Masami Kurumada

Masami Kurumada is a Japanese mangaka born December 6, 1953 in Tsukishima in the Chūō-ku district of Tokyo Prefecture.

He is best known for being the creator of the manga Saint Seiya (Knights of the Zodiac), Ring ni kakero, Fuma no kojiro and B't X.

In high school, Masami Kurumada already participates in manga competitions.

At 21, he made his debut with Subekan Arashi, a work that was not to be successful. It was in 1977 that he experienced success with Ring ni kakero (later renamed Ring ni Kakero 1), a series set in the world of boxing in 25 volumes, spread over four years, which would not be adapted. animated only in 2004. It is with Ring ni Kakero that he establishes what we find in the following works (The characters who come together to form a group, use of Greek, Asian mythology, etc.).

After Ring ni Kakero, he undertakes a new series entitled Fūma no Kojirō which is a success, but not as big as that of his brother since the series will have 10 volumes and an animated adaptation in 1989 and book in 2007. Between Kojiro and Saint Seiya (work which has been adapted by Toei Animation), Kurumada continues with works which do not achieve success, which are Otoko Zaka, a work of street fight in three volumes where he develops the concept of "Cosmo-energie" and Raimei no Zaji, a fairly quick failure.

In 1985, it is the first of Saint Seiya in the Weekly Shonen Jump, a title which gains success in Japan and especially in France, Spain, Italy and Latin America which will last five years; it is also his first work adapted as an anime, occupying 18 out of 28 volumes (the last ten will be adapted much later).

In 1992, hoping to resume what made the success of his fetishist work, he created Silent Knight Shô, which could have been in the lineage of Saint Seiya if he had had the time to continue. Disgusted by the failure of Silent Knight, Kurumada is going through a dark period as the work that will follow will also be stopped before their end and will remain unfinished. These titles are Akane iro no Kaze, a samurai-era series about geisha rape and Aoi Tori no Shinwa Blue Myth, a baseball series.

In 1994, Kurumada seized the offer of Kadokawa for the monthly Shonen Ace for a series which would be called B't X (pronounced "Bit Ex"), a sci-fi series in 16 volumes mixing Greek and Asian mythology, with which it finds success and which knows an adaptation animated by the TMS.

Find this artist and many more in our collection of works by comic artists.