Yoshitoshi Abe (安倍 吉俊, Abe Yoshitoshi, born August 3, 1971), also stylized as yoshitoshi ABe, is a Japanese graphic artist who works predominantly in anime and manga. He first gained fame for his work on the avant-garde anime Serial Experiments Lain. He is also responsible for the concept and character design for the series NieA_7. He is the creator of the dōjinshi Haibane Renmei, which was also adapted into an anime.

Yoshitoshi Abe
安倍 吉俊
Abe in May 2007
Born (1971-08-03) August 3, 1971 (age 53)
Meguro, Tokyo, Japan
Alma materTokyo University of the Arts (MFA)
Occupation(s)Manga artist, illustrator, screenwriter, character designer
Years active1994-present
Websiteabworks.blog83.fc2.com

He is a colleague and friend of Chiaki J. Konaka, with whom he collaborated on the series Serial Experiments Lain and Texhnolyze. He usually uses the romaji form of his name instead of the kanji, with the "B" in "ABe" capitalized, as a reminder of his early works, for which he used the pen name "AB".

Abe began his career as a teen in Tokyo and was first recognized as a graffiti artist, who regularly got into legal problems with his art. His concepts for all his later works are said to be inspired by this time of his life and has projected a dark theme into his anime character designs.

He is known to be a fairly tech-savvy manga artist,[1] drawing a sketch with just his finger and an application on an iPad.[2] He released self-published dōjinshi on digital support bypassing the traditional print publishers with Pochiyama at the Pharmacy in 2008 aimed at iPhone and iPod Touch and I am an Alien, I have a Question in 2010 for Kindle.[1][3]

Personal life

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On November 11, 2011, Abe married artist Sasaki Yukari, his manga assistant since 2010.[4] Their daughter was born on September 21, 2012.[5]

Works

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Anime

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Music

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  • Love Song (2005) (cover art and booklet illustrations)

Video games

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Printed works

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  • Dōjinshi
    • Furumachi (August, 1996)
    • Shooting Star (December, 1996)
    • White Rain (July, 1997)
    • Sui-Rin (August, 1998)
    • Charcoal Feather Federation (Haibane Renmei) (December, 1998)
    • T.Prevue Version 0.9 (August, 1999)
    • Faces (December, 1999)
    • K.S.M.E (July, 2000)
    • Sketches (December, 2000)
    • NieA Under 7 - Under (August, 2001)
    • Haibane Renmei - The Haibanes of Old Home (Ch.1) (August, 2001)
    • Haibane Renmei - The Haibanes of Old Home (Ch.2) (December, 2001)
    • Haibane Renmei - Haibane Lifestyle Diary (August, 2002)
    • Haibane Renmei - The Haibanes of Old Home (Extra) (December, 2002)
    • Ryuu Tai (July, 2003)
    • Not Found (December, 2003)
    • Haibane Renmei - Kyakuhonshuu - Volume 1 (August, 2004)
    • Haibane Renmei - Kyakuhonshuu - Volume 2 (December, 2004)
    • Haibane Renmei - Kyakuhonshuu - Volume 3 (December, 2004)
    • Miscellaneous (December, 2004)
    • GRID. (August, 2005)
    • Haibane Renmei - Kyakuhonshuu - Volume 4 (December, 2005)
    • Haibane Renmei - Kyakuhonshuu - Volume 5 (December, 2005)
    • Yakkyoku no Pochiyamasan (December, 2005)
    • Haibane Renmei - Kyakuhonshuu - Volume 6 (August, 2006)
    • Yakkyoku no Pochiyamasan 2.0 (August, 2006)
    • Yakkyoku no Pochiyamasan 3.0 (August 19, 2007)
    • f.p.o. (Fixed Point Observation) (August 17, 2008)
    • Ryuhshika (August 17, 2008)
    • Yakkyoku no Pochiyamasan 4.0 (December 30, 2008)
  • Artbooks
    • Serial Experiments Lain - An Omnipresence in the Wired (May, 1999)
    • Visual Experiments Lain
    • Essence (May, 2001) *Released in the US*
    • NieA Under 7 - Scrap (July, 2001)
    • Haibane Renmei - In the Town of Guri, in the Garden of Charcoal Feathers (December, 2003)
    • yoshitoshi ABe lain illustrations - ab# rebuild an omnipresence in the wired (Japan: December 2005; US: April 2006)
    • Gaisokyu (August, 2007)
  • Manga
    • Ame no Furu Basho (debut) Afternoon (April 1994)[8]
    • NieA Under 7 (Vol. 1) (June, 2001)
    • NieA Under 7 (Vol. 2) (August, 2001)
    • All You Need Is Kill (December, 2004)
    • Ryushika Ryushika (2009)
  • Contributions
    • Mutekei Fire - Tarame Paradise Doujins
    • Mutekei Fire - Great Pictorial Guide of Uki-Uki in the World Doujins
    • Mutekei Fire - Tokimeki Shitsumon Bako Doujins
    • Range Murata - Flat
    • Range Murata - Rule - Fa Documenta 003
    • Range Murata - Robot - Volume 01
    • Range Murata - Robot - Volume 02
    • Range Murata - Robot - Volume 03
    • Range Murata - Robot - Volume 04
    • Range Murata - Robot - Volume 05
    • Range Murata - Robot - Volume 06
    • Range Murata - Robot - Volume 07
    • Range Murata - Robot - Volume 08
    • Range Murata - Robot - Volume 09
    • Range Murata - Robot - Volume 10 with "U.C.O."
    • Foo Swee Chin - Muzz Doujins 1-2
    • Akai Kiba (Red Fang) - Volumes 1-4
    • Hell Girl, episode 13 - sketches and wallpaint
  • Cover Illustrations
  • Misc.
    • "AB Note" yoshitoshi ABe Sketchbook (GoFa 2003)
    • "GoFa Portfolio Collection A" 20 A4 Prints (sold by GoFa at AX2003 - 100 made)
    • "GoFa Portfolio Collection B" 20 A4 Prints (Sold by GoFa at AX2003 - 100 made)
    • "Kaira" Wani Magazine Comics Special (July, 2008)

References

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  1. ^ a b Thompson, Jason (May 18, 2010). "Manga 2.0: Yoshitoshi ABe's Digital Dojinshi". Comics Journal. Archived from the original on June 10, 2015. Retrieved August 10, 2019.
  2. ^ Hodgkins, Crystalyn (April 15, 2010). "Lain's Yoshitoshi ABe Demos iPad Finger-Painting App (Updated)". Anime News Network (April 16, 2010 ed.). Retrieved August 10, 2019.
  3. ^ Hodgkins, Crystalyn (March 11, 2010). "New Yoshitoshi ABe Manga Now Available on Kindle". Anime News Network. Retrieved August 10, 2019.
  4. ^ ABe, Yoshitoshi (November 11, 2011). "Nyūseki-shimashita" 入籍しました. ABlog (in Japanese). Retrieved August 10, 2019.
  5. ^ ABe, Yoshitoshi (October 16, 2012). "Akachan ga Umaremashita" 赤ちゃんが生まれました. ABlog (in Japanese). Retrieved August 10, 2019.
  6. ^ a b ABe, Yoshitoshi. "Lain Men: Yoshitoshi ABe" (Interview). Interviewed by Anime Jump. Archived from the original on September 26, 2007. Retrieved August 10, 2019.
  7. ^ "'Fenomeno Mitsuru ki yoru ishi wa kowagaranai' Bijuarunoberu-ban" 『フェノメノ 美鶴木夜石は怖がらない』ビジュアルノベル版. Nitroplus. Retrieved August 10, 2019.
  8. ^ "Ame no Furu Basho" 雨の降る場所 [The Place the Rain Falls], Eureka (in Japanese), 42 (12), Seidosha: 157–184, October 2010, ISBN 978-4-7917-0214-5
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