Mitsutoshi Furuya
Description
Mitsutoshi Furuya was a Japanese manga artist born on August 11, 1936. He made his professional debut in 1955 creating kashi-hon manga, which were rental-only comic books. In 1958, he began working as an assistant to Osamu Tezuka, the legendary creator often called the God of Manga. Five years later, he became an assistant to another major figure in the industry, Fujio Akatsuka, with whom he is more commonly associated.
Furuya is best known as the creator of the manga series Dame Oyaji, which translates to No-Good Dad. The series was serialized in Shogakukan's Weekly Shonen Sunday magazine from September 23, 1970, to July 28, 1982. The story centers on Damesuke Amano, a hapless office worker who is subjected to relentless bullying and physical abuse from his wife, known as Onibaba, as well as his two children. This premise was a darkly humorous send-up of traditional Japanese family life, where the father was typically regarded as the head of the household, and it was considered quite shocking to audiences in early 1970s Japan. For this work, Furuya received the 1979 Shogakukan Manga Award in the shonen category.
Dame Oyaji was adapted into other media. A live-action film was produced in 1973, followed by an anime television series in 1974. The anime adaptation consisted of 26 episodes and was broadcast on Tokyo Channel 12, which is now known as TV Tokyo, between April 2 and October 9, 1974. The television series notably toned down the level of violence from the original manga for its prime-time audience.
Beyond Dame Oyaji, Furuya had a long and varied career. His other notable manga works include the series Bar Lemon Heart, which began serialization in 1985, as well as titles like Gutara Mama and Rakugo Artist Biography. He continued to create manga for several decades. Mitsutoshi Furuya died on December 8, 2021, at the age of 85. His significance in the industry is marked not only by his award-winning flagship series and its adaptations but also by his formative years spent assisting two of the most influential figures in the history of Japanese comics, Osamu Tezuka and Fujio Akatsuka.
Furuya is best known as the creator of the manga series Dame Oyaji, which translates to No-Good Dad. The series was serialized in Shogakukan's Weekly Shonen Sunday magazine from September 23, 1970, to July 28, 1982. The story centers on Damesuke Amano, a hapless office worker who is subjected to relentless bullying and physical abuse from his wife, known as Onibaba, as well as his two children. This premise was a darkly humorous send-up of traditional Japanese family life, where the father was typically regarded as the head of the household, and it was considered quite shocking to audiences in early 1970s Japan. For this work, Furuya received the 1979 Shogakukan Manga Award in the shonen category.
Dame Oyaji was adapted into other media. A live-action film was produced in 1973, followed by an anime television series in 1974. The anime adaptation consisted of 26 episodes and was broadcast on Tokyo Channel 12, which is now known as TV Tokyo, between April 2 and October 9, 1974. The television series notably toned down the level of violence from the original manga for its prime-time audience.
Beyond Dame Oyaji, Furuya had a long and varied career. His other notable manga works include the series Bar Lemon Heart, which began serialization in 1985, as well as titles like Gutara Mama and Rakugo Artist Biography. He continued to create manga for several decades. Mitsutoshi Furuya died on December 8, 2021, at the age of 85. His significance in the industry is marked not only by his award-winning flagship series and its adaptations but also by his formative years spent assisting two of the most influential figures in the history of Japanese comics, Osamu Tezuka and Fujio Akatsuka.
Works
- Topics: Anime overview