Tetsuya Imai
Description
Tetsuya Imai is a Japanese manga artist born in 1983 in Funabashi, Chiba Prefecture. He graduated from the Faculty of Letters at Chuo University, where he was a member of the universitys animation research group. He made his professional debut in 2005 when his short story Traveler won the Afternoon Four Seasons Award, which served as his entry into the manga industry.
His first serialized work was Hidakadouken Club, which ran in Kodanshas Monthly Afternoon magazine from 2008 to 2010. This series focused on high school girls involved in animation production, reflecting his own background in an animation research club.
Imai gained wider recognition with Break of Dawn, serialized in Monthly Afternoon from January to October 2011. The science fiction manga, collected in two volumes, was selected as a candidate for the Seiun Award in the manga category in 2012. The series received an anime film adaptation by Zero-G that premiered in Japan in October 2022, directed by Tomoyuki Kurokawa with a screenplay by Dai Satō.
His best-known work is Alice & Zoroku, which began serialization in Tokuma Shotens Monthly Comic Ryu magazine in December 2012. The manga earned Imai the New Face Award in the manga division at the 17th Japan Media Arts Festival in 2013. The series was adapted into a 12-episode anime television series by J.C. Staff that aired from April to June 2017. A spin-off web manga titled Wonder!! Alice & Zoroku School was released through the official anime website.
Imai has contributed to numerous anthology projects, including illustrations for light novels and cover art for magazines. His contributions to other franchises include work in official anthologies for series such as Mushishi, Splatoon, Made in Abyss, and Revue Starlight. He has also provided illustrations for the annual The Best SF series published by Hayakawa Shobo.
His artistic identity often incorporates science fiction elements with everyday settings. Break of Dawn explores themes of childhood and encounters with the unknown, while Alice & Zoroku blends supernatural abilities with grounded family dynamics. In June 2023, he became a member of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of Japan.
His first serialized work was Hidakadouken Club, which ran in Kodanshas Monthly Afternoon magazine from 2008 to 2010. This series focused on high school girls involved in animation production, reflecting his own background in an animation research club.
Imai gained wider recognition with Break of Dawn, serialized in Monthly Afternoon from January to October 2011. The science fiction manga, collected in two volumes, was selected as a candidate for the Seiun Award in the manga category in 2012. The series received an anime film adaptation by Zero-G that premiered in Japan in October 2022, directed by Tomoyuki Kurokawa with a screenplay by Dai Satō.
His best-known work is Alice & Zoroku, which began serialization in Tokuma Shotens Monthly Comic Ryu magazine in December 2012. The manga earned Imai the New Face Award in the manga division at the 17th Japan Media Arts Festival in 2013. The series was adapted into a 12-episode anime television series by J.C. Staff that aired from April to June 2017. A spin-off web manga titled Wonder!! Alice & Zoroku School was released through the official anime website.
Imai has contributed to numerous anthology projects, including illustrations for light novels and cover art for magazines. His contributions to other franchises include work in official anthologies for series such as Mushishi, Splatoon, Made in Abyss, and Revue Starlight. He has also provided illustrations for the annual The Best SF series published by Hayakawa Shobo.
His artistic identity often incorporates science fiction elements with everyday settings. Break of Dawn explores themes of childhood and encounters with the unknown, while Alice & Zoroku blends supernatural abilities with grounded family dynamics. In June 2023, he became a member of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of Japan.
Works
- Topics: Anime overview
- Topics: Manga overview