Tsukumizu

Tsukumizu
つくみず
CitizenshipJapanese
Alma materAichi University of Education
OccupationMangaka
Notable workGirls' Last Tour
Shimeji Simulation
AwardsSeiun Award
Websitetwitter.com/lililjiliijili
Signature

Tsukumizu (つくみず) is a pseudonymous Japanese manga artist. His notable works include the post-apocalyptic iyashikei manga Girls' Last Tour and the four-panel surreal comedy manga Shimeji Simulation.

Biography

Tsukumizu had been reading extensively since he was in primary school, and read novels all through upper secondary. He cites Haruki Murakami's Norwegian Wood and Dance Dance Dance, and Kaori Ekuni's Kirakira Hikaru as having influenced the themes behind Girls' Last Tour.[1]

In upper secondary, he started to become interested in anime, and began drawing moe in his third year. This interest would bloom to encompass manga as well. Tsukumizu attended the Aichi University of Education, and wished to study painting to become an art teacher. At that temporal juncture, he only saw drawing manga as a hobby.[2][1]

As a post-secondary student, Tsukumizu loved war movies, especially Saving Private Ryan. The Kettenkrad that appears in Girls' Last Tour is a homage to the movie.[3]

In 2013, he published a Touhou Project dōjinshi, Flan Wants to Die, about an immortal vampire named Flandre who longs to die.

In his second year of post-secondary, Tsukumizu began drawing manga and was invited to a manga circle by a friend. He regularly uploaded his work on the Internet, and this caught the eye of someone at the publishing company Shinchosha. His first commercially published work was Girls' Last Tour,[1] which was adapted into an anime in 2017.

His next major series, Shimeji Simulation, began serialization in Media Factory's Comic Cune magazine on 26 January 2019 and had its last chapter published in the same magazine on 27 November 2023.[4][5]

Art Style and Influences

Tsukumizu's art has been described as heartwarming, surreal, and often poetic.[6] He cites contemporary manga authors such as Tsutomu Nihei, as well as historical artists like Paul Klee as having influenced his art style.[7] Shaky and sometimes broken outlines are a common aspect of his art, which he claims was inspired by the work of Studio Ghibli animator Shinya Ohira. [1]

Works

References

  1. ^ a b c d Tsukumizu (24 July 2015). "Dō ikirubeki ka 'shōjo shūmatsu ryokō' Tsukumizu wa toikakeru" どう生きるべきか　『少女終末旅行』つくみずは問い掛ける (Interview) (in Japanese). Interviewed by ITmedia eBook USER. ITmedia. Archived from the original on 7 February 2021. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
  2. ^ Aichi University of Education Co-op [@aichieducoop] (12 November 2014). "[Aikyōdai sotsugyōsei chosaku no shinkan komikku] Aikyōdai no OB, Tsukumizu-sensei chosaku no komikku "Shōjo Shūmatsu Ryokō ①" o eM de hanbai-chū desu! Shūmatsu no sekai de ikiru 2-ri no shōjo… no, honobono nichijō-kei manga desu ★ tameshi yomi mo arimasu, zehi o-te ni totte kudasai!!" 【愛教大卒業生著作の新刊コミック】愛教大のOB、つくみず先生著作のコミック『少女終末旅行①』をeMで販売中です！終末の世界で生きる2人の少女…の、ほのぼの日常系マンガです★試し読みもあります、ぜひお手に取ってみてください!! (Tweet) (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 7 April 2021. Retrieved 25 April 2020 – via Twitter.
  3. ^ Ozaki, Takaharu (2016). "Shōjo shūmatsu ryokō anime tsūshin vol. 03" 少女終末旅行 アニメ通信 vol.03. Kurage Bunch. Archived from the original on 2 May 2018. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
  4. ^ Parker-Dalton, Jacob (27 December 2018). "Girls' Last Tour Creator Launches New Manga 'Shimeji Simulation' Next Month". OTAQUEST. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
  5. ^ Cayanan, Joanna (1 December 2023). "Tsukumizu's Shimeji Simulation Manga Ends". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on 1 December 2023. Retrieved 14 December 2023.
  6. ^ "[New series] A poetic, surreal, heartwarming, everyday 4-panel comic by Tsukumizu-sensei! "Shimeji Simulation" will be starting a new series in the March issue of Comic Cune!". Comic Cune. Retrieved 11 January 2025.
  7. ^ "Interview mit Tsukumizu – Mangaka von „Girls' Last Tour"". Manga Passion. Manga Passion. Retrieved 11 January 2025.