Katsuhiko Hotta
Description
Katsuhiko Hotta is a Japanese manga artist and original creator, born on July 3, 1952, in Sasebo City, Nagasaki Prefecture. He later changed his birth date to July 30, 1952. After graduating from Rikkyo University, he began his professional career in the manga industry under the name Naoto Suetsugu, making his debut in the manga magazine Bessatsu Margaret. Under this original name, he created early serialized works such as Yurushite!! Nee-chan. He later adopted the pen name Katsuhiko Hotta.
Hotta is best known as the creator of the yonkoma, or four-panel, comedy manga Obatarian. The series was serialized in Takeshobo's Manga Life magazine from 1988 to 1998 and was compiled into thirteen tankobon volumes. The title is a portmanteau of the Japanese word oba, meaning middle-aged woman, and the Japanese title of the film The Return of the Living Dead. In 1989, the manga received the Bungeishunjū Manga Award. The series became his most commercially and critically successful work.
The success of the Obatarian manga led to an anime television special adaptation. Produced by the studio Sunrise, the seventy-minute special was directed by Tetsurō Amino, with scripts by Shun'ichi Yukimuro and Toshiki Inoue, and music by Kōhei Tanaka. It aired on TV Asahi on April 3, 1990.
Beyond his most famous work, Hotta has created other manga series, including Kabosu-san, which was serialized in the evening edition of the Sankei Shimbun newspaper. Other titles from his career include Cactus OL, Mr. Gomashio, My Pace Mama, and Cheer Up, Little Ronin. His work is characterized by standard comedic storytelling and a frequent reliance on the yonkoma format, often focusing on the humorous daily lives and social observations of ordinary people, particularly middle-aged women and families. His artistic identity is defined by this accessible, character-driven humor rather than serialized action or drama. Hotta remains a recognized figure in Japanese manga as the creator of a distinctive comedic work that achieved both critical acclaim and popular mainstream adaptation during the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Hotta is best known as the creator of the yonkoma, or four-panel, comedy manga Obatarian. The series was serialized in Takeshobo's Manga Life magazine from 1988 to 1998 and was compiled into thirteen tankobon volumes. The title is a portmanteau of the Japanese word oba, meaning middle-aged woman, and the Japanese title of the film The Return of the Living Dead. In 1989, the manga received the Bungeishunjū Manga Award. The series became his most commercially and critically successful work.
The success of the Obatarian manga led to an anime television special adaptation. Produced by the studio Sunrise, the seventy-minute special was directed by Tetsurō Amino, with scripts by Shun'ichi Yukimuro and Toshiki Inoue, and music by Kōhei Tanaka. It aired on TV Asahi on April 3, 1990.
Beyond his most famous work, Hotta has created other manga series, including Kabosu-san, which was serialized in the evening edition of the Sankei Shimbun newspaper. Other titles from his career include Cactus OL, Mr. Gomashio, My Pace Mama, and Cheer Up, Little Ronin. His work is characterized by standard comedic storytelling and a frequent reliance on the yonkoma format, often focusing on the humorous daily lives and social observations of ordinary people, particularly middle-aged women and families. His artistic identity is defined by this accessible, character-driven humor rather than serialized action or drama. Hotta remains a recognized figure in Japanese manga as the creator of a distinctive comedic work that achieved both critical acclaim and popular mainstream adaptation during the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Works
- Topics: Anime overview