Leiji Matsumoto

Template:Nihongo was a Japanese manga artist, and creator of several anime and manga series. His widow Miyako Maki is also a manga artist.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Matsumoto was famous for his works such as Space Battleship Yamato, Space Pirate Captain Harlock, and Galaxy Express 999.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> His style was characterized by mythological and often tragic storylines with strong moral themes, noble heroes, feminine heroines, and a love of strange worlds and melancholic atmosphere.<ref name=toole/>

Early life

Leiji Matsumoto was born on January 25, 1938, in Kurume, Fukuoka.<ref name=natalie>Template:Cite web</ref> He was the middle child of a family of seven brothers, and, in his early childhood, Matsumoto was given a 35mm film projector by his father, and watched American cartoons during the Pacific War. During this time, he gained an interest in science fiction novels by authors Unno Juza and H. G. Wells.<ref name=tatsumi>Template:Cite book</ref> Matsumoto started drawing at the age of six, and began drawing manga three years later after seeing the works of Osamu Tezuka.<ref name=natalie/> At 18, he moved to Tokyo to become a manga artist.<ref name=tatsumi/>

Career

Leiji Matsumoto as the honorary stationmaster of Ōizumi-gakuen Station in 2008

In 1954, Matsumoto made his debut under his real name, Akira Matsumoto, with Mitsubachi no bōken in the magazine Manga Shōnen.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Matsumoto's big break came with Otoko Oidon, a series that chronicled the life of a rōnin (a young man preparing for university entrance exams), in 1971. In 1972 he created the mature-themed dark comedy Western seinen series Gun Frontier for the Play Comic magazine, which ran from 1972 to 1975. Around the same time he started a series of unconnected short stories set during World War II, Senjo Manga Series, which would eventually become popular under the title The Cockpit.<ref name=toole/>

He was involved in Space Battleship Yamato (1974) and created the highly popular series Space Pirate Captain Harlock (1977) and Galaxy Express 999 (1977). In 1978, he was awarded the Shogakukan Manga Award for shōnen for Galaxy Express 999 and Senjo Manga Series.<ref name="ShogakukanAward">Template:Cite web</ref> Animated versions of Captain Harlock and Galaxy Express 999 are set in the same universe, which spawned several spin offs and related series, most notably Queen Emeraldas and Queen Millennia.<ref name=toole/>

Matsumoto supervised the creation of several music videos for the French house group Daft Punk, set to tracks from their album Discovery. These videos were issued end-to-end (making a full-length animated movie) on a DVD release titled Interstella 5555: The 5tory of the 5ecret 5tar 5ystem.<ref name=toole/>

Approximately two dozen bronze statues – each four feet tall – of characters and scenes from Space Battleship Yamato and Galaxy Express 999 were erected in the downtown area of Tsuruga in 1999. Each statue includes a plaque at its base explaining the character and features Matsumoto's signature.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Himiko, a Tokyo Cruise Ship water bus designed by Leiji Matsumoto

Matsumoto worked with Yoshinobu Nishizaki on Space Battleship Yamato (known outside Japan under various names, but most commonly as Star Blazers).<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Matsumoto created a manga loosely based on the series, and the Yamato makes cameo appearances (sans crew) in several of his works including the Galaxy Express 999 manga.<ref name=toole/>

A later work by Matsumoto called Great Yamato featuring an updated Yamato was renamed Great Galaxy due to legal issues with Nishizaki.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> As of 2009, Matsumoto and Nishizaki were working on independent anime projects featuring the acclaimed Space Battleship Yamato, with the conditions that Matsumoto cannot use the name Yamato or the plot or characters from the original, and Nishizaki cannot use the conceptual art, character or ship designs of the original.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In August 2014, to celebrate the 60th anniversary of his debut, Matsumoto launched the manga Captain Harlock: Jigen Kōkai (Captain Harlock: Dimensional Voyage), illustrated by Kōichi Shimahoshi, in the pages of Akita Shoten's Champion Red magazine.<ref name=harlock2014/> Dimensional Voyage is a retelling of the original 1978 Space Pirate Captain Harlock manga. It had been licensed in the United States by Seven Seas Entertainment.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Personal life

Matsumoto was married to manga artist and Licca-chan creator Miyako Maki.<ref name=death/>

On November 15, 2019, Matsumoto suffered severe respiratory problems and collapsed during an event in Turin, Italy, for the 40th-anniversary tour celebrating the Captain Harlock anime adaptation. He was taken to a hospital in critical condition and had a breathing tube inserted after he was admitted to the emergency unit.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> However, he was considered to be out of danger two days later.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Death

Matsumoto died of acute heart failure at a hospital in Tokyo on February 13, 2023, at the age of 85.<ref name=death>Template:Cite web</ref> Various manga artists offered condolences, including Yasuhiro Nightow, Nozomu Tamaki, and his wife Maki. Galaxy Express 999 voice actress Masako Nozawa and translator Zack Davisson also gave their condolences.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Selected works

Name	Year	Role(s)	Template:Refh
Arcadia of My Youth	1982	Story	<ref name=toole>Template:Cite web</ref>
Arcadia of My Youth: Endless Orbit SSX	1982–1983	Story	<ref name=toole/>
Arei no Kagami	1985	Story	<ref >Template:Cite book</ref>
Barairo no tenshi	1964		<ref name=toole/>
Captain Harlock: Dimensional Voyage	2014	Story	<ref name=harlock2014>Template:Cite web</ref>
Cosmo Warrior Zero	2001	Story	<ref name=toole/>
Dokuganryū Masamune ~Sengoku no Arcadia Gaiden~	2019		<ref name=toole/>
Fire Force DNAsights 999.9	1998		<ref name=toole/>
Galaxy Express 999	1977–1981	Story	<ref name=toole/>
Ganso Dai Yojohan Dai Monogatari	1970	Story	<ref name=toole/>
Great Yamato	2000–2001		<ref name=toole/>
Great Yamato No. Zero	2004–2007	Story	<ref name=toole/>
Gun Frontier	1972–1975	Story	<ref name=toole/>
Gun Frontier ~Harlock & Tochirō Seishun no Tabi~	2017		<ref name=toole/>
Harlock Saga	1998–1999	Story	<ref name=toole/>
Interstella 5555: The 5tory of the 5ecret 5tar 5ystem by Daft Punk	2003	Production Supervisor	<ref name=toole/>
Leiji Matsumoto Anime Masterpiece Theatre	1980		<ref name=toole/>
Maetel Legend	2000	Story	<ref name=toole/>
Maeterlinck's Blue Bird: Tyltyl and Mytyl's Adventurous Journey	1980	Character Designer	<ref name=toole/>
Marine Snow no Densetsu	1980		<ref name=toole/>
Miraizer Ban	1976–1978		<ref name=toole/>
Mystery Eve	1970		<ref name=toole/>
Otoko Oidon	1971–1973		<ref name=toole/>
Out of Galaxy Gin no Koshika	2009		<ref name=toole/>
Ozuma	2012	Story	<ref name=toole/>
Planet Robot Danguard Ace	1977–1978	Story	<ref name=toole/>
Queen Emeraldas	1978–1979	Story	<ref name=toole/>
Queen Millennia	1980–1983	Story	<ref name=toole/>
Saint Elmo – Hikari no Raihousha	1986	Credited	<ref name=toole/>
Senjo Manga series	1973–1978		<ref name=toole/>
Sexaroid	1968–1970		<ref name=toole/>
Sexaroid 4	2017		<ref name=toole/>
Shishunki 100 Man-nen	1972-1973		<ref name=toole/>
Space Battleship Yamato	1974		<ref name=toole/>
Space Pirate Captain Harlock	1977–1979	Story	<ref name=toole/>
Space Symphony Maetel	2004–2005	Producer	<ref name=toole/>
Starzinger	1978–1979	Story	<ref name=toole/>
Submarine Super 99	1970–1972	Story	<ref name=toole/>
The Cockpit	1993	Story	<ref name=toole/>
The Galaxy Railways	2003–2007	Producer	<ref name=toole/>
The Ultimate Time Sweeper Mahoroba	1993–1998		<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Torajima no Mii me	1999	Story	<ref name=toole/>

See also

• Marianne Hold—German actress who is the template for Matsumoto's lead female characters.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

External links

• Template:Official website Template:In lang
• Template:Anime News Network
• Template:IMDb name
• Leijiverse—The world of Leiji Matsumoto
• Leiji Matsumoto at The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction
• Leiji Matsumoto manga Template:Webarchive and animeTemplate:Dead link at Media Arts Database Template:In lang
• Ozma interview
• Ozma interview with Asahi Shimbun