Seishi Kishimoto

Seishi Kishimoto (岸本 聖史, Kishimoto Seishi, born November 8, 1974) is a Japanese manga artist. He is best known for 666 Satan, which was serialized in Monthly Shōnen Gangan from 2001 to 2007 and licensed by Viz Media in North America as O-Parts Hunter. He has since completed three more manga series, Blazer Drive (2008–2011), Kurenai no Ōkami to Ashikase no Hitsuji (2011–2013) and Sukedachi 09 (2014–2016).

Biography

Seishi Kishimoto was born in Okayama Prefecture, Japan on November 8, 1974 as the younger identical twin of Masashi Kishimoto.^[1] In elementary school, Kishimoto started watching the anime adaptation of Kinnikuman alongside his brother and the two of them began to design their own superheroes.^[2]

Kishimoto's first manga was the one-shot Trigger published in Square Enix's Gangan Powered in 2001. With the story he wanted to write about "faith and parent-child relationships," but had trouble fitting it within the page limit.^[3] He began his first serialized work, 666 Satan, in Monthly Shōnen Gangan in 2001. The manga continued for six years and has been translated and released in several foreign countries, including in North America by Viz Media. A year after 666 Satan ended, Kishimoto launched Blazer Drive in the debut issue of Kodansha's Monthly Shōnen Rival,^[4] preceded by a prequel one-shot, Tribal, in the final issue of Comic BomBom; Blazer Drive ran through 2010 and received a video game tie-in. He then created the one-shot Jūniji no Kaneganaru, which was published in the monthly shōjo magazine Aria in 2011. In the January 2012 issue of Monthly Shōnen Rival, Kishimoto debuted Kurenai no Ōkami to Ashikase no Hitsuji, which ran until 2013.^[5]

In 2014, Kishimoto began work on Sukedachi 09, a pair of linked print and digital series in Monthly Shōnen Gangan and Gangan Online which take place at the same time but follow different protagonists. The print series debuted in the November 2014 issue of Monthly Shōnen Gangan on October 11, while the digital series was released in Gangan Online on October 16.^[6][7] Sukedachi 09 ended in the August 2016 issue, published on July 12.^[8] In July 2016, digital distributor Crunchyroll acquired the manga for English release on their website.^[9]

Style and influences

Seishi and his twin brother Masashi have been drawing manga together since early childhood, thus their styles are similar.^[10] As a result, each of them has frequently been accused of copying the other, not just artwork, but story elements as well. Seishi himself notes that the similarities are not intentional but are likely because they were both influenced by many of the same things. As a result of the "copy-cat" accusations, the more famous Masashi even asked fans to stop calling Seishi a "copycat."^[11][12]

Works

Serializations

• 666 Satan (666〜サタン〜) (September 2001 – January 2008; serialized in Monthly Shōnen Gangan)
• Blazer Drive (ブレイザードライブ) (May 2008 – December 2010; serialized in Monthly Shōnen Rival)
• Kurenai no Ōkami to Ashikase no Hitsuji (紅の狼と足枷の羊, "Crimson Wolf and Fetters of Sheep") (December 2011 – February 2013; serialized in Monthly Shōnen Rival)
• Sukedachi 09 (助太刀09, "Assist Nine") (October 2014 – July 2016; serialized in Monthly Shōnen Gangan and Gangan Online)

One-shots

• Trigger (March 2001; published in Gangan Powered and reprinted in 666 Satan volume 6)
• Tenchu San (天誅 参, "Tenchu: Wrath of Heaven") (March – April 2003; published in Monthly Shōnen Gangan)
• Tribal (トライバル) (November 2007, published in Comic BomBom)
• Jūniji no Kaneganaru (12時の鐘が鳴る, "Twelve O'Clock Bell Rings") (April 2011; published in Aria)

References

External links

• Seishi Kishimoto at Anime News Network's encyclopedia