Masahiko Kikuni
Description
Masahiko Kikuni is a Japanese manga artist, essayist, and occasional character designer born on October 17, 1958 in Takamatsu, Kagawa Prefecture. After graduating from the oil painting department at Tama Art University, he made his professional debut as a manga creator in 1981 with a story published in Shueisha’s Young Jump magazine.
Kikuni is perhaps best known as the original creator of the manga series “Heartbroken Angels” (Kizudarake no Tenshi-tachi), a four-panel yonkoma comedy serialized in Shogakukan’s Weekly Young Sunday from 1988 to 1991. The series is notable for its vulgar, self-deprecating, and satirical humor, often employing toilet humor and parodying manga conventions, otaku culture, and genre tropes. In North America, “Heartbroken Angels” was translated and published by Viz Media, who also serialized it in their manga magazine Pulp, where it gained a cult following and was praised by figures such as writer Warren Ellis.
Another significant original work by Kikuni is “Nippon-ichi no Otoko no Tamashii” (The Soul of the Best Man in Japan), which began serialization in 1997. Both this series and “Itsumo Kokoro ni Taiyō o!” (The Sun Always in Our Hearts) were adapted into television anime series in 1999. Kikuni also created “Gekkō no Sasayaki” (Moonlight Whispers), which received a live-action film adaptation in 1999.
Beyond his manga production, Kikuni has worked in the video game industry as a character designer, notably for the mahjong titles “Kikuni Masahiko no Jantoushi Doraou” and its sequel. He is also an accomplished essayist and critic, having won the 68th Japan Mystery Writers Award in the criticism and other works category in 2015, followed by the 17th Honkaku Mystery Grand Prize in the criticism and research category in 2017 for a book co-authored with his wife, who is also a manga artist.
The artistic identity of Masahiko Kikuni is characterized by a blend of crude, often shocking humor with a charming and deceptively simple cartoonish drawing style. His work frequently explores transgressive and absurdist themes, earning a reputation for dark comedy that offends some sensibilities while attracting dedicated readers for its fearless and fresh approach. His significance in the industry lies not only in his successful manga and anime adaptations but also in his influence on international audiences through publications like Pulp and his recognized contributions to manga criticism and commentary.
Kikuni is perhaps best known as the original creator of the manga series “Heartbroken Angels” (Kizudarake no Tenshi-tachi), a four-panel yonkoma comedy serialized in Shogakukan’s Weekly Young Sunday from 1988 to 1991. The series is notable for its vulgar, self-deprecating, and satirical humor, often employing toilet humor and parodying manga conventions, otaku culture, and genre tropes. In North America, “Heartbroken Angels” was translated and published by Viz Media, who also serialized it in their manga magazine Pulp, where it gained a cult following and was praised by figures such as writer Warren Ellis.
Another significant original work by Kikuni is “Nippon-ichi no Otoko no Tamashii” (The Soul of the Best Man in Japan), which began serialization in 1997. Both this series and “Itsumo Kokoro ni Taiyō o!” (The Sun Always in Our Hearts) were adapted into television anime series in 1999. Kikuni also created “Gekkō no Sasayaki” (Moonlight Whispers), which received a live-action film adaptation in 1999.
Beyond his manga production, Kikuni has worked in the video game industry as a character designer, notably for the mahjong titles “Kikuni Masahiko no Jantoushi Doraou” and its sequel. He is also an accomplished essayist and critic, having won the 68th Japan Mystery Writers Award in the criticism and other works category in 2015, followed by the 17th Honkaku Mystery Grand Prize in the criticism and research category in 2017 for a book co-authored with his wife, who is also a manga artist.
The artistic identity of Masahiko Kikuni is characterized by a blend of crude, often shocking humor with a charming and deceptively simple cartoonish drawing style. His work frequently explores transgressive and absurdist themes, earning a reputation for dark comedy that offends some sensibilities while attracting dedicated readers for its fearless and fresh approach. His significance in the industry lies not only in his successful manga and anime adaptations but also in his influence on international audiences through publications like Pulp and his recognized contributions to manga criticism and commentary.
Works
- Topics: Anime overview