View source for Shotaro Ishinomori

{{Short description|Japanese manga artist}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2018}}

{{More citations needed|date=October 2022}}{{Infobox writer
| name   = Shotaro Ishinomori
| image     = Shotaro Ishinomori.jpg
| image_size     = 
| caption  = 
| birth_name  = Shotaro Onodera
| birth_date  = {{birth date|df=yes|1938|01|25}}
| birth_place = [[Tome, Miyagi|Tome]], [[Miyagi Prefecture]], Japan
| death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|1998|01|28|1938|01|25}}
| death_place = [[Bunkyō]], [[Tokyo]], Japan
| occupation     = [[Mangaka|Manga artist]]
| language = Japanese
| period = 1954–1998
| genre = [[Science fiction]]
| notableworks = {{unbulleted list|''[[Kamen Rider]]''|''[[Super Sentai]]''|''[[Cyborg 009]]''|''[[Ganbare!! Robocon]]''|''[[Sarutobi Ecchan]]''<ref>{{cite web|url=https://cartoonresearch.com/index.php/that-strange-strange-little-girl-sarutobi-ecchan1971/|title=That Strange, Strange Little Girl: "Sarutobi Ecchan"(1971)|author=Brubaker, Charles|publisher=Cartoon Research|date=13 November 2013|access-date=3 March 2020}}</ref>}}
| awards      = [[Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize]] (1998)
| website          = {{URL|https://ishimoripro.com/}}
}}
{{nihongo|'''Shotaro Ishinomori'''|石{{small|ノ}}森 章太郎|Ishinomori Shōtarō|25 January 1938 – 28 January 1998}}, [[né]] {{nihongo|'''Onodera'''|小野寺 章太郎|Onodera Shōtarō}}, was a Japanese [[Mangaka|manga artist]] and [[cartoonist]]. Known as the "King of Manga" (漫画の帝王 (''Manga no Teiou)'' or マンガの王様 (''Manga no Ousama)''),<ref>{{Cite web |date=2018-03-20 |title=【銀座 蔦屋書店】「漫画の帝王」石ノ森章太郎 生誕80周年記念フェア開催！ |url=https://prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000000085.000009848.html |access-date=2024-09-25 |website=プレスリリース・ニュースリリース配信シェアNo.1｜PR TIMES |language=ja-JP}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Ishinomori Manga Museum (The Manga Museum of Ishinomori Shotaro, the "King of Manga") {{!}} Miyagi Attractions |url=https://www.japan.travel/en/spot/1753/ |access-date=2024-09-25 |website=Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) |language=en-us}}</ref> he is regarded as one of the most influential manga artists of all time.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Yamasaki |first=Alisa |date=2013-06-27 |title='The Power of Manga: Osamu Tezuka and Shotaro Ishinomori' |url=https://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2013/06/27/arts/openings-in-tokyo/the-power-of-manga-osamu-tezuka-and-shotaro-ishinomori/ |access-date=2024-09-25 |website=The Japan Times |language=en}}</ref> Outside of manga he is also one of the most prolific creators in the history of [[anime]], {{transliteration|ja|[[tokusatsu]]}}, and [[Superhero fiction|Japanese superhero fiction]],<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.crunchyroll.com/news/features/2022/10/1/feature-a-brief-history-of-superhero-anime-from-astro-boy-to-my-hero-academia |access-date=2024-09-25 |website=www.crunchyroll.com}}</ref> creating several immensely popular long-running series such as ''[[Cyborg 009]],'' the ''[[Super Sentai]]'' series (later adapted into the ''[[Power Rangers]]'' series which Ishinomori has also been credit for co-creating), and the ''[[Kamen Rider]]'' series. He was twice awarded by the [[Shogakukan Manga Award]]s, in 1968 for ''[[Sabu to Ichi Torimono Hikae]]'' and in 1988 for ''Hotel'' and ''Manga Nihon Keizai Nyumon''.<ref name="ShogakukanAward">{{cite web|url=http://comics.shogakukan.co.jp/mangasho/rist.html |script-title=ja:小学館漫画賞: 歴代受賞者 |publisher=Shogakukan |language=ja |access-date=19 August 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929094941/http://comics.shogakukan.co.jp/mangasho/rist.html |archive-date=29 September 2007 }}</ref> 

He was also known as {{nihongo|'''Shotaro Ishimori'''|石森 章太郎|Ishimori Shōtarō}} prior to 1986, when he changed his family name to Ishinomori by adding the {{nihongo||ノ|no}} character in [[katakana]].

==Career==
In December 1954, Ishinomori published his first work, ''Nikyuu Tenshi'', in ''[[Manga Shōnen]]''. In 1956, he moved to Tokyo and became an assistant to [[Osamu Tezuka]]. During his time working under Tezuka, Ishinomori worked on ''[[Astro Boy]]''<ref>{{Cite book|title=The rough guide to Manga |first1=Jason S. |last1=Yadao |date=2009|publisher=Rough Guides|isbn=9781858285610|edition= 1st |location=London|oclc=421814256}}</ref> and ''[[Alakazam the Great]]''.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Skull man|author=Shimamoto, Kazuhiko|date=2002|publisher=Tokyopop|others=Ishinomori, Shōtarō, 1938-1998., Yoshimoto, Ray.|isbn=9781931514651|location=Los Angeles, Calif.|oclc=52120460}}</ref> In 1960, Ishinomori published ''[[Flying Phantom Ship]]'', which was later turned into an animated feature film in 1969.<ref>{{cite web |title=Flying Phantom Ship (movie) - Anime News Network |url=https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=2484 |website=www.animenewsnetwork.com |access-date=11 April 2020}}</ref>

''[[Cyborg 009]]'', created in 1963, became the first superpowered hero team created in Japan,{{Citation needed|reason=No original research|date=April 2018}} featuring nine [[cybernetic]] warriors. That same year, [[Kazumasa Hirai (author)|Kazumasa Hirai]] and [[Jiro Kuwata]] created Japan's first [[android (robot)|android]] [[superhero]] series, ''[[8 Man]]'' (which predated Ishinomori's ''[[Kikaider]]'' by nine years). The success of the {{transliteration|ja|[[tokusatsu]]}} superhero TV series ''[[Kamen Rider (1971 TV series)|Kamen Rider]]'', produced by [[Toei Company]] in 1971, led to the birth of the "transforming" (''henshin'') superhero (human-sized superheroes who transform by doing a pose, and use [[martial arts]] to fight henchmen and the weekly monster), and resulted in many sequel shows to this day. 

Ishinomori then created many similar superhero dramas, which were once again all produced by Toei or in Sarutobi Ecchan's case [[Toei Animation]], including ''[[Android Kikaider]]'', ''[[Kikaider 01]]'', ''{{ill|Henshin Ninja Arashi|ja|変身忍者嵐_(漫画)#石森章太郎版|vertical-align=sup}}'', ''[[Inazuman]]'', ''[[Robotto Keiji]]'', ''[[Himitsu Sentai Gorenger]]'' (the first [[Super Sentai]] series), ''[[Kaiketsu Zubat]]'', ''[[Akumaizer 3]]'', ''[[Sarutobi Ecchan]]'', the ''[[Toei Fushigi Comedy Series]]'', and countless others. He created popular children's shows, such as ''[[Hoshi no Ko Chobin]]'' (''Chobin, Child of the Stars'', 1974, a co-production with Studio Zero which was a major success on Italian television) and ''[[Ganbare!! Robokon]]''. 

In 1963, he founded the anime company Studio Zero. From 1967 to 1970, the manga ''[[009-1]]'' was serialized in the Futabasha publication ''Weekly Manga Action''. It was written and illustrated by Ishinomori. There was a television drama of it in 1969 and eventually an anime in 2006.{{citation needed|date=October 2020}}

Ishinomori's art is reminiscent of that of his mentor, Osamu Tezuka.{{citation needed|date=October 2013}} The true story of his first meeting with Tezuka was illustrated in a short four-page tale drawn up as supplementary material for the 1970s ''[[Astro Boy (1960s)|Astro Boy]]'' manga reprints. In 1954, Ishinomori submitted his first official work, ''Nikyu Tenshi'', to a contest seeking new talent in the magazine, ''Manga Shōnen''. Tezuka was impressed by his drawings and sent a telegraph to Ishinomori, asking him to work as his assistant with ''Astro Boy''. In the American release, this story can be seen in Volume 15, along with Ishinomori's earliest work on the "Electro" story arc. After graduating from high school in 1956 Ishinomori moved to [[Tokiwa-so]] with Tezuka, and lived there until the end of 1961.{{citation needed|date=October 2013}}

Ishinomori illustrated a comic adaptation of the [[Super Nintendo Entertainment System|Super NES]] video game ''[[The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past]]'', which was produced for the American publication ''[[Nintendo Power]]''. The comic consisted of 12 chapters, which were serialized from January 1992 (Volume 32) to December 1992 (Volume 43). The comic was republished as a graphic novel collection in 1993, and, as of 2015, is back in print through [[Viz Media]].{{citation needed|date=October 2020}} He has been credited for some work with the ''[[Power Rangers]]'', including videos, video games, the 1996 video of a [[Mighty Morphin Power Rangers World Tour Live on Stage]] event and the [[Power Rangers Zeo]], [[Power Rangers Turbo]] and [[Power Rangers in Space]] tv series.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0411127/?ref_=nmbio_ov|title=Shotaro Ishinomori|publisher=IMDB|accessdate=September 16, 2024}}</ref>

At the end of 1997, [[Kazuhiko Shimamoto]], a young and up-and-coming manga artist was contacted by an increasingly ill Ishinomori and asked if he would do a continuation, though more along the lines of a remake, of his 100-page, one-shot manga from 1970, ''[[Skull Man]]'', the manga that became the basis for ''Kamen Rider''. Ishinomori, who had been one of Shimamoto's boyhood heroes, faxed him copies of the proposed story and plot notes. Shimamoto was astounded that he had been chosen to work on his idol's final, great work.{{citation needed|date=October 2020}}

Shimamoto had already been involved in the revival of one of Ishinomori's other earlier works (including ''Kamen Rider'') but little did he dream that, as only one of many whom Ishinomori had inspired, he would be chosen for the final collaboration and resurrection of ''Skull Man''. It was also adapted into an anime in 2007.{{citation needed|date=October 2020}}

==Death and legacy==
[[File:Kuha2053108.JPG|thumb|One of the Mangattan Liners on the [[Senseki Line]] decorated with images of the eponymous character of ''[[Ganbare!! Robocon]]'']]
Ishinomori died of lymphoma and heart failure on 28 January 1998, just three days after his 60th birthday. His final work was the {{transliteration|ja|tokusatsu}} superhero TV series, ''[[Voicelugger]]'', televised in 1999. In 2000, the [[Kamen Rider series]] was revived with ''[[Kamen Rider Kuuga]]''. All of the series made in the [[Heisei era]] onwards credit Ishinomori as the creator. In 2001, [[Ishinomori Manga Museum]] named in his honor opened in [[Ishinomaki, Miyagi]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.city.ishinomaki.lg.jp/EN/sightseeing.jsp|title=Sightseeing in Ishinomaki|access-date=29 August 2009}}</ref> Special trains in the [[Senseki Line]] were commissioned featuring his artwork generally leading to the museum.

His work posthumously awarded him the Guinness World Record for most comics published by one author, totaling over 128,000 pages across 770 titles across 500 volumes.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/most-comics-published-by-one-author |title=Most comics published by one author |publisher=[[Guinness World Records]] |access-date=11 September 2016}}</ref>

His influence, particularly on superhero media, is such that he has often drawn comparisons as being the manga counterpart to both [[Stan Lee]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=You are being redirected... |url=https://www.animationmagazine.net/2012/07/english-version-of-cyborg-009-planned-for-2013/ |access-date=2024-09-25 |website=www.animationmagazine.net|date=9 July 2012 }}</ref> and [[Jack Kirby]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Polo |first=Susana |date=2021-12-07 |title=The best comics of 2021 |url=https://www.polygon.com/22821264/best-comics-2021-marvel-dc-manga |access-date=2024-09-25 |website=Polygon |language=en-US}}</ref>

Many manga artists have cited Ishinomori as an influence, including [[Katsuhiro Otomo]], [[Naoki Urasawa]], [[Go Nagai]], [[Kazuhiko Shimamoto]], [[Keiko Takemiya]], [[Moto Hagio]], [[Taiyō Matsumoto|Taiyo Matsumoto]], [[Tetsuya Chiba]] and [[Tetsuo Hara]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/olliebarder/2017/05/26/katsuhiro-otomo-on-creating-akira-and-designing-the-coolest-bike-in-all-of-manga-and-anime/?sh=5befbed66d25 |title=Katsuhiro Otomo On Creating 'Akira' And Designing The Coolest Bike In All Of Manga And Anime |work=[[Forbes]] |date=2017-05-26 |access-date=2021-09-04}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.otakunews.com/Article/6680/an-interview-with-urasawa-naoki-a-master-of-manga |title=An Interview with Urasawa Naoki a Master of Manga |work=Otaku News |date=2019-06-09 |access-date=2021-09-01}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/olliebarder/2021/06/17/tetsuo-hara-on-fist-of-the-north-star-and-his-enduring-love-of-manga/?sh=60148bc65deb |title=Tetsuo Hara On 'Fist Of The North Star' And His Enduring Love Of Manga |work=[[Forbes]] |date=2021-06-17 |access-date=2021-09-01}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Legendary Creator Nagai Go - ANIME MANGA EXPLOSION {{!}} NHK WORLD-JAPAN |url=https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/shows/2099010/ |access-date=2024-06-07 |website=NHK WORLD |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=The Skull Man (Tokyopop) |url=https://en.whakoom.com/ediciones/644273/the_skull_man-rustica_208_pp |access-date=2024-06-07 |website=Whakoom |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-04-05 |title=[Translation] Keiko Takemiya: What Jun Taught Me |url=https://hakutaku.us/2019/04/05/what-fantasy-world-jun-taught-me-translation/ |access-date=2024-06-07 |website=Hakutaku |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=AN "OFF TO THE SIDE" ARTIST - Discuss Japan |url=https://www.japanpolicyforum.jp/culture/pt20110203115926133.html |access-date=2024-06-07 |website=www.japanpolicyforum.jp|date=3 February 2011 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Extra |first=MSX: Mangasplaining |date=2022-05-09 |title=BONUS: Interview with Taiyo Matsumoto from 2011, on the digital publication of No. 5 |url=https://mangasplaining.substack.com/p/bonus-interview-with-taiyo-matsumoto |access-date=2024-09-25 |website=MSX - The Mangasplaining Extra Newsletter}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=ライバルから戦友に…ちばてつやが語る「石ノ森章太郎と過ごした日々」 {{!}} アニメージュプラス - アニメ・声優・特撮・漫画のニュース発信！ |url=https://animageplus.jp/articles/detail/27574 |access-date=2024-09-25 |website=animageplus.jp |language=ja}}</ref> Takemiya called him the 'flag-bearer of our time'. Hagio cited his influence on her drawing technique, stating that his images were 'truly marvelous'.

One of Tezuka's former assistants, Shigeto Ishihara, stated Ishinomori to be one of the two cartoonists that Tezuka was ever truly jealous of (the other being Otomo).<ref>{{Cite web |title=関係者インタビュー 私と手塚治虫 池原 しげと編 第3回 本当にあった、手塚治虫のかわいい!? わがまま｜虫ん坊｜手塚治虫 TEZUKA OSAMU OFFICIAL |url=https://tezukaosamu.net/jp/mushi/entry/25169.html |access-date=2024-09-25 |website=手塚治虫 公式サイト |language=ja}}</ref>

[[Fuku Suzuki]] portrays a young Ishinomori in ''[[Saber + Zenkaiger: Superhero Senki]]''.<ref name="Superhero Senki">{{cite web |title=『スーパーヒーロー戦記』本予告で物語の全貌が明らかに、鈴木福がゲスト出演「3歳の頃から大大大好き」 |url=https://news.mynavi.jp/article/20210625-1909809/ |publisher=Mynavi |accessdate=25 June 2021 |language=ja |date=25 June 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=「スーパーヒーロー戦記」鈴木福は石ノ森章太郎の墓参りして撮影、新ライダー情報も |url=https://natalie.mu/eiga/news/437979 |publisher=Natalie |access-date=22 July 2021 |language=ja |date=22 July 2021}}</ref>

==Selected works==
{| border="0" style="background:#fff;" class="sortable wikitable"
|+  style="text-align:center; background:DarkSlateBlue; color:white;"|<big>Manga</big>
!  style="width:80px; px; background:Lavender; color:Black;"|Year(s)
!  style="width:80px; px; background:Lavender; color:Black;"|Original title
!  style="width:80px; px; background:Lavender; color:Black;"|Translated title
!  style="width:80px; px; background:Lavender; color:Black;"|Volumes

|-.
|1954–55 || {{lang|ja|二級天使}} ||''Nikyuu Tenshi''||1
|-

|-
|1957–64 ||{{lang|ja|竜神沼}} ||''Ryuujin Numa'' / ''Dragon God Pond''||1
|-
|1960
|{{lang|ja|空飛ぶゆうれい船}}
|''Flying Phantom Ship''
|1
|-

|-
|1964–81 ||{{lang|ja|サイボーグ009}} ||''[[Cyborg 009]]''||36
|-

|-
|1964–69 ||{{lang|ja|さるとびエッちゃん}} ||''[[Sarutobi Ecchan]]''||5
|-

|-
|1965–66  ||{{lang|ja|ミュータント・サブ}} ||''Mutant Sabu''||3
|-

|-
|1966–72 ||{{lang|ja|佐武と市捕物控}}  ||''[[Sabu to Ichi Torimono Hikae|Sabu and Ichi's Detective Memoirs]]''||17
|-

|-
|1967–74 ||''009ノ1''  ||''[[009-1]]''||6
|-

|-
|1967–68 ||{{lang|ja|幻魔大戦}} ||''[[Genma Wars]]''||2
|-

|-
|1967–71 ||{{lang|ja|ジュン - 章太郎のファンタジーワールド}} ||''Shoutaro's Fantasy World Jun''||2
|-

|-
|1969–70  ||{{lang|ja|リュウの道}} ||''The Road of Ryuu''||8
|-

|-
|1970 ||{{lang|ja|スカルマン}} ||''[[Skull Man|The Skull Man]]''||1
|-

|-
|1971 ||{{lang|ja|宮本武蔵}} ||''Miyamoto Musashi''||1
|-

|-
|1971 ||{{lang|ja|原始少年リュウ}} ||''Primitive Boy Ryu''||3
|-

|-
|1971 ||{{lang|ja|劇画家畜人ヤプー}} ||''Domestic Yapoo''||1
|-

|-
|1971–72 ||{{lang|ja|仮面ライダー}} ||''[[Kamen Rider (1971 TV series)#Manga|Kamen Rider]]''||4
|-

|-
|1972–73 ||{{lang|ja|ロボット刑事}} ||''Robot Keiji''||3
|-

|-
|1972–73 ||{{lang|ja|変身忍者 嵐}} ||''Transforming Ninja Arashi''||3
|-

|-
|1972–74 ||{{lang|ja|キカイダー}} ||''[[Kikaider]]''||6
|-

|-
|1973–74 ||{{lang|ja|イナズマン}} ||''[[Inazuman#Manga|Inazuman]]''||4
|-

|-
|1974–75 ||{{lang|ja|買厄懸場帖 九頭竜}} ||''[[Baiyaku Kakebachō Kazuryū]]''||3
|-

|-
|1974–75 ||{{lang|ja|星の子チョビン}} ||''Chobin the Star Child''||1
|-

|-
|1975–76 ||{{lang|ja|秘密戦隊ゴレンジャー}} ||''[[Himitsu Sentai Gorenger#Manga|Himitsu Sentai Gorenger]]''||2
|-

|-
|1976–78 ||{{lang|ja|ギルガメッシュ}} ||''[[Gilgamesh (manga)|Gilgamesh]]''||6
|-

|-
|1977–78 ||{{lang|ja|多羅尾伴内 七つの顔をもつ男}}  ||''The Man With Seven Faces''||5
|-

|-
|1979–81 ||{{lang|ja|幻魔大戦 -神話前夜の章}} ||''Genma Wars: Eve of Mythology''||3
|-

|-
|1983–84 ||{{lang|ja|八百八町表裏 化粧師}} ||''808 Ward Inside and Out: Make-Up Artist''||3
|-

|-
|1984–98 ||''Hotel'' ||''Hotel''||37
|-

|-
|1986 ||{{lang|ja|マンガ日本経済入門}} ||''Japan Inc.: An Introduction to Japanese Economics''||2
|-

|-
|1986–87 ||{{lang|ja|北斎}} || ''Hokusai''||3
|-

|-
|1987–88 ||{{lang|ja|仮面ライダーBlack}} ||''Kamen Rider Black''||6
|-

|-
|1988 ||{{lang|ja|人間の條件}}||''[[The Human Condition (Gomikawa novel)|The Human Condition]]||4
|-

|-
|1989–94 ||{{lang|ja|仮面ライダーZO}} ||''Kamen Rider ZO''||1
|-

|-
|1992 ||{{lang|ja|ゼルダの伝説～神々のトライフォース}} ||''[[List of The Legend of Zelda manga#A Link to the Past by Shotaro Ishinomori|The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past]]''||1
|-

|-
|1994 ||{{lang|ja|古事記 (石ノ森章太郎)}} ||''Kojiki''||1
|-

|-
|1996–97 ||{{lang|ja|シャーロック・ホームズシリーズ}} ||''Sherlock Holmes Series''||10
|-

|-
|1997–98 ||{{lang|ja|ドッグワールド}} ||''Dog World''||3
|-
|}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Portal|Anime and manga}}
*[https://ishimoripro.com/ Ishimori Production Inc.] – Official website {{in lang|ja}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20100420030341/http://en.ishimoripro.com/index2.php Ishimori Production Inc.] – Official website
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20101212011319/http://fr.ishimoripro.com/index2.php Ishimori Production Inc.] – Official website {{in lang|fr}}
*[http://www.man-bow.com/manga/ Mangattan Museum website] {{in lang|ja}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070626194211/http://www.ishinomori.com/top.html Shotaro Ishinomori Complete Comic Works] {{in lang|ja}}
*[http://www.city.tome.miyagi.jp/kinenkan Shotaro Ishinomori Memorial Museum] – Official website {{in lang|ja}}
*[http://www.sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/ishinomori_shotaro Entry] in [[The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction]]

{{Kamen Rider}}
{{Super Sentai}}
{{Power Rangers}}
{{Shotaro Ishinomori}}
{{Shogakukan Manga Award - General}}
{{Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ishinomori, Shotaro}}
[[Category:Shotaro Ishinomori| ]]
[[Category:1938 births]]
[[Category:1998 deaths]]
[[Category:Anime character designers]]
[[Category:Deaths from lymphoma in Japan]]
[[Category:Manga artists from Miyagi Prefecture]]
[[Category:Toei Animation]]
[[Category:Winner of Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize (Special Award)]]