RANGE MURATA
Range Murata (born Oct 2, 1968) is a Japanese illustrator well-known for his character design work. Debuting in 1993 for ATLUS’s Groove On Fight, Murata’s character designs would be at the core all three installments in that franchise. He would then move to comic and illustration work for Wanimagazine’s Kairakuten magazine and Shueisha’s Ultra Jump magazine. After retiring from the gaming industry in 1996, Asada would transition to freelance illustration work.
As a character designer, Murata would initially work closely with studio GONZO. His designs can be seen on Blue Submarine no.6, Last Exile, Mardock Scramble, Solty Rei, Shangri-La, and the 2017 Netflix series ID-0. Murata has provided cover art and character illustrations for many properties over the years, including Attack on Titan: The Harsh Mistress of the City.
In 1999, Murata’s full-color anthology FLAT was given the 34th Japanese Book Publisher’s Association’s Director’s Award for Comics. That would lead to Murata’s involvement in a number of anthology collections including the ROBOT series (Wanimagazine; Udon Entertainment). In 2003 he would once again receive the JBPA Director’s Award for Comics, this time for his work on futurerythm, a collection of his illustrated works. He would be further recognized in 2007 by the Japan Science Fiction Convention’s Seiun Award for Art.
futurelog, to be released by DENPA in 2018, will be his most recent work published in English. It compiles nearly twenty years worth of illustration and comics work from the beloved creator.
AT ANIME NYC
Murata will appear on panels and signings at Anime NYC. More details are coming soon.