Makoto Yukimura

Makoto Yukimura(Japanese:Hạnh thôn thành,Hepburn:Yukimura Makoto,born May 8, 1976)is a Japanesemanga artistbest known for his mangaPlanetesandVinland Saga.

Makoto Yukimura
Hạnh thôn thành
Yukimura in 2006
Born	(1976-05-08)May 8, 1976 Yokohama,Kanagawa,Japan
Nationality	Japanese
Occupation	Manga artist
Known for	Planetes Vinland Saga

Biography

Early life

Yukimura considered himself a laidback child at school. The firstmangahe read wasAkira Toriyama'sDr. Slumpat 5; he was particularly impressed by its cover. He then watched the anime much to his surprise because he did not see the need of a story being repeated. When Yukimura became 16, he had the idea of becoming a manga author. During his early life, Yukimura was nearly killed in two car accidents. This made him reconsider his way of thinking. He believes he had no social life and barely paid attention to classes in his childhood. The only thing he wrote in his notebook was manga. He graduated fromChuo Universityand Suginami High School. In contrast to other students, Yukimura faced no hardships in graduating and recalls having brief anxiety. Yukimura's crisis with school and lack of interest with his growth and jobs worried his parents. However, Yukimura's school life changed when being taught by a literature teacher who usedMichael Endefamous forThe Never Ending Storyin a class.

Yukimura was first inspired to become a manga artist after readingFist of the North Staras a boy.He said he had always wanted to produce a series which reflected the same themes of "strength and justice". However, he felt that he would not accomplish his dream due to poor academic skills. Eventually, he started studying manga at 16 and was recruited as an assistant two years later. His parents convinced him of graduating first from high school. He never drew manga on his own until his debut. Once graduating from college at 22, he metKaiji Kawaguchiwho found his potential to become a manga author. He met Dai Morimura who taught him about drawing manga and find his own style rather than imitating others. Yukimura got married during his work as an assistant who supported him.In regards to his family, Yukimura mentioned he has two children with the second one being born in 2006.With the later birth of another child, Yukimura revealed that all were male but was worried about their health.

Career

Yukimura made his debut with thehard science fictionmangaPlanetes,serialized inWeekly Morningmagazine from 1999 to 2004 and adapted into a 26-episodeanimeseries bySunrise.Before that, he worked as an assistant for Shin Morimura.

He is currently working onVinland Sagawhich was first serialized inWeekly Shōnen Magazinethen moved to the monthlyAfternoonmagazine due to releases pacing issues.He was inspired by the anime seriesVicky the Vikinghe watched as a child, and since then he has been fascinated withVikings.For this work he received the 2009Japan Media Arts FestivalGrand Prize in the manga category.In 2010, he was a guest of theAngoulême International Comics Festival.As of July 2021, the manga had over 5.5 million copies in circulation.While the series is notable for its amount of violence normally caused by Vikings, Yukimura claimed he hates the concept of violence. As a result, a key element in writing this story was rela xing his modern sense of morality.

It was also adapted into an anime series byWit Studio.MAPPAwill animate its second season starting in January 2023.Yukimura praised theVinland Sagaanime for solving the manga's pacing issues and adding new content.

In August 2022, Yukimura did a crossover manga with thevideo gameAssassin's Creed Valhallawhere 'Vinland Sagaprotagonist Thorfinn meetsValhallalead Eivor.

In July 2023, Yukimura made his first U.S. convention appearance atSan Diego Comic-Con.

Commentary

Yukimura's sensation during theCold Warand theSeptember 11 attackswere projected on Thorfinn's character who is traumatized by his actions as a viking and thus decides to find Vinland in order to make a land where people from different races are able to live together peacefully.

Yukimura pays attention to drawing hands as he claims they are more expressive than faces and give a brief explanation of the person's personality. This was influenced by manga authorKatsuhiro Otomo.During the COVID-19 pandemic, Yukimura started drawing the chapters ofVinland Sagadigitally.

When he first started drawing, Yukimura expected it to take 10 years, but it will still take 14 years to finish. He had calculated that there would be 20 volumes, with each part consisting of 4 volumes, with 5 volumes each, but then the amount increased to over 22 volumes. From the beginning of the serialization, he was at a loss, wondering when he could write the actual arc of Vinland. Because he often had problems with handling the story, Yukimura looks afterHajime Isayamafor his work onAttack on Titandue to how he was able to handle the entire plot until the end especially since its 20th volume.In response, Isayama said he admires Yukimura for his detailed art and foreshadowing, remarking that the breaks are necessary to create such a consistently high-quality work. Another series Yukimura became a fan while writing isMy Dress-Up Darling.Among other preferred works, Yukimura enjoys horror stories, most notablyJunji Ito's,Nokuto Koike's, andMotosuke Takaminato.Anji Matono's recent work from 2022 also attracts him.

Works

• Planetes(1999–2004, serialized inWeekly Morning,Kodansha)
• For Our Farewell is Near(さようならが gần い の で,Sayōnara ga Chikai node)(2004, one-shot published inEvening,Kodansha)
• Vinland Saga(2005–present, serialized inWeekly Shōnen Magazinefrom April to October 2005 then inAfternoonfrom December 2005, Kodansha)

External links

• Official Twitter
• Makoto YukimuraatAnime News Network's encyclopedia
• EntryinThe Encyclopedia of Science Fiction