View source for Tetsuo Hara

{{short description|Japanese manga artist (born 1961)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2022}}
{{Infobox person
| name         = Tetsuo Hara
| image        = Tetsuo Hara - Dimanche - Japan Expo 2013 - P1670525.jpg
| caption      = Tetsuo Hara at [[Japan Expo]] 2013 in France
| birth_name   = {{nihongo4||原哲夫|Hara Tetsuo}}
| birth_date   = {{Birth date and age|1961|9|2}}
| birth_place  = [[Shibuya]], [[Tokyo]], Japan
| death_date   = 
| death_place  = 
| occupation   =  [[Manga artist]]
| years_active = 1982–present
| known_for    = ''[[Fist of the North Star]]''<br>''[[Fist of the Blue Sky]]''<br>''[[Keiji (manga)|Keiji]]''
| website      = [http://www.haratetsuo.com/ Official website]
}}

{{nihongo|'''Tetsuo Hara'''|原 哲夫|Hara Tetsuo|born September 2, 1961|lead=yes}} is a Japanese [[mangaka|manga artist]]. He is best known for co-creating the post-apocalyptic martial arts series ''[[Fist of the North Star]]'' (1983–1988) with writer [[Buronson]], which is one of the [[List of best-selling manga|best-selling manga in history]] with over 100 million copies in circulation.

==Early life==
Although born in Tokyo, Hara lived in Matsubara-[[danchi]] in [[Sōka]], Saitama.<ref name="Forbes">{{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=June 17, 2021 |first1=Ollie |last1=Barder |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624201552/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 |archive-date= Jun 24, 2021 |access-date=June 19, 2021}}</ref> He is a cousin of comedian [[Ryo Fukawa]].<ref name="Fukawa">{{cite web |url=https://www.sanspo.com/geino/news/100721/gnf1007210506001-n2.htm |title=ふかわりょう、原哲夫ジャケでベスト盤 (2/2ページ) |work=[[Sanspo]] |language=Japanese |date=July 21, 2010 |access-date=June 19, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100724063834/https://www.sanspo.com/geino/news/100721/gnf1007210506001-n2.htm |archive-date=July 24, 2010}}</ref> Hara began drawing characters from [[Osamu Tezuka]]'s ''[[Astro Boy]]'' and ''[[Jungle Emperor Leo]]'', as well as [[Ikki Kajiwara]] and Naoki Tsuji's ''[[Tiger Mask]]'' in first and second grade. In third and fourth grade he was obsessed with [[Shotaro Ishinomori]]'s ''[[Kamen Rider]]'' manga, while the work of [[Fujio Akatsuka]] showed him how diverse the medium could be.<ref name="Forbes"/>

Hara had decided to become a manga artist by second and third grade.<ref name="Forbes"/> In middle school he read manga about becoming one, as well as autobiographical manga, and studied ''[[yonkoma]]'' to improve his sequencing. He then entered the design program at his high school, joined the "manga [[gekiga]] club," and submitted entries to manga competitions run by magazines. Hara also found inspiration by visiting the workplace of [[Osamu Akimoto]], who was an alumnus of his high school.<ref name="Forbes"/>

==Career==
When Hara approached ''[[Weekly Shōnen Jump]]'' about becoming a professional manga artist, editor Nobuhiko Horie liked his detailed artwork but noticed his poor story writing skills.<ref name="AnotherStory">{{Cite episode |title=Another Story: How Fist of the North Star Came to Be|series=Time and Tide|language=English, Japanese|network=[[NHK World-Japan]] |date=2023-01-28}}</ref> Hara began working as an assistant to [[Yoshihiro Takahashi]] and also attended manga classes supervised by [[Kazuo Koike]].<ref name="raijinhara">{{cite web |url=http://www.raijincomics.com/extra/articles/article.aspx?_cid=77 |title=Interview with Hara Tetsuo|access-date=July 21, 2007 |work=Raijin Comics|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040629155120/http://www.raijincomics.com/extra/articles/article.aspx?_cid=77|archive-date=June 29, 2004 }}</ref> He published several [[One-shot (comics)|one-shot]]s in 1982; "Mad Fighter" published in ''Fresh Jump'' in August, "Crash Hero" published in ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'', and the boxing story "Super Challenger", which won first place at the 33rd ''Fresh Jump'' Prize.<ref name="AnotherStory"/> His first serialized work in ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' was ''Iron Don Quixote'', a motocross manga which lasted only ten weeks.<ref name="AnotherStory"/><ref name="raijinhara"/> Horie later claimed that the senior editor was willing to let Hara continue the series, but Horie chose to end it because he was confident the artist could do better.<ref name="AnotherStory"/> Hara then achieved fame with the publication of ''[[Fist of the North Star]]'' in 1983, which he co-created with [[Buronson]]. Ending in 1988, it spawned a massive franchise and went on to become one of the [[List of best-selling manga|best-selling manga]] in history with over 100 million copies in circulation.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://mantan-web.jp/2014/04/19/20140418dog00m200061000c.html | title=武論尊 ： 「北斗の拳」実は綱渡りだった 26年ぶり伏線回収に「出しきった」 (1/2) | date=April 19, 2014 | work=[[Mainichi Shimbun]] | access-date=November 28, 2013 | language=ja | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140420022354/http://mantan-web.jp/2014/04/19/20140418dog00m200061000c.html | archive-date=April 20, 2014 | url-status=live}}</ref> His next long-running serial was ''[[Keiji (manga)|Keiji]]'', a period piece published in ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' from 1990 to 1993 and loosely based on a novel by [[Keiichiro Ryu]]. It was through [[Kazuhiko Torishima]] that Hara received the offer from [[Capcom]] to create the character designs for the 1993 video game ''[[Saturday Night Slam Masters]]''.<ref name="Forbes"/> In 1998, Hara reunited with Horie, whom he had not worked with since ''Fist of the North Star'', to create ''Kōkenryoku Ōryō Sōsakan Nakabō Rintarō''.<ref name="raijinhara"/> The artist stated that the editor-in-chief at [[Shueisha]] had warned him to stay away from Horie because he held "no status" at the company.<ref name="raijinhara"/> Hara was bewildered as to what office politics had to do with creating manga, and he and Horie both left Shueisha after ''Kōkenryoku Ōryō Sōsakan Nakabō Rintarō'' ended in 2000.<ref name="raijinhara"/>

Hara, Horie and others then founded the publishing company [[Coamix]] that same year, and launched the manga magazine ''[[Weekly Comic Bunch]]'' in 2001.<ref name="raijinhara"/> Hara serialized ''[[Fist of the Blue Sky]]'', a [[prequel]] to ''Fist of the North Star'', in ''Weekly Comic Bunch'' from 2001 until the magazine's final issue in 2010. Originally published weekly, the manga changed to a semi-regular schedule after Hara was diagnosed with [[keratoconus]].<ref name="raijinhara"/> Despite previously announcing his intentions to retire after completing ''Fist of the Blue Sky'', Hara went on to create ''Ikusa no Ko: The Legend of Nobunaga Oda'', written by Seibo Kitahara and published in ''[[Monthly Comic Zenon]]'' from 2010 to 2022. An English edition of ''Ikusa no Ko'' was concurrently published on the official Silent Manga Audition Community website.<ref name=smacmag>{{cite web|url=http://www.manga-audition.com/comic-zenon/|title=Comic Zenon International|publisher=North Stars Pictures}}</ref> In 2021, Hara said that rather than creating work on his own, he was more interested in working with younger artists to create works as a team and pass on his forty years of experience.<ref name="Forbes"/>

==Influences==
Hara has cited Fujio Akatsuka, Shotaro Ishinomori, [[Tetsuya Chiba]], and [[Ryoichi Ikegami]] as some of his influences.<ref name="Forbes"/> The comedy in Akatsuk'a work showed him the "power" of manga and how fun it can be. Ishinomori's designs for heroes and monsters instilled in Hara to never get lazy with character designs, even for those that are killed off quickly. Chiba's work taught him that as long as the characters are interesting, they can move and progress the story on their own. Hara said that Ikegami had the biggest impact on his art, as the "realism and luster" in his characters show the "power" of gekiga.<ref name="Forbes"/>

Hara admits that from the very beginning of his career, he has never been good at creating the stories of manga. Instead he focuses on showcasing his art skills and creating characters.<ref name="Forbes"/> He credits his first editor, Nobuhiko Horie, for continuing to work with him his whole career and "helping to fill in for my weaknesses and further develop my strengths." He described the process as starting with Horie proposing a storyline, while Hara focuses on the characters and art direction and creates the storyboard. Hara then instructs his staff to help with the final product, describing the entire process as relying on "the strengths of each person to create something greater than the sum of its parts." For ''Fist of the North Star'' specifically, Hara revealed that he and Buronson did not see each other much and never had meetings directly about work. Instead, Horie acted as go-between for the two.<ref name="Forbes"/>

==Works==

===Manga===

====Serials====
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Title
! Co-creator(s)
! Magazine
! Date
! Volumes
|-
| {{nihongo|''Iron [[Don Quixote|Don Quijote]]''|鉄のドンキホーテ|Tetsu no Don Kihōte}}
| 
| ''Weekly Shōnen Jump''
| 1982–1983
| 2 
|-
| {{nihongo|''[[Fist of the North Star]]''|北斗の拳|Hokuto no Ken}}
| Written by [[Buronson]]
| ''Weekly Shōnen Jump''
| 1983–1988 
| 27 
|-
| {{nihongo|''Cyber Blue''|ＣＹＢＥＲブルー}}
| Written by Bob, screenplay by Ryuichi Mitsui
| ''Weekly Shōnen Jump''
| 1988–1989
| 4
|-
| {{nihongo|''[[Keiji (manga)|Keiji]]''|花の慶次 －雲のかなたに－|Hana no Keiji -Kumo no Kanata ni-|"Flowery Keiji: At the Other Side of the Cloud"}}
| Written by [[Keiichiro Ryu]]
| ''Weekly Shōnen Jump''
| 1990–1993
| 18
|-
| {{nihongo|''Kagemusha Tokugawa Ieyasu''|影武者徳川家康||"Tokugawa Ieyasu's Shadow Warrior"}}<ref>{{cite web |url=https://mediaarts-db.bunka.go.jp/mg/magazine_works/755 |title=週刊少年ジャンプ 影武者徳川家康(原哲夫 ／ 隆慶一郎 ／ [脚本]會川昇) |language=ja |website=Media Arts Database |publisher=[[Agency for Cultural Affairs]] |access-date=May 4, 2019 |archive-date=May 4, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190504122412/https://mediaarts-db.bunka.go.jp/mg/magazine_works/755 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
| Written by Keiichiro Ryu, script by [[Shō Aikawa (screenwriter)|Shō Aikawa]]
| ''Weekly Shōnen Jump''
| 1994–1995
| 6
|-
| {{nihongo|''Takeki Ryūsei''|猛き龍星||"The Mighty Ryusei"}}
| 
| ''Weekly Shōnen Jump''
| 1995
| 3
|-
| {{nihongo|''[[Shima Sakon|Sakon]] - Sengoku Fūunroku-''|SAKON －戦国風雲録－||"Sakon: Chronicles of Feudal Turbulence"}}
| Written by Keiichiro Ryu, screenplay by Shingo Futahashi 
| ''Monthly Shōnen Jump''
| 1997–2000
| 6
|-
| {{nihongo|''Hydra''|{{ruby|九頭龍|ヒュドラ}}|Hyudora}}
| Written by Tadashi Ikuta
| ''Manga Allman''
| 1997–1998
| 1
|-
| {{nihongo|''Kōkenryoku Ōryō Sōsakan Nakabō Rintarō ''|公権力横領捜査官 中坊林太郎||"Government Corruption Investigator Rintaro Nakabo}}
| Supervised by Makoto Sataka
|''Bart 3230''
| 1998–2000
| 2
|-
| {{nihongo|''[[Aterui]] the Second''|{{ruby|阿弖流為|アテルイ}}II世|Aterui Nisei}}
| Written by [[Katsuhiko Takahashi]]
| ''Monthly Gotta''
| 2000
|1
|-
| {{nihongo|''[[Fist of the Blue Sky]]''|蒼天の拳|Sōten no Ken}}
| Supervised by Buronson
| ''[[Weekly Comic Bunch]]''
| 2001–2010
|22
|-
| {{nihongo|''Ikusa no Ko: The Legend of [[Oda Nobunaga]]''|いくさの子 織田三郎信長伝|Ikusa no Ko: Oda Saburō Nobunaga Den}}
| Written by Seibo Kitahara
| ''[[Monthly Comic Zenon]]''
| 2010–2022
|20
|}

====One-shots====
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Title
! Co-creator(s)
! Magazine
! Date
|-
| {{nihongo|''Super Challenger''|スーパーチャレンジャー}}
| 
| ''Weekly Jump: Special Edition''
| 1982/4/10
|-
| {{nihongo|''Mad Fighter''|マッドファイター}}
| 
| ''Fresh Jump''
| 1982/08
|-
| {{nihongo|''Crash Hero''|クラッシュヒーロー}}
| Original concept by Tetsuyuki Akuzawa
| ''Weekly Jump''
| 1982 (No. 43)
|-
| {{nihongo|''Hokuto no Ken''|北斗の拳}} (prototype version)
| 
| ''Fresh Jump''
| 1983/04
|-
| {{nihongo|''Hokuto no Ken II''|北斗の拳II}} (prototype version)
| 
| ''Fresh Jump''
| 1983/06
|-
| {{nihongo|''Zhí Yè Xiōng Shǒu''|{{ruby|職業兇手|ジー　イェ　ション　ショウ}}|Jī Ie Shon Shō}}
| Written by [[Arimasa Osawa]]
| ''Weekly Jump''
| 1993 (No. 5-6)
|-
| {{nihongo|''Kaen no Shō''|火焔の掌||"The Hands of Flames"}}
| 
| ''Weekly Jump Spring Special''
| 1995
|-
| {{nihongo|''Kiseki Moyuru Toki''|輝石燃ゆる時||"When The Pyroxene Burns"}}
| 
| ''Weekly Jump''
| 1996 (No. 43)
|-
| {{nihongo|''Chase''|{{ruby|追撃|チェイス}}|Cheisu}}
| Written by Buronson
| ''Manga Allman''
| 1997 (No. 2)
|-
| {{nihongo|''Hokuto no Ken: Last Piece''|北斗の拳 −LAST PIECE−}}
| Written by Buronson
| ''Comic Zenon''
| May 2013 (Part 1)<br />June 2013 (Part 2)
|}

===Novel illustrations===
* ''Kōryū no Mimi'' - (2 volumes, 1991–1993)
* ''Ichimu An Fūryū Ki'' (1 volume, 1992 Shueisha Bunko edition)
* ''Hokuto no Ken: Jubaku no Machi'' (1 volume, 1995)
*''[[Musashi (novel)|Miyamoto Musashi]]'' (8 volumes, 2013 Takarashimasha Bunko edition)

===Other works===
* ''[[Saturday Night Slam Masters]]''/''Muscle Bomber'' (1993 arcade game) - promotional illustrations. The character portraits in the arcade version were done by another artist, but they were replaced by Hara's own renditions in the console versions for the [[Super Nintendo Entertainment System|Super NES]] and [[Sega Genesis]].
* ''Muscle Bomber Duo'' (1993 arcade game) - promotional illustrations
* ''Ring of Destruction: Slam Masters II''/''Super Muscle Bomber'' (1994 arcade game) - promotional and in-game illustrations.
* ''Itadaki Muscle!'' (2006 TV series) - illustrations for the opening intro.
* ''Mori no Senshi Bonolon'' (2006 anime series) - producer, character designer
* ''[[Keiji (manga)|Gifū Dōdō!! Naoe Kanetsugu -Maeda Keiji Tsuki-gatari-]]'' (2008–2010 manga series) - co-author with Nobuhiko Horie, illustrated by Yuji Takemura
* ''Thank You for the Music!'' (2010 album by [[Ryo Fukawa]]) - back cover illustration<ref name="Fukawa"/>
* ''[[Keiji (manga)|Gifū Dōdō!! Naoe Kanetsugu -Maeda Keiji Sake-gatari-]]'' (2010–2014 manga series) - co-author with Nobuhiko Horie, illustrated by Yuji Takemura
* ''[[Keiji (manga)|Gifū Dōdō!! Hayate no Gunshi -Kuroda Kanbee-]]'' (2013–2017 manga series) - co-author with Nobuhiko Horie, illustrated by Toshiaki Yamada 
* ''[[Keiji (manga)|Gifū Dōdō!! Naoe Kanetsugu -Maeda Keiji Hana-gatari-]]'' (2014–2018 manga series) - co-author with Nobuhiko Horie, illustrated by Masato Deguchi
* ''[[Keiji (manga)|Maeda Keiji Kabuki Tabi]]'' (2019–present manga series) - co-author with Nobuhiko Horie, illustrated by Masato Deguchi

== References ==
<references />

==External links==
{{commons category|Tetsuo Hara}}
*[https://haratetsuo.com/ Official Website]
*{{Anime News Network|people|2444}}

{{Fist of the North Star}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hara, Tetsuo}}
[[Category:1961 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:People from Shibuya]]
[[Category:Manga artists from Tokyo]]
[[Category:Fist of the North Star]]