Urasawa Naoki

[Fighter Volk]

In my opinion, this man is a genius. So far in Monster, and as far as I've read in 20th Century Boys, he has amazing control over his plot and characters, and handles them well in every situation. I hear that in Monster, characters may not show up for several volumes and then make a reappearance completely transformed by what has happened in the meantime... and in 20th Century Boys, his manipulation of 'Friend (if you can use manipulation ) and the subtle time-switching is done flawlessly. He is definitely my favorite mangaka, and 20CB my favorite manga.

[whatever123]

true he is a genuis mangaka i have enjoyed friend and 20th century boys to no end and i am wondering how good is master keaton.

[jennwenn]

Can someone give me a complete list of all of his works? From what I've seen so far, I really like his stuff too.

[Vicious]

Originally Posted by jennwenn

Can someone give me a complete list of all of his works? From what I've seen so far, I really like his stuff too.

I can

- Yawara! ~A Fashionable Judo Girl~ was Urasawa's first official work, being published from 1986 to 1993. The manga had 29 volumes in total.
- Pinneaple Army was released from 1986 to 1988, being a side-work along with Yawara. Pinneaple Army had 10 volumes in total.
- Just after Pinneaple Army and while writing Yawara, Urasawa began one of his most famous works, Master Keaton. Master Keaton was published from 1988 to 1994, and it had 18 volumes in total.
- Just after Yawara, he began writing Happy!, which began in 1993 and lasted until 1999. Happy! had 23 volumes in total, and it's currently being scanslated by Mangascreener/The Hawks.
- In 1994, after finishing Master Keaton, Urasawa began writing the manga which would become his most famous work: Monster. He wrote Monster along with Happy!; but Monster ended in 2001. Like everyone here knows, Monster had 18 volumes in total. Monster was scanslated by Mangascreener.
- In 1999, after finishing Happy!, Urasawa began the all-popular and famous 20th Century Boys. He wrote 20th Century Boys along with Monster for 2 years (Monster) ended in 2001. 20th Century Boys is still running in Japan, and it has 16 volumes so far. It's also being scanslated by Mangascreener/The Hawks.
- I’m not sure about the actual date, but I think his most recent project, Pluto, began being serialized late in 2003. It’s a joint manga by him and Osamu Tezuka (you may ask, “Isn’t master Tezuka dead?!”, yes, he is. But the fact is that Pluto’s based on a story arc of the original Tetsuwan Atom manga, that’s why it’s a “joint manga” by Urasawa and Tezuka). There are only 7 chapters of Pluto out so far, by the holy Mangascreener

From his manga, three have become anime:

- Yawara began airing in 1989 and ended in 1992. The series was animated by the famous Madhouse Studios, and it had 124 episodes in total.
- Master Keaton began airing in 1998 and ended in 1999. It had 40 episodes in total. The anime was licensed by Geneon, and it's currently being released in the USA.
- Finally, more recently; Monster TV series began airing in April 2004. About 70 episodes are confirmed so far, so it will end sometime around 2005.

Every Urasawa manga is a masterpiece. I've read Monster; and I'm currently reading Pluto and 20th Century Boys. It's really woth to read his manga, he's not one of my favorite mangakas for nothing

[eLstar]

Originally Posted by Fighter Volk

In my opinion, this man is a genius. So far in Monster, and as far as I've read in 20th Century Boys, he has amazing control over his plot and characters, and handles them well in every situation. I hear that in Monster, characters may not show up for several volumes and then make a reappearance completely transformed by what has happened in the meantime... and in 20th Century Boys, his manipulation of 'Friend (if you can use manipulation ) and the subtle time-switching is done flawlessly. He is definitely my favorite mangaka, and 20CB my favorite manga.

I agree with you 100%, this man has definitely overwhlemed all other competition and without a doubt he is my favourite Managaka.

[jennwenn]

Thanks for the list! Wow, working on two amazing manga series at the same time.

Pluto sounds interesting. Taking up a story arc from the god of manga's work? Talk about nerve, but if anyone has the skill and vision to handle it, its Urasawa Naoki. How is Pluto?

[Riese]

His style is distinct and he's capable of writing masterful plots in many a genre.

I thought the Master Keaton anime was longer than 40 episodes for some reason.
Reguardless, Master Keaton is a master of all trades, jack of none. I believe there was a TV show in the US called "Imposter" or something like that, where every episode, the main character took on a new identity, usually in a highly specialized profession.

Master Keaton also has some action, as Keaton is a detective/agent(don't quite remember which, it's been a while since I've seen this, sorry!) I recall the action being quite well done and reminding me of Indiana Jones for one reason or another.

I took a look at the Geneon USA release of MK and the episode/disk count is pretty generous: 4/5 episodes per disk.

6 volumes have been released. I'm holding out for a box set.

[Mizuno]

70 episodes? holy bananas.

[brightman]

A bit more to add to this:

Originally Posted by Vicious

- Pinneaple Army was released from 1986 to 1988, being a side-work along with Yawara. Pinneaple Army had 10 volumes in total.
- Just after Pinneaple Army and while writing Yawara, Urasawa began one of his most famous works, Master Keaton. Master Keaton was published from 1988 to 1994, and it had 18 volumes in total.

Both Pineapple Army and Masker Keaton are written by someone other than Urasawa. Pineapple Army's story was written by Kazuya Kudou, while Master Keaton was written by Hokusei Katsushika. Even then Master Keaton has ranked highly on Japanese "Top manga" listings, and is still considered by many to be Urasawa's best work (even if it wasn't written by him ).

- Just after Yawara, he began writing Happy!, which began in 1993 and lasted until 1999. Happy! had 23 volumes in total, and it's currently being scanslated by Mangascreener/The Hawks.

Just want to mention that Happy and Yawara are both about a girl trying to do well in a sport, but they are almost exact polar opposites... Yawara is basically a love comedy, while "Happy" (contrary to its name) is a dark and cruel manga. You won't feel very happy reading "Happy"

- In 1994, after finishing Master Keaton, Urasawa began writing the manga which would become his most famous work: Monster. He wrote Monster along with Happy!; but Monster ended in 2001. Like everyone here knows, Monster had 18 volumes in total. Monster was scanslated by Mangascreener.

Most famous work amongst English scanlation fans? Actually Yawara will always be his most famous work (more on this later). In fact people speculate that one of the reasons why his works lately have always been dark and brooding is because of the fact that he wanted to get out of his reputation that he earned from the bright and happy Yawara.

From his manga, three have become anime:

- Yawara began airing in 1989 and ended in 1992. The series was animated by the famous Madhouse Studios, and it had 124 episodes in total.

An interesting fact about this is that the Yawara anime was branded as Ranma 1/2's sister anime when it first aired back in 1989 (they were part of a one hour block). Surprisingly though (since Ranma is much more famous outside of Japan), when they first aired, Yawara outshadowed Ranma by MILES. Its TV rating was one of the highest of that time, while Ranma was cancelled after 18 episodes because it was performing too poorly.

Ranma got a lot more popular later on, and was released internationally unlike Yawara (for some reason). But neverthless Yawara was the one who "won" the fans when they were put up against each other.

Every Urasawa manga is a masterpiece. I've read Monster; and I'm currently reading Pluto and 20th Century Boys. It's really woth to read his manga, he's not one of my favorite mangakas for nothing

Quite true... The man is certainly a brilliant writer and his art is detail and excellent, and if you are looking for manga to read, look no further

Originally Posted by jennwenn

Pluto sounds interesting. Taking up a story arc from the god of manga's work? Talk about nerve, but if anyone has the skill and vision to handle it, its Urasawa Naoki. How is Pluto?

I've never read or watched Tetsuwan Atom so I have no idea how that storyarc goes... But Pluto pretty much follows through on the investigative stories that Urasawa did for Monster and 20CB, except this time it focuses greatly on AI and what I assume to be Tetsuwan Atom's world (Atom even shows up at the end of the latest chapter).

[jennwenn]

Originally Posted by brightman

Monster
Most famous work amongst English scanlation fans? Actually Yawara will always be his most famous work (more on this later). In fact people speculate that one of the reasons why his works lately have always been dark and brooding is because of the fact that he wanted to get out of his reputation that he earned from the bright and happy Yawara.

Funny you say that, because I wonder how many people would know about Urasawa at all if it weren't for scanlations and I don't mean that in a "yay scanlations" way, but whatever, I'm just as guilty.

Monster must surely have a large Japanese following if it was given a long animated series?

An interesting fact about this is that the Yawara anime was branded as Ranma 1/2's sister anime when it first aired back in 1989 (they were part of a one hour block). Surprisingly though (since Ranma is much more famous outside of Japan), when they first aired, Yawara outshadowed Ranma by MILES. Its TV rating was one of the highest of that time, while Ranma was cancelled after 18 episodes because it was performing too poorly.

Ranma got a lot more popular later on, and was released internationally unlike Yawara (for some reason). But neverthless Yawara was the one who "won" the fans when they were put up against each other.

Really?! That's one of the most interesting trivia I've heard. This puts the fans' efforts to get Yawara licensed in the US into perspective now.

I've never read or watched Tetsuwan Atom so I have no idea how that storyarc goes... But Pluto pretty much follows through on the investigative stories that Urasawa did for Monster and 20CB, except this time it focuses greatly on AI and what I assume to be Tetsuwan Atom's world (Atom even shows up at the end of the latest chapter).

(Anyone can answer this one) Does Urasawa try to adapt to Tezuka's art style or does he maintain his own?

[musouka]

Does Urasawa try to adapt to Tezuka's art style or does he maintain his own?

Oh, it's completely his own style.

[dreamless]

PLUTO is great, I can't wait to see more Atom in the next chapter!

I think Urasawa Naoki may indeed be a worthy successor to Osamu Tezuka as the next God of Manga...

Also it seems to me that the investigative stuff in PLUTO might just be a prelude... I mean, the Norse 2 part is absolutely awesome without any invistigative stuff.

[Kyuven]

Originally Posted by Riese

I believe there was a TV show in the US called "Imposter" or something like that, where every episode, the main character took on a new identity, usually in a highly specialized profession.

it was called "The Pretender"
it was a really good show, and ran about as long (maybe longer) than Master Keaton did (even tho they were made in different years by different writers/artists in different countries) and enjoyed some success. It even had the honor of getting knock offs made (The Sentinel, Alias, etc)

[brightman]

Originally Posted by jennwenn

Monster must surely have a large Japanese following if it was given a long animated series?

Well, Monster certainly has quite a few fans (I would think...) and won a few awards too, but since it's not nearly as mainstream as Yawara was, I wouldn't say that it's any more famous than Yawara either.

Originally Posted by dreamless

Also it seems to me that the investigative stuff in PLUTO might just be a prelude... I mean, the Norse 2 part is absolutely awesome without any invistigative stuff.

Of course, after all, we haven't seen a Yawara/Yuriko/Nina/Miyuki/Kanna in this manga yet...

[hooliganj]

Originally Posted by Kyuven

it was called "The Pretender"
it was a really good show, and ran about as long (maybe longer) than Master Keaton did (even tho they were made in different years by different writers/artists in different countries) and enjoyed some success. It even had the honor of getting knock offs made (The Sentinel, Alias, etc)

Jarod managed to evade Ms. Parker and illuminate the truth about the Center for 5 years in a total of 86 episodes, and also managed to be in one of the best shows on TV (IMO). There was even a follow-up movie in 2001, which I regret having never seen, since after 5 years the plot was still going strong.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0115320/
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0271732/

Master Keaton is an insurance inspector for Lloyds of London, who was at one point a survival instuctor for the SAS, and who's true passion is archeology and teaching. It's a good show, but if you're worried that it's a little too much like Indiana Jones, you'd be right.

On the other hand, I've always been a huge fan of Yawara, but I can't seem to get anybody I know personally to even try it. They just refuse to look past the 'fashionable judo girl' subtitle.

Oh, well.. their loss.

[Mason Proulx]

Originally Posted by hooliganj

On the other hand, I've always been a huge fan of Yawara, but I can't seem to get anybody I know personally to even try it. They just refuse to look past the 'fashionable judo girl' subtitle.

Oh, well.. their loss.

Even though I haven't looked at the series in over a decade, I always had fond memories of Yawara. I never got a chance to read the manga, but did enjoy the first dozen episodes at anime club showings back in the day. It didn't blow my mind the way Urasawa's later works did for me, but it did leave me wanting more. Something about it felt more genuine than those other anime the club would show which were a lot of flash without substance. Unfortunately I never got around to following up on this, and left it behind. Recently I've been wanting to find the manga, but haven't seen it online.

[K3cT]

This may sound ridiculous but where can I find the Pluto mangas in mangascreener site?

I tried the irc channel but it seems that irc.highway blocks all IPs from my country (singapore).

[duskphoenix]

Originally Posted by K3cT

This may sound ridiculous but where can I find the Pluto mangas in mangascreener site?

I tried the irc channel but it seems that irc.highway blocks all IPs from my country (singapore).

Try looking at some of the sites listed here.

[dreamless]

Originally Posted by K3cT

This may sound ridiculous but where can I find the Pluto mangas in mangascreener site?

I tried the irc channel but it seems that irc.highway blocks all IPs from my country (singapore).

if you can read chinese, here are some chinese scanslations.

http://come.6to23.com/aczone/manhua/ri/pluto/

[fenrihr]

well....after having read Ch 8 of PLUTO.... damn. excellent... truly.

also i'd say that Happy is a good read, having read just about up to the point Mangascreener has gotten to. it's centered around tennis, but it's not really about tennis.
i've also read one chapter of Yawara, but i haven't been able to find more.

PLUTO seems like it'll be awesome. the last chapter was... yeah. good.