Spotlight: Tsukasa Hojo

[Deathscythe]

Written and Submitted by Eclipse

Tsukasa Hojo

Born: March 5, 1959
Blood Type: O
Works:
Space Angel 1979
Orewa otogo da! 1980
(I am a Man!)
Third Deka 1981
Cat's Eye 1981-1984 18 vol
Space Angel 1982
City Hunter 1985-1991 35 volumes
Nekoman Maokawari 1986
Splash! 1987
Tenshi no Okurimono 1988
Taxi Driver 1990
Sakura no hana saku koro 1993
Komorebi no moto de...
(Under the Dappled Shade) 1993-1994 3 volumes
Rash!! 1995 2 volumes
Shotenachi no ita Natsu 1996
-Melody of Jennny-
F.compo (FAMILY COMPO) 1997-2001 14 volumes
Angel Heart 2001 – now 2 volumes thus far



Tsukasa Hojo was born on May 5th 1959 on the Japanese Island,
Kyushu. Despite the tendency at the time to create more
“western” manga to satisfy the ever-increasing demand of the
international market, Hojo instead succeeds in combining his
original fiction elements with strict Japanese outlines. The realism
of Hojo’s drawing is similar in style to that of gekiga, meaning
"theatrical pictures". The female characters in particular, are
drawn very beautifully, which has done much to boost Hojo’s
reputation.

Tsukasa Hojo discovered his love for drawing manga while
studying Technical design in university. In 1979 he was a
runner-up for Shonen Jump Magazine’s 18th annual Tezuka Prize
for his submission of “Space Angel”, his first production. In 1980
he debuted the title “I’m a Man!” in Shonen Jump. In 1981, he
debuted what turned into his first hit title “Cat’s Eye”, which
was very successful as a weekly manga, tankobon, and a live
action movie in 1997. He didn’t stop there, in 1985 Tsukasa
Hojo followed this with the smash hit “City Hunter”, which
ended in 1991 after 35 volumes. While writing City Hunter
Hojo also created numerous short manga, such as
“Splash!”(1987-1989) and “Taxi Driver”(1990). With
"Family Compo", which was still under work in 1997, he details
the lives of a family of transvestites. This is considered to
be one of Hojo’s under-rated gems. Today, “Angel Heart” is
being published in Comic Bunch.

City Hunter

If you're desperate and need a risky job done, write "XYZ"
on the bulletin board at Shinjuku Station. That's the signal
to hire City Hunter, made up of Ryo Saeba and Kaori
Makimura. At first sight, Ryo seems to be a bit crazy, but
when you start to know him better, you realize how calm,
cool and overall an amazingly accurate shot he is. Kaori
on the other hand, is Ryo's deceased partner's sister
and runs the business side of City Hunter. The jobs
range from being a bodyguard to virtual espionage.

In 1983 Hojo started "City Hunter" and published
two short stories, but the series officially started
in 1985 and ended in 1991 after 35 volumes. Soon
after its release, City Hunter became one of the
favorite manga in Japan, Taiwan and Hong Kong.

City Hunter’s adventures are usually funny and
original. The characters have different personalities,
and the new story elements always stick out when
you never expect they will.

Cat’s Eye

Cat’s Eye is Hojo’s first long-running series. In terms
of skill it’s not as good as City Hunter, but during its
time, it’s new style attracted many readers, and
became Hojo’s first successful series.

In the manga we find ourselves in Tokyo, at the start
of the 1980’s. Michael Heinz, a German painter and
art collector, disappeared many years ago along with
his art collection. His daughters, the three sisters Ai,
Hitomi, and Rui Kisugi are now trying to find him. Most
of the artworks are now in the hands of criminal
collectors. Hitomi and her sisters feel that they have
to resort to theft if they want to see their father again.
Acting under the name of "Cat's Eye" (which is their
café's name as well), the three girls start their criminal
career, supported by a close friend of the family Mr.
Nagaishi.

The first episode was published in Shonen Jump on
1981, followed by 18 volumes from 1981 to 1984,
and an additional short appearance in 1985.

Angel Heart

A young Taiwanese assassin codenamed "Glass Heart"
committed suicide by jumping off a building, and a
metal fence pierced her heart. Miraculously, her life
was saved by heart transplantation, and during her
recovery, she began to experience strange dreams,
which led her to Japan looking for the previous owner
of her heart, who happens to be Kaori Makimura,
former partner of City Hunter.