Mitsuru Miura
Description
Mitsuru Miura is a Japanese manga artist born on November 25, 1954, in Yokohama, Japan. He began his professional career while still a technical high school student in 1971, when he won the Weekly Shonen Jump Young Jump Award for a work titled The Story of an Unlucky Man. After graduating, he gained experience as an assistant at Tezuka Productions, the studio founded by the legendary Osamu Tezuka. In the early 1970s, Miura also received Honorable Mentions in the 6th and 9th Tezuka Awards for his works The Wandering Box and I Won’t Go Crazy, respectively.
Miura is best known for creating the popular romantic comedy series The Kabocha Wine. The original manga was preceded by a one-off story called Musashi and L, published in Weekly Shonen Magazine in 1980. The full series then ran in the same magazine from 1981 to 1984 and was compiled into 18 volumes. The story follows the short-tempered but kind-hearted student Shunsuke Aoba and his tall, strong-willed classmate Natsumi Asaoka, nicknamed L. Miura has stated that the series was inspired by his own childhood experiences, as he was often shorter than his female classmates. The protagonist Shunsuke is based on himself, while L was partially inspired by a Japanese swimsuit model and actress. The unusual title came from a commercial jingle for pumpkin juice that Miura found memorable, despite having no direct connection to the plot.
The manga was a commercial and critical success, winning the 1983 Kodansha Manga Award in the shonen category. Its popularity led to an anime television adaptation produced by Toei Animation. The anime, which consisted of 95 episodes, aired on TV Asahi from July 1982 to August 1984. A theatrical anime film titled The Kabocha Wine: Nita no Aijou Monogatari was also released in July 1984. The franchise saw a revival years later when Miura returned to the series with The Kabocha Wine - Sequel in 2006, followed by The Kabocha Wine - Another, which was published in a seinen magazine and later adapted into a live-action film released on DVD in 2007.
Beyond his most famous work, Miura created several other manga series. These include Omoshiro Club from 1978 to 1979, Coconut AVE. from 1985 to 1986, Pink Spot in 1990, and Conbini Maria from 1998 to 1999, the latter of which was adapted into a television drama in 2001. He also published a work titled Wonderful in 2007. In 2017, Miura returned one final time to The Kabocha Wine with a title called Back To The Kabocha Wine, which was funded through a successful crowdfunding campaign. Following its release, he officially announced his retirement from the professional manga industry after a 45-year career. In 2021, a re-release of The Kabocha Wine manga began in partnership with major Japanese convenience store chains. Miura has also held leadership positions within the industry, serving as an executive director for the Japan Cartoonists Association and as an auditor for an organization called Manga Japan.
Miura is best known for creating the popular romantic comedy series The Kabocha Wine. The original manga was preceded by a one-off story called Musashi and L, published in Weekly Shonen Magazine in 1980. The full series then ran in the same magazine from 1981 to 1984 and was compiled into 18 volumes. The story follows the short-tempered but kind-hearted student Shunsuke Aoba and his tall, strong-willed classmate Natsumi Asaoka, nicknamed L. Miura has stated that the series was inspired by his own childhood experiences, as he was often shorter than his female classmates. The protagonist Shunsuke is based on himself, while L was partially inspired by a Japanese swimsuit model and actress. The unusual title came from a commercial jingle for pumpkin juice that Miura found memorable, despite having no direct connection to the plot.
The manga was a commercial and critical success, winning the 1983 Kodansha Manga Award in the shonen category. Its popularity led to an anime television adaptation produced by Toei Animation. The anime, which consisted of 95 episodes, aired on TV Asahi from July 1982 to August 1984. A theatrical anime film titled The Kabocha Wine: Nita no Aijou Monogatari was also released in July 1984. The franchise saw a revival years later when Miura returned to the series with The Kabocha Wine - Sequel in 2006, followed by The Kabocha Wine - Another, which was published in a seinen magazine and later adapted into a live-action film released on DVD in 2007.
Beyond his most famous work, Miura created several other manga series. These include Omoshiro Club from 1978 to 1979, Coconut AVE. from 1985 to 1986, Pink Spot in 1990, and Conbini Maria from 1998 to 1999, the latter of which was adapted into a television drama in 2001. He also published a work titled Wonderful in 2007. In 2017, Miura returned one final time to The Kabocha Wine with a title called Back To The Kabocha Wine, which was funded through a successful crowdfunding campaign. Following its release, he officially announced his retirement from the professional manga industry after a 45-year career. In 2021, a re-release of The Kabocha Wine manga began in partnership with major Japanese convenience store chains. Miura has also held leadership positions within the industry, serving as an executive director for the Japan Cartoonists Association and as an auditor for an organization called Manga Japan.
Works
- Topics: Anime overview