Kōta Sannomiya
Description
Kōta Sannomiya is a manga artist known for his work as the illustrator of the Blue Lock: Episode Nagi spin-off series and as the artist of the spy action manga Tesla Note. His career includes contributions to major Kodansha publications and involvement in properties that have received anime adaptations.
Sannomiya first gained attention as the illustrator of Tesla Note, a manga series written by Masafumi Nishida and Tadayoshi Kubo. The series was serialized in Kodansha's Weekly Shōnen Magazine from January to July 2021 before moving to the Magazine Pocket digital platform, where it concluded in April 2022. The story follows a young spy named Botan Negoro on a mission to recover fragments of Nikola Tesla's legacy. Sannomiya's artwork on the series led to an anime television adaptation produced by Gambit, which aired from October to December 2021. Kodansha collected the series into seven tankōbon volumes, with English digital releases through Kodansha USA.
Sannomiya's most prominent work to date is Blue Lock: Episode Nagi, a spin-off manga focusing on the character Seishiro Nagi from the popular Blue Lock franchise. The series was written by original Blue Lock creator Muneyuki Kaneshiro and illustrated by Sannomiya. It was serialized in Kodansha's Bessatsu Shōnen Magazine from June 2022 to July 2025, with its chapters collected into eight volumes. The spin-off explores how the listless but talented Nagi was discovered by his teammate Reo Mikage and recruited into the Blue Lock program, providing backstory not covered in the main series.
The Episode Nagi manga served as the basis for an anime film titled Blue Lock: Episode Nagi, which premiered in Japanese theaters in April 2024. The film featured the same staff from the Blue Lock television series, with Shunsuke Ishikawa directing and Kaneshiro supervising the story. Crunchyroll acquired North American theatrical rights and released the film in the United States and Canada in June 2024. Kodansha USA published the first English print volume of the manga in October 2024.
Prior to these works, Sannomiya also worked on a manga titled Seishun Soukanzu, though details about this earlier project remain limited. His artistic style has been noted for matching the visual atmosphere established by Yusuke Nomura, the original Blue Lock illustrator, while bringing his own interpretation to the spin-off material.
As an artist, Sannomiya has primarily worked within established franchises rather than originating his own story concepts. His role on Episode Nagi involved translating Kaneshiro's script into sequential art that complements the main Blue Lock series while expanding on specific characters. The Episode Nagi manga concluded its serialization in July 2025, having run for approximately three years and produced a complete story that directly connects to the theatrical film adaptation.
Sannomiya first gained attention as the illustrator of Tesla Note, a manga series written by Masafumi Nishida and Tadayoshi Kubo. The series was serialized in Kodansha's Weekly Shōnen Magazine from January to July 2021 before moving to the Magazine Pocket digital platform, where it concluded in April 2022. The story follows a young spy named Botan Negoro on a mission to recover fragments of Nikola Tesla's legacy. Sannomiya's artwork on the series led to an anime television adaptation produced by Gambit, which aired from October to December 2021. Kodansha collected the series into seven tankōbon volumes, with English digital releases through Kodansha USA.
Sannomiya's most prominent work to date is Blue Lock: Episode Nagi, a spin-off manga focusing on the character Seishiro Nagi from the popular Blue Lock franchise. The series was written by original Blue Lock creator Muneyuki Kaneshiro and illustrated by Sannomiya. It was serialized in Kodansha's Bessatsu Shōnen Magazine from June 2022 to July 2025, with its chapters collected into eight volumes. The spin-off explores how the listless but talented Nagi was discovered by his teammate Reo Mikage and recruited into the Blue Lock program, providing backstory not covered in the main series.
The Episode Nagi manga served as the basis for an anime film titled Blue Lock: Episode Nagi, which premiered in Japanese theaters in April 2024. The film featured the same staff from the Blue Lock television series, with Shunsuke Ishikawa directing and Kaneshiro supervising the story. Crunchyroll acquired North American theatrical rights and released the film in the United States and Canada in June 2024. Kodansha USA published the first English print volume of the manga in October 2024.
Prior to these works, Sannomiya also worked on a manga titled Seishun Soukanzu, though details about this earlier project remain limited. His artistic style has been noted for matching the visual atmosphere established by Yusuke Nomura, the original Blue Lock illustrator, while bringing his own interpretation to the spin-off material.
As an artist, Sannomiya has primarily worked within established franchises rather than originating his own story concepts. His role on Episode Nagi involved translating Kaneshiro's script into sequential art that complements the main Blue Lock series while expanding on specific characters. The Episode Nagi manga concluded its serialization in July 2025, having run for approximately three years and produced a complete story that directly connects to the theatrical film adaptation.
Works
- Topics: Anime overview