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 ...

. She is best known as the creator of the

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 ''

Beastars ''Beastars'' (stylized in all caps) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Paru Itagaki. It was serialized in Akita Shoten's manga magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Champion'' from September 2016 to October 2020, with its chapters c ...

'', for which she has won numerous awards. She is the daughter of manga artist

Keisuke Itagaki is a Japanese manga artist. He is known for his martial arts series ''Grappler Baki'' (1991–1999) and its four sequels, which have sold over 100 million volumes. In 1996, he began working on '' Garōden'', an original work by Baku Yumemakura. ...

Biography

Paru Itagaki began painting in kindergarten, and started drawing manga in the second grade. As a teenager she developed the character Legoshi, an

anthropomorphic Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human traits, emotions, or intentions to non-human entities. It is considered to be an innate tendency of human psychology. Personification is the related attribution of human form and characteristics to ...

wolf The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the grey wolf or gray wolf, is a Canis, canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of Canis lupus, subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, includin ...

who would later appear in her manga series ''

''. She cites

Disney movies Walt Disney Pictures is an American film Film production company, production company and subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios (division), the Walt Disney Studios, a division of Disney Entertainment, which is owned by the Walt Disney Company. The st ...

and the artists

Nicolas de Crécy Nicolas de Crécy (born 29 September 1966) is a French artist, cartoonist, and comic book writer. He was a co-author of ''Léon la Came'', a work that won the Angoulême International Comics Festival Prize for Best Album in 1998. Career Créc ...

and

Egon Schiele Egon Leo Adolf Ludwig Schiele (; 12 June 1890 – 31 October 1918) was an Austrian Expressionist painters, painter. His work is noted for its intensity and its raw sexuality, and for the many self-portraits the artist produced, including nude sel ...

as among her early influences. She later attended

Musashino Art University or is a private university in Kodaira, Western Tokyo, founded in 1962 with roots going back to 1929. It is known as one of the leading art universities in Japan. History In October 1929, was founded. In December 1948, it became , and in ...

, where she studied

filmmaking Filmmaking or film production is the process by which a Film, motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, beginning with an initial story, idea, or commission. Production then continues through screen ...

. She continued to pursue manga as a hobby while in university, creating ''

dōjinshi , also Romanization of Japanese, romanized as ', is the Japanese term for self-published print works, such as magazines, manga, and novels. Part of a wider category of ''doujin'' (self-published) works, ''doujinshi'' are often derivative of exi ...

'' that she would sell at ''dōjinshi'' conventions. After being unable to find a job in the film industry, Itagaki submitted her ''dōjinshi'' to editors at the publishing company

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 ...

, which began publishing her short story collection ''

Beast Complex ''Beast Complex'' (stylized in all caps) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Paru Itagaki. It is a compilation of short stories set in the same world as the series ''Beastars''; its original run served as a predecessor for ''B ...

'' in ''

Weekly Shōnen Champion is a Japanese Shōnen manga, ''shōnen'' manga magazine published by Akita Shoten. History ''Shōnen Champion'' was first published on July 15, 1969. It has had numerous popular series by manga artists such as Osamu Tezuka, Go Nagai, Shinji Miz ...

'' in 2016. That same year, ''Weekly Shōnen Champion'' began serializing Itagaki's critically and commercially acclaimed series ''

''. In September 2019, Itagaki's autobiographical manga series ''Paruno Graffiti'' began serialization in ''

Kiss A kiss is the touching or pressing of one's lips against another person, animal or object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely; depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sex ...

''. In 2021, Itagaki launched a new manga series, titled '' Sanda'', in the 34th issue of ''

'' on July 21. In 2024, Sanda concluded its serialization. An anime adaptation is planned for 2025. In January 2025, Itagaki began serializing a new manga titled Taika no Risei in the 7th issue of

Personal life

Itagaki is highly private about her personal life, and wears a chicken mask to obscure her face at all public appearances. In 2018, Japanese tabloids reported that Itagaki is the daughter of

, the creator of the manga series ''

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 ...

''. Itagaki confirmed these reports in a joint interview with her father in the September 2019 issue of ''Weekly Shonen Champion'', stating that she did not wish to disclose her parentage until she was established in the manga industry in order to avoid accusations of nepotism. On September 24, 2023, Itagaki announced that she had gotten married.

Works

Serializations

* (serialized in ''

'', 2016–2019; 2021–) * ''

'' (serialized in ''Weekly Shōnen Champion'', 2016–2020) * (serialized in ''

'', 2019–2020) * (serialized in ''

Weekly Manga Goraku is a Japanese weekly manga magazine published since 1968, by Nihon Bungeisha. The magazine is published every Friday. Serialized works Listed alphabetically by title. *''69 Denashi'' (Yasuhito Yamamoto) *''Ad Boy'' (Makoto Niwano) *''Aisu Otoko ...

'', 2020–2021) * '' Sanda'' (serialized in ''Weekly Shōnen Champion'', 2021–2024)

One-shots

* (published in ''Weekly Manga Goraku'', 2018) * (published in ''

Monthly Comic Zenon is a Japanese manga anthology. It is marketed to ''seinen'' public (young adult men), edited and published monthly by Coamix. From 2010 to 2020, it was formerly published by North Stars Pictures and Tokuma Shoten. It was produced as a replaceme ...

'', 2019)

Awards and nominations

, - ! rowspan="5" , 2018 , rowspan="7" , ''

'' , Male Readers , ''

Kono Manga ga Sugoi! is an annual reference mook series published by Takarajimasha since 2005 featuring yearly rankings and reviews of manga. The rankings are compiled by surveying professionals in the manga and publishing industry. The first two years saw two s ...

'' , , , , - , New Face Award ,

Japan Media Arts Festival Awards 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 ...

, rowspan=4; , , , - , Grand Prize ,

Manga Taishō The is a Japanese List of comics awards, comics award recognizing achievement in manga. It is awarded annually to a manga series published in the previous calendar year of eight or fewer Tankōbon, collected volumes in length. The Manga Taish� ...

, , , - , New Artist Prize ,

Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize Named after Osamu Tezuka, the is a yearly manga prize awarded to manga artists or their works that follow the Osamu Tezuka manga approach founded and sponsored by Asahi Shimbun. The prize has been awarded since 1997, in Tokyo, Japan. Current ...

, , , - , Best Shōnen Manga ,

Kodansha Manga Award is one of Japan's major manga awards. The event is sponsored by publisher Kodansha. It has been awarded annually for serialized manga in its third iteration since 1977. Categories The award was originally called the until 1968. In 1970, it was ...

, , , - ! 2020 ,

Best U.S. Edition of International Material—Asia Best or The Best may refer to: People * Best (surname), people with the surname Best * Best (footballer, born 1968), retired Portuguese footballer Companies and organizations * Best & Co., an 1879–1971 clothing chain * Best Lock Corporation ...

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 ...

, rowspan="2" , , , - ! 2022 , Best Comic ,

Seiun Award The is a Japanese speculative fiction award given each year for the best science fiction works and achievements during the previous calendar year. Organized and overseen by , the awards are given at the annual Nihon SF Taikai, Japan Science Fic ...

, ,

References

External links

*
Paru Itagaki
on

Tumblr Tumblr (pronounced "tumbler") is a microblogging and Social networking service, social networking website founded by David Karp in 2007 and is owned by American company Automattic. The service allows users to post multimedia and other content ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Itagaki, Paru 1993 births Living people Women manga artists Manga artists from Tokyo Winner of Kodansha Manga Award (Shōnen) Manga Taishō Winners of the Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize (New Artist Prize) Japanese female comics artists Japanese female comics writers