Death at the age of 88, the artist is also known for creating the Ninja Hattori-Kun and the Q-Taro Ghost, two very popular children’s manga heroes in Japan.
Le Monde
The Japanese author Fujiko A. Fujio died at the age of 88, reported on 7 April several local media. The artist, whose real name was Motoo Abiko, was found unconsciously at his home, and the police confirmed his death, according to the TBS television channel and the Kyodo news agency, cited by the France- France- Hurry. It is known for having created the Ninja Hattori-Kun and the Ghost Q-Taro, two very popular children’s manga heroes in Japan, as well as to have cocreated the famous cat-robot Doraemon.
Born in 1934, senior son of a Buddhist temple in the department of Toyama (center of Japan), Motoo Abiko grows up in this religious place until his father’s death, while he has only ‘ten years. “My father’s death is the event that changed my life most. If he did not die, I think I would have become a monk,” he said daily Asahi Shinbun in 2020.
A duet at the origin of “Doraemon”
Fujiko A. Fujio then binds friendship with Hiroshi Fujimoto, who will later draw the adventures of Doraemon, world famous. The two young artists are starting to collaborate under the common feather of Fujiko Fujio and share an apartment in Tokyo with several famous mangakas, of which Osamu Tezuka, considered the father of modern manga.
One of the first works of the duo Fujiko Fujio is the Q-Taro manga, featuring a small mischievous ghost living in a family of humans. The series will meet success in Japan and abroad, and its animated adaptation will even be broadcast in the United States. In solo, Motoo Abiko will also create several series of mangas, including Ninja Hattori-Kun, as well as other titles for an adult audience.
Despite his long association with Hiroshi Fujimoto, who died in 1996, Motoo Abiko had confessed to having always been reluctant to dive into the Doraemon series “to [SE] Protect”.
“When I read it, it influences me, and I say,” I’m not able to draw like that, “he joked.