George Akiyama
Description
George Akiyama was the professional name of Yūji Akiyama, a Japanese manga artist born on April 27, 1943. He was known for creating works that frequently engaged with controversial and incendiary topics. Akiyama died on May 12, 2020, at the age of 77. He quit high school and moved to Tokyo to pursue a career as a manga artist. After a brief period working as a book wholesaler, he became an assistant to the manga artist Kenji Morita.
Akiyama made his major debut in 1966 with the gag manga Gaikotsu-kun, published in Bekkan Shōnen Magazine. He first gained significant notoriety in 1970 with the series Ashura, which contained graphic and unsettling depictions of human life, including a scene of a woman committing cannibalism to avoid starvation. The edition of Weekly Shōnen Magazine that published the first chapter was banned in several regions, cementing Akiyama's reputation for provocative work. Ashura was later adapted into an anime film by Toei Animation in 2012.
His career was marked by unconventional creative choices. In 1971, he began the series Kokuhaku, which took a unique format where each week Akiyama would make a startling confession, such as claiming to be a murderer, only to reveal it as a lie the following week. After completing this series, he abruptly announced his retirement, canceling all his ongoing serializations to embark on a solo journey across Japan. He returned to work only three months later with Bara no Sakamichi, which began serialization in Weekly Shōnen Jump in 1971.
Akiyama’s longest and most celebrated work is Haguregumo, which started in Big Comic Original in 1973. The series continued for over four decades, concluding in 2017, and spanned 112 collected volumes. It won the Shogakukan Manga Award in 1979. Haguregumo was adapted into an anime film by Toei Animation and Madhouse in 1982.
He is credited as the original creator of the anime Pink no Curtain, also known as Curtain of the PINK. This work is an OVA adaptation of his erotic slice-of-life manga of the same name, which was serialized in Weekly Manga Goraku from 1980 to 1984. The story centers on a young virgin named Okuyama whose life is disrupted when his sister moves into his home, leading to complex and taboo emotional entanglements. The OVA was released on November 25, 1987.
Throughout his long career, Akiyama produced a vast number of manga series. His notable works include Zeni Geba, The Moon, Hana no Yotarō, Gyara, Chōjin Haruko, Koiko no Mainichi, Lovelin Monroe, and Hakuai no Hito. In the 2000s, he created a manga version of the Bible and published the highly controversial Manga Chūgoku Nyūmon: Yakkai na Rinjin no Kenkyū, a work that proved to be a bestseller despite its incendiary content. Akiyama’s legacy is that of a fearless and often provocative creator whose willingness to tackle taboo subjects and push against the boundaries of the manga medium made him a significant, if controversial, figure in the industry.
Akiyama made his major debut in 1966 with the gag manga Gaikotsu-kun, published in Bekkan Shōnen Magazine. He first gained significant notoriety in 1970 with the series Ashura, which contained graphic and unsettling depictions of human life, including a scene of a woman committing cannibalism to avoid starvation. The edition of Weekly Shōnen Magazine that published the first chapter was banned in several regions, cementing Akiyama's reputation for provocative work. Ashura was later adapted into an anime film by Toei Animation in 2012.
His career was marked by unconventional creative choices. In 1971, he began the series Kokuhaku, which took a unique format where each week Akiyama would make a startling confession, such as claiming to be a murderer, only to reveal it as a lie the following week. After completing this series, he abruptly announced his retirement, canceling all his ongoing serializations to embark on a solo journey across Japan. He returned to work only three months later with Bara no Sakamichi, which began serialization in Weekly Shōnen Jump in 1971.
Akiyama’s longest and most celebrated work is Haguregumo, which started in Big Comic Original in 1973. The series continued for over four decades, concluding in 2017, and spanned 112 collected volumes. It won the Shogakukan Manga Award in 1979. Haguregumo was adapted into an anime film by Toei Animation and Madhouse in 1982.
He is credited as the original creator of the anime Pink no Curtain, also known as Curtain of the PINK. This work is an OVA adaptation of his erotic slice-of-life manga of the same name, which was serialized in Weekly Manga Goraku from 1980 to 1984. The story centers on a young virgin named Okuyama whose life is disrupted when his sister moves into his home, leading to complex and taboo emotional entanglements. The OVA was released on November 25, 1987.
Throughout his long career, Akiyama produced a vast number of manga series. His notable works include Zeni Geba, The Moon, Hana no Yotarō, Gyara, Chōjin Haruko, Koiko no Mainichi, Lovelin Monroe, and Hakuai no Hito. In the 2000s, he created a manga version of the Bible and published the highly controversial Manga Chūgoku Nyūmon: Yakkai na Rinjin no Kenkyū, a work that proved to be a bestseller despite its incendiary content. Akiyama’s legacy is that of a fearless and often provocative creator whose willingness to tackle taboo subjects and push against the boundaries of the manga medium made him a significant, if controversial, figure in the industry.
Works
- Topics: Anime overview