginia, though it did make brief appearances in other markets, s ...

'' anthology series, as ''Spaceketeers'') (1978–1979) *''The Ultimate Time Sweeper Mahoroba'' (manga) *'' Planet Robot Danguard Ace'' (part of the U.S. ''

'' anthology series, as ''Dangard Ace''; 1977–1978)

Collected editions

Manga collections (American publishers)

Captain Harlock and Yamato

* Captain Harlock: Dimensional Voyage Vol. 1-10 Publisher: Seven Seas (September 5, 2017 – 2019) * Space Battleship Yamato: The Classic Collection Publisher: Seven Seas; Translation edition (April 9, 2019) * Captain Harlock: The Classic Collection Vol. 1-3 Publisher: Seven Seas; Illustrated edition (June 12, 2018)

Galaxy Express and Emeraldas

* Queen Emeraldas volume 1 - volume 2 Publisher: Kodansha Comics; Illustrated editions (July 26, 2016) * Galaxy Express 999, Vol. 1-5 Publisher: VIZ Media LLC; Original edition (March 8, 1999 – 2002)

References

External links

* * *
Leijiverse
the world of Leiji Matsumoto
Entry
in

The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction ''The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction'' (SFE) is an English language reference work on science fiction, first published in 1979. It has won the Hugo, Locus and British SF Awards. Two print editions appeared in 1979 and 1993. A third, continu ...

Leiji Matsumoto manga
an
anime
at Media Arts Database
''Ozma'' interview''Ozma'' interview with ''Asahi Shimbun''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Matsumoto, Leiji 1938 births Chevaliers of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres Japanese animators Japanese illustrators Living people Manga artists from Fukuoka Prefecture People from Kitakyushu People from Kurume Recipients of the Medal with Purple Ribbon Recipients of the Order of the Rising Sun, 4th class Space Battleship Yamato Toei Animation