Usamaru Furuya

Usamaru Furuya (古屋 兎丸, Furuya Usamaru, born January 25, 1968 in Tokyo) is a Japanese manga artist. He graduated from Tama Art University, where he majored in oil painting and developed an interest in sculpting and Butoh dance.[1]

Usamaru Furuya
Usamaru Furuya at Lucca Comics & Games 2015
Born	Furuya Usamaru 古屋 兎丸 January 25, 1968 Tokyo, Japan
Occupation	Manga artist, illustrator
Nationality	Japanese
Notable works	Palepoli Short Cuts Lychee Light Club

Biography

During elementary school, Furuya enrolled in the Osamu Tezuka Manga Correspondence Course and by the time he reached high school he had discovered a darker, more underground style. During college his work evolved from figurative to eventually dealing more with abstract shapes. In 1994 Furuya published his debut series Palepoli in Garo. After graduating from college, he initially planned to work as a full-time artist while doing illustrations on the side, but his manga became successful and his career blossomed.

Works

Manga

• Palepoli' (パレポリ): Excerpted in Viz's defunct Pulp magazine and in Secret Comics Japan, also from Viz.
• Short Cuts (ショートカッツ): Licensed in English by Viz.
• Garden
• Plastic Girl
• Wsamarus 2001
• Marie no kanaderu ongaku] (Marieの奏でる音楽): Licensed in French by Casterman as La Musique de Marie.
• Suicide Circle (自殺サークル): Licensed in French by Casterman as Le Cercle du Suicide.
• Donki kōrin (鈍器降臨)
• π (パイ)
• Happiness (ハピネス)
• Litchi☆Hikari Club (ライチ☆光クラブ) (written by Norimizu Ameya): Licensed in English by Vertical Inc as Lychee Light Club.
• Shōnen shōjo hyōryōki (少年少女漂流記)
• Kanojo wo Mamoru 51 no Hōhō (彼女を守る51の方法) (basis of Tokyo Magnitude 8.0): Licensed in English by CMX but never published and in French by Marvel Panini France as Tokyo Magnitude 8.
• Innocents Shōnen Jūjigun (インノサン少年十字軍)
• Genkaku Picasso (幻覚ピカソ): Licensed in English by Viz as Genkaku Picasso.
• Ningen Shikkaku (人間失格) (adaptation of No Longer Human by Osamu Dazai): Licensed in English by Vertical Inc as No Longer Human, in Italian by Planet Manga as Lo squalificato, and in French by Casterman as Je ne suis pas un homme.
• Teiichi no Kuni (帝一の國)
• POP-kun (POPくん)

Illustrations

• Flowers

Films/plays

• ZOO (Screenplay, storyboards, character design)
• Noriko's Dinner Table (紀子の食卓) (Man in coffee shop)
• Ichiban kireina mizu (いちばんきれいな水) (Original work)
• Short Cuts (ショートカッツ) (Original work)
• Love Exposure (愛のむきだし) (Miyanishi)

References

1. "Usamaru Furuya". Lambiek.net. Retrieved 2009-03-22.

External links

• (in Japanese) Usagi Hitori Club (Usamaru Furuya's Blog)
• (in English) Usamaru Furuya Unofficial Web Site, Tokyo