was a Japanese manga artist, and creator of several

anime is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...

and

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 ...

series. His widow Miyako Maki is also a manga artist. Matsumoto was famous for his works such as ''

Space Battleship Yamato is a Japanese science fiction anime series 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, totaling u ...

'' and '' Galaxy Express 999''. His style was characterized by mythological and often tragic storylines with strong moral themes, noble heroes, feminine heroines, and a love of strange worlds and melancholic atmosphere.

Early life

Leiji Matsumoto was born on January 25, 1938, in Kurume, Fukuoka. He 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 (or film 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 ...

by his father, and watched American cartoons during the

Pacific War The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War or the Pacific Theatre, was the Theater (warfare), theatre of World War II fought between the Empire of Japan and the Allies of World War II, Allies in East Asia, East and Southeast As ...

. During this time, he gained an interest in science fiction novels by authors Unno Juza and

H. G. Wells Herbert George Wells (21 September 1866 – 13 August 1946) was an English writer, prolific in many genres. He wrote more than fifty novels and dozens of short stories. His non-fiction output included works of social commentary, politics, hist ...

. Matsumoto started drawing at the age of six, and began drawing

three years later after seeing the works of

Osamu Tezuka Osamu Tezuka (, born , ''Tezuka Osamu'', – 9 February 1989) was a Japanese manga artist, cartoonist and animator. Considered to be among the greatest and most influential cartoonists of all time, his prolific output, pioneering techniques an ...

. At 18, he moved to Tokyo to become a

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 ...

Career

In 1954, Matsumoto made his debut under his real name, Akira Matsumoto, with ''Mitsubachi no bōken'' in the magazine '' Manga Shōnen''. Matsumoto's big break came with ''Otoko Oidon'', a series that chronicled the life of a

rōnin In feudal Japan to early modern Japan (1185–1868), a ''rōnin'' ( ; , , 'drifter' or 'wandering man', ) was a samurai who had no lord or master and in some cases, had also severed all links with his family or clan. A samurai became a ''rō ...

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

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 ...

'' series '' Gun Frontier'' for the ''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 (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, ''Senjo Manga Series'', which would eventually become popular under the title '' The Cockpit''. He was involved in ''

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

Space Pirate Captain Harlock , also titled Captain Harlock, is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Leiji Matsumoto. It was serialized in Akita Shoten's ''Play Comic'' from January 1977 to June 1979, with the chapters collected into five volumes. The ser ...

'' (1977) and '' Galaxy Express 999'' (1977). In 1978, he was awarded the

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 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 spawned 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 referred to as French touch, filter house, or tekfunk) is a style of house music devised by French musicians in the 1990s. It is a form of Eurodisco and a popular strand of the late 1990s and 2000s European dance music s ...

group

Daft Punk Daft Punk were a French electronic music duo formed in 1993 in Paris by Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo. They achieved popularity in the late 1990s as part of the French house movement, combining house music, funk, disco, tech ...

, set to tracks from their album ''

Discovery Discovery may refer to: * Discovery (observation), observing or finding something unknown * Discovery (fiction), a character's learning something unknown * Discovery (law), a process in courts of law relating to evidence Discovery, The 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''. Approximately two dozen bronze statues – each 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 features 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 ''Star Blazers'' is an American adaptation of the Japanese anime television series . ''Star Blazers'' was first broadcast in the United States in 1979. It was the first popular English-translated anime that had an overarching plot and storylin ...

''). 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 later work by Matsumoto called '' Great Yamato'' featuring an updated Yamato was 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. 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 in 1948. As of May 2023, the company's president is Shigeru Higuchi. The company is known for publishing the manga magazine '' Weekly Shōnen Champ ...

's ''

Champion Red is a monthly Japanese ''seinen'' manga magazine published on the 19th of each month by Akita Shoten since August 19, 2002 (cover date The cover date of a periodical publication is the date displayed on the cover, which is not necessarily the ...

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

'' manga. It had been licensed in the United States by Seven Seas Entertainment.

Personal life

Matsumoto was married to manga artist and Licca-chan creator Miyako Maki. On November 15, 2019, Matsumoto suffered severe respiratory problems and collapsed during an event in

Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) 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 city is main ...

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

Death

Matsumoto died of acute heart failure at a hospital in Tokyo on February 13, 2023, at the age of 85. Various manga artists offered condolences, including Yasuhiro Nightow, Nozomu Tamaki, and his wife Maki. ''Galaxy Express 999'' voice actress Masako Nozawa and translator Zack Davisson also gave their condolences.

Selected works

References

External links

* * *
Leijiverse
��The world of Leiji Matsumoto
Leiji Matsumoto
at ''

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 Award, Hugo, Locus Award, Locus and BSFA Award, British SF Awards. Two print editions appea ...

''
Leiji Matsumoto manga
an
anime
at Media Arts Database
''Ozma'' interview

''Ozma'' interview with ''Asahi Shimbun''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Matsumoto, Leiji 1938 births 2023 deaths Chevaliers of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres Japanese animators Japanese illustrators 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