Gosho Aoyama

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Gosho Aoyama (青山 剛昌 Aoyama Gōshō?), born Yoshimasa Aoyama (青山 剛昌 Aoyama Yoshimasa?), is a manga artist born June 21, 1963 in Daiei, Tottori Prefecture, Japan. He is best known as the creator of the manga series Detective Conan (known in the USA, Canada, and the UK as Case Closed).

Aoyama was a genius at drawing even when young. When he was in Grade 1 (in elementary school), his painting of "Yukiai War" won a competition and was displayed at the Tottori Daimaru Department Store. He graduated from high school at Ikuei High School. After finishing high school, he studied to Nihon University College of Art in Tokyo. During his university years (winter 1986), Aoyama joined a comic contest for freshmen and won, which was a stepping-stone for his career as a manga artist (mangaka) and author, as well as a turning point for his life.

Aoyama's debut work was Chotto Mattete, published in the weekly magazine Shonen Sunday on winter 1987. Shortly after that, Magic Kaito was published on the same magazine.

At the beginning of the 90's, another story done by Aoyama named Yaiba came out. This 24-volume manga won the Shogakukan Manga Award for shōnen in 1993. He won the Shogakukan Manga Award a second time in 2001, for Detective Conan.[1] Other works were released as tankōbon included Third Baseman No.4, Gosho Aoyama's Collection of Short Stories, and Detective Conan.

On May 5, 2005, he married voice actress and singer Minami Takayama, the Japanese voice for Conan of the Detective Conan anime[2], but they divorced on December 10, 2007.[3]

[edit] Manga works

Wait a Minute (ちょっとまってて Chotto Mattete?) (1987)
Aoyama's first manga story, published in Shonen Sunday. It's about a boy genius named Yutaka Takai, whose time machine jetpack sends his love interest through time for two years.
Yaiba (1988-1993)
Tells the adventures of the young samurai Yaiba Kurogane. It won a 1992 Shogakukan Manga Award and was adapted into a 51-episode anime series.
3rd Base 4th (4番サード Yonban Sādo?) (1993)
A 1-volume baseball manga. It tells the story of a boy named Shigeo Nagashima, a mediocre baseball player on his high school team. One day, he buys a magical bat from a sporting goods store that allows him to hit every pitch. However, he has to pay the mysterious store for each pitch he hits.
Magic Kaito (まじっく快斗 Majikku Kaito?) (1988-2007)
A 4-volume manga series (The fourth volume was released in February 2007, 13 years after the third volume) which tells the comical adventures of Kaitou Kid, a gentleman thief who often uses his skills in magic and disguise in every robbery he commits. Although the manga series is on hold, Kaitou Kid still appears regularly in Detective Conan, another manga series by Aoyama.
Gosho Aoyama's Collection of Short Stories
Various short works written over the years:
Play It Again (プレイ イット アゲイン?)
Excalibur (えくすかりばぁ?)
Santa Claus in the summer (夏のサンタクロース Natsu no Santa Claus?)
The detective George's job (Detective George's little little & great operations) (探偵ジョージのミニミニ大作戦 Tantei Jooji no minimini daisakusen?)
Wait a Minute (ちょっとまってて Chotto Mattete?)
Shonen Sunday 19(talk) show "The wandering red butterfly" (サンデー19show さまよえる赤い蝶 Shōnen Sunday 19(tō-ku) show samayoeru akai chō?)
Detective Conan or Case Closed (名探偵コナン Meitantei Konan?) - (1994-present)
Aoyama's most well-known creation, it tells the story of a genius high school detective who one day is turned into a young boy by mysterious men. While trying to track down these men, he often encounters complicated mysteries, most of which only he can solve.
Tell Me A Lie (～私にウソをついて～ ~Watashi ni Uso wo Tsuite?) - (2007)
This is a one-shot manga about a girl named Terumi Arai (新井輝海 Arai Terumi?), who can read people's minds when she looks them in the eyes.

[edit] References

  1. ^ 小学館漫画賞：歴代受賞者 (Japanese). Shogakukan. Retrieved on 2007-08-19.
  2. ^ Conan and Kiki Married.
  3. ^ Conan's Voice Actress, Conan's Manga Creator Divorce.