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Jin Kobayashi
小林尽
Jin Kobayashi; 小林尽
Born	May 25, 1977 (age 47); Chiba Prefecture, Japan
Nationality	Japanese
Other names	GIN
Occupation	Manga artist
Years active	2000 – present
Known for	School Rumble, Natsu no Arashi!
Awards	65th Weekly Shōnen Magazine's Rookie Award with an honorable mention

Jin Kobayashi (小林尽, Kobayashi Jin, born May 25, 1977) is a Japanese manga artist, best known for his series School Rumble.

Overview

Kobayashi began drawing manga seriously during his university years, and won an honorable mention at the Weekly Shōnen Magazine's Rookie Award in 2000, allowing him to serialize School Rumble.

He stated to an audience at Honolulu's 2006 Kawaii Kon convention that he started writing the series because he found the idea of a manga involving a delinquent falling in love interesting.^[2]^[3] His favorite character, Kenji Harima, is based largely on an amalgam of various friends, although he estimates "about 30%" of Harima is a reflection of himself. However, despite putting most of his personal feelings into the female characters, he stated that Ryuhei Suga, a minor supporting character, is the most autobiographical.^[4]^[5] Most of the other characters are based on memories of former high-school classmates;^[2] Kobayashi recalled that he had no real idea of their voices when drawing them, and it was not until much later, when he heard the voice actors' interpretations during the production of the anime series, that he knew how they should sound.^[6] He acknowledged that some characters are more developed than others; in reply to a fan question about the mysterious Akira Takano, he admitted that, despite the closeness he feels for her, he did not put much emphasis on Takano and planned to develop her love-life slowly. Kobayashi intentionally centered his story arcs around misunderstandings which he then resolves, since he believes "if there's no misunderstanding then there's no funny story."^[4] He claims that none of his stories are based on real-life events, although when pressed admits the possibility of some resemblances but without divulging specific details.^[7]

He has made some cameo appearances in the anime adaptation School Rumble, supplying the voice of Sailor F in two episodes of the first season, and being the narrator of the prehistoric segment in the first OVA, School Rumble - First Term Extra.

After completing School Rumble, he said "School Rumble is an important piece that I want to draw more, but I wanted to do more other things so I ended it. When I have some time, I would like to draw their adult days in a seinen magazine."^[8]

Works

Manga

Serials

School Rumble (スクールランブル, 2002–2008)
School Rumble Z (スクールランブルZ, 2008–2009)
Natsu no Arashi! (夏のあらし！, 2006–2010)
Ichiro Heian! (一路平安！, 2011-2012)
Hōkago Mashimashi Club (放課後ましまし倶楽部, artist, 2013-2014) written by Hibari Meguro
Seiyū Mashimashi Club (声優ましまし倶楽部, artist, 2014-2016) written by Hibari Meguro

Short stories

Koiuta (恋歌, 2007-2009) art by Yoshibe Tsuyama (chapter 1) and Haru Emoto (chapter 2)
Kaettekita Hentai Kamen (帰ってきた変態仮面, Hentai Kamen Returns, 2008) originally created by Keishū Ando

Anime

Natsu no Arashi! Akinai-chū (夏のあらし！春夏冬中, 2009) ep 12 (script, storyboards)

End Card Illustrations

Pani Poni Dash!, ep 21, 2005
Hidamari Sketch × 365, ep 11, 2008
ef - a tale of melodies., ep 8, 2009
Maria Holic, ep 2, 2009
Bakemonogatari, ep 3, 2009
Dance in the Vampire Bund, ep 2, 2010
Hanamaru Kindergarten, ep 1, 2010
Arakawa Under the Bridge*2, ep 1, 2010
Puella Magi Madoka Magica, ep 4, 2011

Visual Novel

Dai 24 TOKYO Ku (第24TOKYO区, TOKYO 24th District, 2014) illustrator

Artbook

Kyōto, Haru. (京都、春。, 2009) joint work with Takashi Takeuchi

References

^ Natalie.mu (in Japanese)
^ ^a ^b Yadao, Jason S. "Manga spins unique yarn of love". DRAWN & QUARTERED. Star Bulletin. p. 1. Retrieved July 20, 2009.
^ "Jin Kobayashi at Kawaii Kon". News. Anime News Network. January 25, 2006. Retrieved October 21, 2009.
^ ^a ^b Chang, Chih-Chieh (September 1, 2005). "Interview: Jin Kobayashi". News. Anime News Network. Retrieved May 19, 2009.
^ School Rumble: 2nd Semester - The Complete Box Set ~ Interview with the Creator. Event occurs at 12:30–12:57, 13:38–14:04.
^ School Rumble: 2nd Semester – The Complete Box Set ~ Interview with the Creator. Event occurs at 7:19-7:41.
^ School Rumble: 2nd Semester – The Complete Box Set ~ Interview with the Creator. Event occurs at 12:00-12:30, 14:05–14:48.
^ Puff April 2009 issue (in Japanese). Japan: Zassosha. February 2009.