Urasawa, Naoki

Naoki Urasawa (浦沢直樹) is a mangaka and musician born in Tokyo in 1960. He graduated from Meisei University with a degree in economics and made his professional manga debut in 1983. He is considered one of the foremost storytellers in the medium, celebrated for dense, multi-layered thriller narratives and his mastery of suspense across hundreds of chapters. Urasawa has been called one of the artists who changed the history of manga and he has won awards including the Shogakukan Manga Award three times, the Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize twice, and the Kondansha Manga Award once. Urasawa's works span many genres including horror, mystery, science fiction, history, and action. While he is both artist and writer on many works, he has also collaborated with writers, such as his former editor, Takashi Nagasaki.

His thriller Monster brought him international acclaim and won him the Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize. 20th Century Boys won the Eisner Award for Best U.S. Edition of International Material in 2011 and was adapted into a trilogy of live-action films. His reimagining of Osamu Tezuka's Astro Boy as the murder mystery Pluto was later adapted as a Netflix anime. Urasawa is also a musician, releasing albums under the name Bob Lennon.

1970s

1979
Swimmers

1980s

1981
Return

1983
Beta!!

1984
Odoru Keikan (踊る警官)

1985
Painappuru Āmī (パイナップルARMY | Published in English as "Pineapple Army" (1985 - 1988)

1986
Yawara! (ヤワラ)

1988
N.A.S.A

1988
Masutā Kīton (MASTERキートン) | Published in English as "Master Keaton"

1990s

1993
Happy! (1993 - 1999)

1994
Jigoro!

1994
Monsutā (モンスター) | Published in English as "Monster" (1994 - 2001)

1999
Nijusseiki Shōnen (20世紀少年) | Published in English as "20th Century Boys" (1999 - 2006, 2007)

2000s

2000
Shoki no Urusawa (初期のURASAWA)

2003
Pluto (プルートウ) | Published in English as "Pluto" [Based on Tezuka Osamu's "Astro Boy"] (2003 - 2009) 

2006
Tsuki ni Mukatte Nagero! (月に向かって投げろ!) | Published in English as "Throw Toward the Moon!"

2008
Birī Batto (ビリーバット) | Published in English as "Billy Bat" (2008 - 2016)

2010s

2012
Masutā Kīton Remasutā (MASTERキートン Reマスター) (2012 - 2014) 

2013
Kaijū Ōkoku (怪獣王国) | Published in English as "Kaiju Kingdom"

2016
Damiyan! (ダミヤン) | Published in English as "Damiyan!"

2017
Yume shiroshi-Mujirushi- (夢印-MUJIRUSHI-) | Published in English as "Mujirushi: The Sign of Dreams" (2017 - 2018) 

2018
Ittsu a byutte ~ifurudei (いっつあびゅうてぃふるでい) | Published in English as "It's a Beautiful Day" [Original draft by Endo Kenji]

2018
Renzoku Manga Shōsetsu Asadora! (連続漫画小説 あさドラ!) | Published in English as Asadora! (2018 - present)

2019
Kushami Urasawa Naoki Tanpenshū (くしゃみ 浦沢直樹短編集) | Published in English as "Sneeze: Naoki Urasawa Story Collection"

2020s

2021
Dr. Toguro Dokuro no Saigo (Dr.トグロドクロの最期)