Masami Kurumada facts for kids

Masami Kurumada (born December 6, 1953) is a famous Japanese manga artist and writer. He is known for creating exciting fighting manga stories. His characters are often handsome young men, sometimes with special powers.

He started his own manga studio called Kurumada Productions. Masami Kurumada became very famous for popular manga like Ring ni Kakero, Fūma no Kojirō, Saint Seiya, and B't X. The male characters in his stories are usually brave and strong. They show heroism by being selfless and making sacrifices for others. He won awards for Saint Seiya (Best Success) and Ring ni Kakero (Best Inspiration).

Masami Kurumada's Journey as a Manga Artist

Masami Kurumada's first work was called Otoko Raku. It won him an award in a manga contest. This helped him become an assistant to other professional manga artists. He officially started his career in 1974 with his manga Sukeban Arashi.

Three years later, he had his first big hit with Ring ni Kakero. This manga made him a well-known author. It lasted for five years, and he still considers it his favorite creation. When he was younger, he practiced martial arts. This passion clearly shows up in his action-packed stories.

Characters and Art Style

Like some other manga artists, Kurumada uses a special technique called the Osamu Tezuka's Star System. This means he often uses characters who look and act similar across different stories. They might get new names and roles, but their appearance stays familiar.

Because of this, many main characters in his works look a bit like Takane Ryūji, the hero of Ring ni Kakero. For example, characters like Seiya from Saint Seiya and Kojirō from Fūma no Kojirō share a similar look and personality.

Other famous manga artists like Leiji Matsumoto and Clamp also use this technique. The group Clamp was actually very inspired by Kurumada's works. They even started their careers by creating fan-made comics based on his characters.

Kurumada's drawing style is classic, like manga and anime from the 1960s and 1970s. He often draws his characters from a low angle, making them look powerful. His art has improved a lot over the years.

He uses realistic colors for his characters' hair and eyes. This is different from many manga artists who use bright, unnatural colors. However, in his recent work Saint Seiya Next Dimension, he has started to add characters with unique hair colors.

Signature Moves and Themes

Kurumada's fight scenes have some very recognizable elements. Fans even have special names for them! For example, "Kurumada Fall" (Kurumada-ochi (車田落ち, Kurumada-ochi)) is when characters fall head-first. "Kurumada Launch" (Kurumada-futtobi (車田吹っ飛び, Kurumada-futtobi)) is when characters are sent flying high into the air by an opponent.

His stories often explore themes like friendship, courage, forgiveness, and sacrifice. His characters also show strong masculine qualities, honesty, and honor. While female characters usually have smaller roles, some are very important, like Saori Kido in Saint Seiya.

Inspirations and Hobbies

Masami Kurumada gets ideas from older manga masters like Hiroshi Motomiya. He also finds inspiration in world knowledge and old stories. This includes Greek, Japanese, and Chinese mythology. He also uses ideas from Buddhist teachings and classic books like The Divine Comedy.

He loves boxing, wrestling, and martial arts. He even knows many famous people from these sports. On his website, he shares that he enjoys drinking with friends and taking photos while jogging.

Challenges and Successes

Not all of Kurumada's works were huge hits. Some, like Otoko Zaka, Silent Knight Shō, and Aoi Tori no Shinwa, were stopped early because they didn't attract enough fans. B't X and Saint Seiya also saw a drop in popularity at times.

For Saint Seiya, his publisher, Shueisha, asked him to finish the manga after the Hades Arc in 1991. He paused the manga but brought it back in 2006 with Saint Seiya Next Dimension. The Saint Seiya anime also faced challenges. Its popularity dropped during an anime-only story arc, which caused a planned adaptation of the Hades arc to be put on hold until 2003.

In 2004, Kurumada celebrated 30 years as a professional manga artist. That year, two of his older works became popular again. The original Ring ni Kakero was made into an anime, 27 years after it first came out as a manga. The Saint Seiya anime also continued.

Influence on Other Creators

Kurumada's works have inspired many other manga artists and creators. For example, Kinnikuman by Yudetamago and Magic Knight Rayearth by Clamp show his influence. His works have also inspired video games like the World Heroes and The King of Fighters series.

You can find references to his works in popular manga like BLEACH and their anime versions. Even French director Louis Leterrier said that Kurumada's Saint Seiya had a big impact on him when he was young. In 2010, Kurumada even helped Warner Brothers with promotional art for the movie Clash of the Titans.

His works have led to tons of merchandise, like action figures, T-shirts, toys, and video games, sold all over the world. His dedicated fans are often called "Masamists."

Masami Kurumada's Works

Manga Series

Masami Kurumada, as he appeared in the first episode of the Ring ni Kakero 1 anime adaptation. He also voiced the character in the episode.

Here are some of his manga series, listed by when they were published:

One-shot Manga Stories

These are single, complete manga stories:

• Mikeneko Rock (1975)
• Blue Myth (1992)

Books and Art Collections

• Cosmo Special (1988)
• Burning Blood (1996, an artbook)
• Saint Seiya Encyclopedia (2001, an artbook with character info)
• Saint Seiya Sora Kurumada Masami Illustrations (2004, an artbook)

Anime Shows Based on His Works

• Saint Seiya (1986 - 1989, 114 episodes)
• Fūma no Kojirō (1989 - 1990, 12 OVA episodes)
• B't X (1996, 25 episodes)
• Ring ni Kakero 1 (2004 - 2011, 36 episodes)
• Saint Seiya - The Hades Arc (2002 - 2008, 31 OVA episodes)
• Saint Seiya Omega (2012 - 2014, an original anime story, 97 episodes)
• Knights of the Zodiac (2019, a remake, 24 episodes)

Anime Movies Based on His Works

• Saint Seiya: Evil Goddess Eris (1987)
• Saint Seiya: The Heated Battle of the Gods (1988)
• Saint Seiya: Legend of the Crimson Youth (1989)
• Saint Seiya: Heaven Chapter − Overture (2004)
• Saint Seiya: Legend of Sanctuary (a CGI movie, 2014)

Live-Action Adaptations

• Fūma no Kojirō (a TV show with 13 episodes)
• Saint Seiya Musical (1991, a short musical play)
• Knights of the Zodiac: The Beginning (2023, a live-action film)

Spin-off Works by Other Authors

Masami Kurumada has allowed other authors to create new stories based on his works. He supervises these projects.

• Saint Seiya Episode G (2002 - 2013, by Megumu Okada)
• Saint Seiya Lost Canvas (2006 - 2011, by Shiori Teshirogi)
• Saint Seiya - Saintia Shō (2013–2021, by Chimaki Kuori)

Saint Seiya is his most famous work outside of Japan. However, in Japan, Ring ni Kakero (1 and 2) is even more popular. It is also Kurumada's longest work, with 51 collected volumes. Saint Seiya has 28 volumes, but with Saint Seiya Next Dimension, it now has 41 volumes.

Many Saint Seiya video games have been released for consoles like Famicom/NES, Game Boy, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, and PlayStation 4. There are also popular Saint Seiya and Ring ni Kakero themed Pachinko machines.

The Saint Seiya Myth Cloth line of figures, which started in 2003, is very successful.

Currently, Kurumada is working on Saint Seiya Next Dimension. This manga is a prequel and continuation of his classic Saint Seiya series. It is considered an official part of the Saint Seiya story. He recently finished Ring ni Kakero 2 in 2009.

In 2012, Kurumada announced the anime TV series Saint Seiya Omega. This is an original anime story, not directly from his manga. It takes place 25 years after his Saint Seiya manga.

In 2016, to celebrate 30 years of the Saint Seiya manga, special exhibitions were held in Tokyo and Hong Kong. Many special Saint Seiya products were sold there.

In 2019, a new CGI animated version of Kurumada's original Saint Seiya manga was released worldwide on Netflix. A live-action film and a live-action TV series based on Saint Seiya have also been announced.

Songs Written by Masami Kurumada

Masami Kurumada has written the lyrics for many songs used in the anime versions of his manga series. A CD called Kurumada: The Complete Works was released in 2005, collecting these songs.

Some of the songs he wrote include:

• "Megami no Senshi, Pegasus Forever"
• "Takusu mono he ~ My Dear"
• "Shining like Gold 〜思い出の欠片〜"
• "Kami no Sono - Del Regno"
• "Hana no Kusari"

He also had a small role as a voice actor in the first episode of the Ring ni Kakero anime. He played himself and another character who shares his name.

In 2013, another CD called "Kurumada: The Complete Works 2" was released. It included more songs with lyrics written by him for his anime adaptations.

Images for kids

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  Masami Kurumada, as he appeared in the first episode of the Ring ni Kakero 1 anime adaptation.

See also

In Spanish: Masami Kurumada para niños