| Studio Ironcat, the newest American publisher of manga, held a first
anniversary celebration at AWA. They brought Studio Do-Do members Reijiro
Kato (left), Mio Odagi (center) and Ippongi Bang (right), all artists for
Ironcat. The man in the black shirt between Odagi and Bang is not from
Do-Do, but he is on Ironcat's list... |
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| ...Shinpei Itoh, the artist who created the Hyper Dolls manga. That
series first came to light in anime form from Pioneer. Then, Ironcat picked
up the manga and started releasing it in the summer of 1998. Itoh said
the female space-aliens in Hyper Dolls were based on the Pinky Patch Girls,
a pair of idol singers who fought evil characters in a 1982 Japanese TV
show. "I wanted to create an improved version of this, so I created Hyper
Dolls," said Itoh. It just so happens that the outfits worn by Maika and
Miyu, the Hyper Dolls, look just like the Pinky Patch Girls' outfits. You
can attribute the monsters which challenge the Hyper Dolls to Itoh's love
of sci-fi movies. He wanted to be a director, but it was easier (and less
expensive) to be a manga artist. |
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| Itoh's latest title sounds line a natural for manga fans: "Tokyo Exploding
School Girl," a cross between Hong Kong action films and Japanese high
school life. Why does so much manga seen in the U.S, seem to be based in
high schools? The first explanation from Ironcat artists is that most manga
published in the U.S. is aimed at high school readers. The second explanation
is that the high school experience is a universal, riveting experience
for the Japanese. The third reason is that all Japanese high school students
wear uniforms, so they're easier to draw than characters with distinct
wardrobes. |
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| Kuni Kimura, in charge of Ironcat, announced that their next project
would be a line of Crusher Joe comics, approved by Haruka Takachiho, who
created Crusher Joe as a series of science fiction novels. Kimura credited
that accomplishment to Takachiho's friendship with Bang. Branching out
from comics, Ironcat will soon release a collection of toys based on Capcom
video games such as Street Fighter and Fatal Fury. |
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