Kazutoshi Soyama
Description
Kazutoshi Soyama is a Japanese manga artist best known as the creator of the long-running comedy series Grandpa Danger. Born on September 24, 1978, in Tokyo, Japan, Soyama has built a career focused on children's gag comedy, primarily within the pages of Shogakukan's CoroCoro Comic magazine.
Soyama's most significant work is Grandpa Danger, known in Japan as Zettai Zetsumei: Denjarasu Jii-san. The manga first appeared in CoroCoro Comic in October 2001 and continued its original run until March 2010, spanning 20 collected volumes. The series proved popular enough to earn the 2005 Shogakukan Manga Award in the children's category. The story follows a self-proclaimed old man who teaches his grandchild, Yosuke, how to navigate the various dangers of the world, employing a distinct brand of absurd and surreal humor.
The success of the manga led to multiple anime adaptations. The first anime television series, produced by Studio Hibari, aired 51 five-minute episodes on TV Tokyo from April 2004 to March 2005. This version was later licensed by Viz Media for North American release under the title Grandpa Danger. Following the conclusion of the original manga, Soyama launched a sequel series titled Dangerous Jii-san Ja in April 2010, which ran until February 2017 and also produced 20 volumes. This sequel was adapted into a two-episode original video animation released in July 2012, followed by a ten-episode anime television series that aired on Kids Station from October to December 2012.
In a rare interview conducted in 2025, Soyama revealed some of his creative influences and personal history. He cited the Japanese comedy group The Drifters as a major influence on his sense of humor, particularly their destructive style of punchlines. He also shared that his aspiration to become a manga artist began in first grade after reading the Super Mario-kun manga by Yukio Sawada. Reflecting on the nearly 25-year history of Grandpa Danger, he recalled a memorable chapter that featured only the word unko (the Japanese word for feces) as dialogue, a level of vulgarity he admitted he would be too scared to draw in the present day.
Beyond his signature series, Soyama has contributed to other projects. He provided the end card illustration for episode 6 of the anime Sayonara Zetsubou-sensei in 2007 and an illustration for episode 10 of the 2021 series My Senpai is Annoying. He also received an original work credit for an episode of Duel Masters Versus Revolution Final in 2016. Through his long-running contributions to CoroCoro Comic and the international licensing of his work, Kazutoshi Soyama has established himself as a distinctive voice in children's gag manga, known for a surreal and often bold comedic style.
Soyama's most significant work is Grandpa Danger, known in Japan as Zettai Zetsumei: Denjarasu Jii-san. The manga first appeared in CoroCoro Comic in October 2001 and continued its original run until March 2010, spanning 20 collected volumes. The series proved popular enough to earn the 2005 Shogakukan Manga Award in the children's category. The story follows a self-proclaimed old man who teaches his grandchild, Yosuke, how to navigate the various dangers of the world, employing a distinct brand of absurd and surreal humor.
The success of the manga led to multiple anime adaptations. The first anime television series, produced by Studio Hibari, aired 51 five-minute episodes on TV Tokyo from April 2004 to March 2005. This version was later licensed by Viz Media for North American release under the title Grandpa Danger. Following the conclusion of the original manga, Soyama launched a sequel series titled Dangerous Jii-san Ja in April 2010, which ran until February 2017 and also produced 20 volumes. This sequel was adapted into a two-episode original video animation released in July 2012, followed by a ten-episode anime television series that aired on Kids Station from October to December 2012.
In a rare interview conducted in 2025, Soyama revealed some of his creative influences and personal history. He cited the Japanese comedy group The Drifters as a major influence on his sense of humor, particularly their destructive style of punchlines. He also shared that his aspiration to become a manga artist began in first grade after reading the Super Mario-kun manga by Yukio Sawada. Reflecting on the nearly 25-year history of Grandpa Danger, he recalled a memorable chapter that featured only the word unko (the Japanese word for feces) as dialogue, a level of vulgarity he admitted he would be too scared to draw in the present day.
Beyond his signature series, Soyama has contributed to other projects. He provided the end card illustration for episode 6 of the anime Sayonara Zetsubou-sensei in 2007 and an illustration for episode 10 of the 2021 series My Senpai is Annoying. He also received an original work credit for an episode of Duel Masters Versus Revolution Final in 2016. Through his long-running contributions to CoroCoro Comic and the international licensing of his work, Kazutoshi Soyama has established himself as a distinctive voice in children's gag manga, known for a surreal and often bold comedic style.
Works
- Topics: Anime overview