Shohei Manabe

Shohei Manabe
Born
Chigasaki, Kanagawa, Japan
OccupationManga artist
Known forUshijima the Loan Shark
Awards

Shohei Manabe (Japanese: 真鍋昌平, Hepburn: Manabe Shōhei) is a Japanese manga artist. Writing and drawing gritty seinen manga about the Japanese underworld, he is best known for Ushijima the Loan Shark (2004–2019), which won the Shogakukan Manga Award and spawned several films and series.

Life and work

Manabe was born in Chigasaki, Kanagawa, where he was inspired to become a mangaka by reading Doraemon in primary school.[1]

His one-shot Smuggler (2000) was about an illegal transporter of dead bodies getting in trouble with the yakuza and the triad killers. It was adapted into a live action film in 2011.[2]

Dead End (2001–2002), in four volumes, is a dystopian cyberpunk story where mutated humans are used as weapons.[3]

Manabe launched Ushijima the Loan Shark in Weekly Big Comic Spirits in 2004 and ended it in March 2019, after 46 volumes. The manga depicts the life and activities of a yamikin, a Japanese loan shark, in a detailed and realistic way. During the 2010s, it was adapted into a live-action TV series, which ran for three seasons, and four live-action films.[4]

His Kujō no Taizai series has been serialized since October 2020.[5]

Awards

Year Award Category Work/Nominee Result
2008 Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize Ushijima the Loan Shark Nominated[6]
2009 Angoulême International Comics Festival Nominated[7]
2010 Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize Nominated[8]
Shogakukan Manga Award General Won[9]
2020 Japan Media Arts Festival Social Impact Award Won[10]

References

  1. ^ "Shohei Manabe : "C'est fascinant quand le manga et la vie se confondent"" (in French). Telerama. December 13, 2020.
  2. ^ First, Joseph (September 7, 2011). "Austin's Fantastic Fest to Premiere Live Action Smuggler". Anime News Network. Retrieved September 9, 2011.
  3. ^ Thompson, Jason (July 3, 2012). Manga: The Complete Guide (Google Play Books). Del Rey Books. p. 281. ISBN 978-0-34-553944-1.
  4. ^ Pineda, Rafael (July 9, 2022). "Ushijima the Loan Shark Gets New Live-Action Spinoff Series About Ushijima's Rival". Anime News Network. Retrieved March 3, 2024.
  5. ^ Hodgkins, Crystalyn (September 14, 2020). "Shohei Manabe Launches Kujō no Taizai Manga on October 12". Anime News Network. Retrieved March 3, 2024.
  6. ^ "12th Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize Nominees Announced". Anime News Network. March 14, 2008.
  7. ^ "Angoulême 2009 : Un 36ème Festival voué au « réel » et à « l'intime »". ActuaBD. October 23, 2008.
  8. ^ "14th Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize Nominees Announced". Anime News Network. February 27, 2010.
  9. ^ "Shogakukan Manga Awards archive". Shogakukan Comics (in Japanese). October 25, 2018.
  10. ^ "23rd Japan Media Arts Festival: Social Impact Award". Japan Media Arts Festival. 2020.