Tsukumizu
Description
Tsukumizu is the pseudonymous Japanese manga artist best known as the creator of the post-apocalyptic series Girls' Last Tour. Operating under a pen name, Tsukumizu maintains a private personal identity, with their real name and specific date of birth remaining undisclosed to the public.
Tsukumizu developed a strong interest in reading from an early age, consuming novels throughout primary and upper secondary school. During their third year of secondary school, they became interested in anime and began drawing moe-style illustrations, an interest that later extended to manga creation. Tsukumizu attended Aichi University of Education, where they studied painting with the initial goal of becoming an art teacher. During this period, they considered drawing manga a hobby rather than a professional aspiration. In their second year of university, they began drawing manga more seriously and was invited by a friend to join a manga circle. After graduating, they regularly uploaded their work online, which attracted the attention of a publisher from Shinchosha.
Before their commercial debut, Tsukumizu published a Touhou Project doujinshi in 2013 titled Flan Wants to Die, a story about an immortal vampire who longs for death. Tsukumizu's first commercially published work, Girls' Last Tour, began serialization in Shinchosha's Monthly Comic @Bunch magazine on February 21, 2014. The manga concluded on January 12, 2018. The series is set in a post-apocalyptic world where civilization has collapsed, following two young survivors, Chito and Yuuri, as they travel through abandoned city ruins on a Kettenkrad vehicle. The vehicle itself is a homage to the war film Saving Private Ryan, which Tsukumizu has cited as a favorite. The manga was adapted into a twelve-episode television anime series by the studio WHITE FOX, which aired in 2017. In 2019, Girls' Last Tour received the Seiun Award for Best Manga.
Following the conclusion of Girls' Last Tour, Tsukumizu began a second major series, Shimeji Simulation, which started serialization in Media Factory's Comic Cune magazine on January 26, 2019. The series, a four-panel surreal comedy, concluded on November 27, 2023. The story centers on a long-term shut-in girl who decides to return to school and the unusual everyday experiences that follow.
Tsukumizu's artistic identity is characterized by a distinctive visual style. Their art has been described as heartwarming and poetic while also carrying surreal qualities. A notable technical feature is the use of shaky and sometimes broken outlines, a technique inspired by the work of Studio Ghibli animator Shinya Ohira. Regarding artistic influences, Tsukumizu has cited contemporary manga author Tsutomu Nihei, particularly his work BLAME!, as a strong influence on the depiction and structure of backgrounds in their own work. Among historical artists, Tsukumizu has expressed admiration for Paul Klee. In terms of literary influences, Tsukumizu has named Haruki Murakami's novels Norwegian Wood and Dance Dance Dance, as well as Kaori Ekuni's Kirakira Hikaru, as having influenced the themes behind Girls' Last Tour.
Beyond their own serialized works, Tsukumizu has contributed illustrations to other anime productions. These contributions include providing ending animation segments for the Girls' Last Tour anime, as well as creating ending illustrations for episodes of other television anime series such as Asteroid in Love and Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!.
Tsukumizu developed a strong interest in reading from an early age, consuming novels throughout primary and upper secondary school. During their third year of secondary school, they became interested in anime and began drawing moe-style illustrations, an interest that later extended to manga creation. Tsukumizu attended Aichi University of Education, where they studied painting with the initial goal of becoming an art teacher. During this period, they considered drawing manga a hobby rather than a professional aspiration. In their second year of university, they began drawing manga more seriously and was invited by a friend to join a manga circle. After graduating, they regularly uploaded their work online, which attracted the attention of a publisher from Shinchosha.
Before their commercial debut, Tsukumizu published a Touhou Project doujinshi in 2013 titled Flan Wants to Die, a story about an immortal vampire who longs for death. Tsukumizu's first commercially published work, Girls' Last Tour, began serialization in Shinchosha's Monthly Comic @Bunch magazine on February 21, 2014. The manga concluded on January 12, 2018. The series is set in a post-apocalyptic world where civilization has collapsed, following two young survivors, Chito and Yuuri, as they travel through abandoned city ruins on a Kettenkrad vehicle. The vehicle itself is a homage to the war film Saving Private Ryan, which Tsukumizu has cited as a favorite. The manga was adapted into a twelve-episode television anime series by the studio WHITE FOX, which aired in 2017. In 2019, Girls' Last Tour received the Seiun Award for Best Manga.
Following the conclusion of Girls' Last Tour, Tsukumizu began a second major series, Shimeji Simulation, which started serialization in Media Factory's Comic Cune magazine on January 26, 2019. The series, a four-panel surreal comedy, concluded on November 27, 2023. The story centers on a long-term shut-in girl who decides to return to school and the unusual everyday experiences that follow.
Tsukumizu's artistic identity is characterized by a distinctive visual style. Their art has been described as heartwarming and poetic while also carrying surreal qualities. A notable technical feature is the use of shaky and sometimes broken outlines, a technique inspired by the work of Studio Ghibli animator Shinya Ohira. Regarding artistic influences, Tsukumizu has cited contemporary manga author Tsutomu Nihei, particularly his work BLAME!, as a strong influence on the depiction and structure of backgrounds in their own work. Among historical artists, Tsukumizu has expressed admiration for Paul Klee. In terms of literary influences, Tsukumizu has named Haruki Murakami's novels Norwegian Wood and Dance Dance Dance, as well as Kaori Ekuni's Kirakira Hikaru, as having influenced the themes behind Girls' Last Tour.
Beyond their own serialized works, Tsukumizu has contributed illustrations to other anime productions. These contributions include providing ending animation segments for the Girls' Last Tour anime, as well as creating ending illustrations for episodes of other television anime series such as Asteroid in Love and Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!.
Works
- Topics: Anime overview