Mohiro Kitoh
| Mohiro Kitoh 鬼頭 莫宏 | |
|---|---|
| Born | August 8, 1966 Japan |
| Area(s) | Manga artist, character designer |
Notable works | Shadow Star, Bokurano: Ours |
Mohiro Kitoh (鬼頭 莫宏, Kitō Mohiro, born August 8, 1966) is a Japanese manga artist. He created the manga Shadow Star and Bokurano: Ours, both of which were adapted into anime series.
Biography[edit]
Kitoh's first manga Vendémiaire no Tsubasa debuted in Afternoon magazine in 1995. It consists of several short stories where mechanical puppet humanoids called Vendemaires meet and serve boys of various character and morals. Vendémiaire no Tsubasa ran until 1997 and was published by Kodansha in 2 volumes. It was followed in 1999 by SiNNa 1905, a single-volume online manga detailing a civil war in an alternate-history Japan.
Kitoh's next major manga series was a science-fiction drama called Shadow Star, also known in Japan as Narutaru, about elementary and middle-schoolers who adopt alien starfish-like creatures. It ran in Afternoon from 1998 to 2003, and was adapted into an anime series in 2003.[1] It was among the jury-selected works of Japan Media Arts Festival 2001.[2]
Kitoh released his manga series Bokurano: Ours, about a group of children who participate in a real-life robot battle against alien invaders but whose victories cost their lives. It was serialized in Ikki magazine from 2003 to 2009 and published in 11 volumes. A one-shot spinoff, Bokurano Tokubetsu-hen was announced but not published in Ikki magazine, but rather bundled with the 11th tankōbon volume.[3] It was adapted into an anime series, however the director Hiroyuki Morita made changes to the anime story with Kitoh's permission.[4] In 2010, Bokurano won an Excellence Prize in the Manga Division at the 14th Japan Media Arts Festival Awards.[5]
In 2011, he designed the Septentrion invader characters in the video game Devil Survivor 2,[6] which was also made into an anime. Around the same time, Kitoh also served as a character designer for the animated film Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance, in which he was responsible for the design of the Third Angel.
From 2009 to 2015, Kitoh worked on the manga Noririn, serialized in Kodansha's Evening magazine, about a salaryman who loses his driver's license and takes up cycling along with a road racing high school girl. It ran for 11 volumes.[7]
In 2015, Kitoh released Futago no Teikoku, a fantasy manga which takes place in a world resembling Japanese-occupied China during the 1930s and concerns a girl cursed to kill anyone who touches her. So far three volumes have been written.
His most recent manga, Hayabusa-chan mo Tondemasu was released in January 2017.
Works[edit]
| Title | Year | Notes | Refs[8] |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vendémiaire no Tsubasa | 1995–97 | Serialized in Monthly Afternoon 2 volumes published by Kodansha |
[9] |
| Shadow Star | 1998–2003 | Serialized in Monthly Afternoon 12 volumes published by Kodansha |
[10][11] |
| Sinna 1905: Tumi-kor-ot A Record of a War (辰奈1905 -トミコローツ戦記-, Shinna Sen Kyū Hyaku Go Tomikorōtsu Senki) | 1999 | Webcomic 1 volume published by Biblos |
|
| Hallucination from the Womb (殻都市の夢, Kaku Toshi no Yume) | 2003–05 | Serialized in Manga Erotics F 1 volume published by Ohta Books |
|
| Bokurano: Ours | 2003–09 | Serialized in Monthly Ikki 11 volumes published by Shogakukan 14th Media Arts Festival Award – Manga Division Excellence Prize |
[4][5][11][12] |
| The Gate to Space (空への門, Sora e no Mon) | 2004 | Short story published in Mystery Bonita Based on a story by Shinichi Hoshi Included in 1 volume published by Akita Shoten |
|
| Kitō Mohiro Tanpenshū: Zansho (鬼頭莫宏短編集 残暑) | 2004 | Collection of works originally published in Weekly Shōnen Sunday, Weekly Shōnen Champion, Afternoon Season Zōkan, Monthly Afternoon, Young Magazine GT, Weekly Young Magazine and Monthly Ikki 1 volume published by Shogakukan |
|
| Mailus Exitus et Ortus (終わりと始まりのマイルス, Owari to Hajimari no Mairusu) | 2006 | Serialized in Manga Erotics F 1 volume published by Ohta Books |
|
| Bokurano: Alternative (ぼくらの～alternative～, Bokurano Orutanatibu) | 2007–08 | Light novel series (illustrations) 5 volumes published by Shogakukan |
|
| Kare no Satsujin Keikaku (彼の殺人計画, lit. "His Murder Scheme") | 2008 | Short story published in Jump Square | [13] |
| Kaze no Ō (風の王) | 2009 | Short story published in Jump Square | [citation needed] |
| Nanika Mochigatte Masuka (なにかもちがってますか) | 2009–15 | Serialized in Good! Afternoon 5 volumes published by Kodansha |
|
| Noririn (のりりん) | 2009–15 | Serialized in Evening 11 volumes published by Kodansha |
[7][14] |
| Futago no Teikoku (双子の帝國) | 2015–on hiatus | Serialized in Monthly Comic @Bunch 3 volumes published by Shinchosha |
|
| Hayabusa Chan mo Tondemasu (隼ちゃんもとんでます) | 2017–on hiatus | Serialized in Evening | |
| Bass o Tsuru Nara (バスを釣るなら, Basu o Tsuru Nara) | 2019 | Short story published in Evening |
Anime[edit]
| Title | Year | Notes | Refs[8] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Devil Survivor 2: The Animation | Septentriones characters design | [6] |
Video games[edit]
| Title | Year | Notes | Refs[8] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Devil Survivor 2 | Septentriones characters design | [6] |
References[edit]
- ^ Robinson, Tasha. "Anime Reviews". scifi.com. Archived from the original on May 21, 2008. Retrieved January 28, 2016.
- ^ "Manga Division". JAPAN MEDIA ARTS FESTIVAL (in Japanese). Retrieved March 13, 2024.
- ^ "Bokurano's Last Volume to Bundle Unpublished Spinoff". Anime News Network. December 13, 2009. Retrieved January 28, 2016.
- ^ a b "Bokurano Manga Ends in Japan's Ikki Magazine". Anime News Network. June 25, 2009. Retrieved January 28, 2016.
- ^ a b "Tatami Galaxy, Historie Win Media Arts Awards". Anime News Network. December 8, 2010. Retrieved January 28, 2016.
- ^ a b c Yip, Spencer (March 23, 2011). "Devil Survivor 2 Has Many More Main Characters Than The Last Game". Siliconera. Retrieved January 28, 2016.
- ^ a b "Bokurano's Kitoh to End Noririn Cycling Manga". Anime News Network. March 8, 2015. Retrieved January 28, 2016.
- ^ a b c 著者：鬼頭莫宏 [Author: Mohiro Kitoh]. Media Arts Database (in Japanese). Japan: Agency for Cultural Affairs. Retrieved January 27, 2016.
- ^ 『ヴァンデミエールの翼（２） ＜完＞』（鬼頭莫宏）：アフタヌーンＫＣ｜講談社コミックプラス. Kodansha Comics (in Japanese). Japan. Retrieved January 28, 2016.
- ^ "Dark Horse PR". Anime News Network. December 19, 2000. Retrieved January 28, 2016.
- ^ a b "Bokurano Anime". Anime News Network. December 3, 2006. Retrieved January 28, 2016.
- ^ "Bokurano Helmer Changes Story Due to Dislike of Manga". Anime News Network. June 14, 2007. Retrieved January 28, 2016.
- ^ "Bokurano's Kitoh to Draw One-Shot Manga in Jump Square". Anime News Network. March 3, 2008. Retrieved January 28, 2016.
- ^ "Bokurano's Kitoh to Launch Noririn Cycling Manga". Anime News Network. July 28, 2009. Retrieved January 28, 2016.
External links[edit]
- Official website (in Japanese)
- Mohiro Kitoh at Anime News Network's encyclopedia
- Japanese language interview with Mohiro Kitoh
