Kenji Hamaoka is a Japanese manga artist known primarily for his long-running gag comedy series Urayasu Tekkin Kazoku, which has been adapted into multiple anime television series. Born on May 27, 1965, in Ichikawa City, Chiba Prefecture, Hamaoka made his professional debut in 1986 with the work Gakuen Sengoku Eizakurako, published in a special issue of Weekly Shonen Champion. He has maintained a long-standing association with Akita Shoten, publishing extensively in its Weekly Shonen Champion and Bessatsu Shonen Champion magazines.

Hamaoka is best recognized as the creator of the Urayasu Tekkin Kazoku franchise, also known in English as Super Radical Gag Family. The original manga began serialization in Weekly Shonen Champion in 1993 and concluded in 2002, spanning 31 collected volumes. This slapstick comedy follows the misadventures of a young boy named Kotetsu Osawagi and his eccentric family and friends in Urayasu City, near Tokyo. The series proved successful enough to generate multiple sequels. Ganso Urayasu Tekkin Kazoku ran from 2002 to 2010, comprising 28 volumes. This was followed by Maido Urayasu Tekkin Kazoku, which was published from 2010 until 2017 and released 24 compiled volumes. A subsequent series, Appare Urayasu Tekkin Kazoku, began serialization in March 2018, chosen from reader-submitted title suggestions as part of the franchise’s 25th anniversary celebrations.

The original Urayasu Tekkin Kazoku manga was adapted into a 33-episode anime television series in 1998. Director Akitaro Daichi, known for works such as Fruits Basket, helmed the production at Studio DEEN. The sequel manga Maido Urayasu Tekkin Kazoku later inspired a second anime adaptation, which aired for 24 episodes in 2014, with Daichi returning to direct. Beyond the Urayasu Tekkin Kazoku series, Hamaoka has created numerous other comedy manga, including works such as 4-nen 1-kumi Kiiatsu, Yama-chan, and the manga industry-focused gag series Sensei Shimekiri desu yo, which launched in 2018.

Hamaoka’s artistic identity is defined by a chaotic, high-energy style of slapstick comedy. His narratives frequently incorporate elements of parody, drawing from a wide range of sources including sports, wrestling, and other manga. Violence is often rendered in an exaggerated, cartoonish manner, a characteristic element of his comedic approach. While the Urayasu Tekkin Kazoku series represents his most significant commercial and critical success, serving as a staple of Weekly Shonen Champion for over two decades, his body of work remains firmly rooted in gag manga, establishing him as a notable figure in the genre.