is a

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

manga artist A is a comic artist who writes and/or illustrates manga. As of 2006, about 3,000 professional manga artists were working in Japan. Most manga artists study at an art college or manga school or take on an apprenticeship with another artist be ...

famous for creating ''

Initial D is a Japanese street racing manga series written and illustrated by Shuichi Shigeno. It was serialized in Kodansha's ''seinen'' manga magazine ''Weekly Young Magazine'' from 1995 to 2013, with the chapters collected into 48 ''ta ...

''. Shigeno has also created ''

Bari Bari Densetsu is an early motorbike racing manga series by Shuichi Shigeno. It was published in ''Weekly Shōnen Magazine'' between 1983 and 1991, with its chapters are collected in 38 volumes by publisher Kodansha. In 1985, it won the Kodansha Manga A ...

'', ''Dopkan'', and ''Tunnel Nuketara Sky Blue'' ("First Love in Summer") all prior to the manga that would make him famous in 1995. In 1985, he received the

Kodansha Manga Award is an annual award for serialized manga Manga ( Japanese: 漫画 ) 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 prehistory in ea ...

in shōnen for ''Bari Bari Densetsu''.

Early life

Shuichi Shigeno was born in Matsunoyama, Tokamachi City,

Niigata Prefecture is a prefecture in the Chūbu region of Honshu of Japan. Niigata Prefecture has a population of 2,227,496 (1 July 2019) and is the fifth-largest prefecture of Japan by geographic area at . Niigata Prefecture borders Toyama Prefecture and N ...

. When Shigeno was in high school, he was obsessed with motorcycles, which resulted in one of his best-selling series,

. Before Shigeno became a manga artist, he was a poor student. Still, after Baribari Densetsu sold well and got a lot of money from royalties on the first edition, he bought his first car ( Toyota AE86) and lived in his small apartment.

Career

After Bari Bari Densetsu was sold, Shigeno wanted to make another book. And one of Shigeno's friends told Shigeno he liked cars, "so why not write it down?" Shigeno then thought about the idea, but part of him resisted, due to going out of business if writing about cars does not work out. Since Shigeno was writing about cars, he used his first car Toyota AE86 to help him write about Initial D. After Initial D was published, it became a huge hit. Later on, after Initial D ended, he started a new series called MF Ghost. MF Ghost is a series that continues most of

's legacy in focusing on racing theories and cars, which is still continuing today. However, lately due to Shigeno's declining health, MF Ghost will be on a hiatus to prevent Shigeno from overworking Rumors have spread that Shigeno will continue MF Ghost when he is going to feel better in 2023.

Shuichi Shigeno and his Toyota AE86 Trueno

Shigeno bought his AE86

Toyota Sprinter Trueno The is a series of compact sports coupés and hot hatches which were produced by Toyota from 1972 to 2000. The name Trueno in Spanish means thunder. In Japan, the Sprinter Trueno was exclusive to '' Toyota Auto Store'' locations, later renamed ...

right after he got royalties from ''Bari Bari Densetsu''. At first, Shigeno picked the Sprinter Trueno because his father only drove

Toyota is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...

cars. After going to a Toyota dealership, Shigeno bought the Sprinter Trueno because it had just undergone a model change and it was not particularly expensive. Plus, it was stylish and cool to drive. For the first two years of owning his AE86, Shigeno only used it practically to help with his daily life. In between work, Shigeno would often times go to the mountains of Gunma and drive there when there were no regular cars. To this day, Shigeno still has his AE86 and drives around in the middle of the night.

Most recognized works

*''

'' *'' MF Ghost'' *''

Works

*''

'' (1983–1991, serialized in ''

Weekly Shōnen Magazine is a weekly ''shōnen'' manga anthology published on Wednesdays in Japan by Kodansha, first published on March 17, 1959. The magazine is mainly read by an older audience, with a significant portion of its readership falling under the male hig ...

'', Kodansha) *''Tunnel Nuketara Sky*Blue'' (1992, serialized in '' Weekly Young Magazine'', Kodansha) *''Shō'' (1992, serialized in ''Weekly Shōnen Magazine'', Kodansha) *''DO-P-KAN'' (1993–1995, serialized in ''Weekly Young Magazine'', Kodansha) *''

'' (1995–2013, serialized in ''Weekly Young Magazine'', Kodansha) *'' Takane no Hana'' (2014, serialized in ''Weekly Young Magazine'', Kodansha) *'' Sailor Ace'' (2015–2017, serialized in ''Weekly Young Magazine'', Kodansha) *'' MF Ghost'' (2017–ongoing, serialized in ''Weekly Young Magazine'', Kodansha)

References

External links

* *
Shuichi Shigeno manga
at Media Arts Database
The TAFL.org approved fanlisting for Shuichi Shigeno!

Initial D world
Living people Manga artists from Niigata Prefecture Winner of Kodansha Manga Award (Shōnen) 1958 births {{manga-artist-stub