So-He- Inaba

Description
So-He- Inaba is a Japanese manga artist and original creator, born on August 9, 1980, in Saitama Prefecture. His professional name is written as 稲葉そーへー, and his real name is Souhei Inaba (稲葉草平). While one source lists his blood type as B, another records it as AB. He made his professional debut in 2008 with the one-shot O Hikkoshi Kinniku!, which was published in Manga Rookies, a supplemental issue of Shueisha's Young Jump magazine. His artistic mentor is known to be manga creator Okamoto Lynn.

Inaba is best known as the creator of the manga Heisei Policemen!!, a police gag comedy that follows a rookie officer named Gō Gō who operates entirely at his own relaxed pace, much to the frustration of his superiors. The series was serialized in Weekly Young Jump from 2010 to January 2014 and was collected into fourteen volumes. The manga was adapted into a six-episode net anime series that premiered in April 2013, marking his most notable work to receive an anime adaptation.

Beyond this flagship title, Inaba has authored several other manga series. He created Shiratama-kun, which was collected into twelve volumes, as well as its two-volume spin-off, Shiratama-kyouju no Shironeko. In September 2019, he launched two new series simultaneously. Binbin Fukufuku Nazuna-sama! began in the 42nd issue of Weekly Young Jump and concluded in April 2021, running for six volumes. The comedy centers on an overworked office worker who returns home to find a strange girl in his apartment, who reveals herself to be a god of poverty. Also in September 2019, he launched Senjitsu Tasukete Itadaita ◯◯ Desu! in the inaugural issue of Hakusensha's Young Animal Zero magazine. In December 2022, he began working on Isekai Henshūsha: Manga de Sekai o Sukū Koto ni Narimashita (Other World Editor), an isekai story about a manga editor summoned to a fantasy world, for which he provides the original concept and story while Ryū Horie handles the illustration.

Inaba's body of work demonstrates a consistent focus on comedy and gag manga, often featuring protagonists with unconventional or laid-back personalities who navigate absurd or fantastical situations. His significance in the industry is primarily as a reliable creator of humorous manga series for the seinen demographic, with his work being consistently published by major houses like Shueisha and Hakusensha. His transition into providing original concepts for series illustrated by other artists, as seen with Isekai Henshūsha, indicates a broadening of his creative role within the manga production process.
Works