Masashi Tanaka (田中政志, born June 10, 1962) is 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 creating '' Gon'', a silent

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 ...

starring a miniature dinosaur.

Biography

Masashi Tanaka was born in

Gōtsu, Shimane is a city located in Shimane Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 21,913 in 11196 households and a population density of 82 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . It is the smallest and least populous city in ...

. He graduated from the

Osaka University of Arts is a private arts university located in Kanan, Minamikawachi District, Osaka Prefecture, Japan. The university was founded in 1945 as , changing its name to in 1957, and then to in 1964. The university adopted the current name in 1966. Not ...

in 1985 and published his first manga while still in school. That year he won the Grand Prize in the Kodansha Tetsuya Chiba Awards and moved to Tokyo. He began publishing ''Gon'', his best-known manga, in 1991. ''Gon'' won multiple awards in 1998, including the Excellence Award in the Manga division at the second

Japan Media Arts Festival The Japan Media Arts Festival was an annual festival held since 1997 by Japan's Agency for Cultural Affairs. The festival begins with an open competition and culminates with the awarding of several prizes and an exhibition. Based on judging by ...

in 1998, the Eisner Award for Best U.S. Edition of Foreign Material and Best Humor Publication at the

Eisner Awards 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 ...

, and the award for Best French Edition of Foreign Material at the 1998 Manga Festival in France.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tanaka, Masashi 1962 births Living people Manga artists from Shimane Prefecture People from Gōtsu, Shimane Osaka University of Arts alumni Gon (manga)