, known by his

pen name A pen name or nom-de-plume is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen name may be used to make the author's na ...

, was 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 ...

best known for ''

Kimagure Orange Road is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Izumi Matsumoto. It was serialized in ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' magazine from 1984 to 1987, with the chapters collected in 18 ''tankōbon'' volumes by Shueisha. The story follows teen ...

''. His career started in 1982, publishing his comic ''Milk Report'' in the manga magazine ''

Weekly Shōnen Jump is a weekly Shōnen manga, ''shōnen'' manga anthology published in Japan by Shueisha under the ''Jump (magazine line), Jump'' line of magazines. The manga series within the magazine consist of many Action (fiction), action scenes and a fair ...

''. But real success came in 1984, publishing ''

'' in the same magazine. In 2005, he revealed that he was afflicted with a cerebrospinal fluid disease (possibly stemming from a car accident when he was three years old) that had forced him to take six years off work, and he hoped to bring attention to this disorder through a new manga. On 3 November 2019, Matsumoto revealed that he had been diagnosed with

spinal stenosis Spinal stenosis is an abnormal narrowing of the spinal canal or neural foramen that results in pressure on the spinal cord or nerve roots. Symptoms may include pain, numbness, or weakness in the arms or legs. Symptoms are typically gradual in ...

. Matsumoto died at 61 on October 6, 2020.

Career

Izumi Matsumoto began working for ''

'' when he cold called them and formed a relationship with Toshimasa Takahashi, then a junior editor in charge of answering phones. His work "Live! Tottemo Rock 'n' Roll" then won a newcomer award. This led to the 1982 publication of ''Milk Report'' in ''Fresh Jump''. Just two years later he began ''

'' in ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'', which was an instant success. Following its end, he began ''Sesame Street'' (not to be confused with the television series of the same name) in '' Super Jump''. In 1994, Matsumoto conceived the idea for a digital manga on

CD-ROM A CD-ROM (, compact disc read-only memory) is a type of read-only memory consisting of a pre-pressed optical compact disc that contains computer data storage, data computers can read, but not write or erase. Some CDs, called enhanced CDs, hold b ...

, the first of its kind. The five-volume ''Comic On'' was also possibly the first "trans-hemispheric manga compilation" as the semi-animated content set to music and dialogue also contained work by Jan Scott-Frazier and Lea Hernandez. Matsumoto set up his own company Genesis DPC to fund the project and partnered with Toshiba EMI to sell it. Manga publishers considered this a competitor, and Matsumoto struggled to get permission from

Shueisha is a Japanese publishing company headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. Shueisha is the largest publishing company in Japan. It was established in 1925 as the entertainment-related publishing division of Japanese publisher Shogakukan. The ...

to use his own ''

'' characters in the work.

Works

* ''

'' (1984–1987, ''

'') * ''Comic Gunbuster'' (1989) * ''Sesame Street'' (1990–1992, '' Super Jump'') * ''Comic On'' (1996) * ''Digital Short Contents'' (2001)

References

External links

Official website

{{DEFAULTSORT:Matsumoto, Izumi 1958 births 2020 deaths Manga artists from Toyama Prefecture

Career

Works

References

Further reading

External links