HIROYUKI ASADA
Hiroyuki Asada (born Feb. 15, 1968) is a Japanese manga artist and illustrator. A veteran comicker, Asada has published numerous manga since 1986. His break-through hit That’s Bad, Yoshio! (published in Shueisha’s Monthly Shonen Jump) was a renowned success beloved for its style and original characters. In 1996, Asada would once again gain the public’s attention; this time for his work on the basketball series I’ll. Also published by Shueisha’s Monthly Jump magazine, I’ll takes a look at the world of Japanese basketball and presents it through Asada’s now iconic-looking character designs. Known for his inking and fashion sense, images the cast of I’ll would grace bookshelves as well as galleries for years to come.
In the oughts, Asada would begin work on his most popular works to date. Tegami Bachi debuted in 2006 and would come to inspire two anime series. The shonen series would eventually be translated into English by VIZ Media as Letter Bee, further expanding Asada’s fanbase globally. Around the same time, Asada began work on his series PEZ for Wanimagazine’s ROBOT anthology collection. The full-color comic would eventually get a graphic novel release in 2014 and will be debuting in English through DENPA at Anime NYC.
In 2018, Asada provided character designs and conceptual art for Metal Layer’s animated television series The Girl in Twilight (available in English from Sentai Filmworks). Asada will also be providing character designs for the remake of Osamu Tezuka’s DORORO, set to debut in early 2019 from MAPPA and Tezuka Pro.
NOTABLE WORKS
To the Ghost World… (Shueisha, 1986)
That’s Bad, Yoshio! (Shueisha, 1989)
Sleeping Rabbit (Shueisha, 1991)
Renka (Shueisha, 1994)
I’ll (Shueisha, 1996)
PEZ (Wanimagazine, 2004; DENPA, 2018)
Letter Bee (Shueisha, 2007; Viz Media, 2009)
AT ANIME NYC
Asada will appear on panels and signings at Anime NYC. More details are coming soon.