Ishizuka studied at universities in the United States, where he was introduced to mountain climbing and given an increased exposure to jazz. After returning to Japan and being laid off, he began working towards becoming a manga artist and published the one-shotThe First Step in 2001. His works Gaku: Minna no Yama and Blue Giant have both received film adaptations and awards, including the Manga Taishō, Shogakukan Manga Award, and a grand prize at the Japan Media Arts Festival.
Biography
Ishizuka was born in Ibaraki Prefecture in 1971.[1] After graduating from high school, he attended Southern Illinois University's Niigata campus, before moving to its main campus. He later transferred to San Jose State University to study meteorology.[1][2] During his time in the United States, a friend of his told him that he chose to study archeology abroad after reading Master Keaton by Naoki Urasawa. Ishizuka was surprised by this answer and desired to create manga with a similar impact.[3] One of Ishizuka's roommates during this time was fond of mountain climbing and introduced it to him.[3] He also gained an increased exposure to jazz music.[4] He described jazz and mountain climbing as "the two souvenirs I brought back [from the United States]".[2]
Upon returning to Japan, Ishizuka worked at an import company run by an acquaintance from the United States. However, the company went bankrupt within six months of him joining.[2] After being laid off, he decided to become a manga artist and began to draw manga in his spare time while working part-time teaching English.[5] In 2001, he submitted the one-shotThe First Step to the Shogakukan Newcomer Manga Award [ja]; it won the award in the general category.[3] After winning the award, he began to pursue drawing manga full-time and quit his job, despite his boss at the time telling him it would be "absolutely impossible" to become a manga artist.[3] He initially worked as an assistant for six months.[5]
Ishizuka began serializing Blue Giant, a manga about jazz, in Shogakukan's Big Comic magazine on May 10, 2013.[10] It completed its serialization on August 25, 2016.[11] It won the 62nd Shogakukan Manga Award in the general category in 2007;[12] it also won the grand prize at the Japan Media Arts Festival in the same year.[13] It received an anime film adaptation in 2023.[14] A second series, titled Blue Giant Supreme, was serialized in Big Comic from September 10, 2016, to April 25, 2020.[11][15] The third series, titled Blue Giant Explorer, was serialized in Big Comic from May 25, 2020, to May 10, 2023.[16][17] A fourth series, titled Blue Giant Momentum, began serialization in Big Comic on July 25, 2023.[17]
