Yoshitoshi ABe

Yoshitoshi ABe
Yoshitoshi ABe in May 2007.
Native name	安倍 吉俊
Born	August 3, 1971

Yoshitoshi ABe (安倍 吉俊 Abe Yoshitoshi, born August 3, 1971) is a Japanese graphic artist who works predominantly in anime and manga. He received his Master of Fine Arts from the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music. His works have an edgy style due to, among other things, his not using a ruler while drawing as is usual for most anime-style art. He first gained fame in his work on the avant-garde anime Serial Experiments Lain. He is also responsible for the concept and character design for the series NieA under 7. He is the creator of the doujinshi Haibane Renmei, which was then adapted into an anime.

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 Yoshitoshi first began his career as a teen in Tokyo who 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]

Works

Anime

• Serial Experiments Lain (1998) (character design)^[4]
• NieA 7 (2000) (character design, scenario)^[4]
• Haibane Renmei (2002) (most of the production elements, particularly original story, character design and scenario)
• Texhnolyze (2003) (character design)
• Welcome to the N.H.K. (2006) (illustrations for the original novel)
• Despera (2009) (character design)

Music

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

Video games

• Wachenröder (1998)
• Phenomeno (2012)^[5]

Printed works

• 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)^[6]
  • 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
  • Kami no Keifu Novels 1-3
  • Welcome to the N.H.K.
  • Negative Happy Chainsaw Edge
  • Chojin Keikaku (bunko edition only)
  • Slip Manga Collection
  • All You Need is Kill
• 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

1. Thompson, Jason (May 18, 2010). "Manga 2.0: Yoshitoshi ABe’s Digital Dojinshi". Comics Journal. Retrieved June 14, 2010.
2. "Lain's Yoshitoshi ABe Demos iPad Finger-Painting App (Updated)". Anime News Network. April 15, 2010. Retrieved June 14, 2010.
3. "New Yoshitoshi ABe Manga Now Available on Kindle". Anime News Network. March 11, 2010. Retrieved June 14, 2010.
4. "Lain Men: Yoshitoshi ABe". Anime Jump. Archived from the original on September 26, 2007.
5. http://www.nitroplus.co.jp/game/phenomeno/
6. "Ame no Furu Basho" 雨の降る場所 [The Place the Rain Falls], Eureka (in Japanese) (Seidosha) 42 (12), October 2010: 157–184, ISBN 978-4-7917-0214-5

External links

• Official website (Japanese)
• Official blog (Japanese)
• ABe oekaki on drawr.net
• Yoshitoshi ABe at Anime News Network's encyclopedia
• yoshitoshi ABe convention appearances on AnimeCons.com
• Yoshitoshi ABe manga, anime at Media Arts Database (Japanese)