Aki Hamaji
Description
Aki Hamaji is a Japanese manga artist, best known as the creator of the popular four-panel manga series Bocchi the Rock!. Hamaji is a woman from Miyazaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu, and her birthday is November 17.
Her professional career began in 2013 when she debuted as a manga artist under the pen name Chiaki Hayami. Her debut work, a one-shot titled Swan x Complex, was published in Shogakukan's Ciao Deluxe magazine and received an honorable mention in the newcomer awards for the少女 (shōjo) category. After creating several works for the same magazine, she shifted her focus from shōjo manga to moe-style comics, which led her to Houbunsha's Manga Time Kirara magazine series in 2015.
Hamaji's first serialized manga for Houbunsha was Kirari Books Meisōchū!, which ran in Manga Time Kirara Max from 2015 to 2017 and was collected in two volumes. Her breakthrough work, Bocchi the Rock!, began serialization in the same magazine, Manga Time Kirara Max, in December 2017. The series follows Hitori Gotō, a socially anxious girl who dreams of forming a band and finding friendship. The manga is ongoing, with its compiled volumes published by Houbunsha. A spin-off manga series, Bocchi the Rock! Gaiden: Hiroi Kikuri no Fukazake Nikki, with a story by Hamaji and art by Kumichou, began publication in 2023.
Bocchi the Rock! received significant mainstream attention following the broadcast of its 12-episode anime television adaptation by CloverWorks, which aired from October to December 2022. Hamaji was credited as the original creator for the series. The anime's success led to widespread critical acclaim and boosted the manga's popularity, with the series selling over two million copies. The manga has been on hiatus since early 2026, as Hamaji focuses on recuperating from a physical health condition.
In her work, Hamaji incorporates her personal interests, most notably her fandom of the Japanese rock band Asian Kung-Fu Generation, whose members' names inspired the family names of the main characters in Bocchi the Rock!. She is also noted to be friends with several other Manga Time Kirara artists, such as Maiko Uchino, creator of Slow Loop. Her younger sister is also a manga artist who has assisted with Bocchi the Rock!.
Her professional career began in 2013 when she debuted as a manga artist under the pen name Chiaki Hayami. Her debut work, a one-shot titled Swan x Complex, was published in Shogakukan's Ciao Deluxe magazine and received an honorable mention in the newcomer awards for the少女 (shōjo) category. After creating several works for the same magazine, she shifted her focus from shōjo manga to moe-style comics, which led her to Houbunsha's Manga Time Kirara magazine series in 2015.
Hamaji's first serialized manga for Houbunsha was Kirari Books Meisōchū!, which ran in Manga Time Kirara Max from 2015 to 2017 and was collected in two volumes. Her breakthrough work, Bocchi the Rock!, began serialization in the same magazine, Manga Time Kirara Max, in December 2017. The series follows Hitori Gotō, a socially anxious girl who dreams of forming a band and finding friendship. The manga is ongoing, with its compiled volumes published by Houbunsha. A spin-off manga series, Bocchi the Rock! Gaiden: Hiroi Kikuri no Fukazake Nikki, with a story by Hamaji and art by Kumichou, began publication in 2023.
Bocchi the Rock! received significant mainstream attention following the broadcast of its 12-episode anime television adaptation by CloverWorks, which aired from October to December 2022. Hamaji was credited as the original creator for the series. The anime's success led to widespread critical acclaim and boosted the manga's popularity, with the series selling over two million copies. The manga has been on hiatus since early 2026, as Hamaji focuses on recuperating from a physical health condition.
In her work, Hamaji incorporates her personal interests, most notably her fandom of the Japanese rock band Asian Kung-Fu Generation, whose members' names inspired the family names of the main characters in Bocchi the Rock!. She is also noted to be friends with several other Manga Time Kirara artists, such as Maiko Uchino, creator of Slow Loop. Her younger sister is also a manga artist who has assisted with Bocchi the Rock!.
Works
- Topics: Anime overview
- Topics: Anime overview