was a prolific Japanese

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 used in Japan to refer to both comics ...

writer ( gensakusha), novelist, screenwriter, lyricist and entrepreneur. He is best known for his violent, artful ''

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

'' manga, notably ''

Lone Wolf and Cub is a Japanese manga series created by writer Kazuo Koike and artist Goseki Kojima. It was serialized in Futabasha's manga magazine '' Weekly Manga Action'' from September 1970 to April 1976, with its chapters collected in 28 ' volumes. ...

'' (with Goseki Kojima, 1970–6), '' Lady Snowblood'' (with Kazuo Kamimura, 1972–3) and '' Crying Freeman'' (with Ryoichi Ikegami, 1986–8), which – along with their numerous media adaptations − have been credited for their influence on the international growth of

Japanese popular culture Japanese popular culture includes Cinema of Japan, Japanese cinema, Japanese cuisine, cuisine, Television in Japan, television programs, anime, manga, Video gaming in Japan, video games, Music of Japan, music, and doujinshi, all of which retain ol ...

Career

Early in Koike's career, he studied under

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 ...

(the creator of '' Golgo 13),'' and served as a writer on the series. Koike, along with artist Goseki Kojima, made the

''Kozure Okami'' (''

''), and Koike also contributed to the scripts for the 1970s film adaptations of the series, which starred famous Japanese actor Tomisaburo Wakayama. In 1992 he himself produced a Lone Wolf and Cub's film Lone Wolf and Cub: Final Conflict which starred Masakazu Tamura. Koike and Kojima became known as the "Golden Duo" because of the success of ''Lone Wolf and Cub''. Another series written by Koike, '' Crying Freeman'', which was illustrated by Ryoichi Ikegami, was adapted into a 1995 live-action film by French director Christophe Gans. In addition to his more violent, action-oriented manga, Koike, an avid golfer, has also written golf manga. He has also written

mahjong Mahjong (English pronunciation: ; also transliterated as mah jongg, mah-jongg, and mahjongg) is a tile-based game that was developed in the 19th century in China and has spread throughout the world since the early 20th century. It is played ...

manga, as he himself is a former professional mahjong player. In the early 2000s, he wrote a

Wolverine The wolverine ( , ; ''Gulo gulo''), also called the carcajou or quickhatch (from East Cree, ''kwiihkwahaacheew''), is the largest land-dwelling species, member of the family Mustelidae. It is a muscular carnivore and a solitary animal. The w ...

story for Marvel. In 2011, Koike announced his intention to write a magical girl manga series titled '' Maho Shojo Mimitsuki Mimi no QED.'' Koike started the ''Gekiga Sonjuku'', a college course meant to teach people how to be a manga artist.

Death

On April 17, 2019, Kazuo Koike died due to

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

at the age of 82. His death happened just five days after the death of the fellow prolific manga author Monkey Punch on April 11, who also died of pneumonia and who Koike considered his rival in the ''

Weekly Manga Action is a Japanese seinen manga magazine published by Futabasha. It is currently published twice a month, on the first and third Thursday. The magazine was originally formed as and began publishing weekly from July 7, 1967. It is considered the f ...

'' magazine.

Graduates of Koike's ''Gekiga Sonjuku''

Rumiko Takahashi is a Japanese manga artist. With a career of several commercially successful works, beginning with ''Urusei Yatsura'' in 1978, she is one of Japan's best-known and wealthiest manga artists. Her works are known worldwide, where they have been tra ...

– manga artist: ''

Urusei Yatsura is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Rumiko Takahashi. It was serialized in Shogakukan's ''Weekly Shōnen Sunday'' from September 1978 to February 1987. Its 366 individual chapters were collected in 34 ''tankōbon'' volum ...

'', ''

Ranma ½ is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Rumiko Takahashi. It was serialized in ''Weekly Shōnen Sunday'' from August 1987 to March 1996, with the chapters collected in 38 volumes by Shogakukan. The story revolves a ...

'', '' InuYasha'' *

Akira Sakuma (also known by the abbreviated name ''Momotetsu'') is a long-running board game-style video game series in Japan; in which players travel by rail transport, rail, ship, and airplane; attempting to acquire wealth through business transactions buyi ...

– game designer, freelance writer: '' Momotaro Densetsu'' series *

Hideyuki Kikuchi is a Japanese author known for his horror novels. His most famous works include the ''Vampire Hunter D'' series, ''Darkside Blues'' and ''Wicked City (novel), Wicked City''. Biography Kikuchi was born in Chōshi, Chiba, Chōshi, Japan on Septe ...

– horror writer: '' Vampire Hunter D'' * Tetsuo Hara – manga artist: ''

Fist of the North Star is a Japanese manga series written by Buronson and illustrated by Tetsuo Hara. It was serialized in Shueisha's manga magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' for 245 issues published from 1983 to 1988 and initially collected in 27 volumes ...

'' * Yuji Horii – game designer, freelance writer: ''

Dragon Quest previously published as ''Dragon Warrior'' in North America until 2005, is a series of role-playing video games created by Japanese game designer Yuji Horii (Armor Project), character designer Akira Toriyama (Bird Studio), and composer Koi ...

'' series * Keisuke Itagaki – manga artist: ''

Baki the Grappler is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Keisuke Itagaki. It was originally serialized in the ''shōnen'' manga magazine '' Weekly Shōnen Champion'' from 1991 to 1999 and collected into 42 ''tankōbon'' volumes by Akit ...

'' * Naoki Yamamoto – manga artist: '' Dance till Tomorrow'' * Takayuki Yamaguchi – manga artist: '' Apocalypse Zero'' and '' Shigurui''

Bibliography

* ''

'', with artist Goseki Kojima, 1970–1976 * '' Hulk: The Manga'', with artist Yoshihiro Morifuji, November 24, 1970 – January 6, 1971 * '' Lady Snowblood'', with artist Kazuo Kamimura, 1972–1973 * '' Samurai Executioner'', with artist Goseki Kojima, 1972–1976 * The script to the film '' Lady Snowblood'', 1973 * '' Musashi'', with artist Noboru Kawasaki, 1974–1977 * '' Kei no Seishun'',, with artist Goseki Kojima, 1978–1980 * '' Adolescent Zoo'', with artist Hiromi Yamasaki, 1978–1981 * '' Nijitte Monogatari'', with artist , 1978–2003 * '' Path of the Assassin'', with artist Goseki Kojima, 1978–1984 * '' Hanappe Bazooka'', with artist

Go Nagai , better known by the pen name , is a Japanese manga artist and a prolific author of Japanese science fiction, science fiction, fantasy, Japanese horror, horror, and erotica. He made his professional debut in 1967 with ''Meakashi Polikichi'', b ...

, June 7, 1979 – January 7, 1982 * '' Wounded Man'', with artist Ryoichi Ikegami, 1983–1986 * '' Mad Bull 34'', with artist Noriyoshi Inoue, 1985–1991 * '' Crying Freeman'', with artist Ryoichi Ikegami, 1986–1988 * '' Kawaite sōrō'', with artist Goseki Kojima, 1995–1999 * '' X-Men Unlimited'' #50, 2003 * '' Kajō'', with artist Hideki Mori, 2003–2006 * '' New Lone Wolf and Cub'' (Shin Kozure Okami), with artist Hideki Mori, 2003–2006 * '' Yume Genji Tsurugi no Saimon'', with artist Natsuki Sumeragi, 2006–? * '' Shura Yukihime Gaiden'', with artist Ryoichi Ikegami, 2009–? * ''

Oda Nobunaga was a Japanese ''daimyō'' and one of the leading figures of the Sengoku period, Sengoku and Azuchi-Momoyama periods. He was the and regarded as the first "Great Unifier" of Japan. He is sometimes referred as the "Demon Daimyō" and "Demo ...

'', with artist Goseki Kojima, ?-? * '' Offered'', with artist Ryoichi Ikegami, ?-? * '' Color of Rage'', with artist Seisaku Kano, ?-? * Goyokiba, with artist Takeshi Kanda, ?-?

Awards

* 2004: Won the Hall of Fame

Eisner Award The Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, commonly shortened to the Eisner Awards, are awards for creative achievement in American comic books. They are regarded as the most prestigious and significant awards in the comic industry and often referred ...

2004 Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards
Comic Book Awards Almanac

Notes

References

External links

* * * Macias, Patrick (June 2008). . Manga Hell! Archived via the

Wayback Machine The Wayback Machine is a digital archive of the World Wide Web founded by Internet Archive, an American nonprofit organization based in San Francisco, California. Launched for public access in 2001, the service allows users to go "back in ...

. Retrieved October 3, 2013. {{DEFAULTSORT:Koike, Kazuo 1936 births 2019 deaths People from Daisen, Akita Writers from Akita Prefecture Will Eisner Award Hall of Fame inductees Manga writers Gekiga creators