Akihisa Ikeda

Akihisa Ikeda
池田晃久
Born	(1976-10-25) October 25, 1976 (age 48) Nichinan, Miyazaki, Japan
Occupation	Manga artist
Years active	2002-present
Known for	Rosario + Vampire

Akihisa Ikeda (池田晃久, born October 25, 1976) is a Japanese manga artist known for the manga Rosario + Vampire.

Biography

Ikeda was born in Miyazaki in 1976.^[1] His first work, Kiruto, debuted in 2002^[1] in Monthly Shōnen Jump. It is described as a "four-volume magical warrior fantasy series".^[2] Rosario + Vampire debuted in Monthly Shōnen Jump in March 2004^[1] and continued in Jump Square (Jump SQ) as Rosario+Vampire: Season II until its conclusion in 2014.^[2] Rosario has been adapted into a drama CD and anime series, as well as some video games.^[2] He has mentioned having the same editor since he was 16 until the beginning of volume 7 of Rosario.^[3] In the March 2014 issue, Ikeda concluded the Rosario series.^[4]

In July 2020, Ikeda serialized a new manga series "Ghost Reaper Girl" in Shonen Jump+ under the name of Akissa Saike (紗池晃久, Saike Akihisa).^[5][6]

Influences

Ikeda has mentioned that he has been a huge fan of vampires and monsters since he was a child. He also enjoys reading detective novels from "Holmes, Lupin, Kindaichi, Nijyumenso and the like".^[7] In an interview at Lucca Comics 2012, Ikeda says he is a big fan of Tim Burton and was inspired by his works, including The Nightmare Before Christmas, and particularly Edward Scissorhands because the monster has a sensitive soul. He had researched various monsters from the encyclopedias and the Internet. His first character design for Rosario was Moka Akashiya, a beautiful girl vampire with a crucifix around her neck; he then created the school of monsters and Tsukune afterward. He credits the beautiful girls for the series' popularity but added the fighting elements. After the first series ended with the retirement of the Monthly Shōnen Jump magazine, and with the serialization in a second magazine, Jump Square, he retitled the second series to give it a sense of renewal.^[8]

Notable works

• Kiruto (2002)
• Rosario + Vampire (2004–07)
• Rosario + Vampire: Season II (2008–14)
• Ghost Reaper Girl (2020)

References

1. The publisher's brief biography for Ikeda has a few discrepancies: It claims he was born in 1977 and that Rosario + Vampire debuted in March 2002, although it has a series publish date of 2004. – "Akihisa Ikeda". Simon and Schuster. Retrieved December 10, 2013. However, in Season II, the bio is corrected to show he was born in 1976, the Kiruto debut in 2002, and the series debut in March 2004.
2. Rosario + Vampire manga Volume 1, author's profile
3. Rosario + Vampire manga Volume 7, author's notes
4. "Rosario + Vampire Season II Manga Ending in February". Anime News Network. Retrieved September 10, 2015.
5. Mateo, Alex (July 16, 2020). "Viz Media's Shonen Jump Publishes Rosario + Vampire Creator's Ghost Reaper Girl Manga in Left-to-Right Format". Anime News Network. Retrieved November 13, 2021.
6. Akihisa Saike(Akihisa Ikeda) [@GRG_RV_official] (June 28, 2021). "The reason I changed my pen name is that Akihisa Ikeda is my real name.There were a lot of inconveniences in my daily life when I work under my real name.I also didn't like the feeling that life and work were inseparable" (Tweet). Japan. Retrieved January 10, 2022 – via Twitter.
7. Rosario + Vampire manga Volume 8, author's notes
8. Kakaroth, Shinji (November 8, 2012). "GP Publishing: Intervista ad Akihisa Ikeda". Nanoda.com (in Italian). Web Agency Meta Line. Archived from the original on December 15, 2013. Retrieved December 15, 2013.

External links

• Akihisa Ikeda at Simon & Schuster
• Akihisa Ikeda at Anime News Network's encyclopedia
• Ghost Reaper Girl ｜ Rosario + Vampire official on Twitter