Hisaichi Ishii

Hisaichi Ishii () is a Mangaka born with Okayama (Japan), the September 2nd 1951. The principal city and the prefecture bear the same name, like often in Japan. Historical last rich person area, near to Hiroshima, it is the region of the very famous hero of tale, Momotaro.

Its youth

Little information on its youth, except that it liked already much the universe of data base, Ishii Hisaichi is very discrete on its life and grants only few interviews.

In 1970, it enters, at 19 years, in the very famous university of the Kansaï, near to Osaka. While falling under the department of Sociology, it adheres at the same time to the club of the “Company of the friends of the mangas”. At the same time as its studies, Ishii Hisaichi has already the passion of the drawing and a satirical eye on these contemporaries.

In 1972, it is pointed out by the newspaper Nikkan Arubaito Jôhô, newspaper very read by the students. It was " LE" daily newspaper of the classifieds, temporary work and small employment for the young people. In this newspaper, Ishii always draws characters in the search of odd jobs, as much as it is interested in their life in the university and its difficulties. Ishii was itself in this case, which gave him the idea of the cartoon. The series names Oh! Baito-kun . For lack of place as much as by choice, Ishii Hisaichi tells their adventures in the format known as " in 4 cases" or Yonkoma manga .

At its exit of the university in 1977, the author is not already any more one unknown. Its stories know almost everywhere very good criticisms in the press. Thanks to its work, the format in yonkoma manga becomes again with the mode and likes. Remaining in the same vein of the " stories with 4 cases" , Ishii leaves then other series of humor.

In 1979, it draws the series Ganbaré Tabuchi-kun which tells the vexations and the difficult life of a real player of Baseball within the Japanese championship. Subject with the mode, it however takes the opposite course to the series of the time. Instead of still telling the heroic adventures of a player in activity, which seeks the perfection or success, he prefers, making it much more human and nearer to us. Always tired, of bad character, trying to make of it the minimum and surrounded by colourful characters, he is the prototype of the average player. Nevertheless, through a little coarse features of the character of Tabuchi, it brushes a brilliant satire of the world of the sport and media. This receipt comic, easy to seize and yet often very fine in criticism is a great success. Stories, then the volumes are connected while the proposals flow more and more. Tabuchi, the paper character, becomes more famous than its alter real ego and knows even its own animated series.

Ojamanga Yamada-kun

During the same period, it begins the creation of several other series. The most known, and that which remains still its greater success, was the series of the Ojamanga Yamada-kun in 1980. In these " Stories of the Yamada" family; , Ishii Hisaichi tells all the small manias, defects and other small spites of the Japanese. Through a humor often very pricking and sometimes mild nutter, it tries to emphasize the hardness of the Japanese family which in spite of her apparent modernity remains still strongly anchored in the tradition. Public success, especially in the children, is fast and without precedent for the author. It is the dedication. The family is quickly adapted in an animated series and the song of the credits resounds in the head of many Japanese children.

As of the following year, in 1982, another series leaves Ishii on the world of the Sumo S and the competition (which it had already started to make since 1979). Then the turn, a few years will come later, of a series on the warriors under the era Edo. Pastichant the eternal war between the Bushi S and the Ninja S, it does not hesitate to show ridiculous traditional images of this time. Between warriors imbus of themselves and ninjas awkward, the characters do not cease putting at evil their images of mystical heroes (the first volume will leave only in 1985). There is indeed often a shift, between the creation of a series for a review and its publication in a collection. Each time, even if the comic receipt remains the same one, the author succeeds in innovating and seizing the characters and the characteristics of the universe which it describes.

It is rewarded, at the 34 years age, by the Prix Manga at the time of the 31e Bungeï shunjû in 1985, just after its marriage, in April. Very popular and recognized, there remains insane of work. It draws several series at the same time, supervises the series animated for television, accepts projects of feature-length films, then a video game… without counting various and varied participations.

It starts, in 1990, to be directed towards other series, but also of other subjects. With Watashiwa nekodearu , he tells the literary vexations of a broken down writer of inspiration. Nevertheless, Ishii Hisaichi is interested also more and more in the political world and economic of its country. The series Mondaî Gaîro , whose first volume leaves in 1992, is the fruit of its work in the edition of the evening of the newspaper Yukan Fuji. Many series of this type will mark out its course, proof of a man very attentive with the situation of its country, but wanting to inform the public of it. Little by little its style evolves/moves and its characters are done more and more attaching. Perhaps seeking to sometimes break the image of comic with excess in its series, it decides to take again the Yamada family, but by making it evolve/move. In 1993, it begins the publication of the Tonari No Yamada-kun in the very serious edition of the morning of the daily newspaper Asahi Shimbun.

The series of Our neighbors Yamada is very different in many points compared to the old one. The drawings are less caricatural and closer to reality. The characters especially evolved/moved: the stories are not based any more solely on the defects of the characters nor on their silly things. One feels in the author, a certain nostalgia and an new approach of the family. The stories, which remain comic, are tinted small reflections and of melancholy. One laughs as much as one feels near to the problems to Takashi, Matsuko or Shige.

Through this family, Ishii Hisaichi presents to us the difficulties and the problems of the every day, of the food together in Japan. It makes enter Yamada in the middle of the working life, in their daily worries, much more than in the first version. The problems of generations, the relations in the couple, the education of the children, the problems of vicinity, the fear of the future, the work world or the political life become recurrent themes. Eclipsing the success of the first version of the Yamada family, Ishii succeeds in again doing something without letting itself go to the facility.

A few years later, in 1997, he will prefer to prolong the history of Yamada by that of small Nonochan and his life at the school. The series places us in the point of view of the Yamada junior when it looks at the world which surrounds it. Often comic, it states simple, but interesting reflections on our own way of living.

In 1999, Isao Takahata, knowing the series since years, requires to be able to adapt the Yamada family for the big screen, within the Studio Ghibli. Wishing to respect original work, it uses the novel methods to give to the spectators the impression to see the drawings living and being extracted from their small boxes. Filled with enthusiasm by the project, Ishii Hisaishi gives its agreement and the production starts quickly. Takahata then gathers some of the best stories of the Voisins Yamada as bases work. We follow then, with the liking of the seasons, the life of the small family with her reflections and her small daily concern. Nostalgia of a certain idea of the typical Japanese family, the film makes it possible the author to be known apart from his country. Success of regard first of all, it seems a kind of UFO within the feature-length films of animation. Its graphics close to the blow of pencil, the characters terribly attaching of the Yamada family and the particular environment which emerges some allured, little by little, a great number of people.

Continuing the adventures of Nonochan in the press, Ishii Hisaichi supervised also the adaptation TV. The series paper will receive besides the Prix Tezuka for the best work of compilation of the year in 2003. Ishii Hisaichi draws also new series with subjects sometimes surprising, like that on Hillary Clinton for example. Thanks to its collaboration with the Ghibli Studios, Ishii sees many republications of its works, but it has also the possibility sometimes of prolonging them. Thus, a series of 2004 is centered on Pochi and its manner of seeing the world of the men. Glutton for work, it created new stories on a Web site (conceived in 2002) or vacuum-cleaned of them some like Baito-kun or C.N.N.

Sources

Site in French on the author and his works
Official site in Japanese of the author

Random links: