| Hiroyuki Takei | |
|---|---|
| Born | Takei Hiroyuki 武井宏之 May 15, 1972 Yomogita, Aomori, Japan |
| Nationality | Japanese |
| Occupation | Manga artist |
| Years active | 1994—Present |
| Employer | Shueisha |
| Known for | Shaman King |
| Influenced by | Hirohiko Araki, Osamu Tezuka |
| Relatives | Hirofumi Takei (武井宏文, brother) |
| Awards | 48th Tezuka Award with an honorable mention for Anna the Itako. |
Hiroyuki Takei (武井宏之 Takei Hiroyuki, born May 15, 1972 in Yomogita, Aomori Prefecture) is a Japanese manga artist, best known as the creator of the manga and anime Shaman King.
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Hiroyuki Takei started drawing manga with writer EXIAD on SD Département Store Series which they created for a fanzine. Early in his career, he became the assistant to Tamakichi Sakura on The Form of Happiness (しあわせのかたち Shiawase no Katachi) as Turtle-san (カメさん Kame-san) in 1992 and Kōji Kiriyama (Ninku). At that time, he also submitted his first yomikiri Dragdoll Group to the Tezuka Award but was rejected. In 1994, Takei submitted his short story Anna the Itako to the 94th Tezuka Award and won the honorable mention. He was later introduced to Nobuhiro Watsuki and became his assistant along with Eiichiro Oda on Rurouni Kenshin. Takei published his short story Death Zero in Weekly Shōnen Jump Winter Special and Butsu Zone in the Summer Special of 1996. A reworked version of Butsu Zone became his first manga series published in Weekly Shōnen Jump of 1997. In 2007, Takei returned three years after the conclusion of Shaman King with a new Weekly Shōnen Jump series; Jumbor Barutronica. Set in the distant future, construction workers pilot mecha. One of them is killed and his memories are implanted in his clone - a thirty year old man in a five year old superpowered construction tool body. The series was canceled after ten issues and released in one volume. During the Jump Festa 2008, Shueisha announced a kanzenban reprint of Shaman King. This release reprinted the entire series in 27 volumes complete with new covers while concluding the never-before-published "true ending." On March 4, 2008, Japanese publisher Shūeisha announced that Takei would be collaborating on Karakuridôji Ultimo with American comic creator Stan Lee. The project launched with the new Jump SQ.II (Jump Square Second) spinoff manga magazine on April 18, 2008. The announcement of the partnership was made in the April issue of Jump Square magazine.[1]
As of 2010, Takei is working on two monthly series with Jumbor written by Hiromasa Mikami (御上裕真 Mikami Hiromasa) and Karakuridôji Ultimo with Stan Lee.[2]
In an interview with Shonen Jump he stated that his favorite manga by other authors included Taiyo Kosoku by Baru, Blade of the immortal by Hiroaki Samura, and Hellboy by Mike Mignola. He also cites American comic books, Mecha Anime, Hirohiko Araki of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure fame, and Osamu Tezuka as influences.
| Name | Year | Information |
|---|---|---|
| Anna the Itako (ＩＴＡＫＯのＡＮＮＡ "Itako no Anna") | 1994 | 48th Tezuka Award, honorable mention |
| Death Zero (デスゼロ "Desu zero") | 1996 | Weekly Shōnen Jump Winter Special |
| Butsu Zone (仏ゾーン "Butsu Zōn") | 1996 | Weekly Shōnen Jump Summer Special |
| Butsu Zone (仏ゾーン "Butsu Zōn") | 1997 | Weekly Shōnen Jump, 3 tankōbon |
| Shaman King (シャーマンキング "Shāman Kingu") | 1998—2004 | Weekly Shōnen Jump, 32 tankōbon |
| Exotica (エキゾチカ "Ekizochika") | 2003 | Weekly Shōnen Jump Issue #40 |
| Jumbor Barutronica (重機人間ユンボル "Jūki Ningen Yunboru") | 2007 | Weekly Shōnen Jump, 1 tankōbon |
| Karakuri Dôji Ultimo:0 (機巧童子ULTIMO:0 "Karakuri Dōji Urutimo: zero") | 2009 | Jump SQ. II (Second), Stan Lee (concept) |
| Karakuri Dôji Ultimo (機巧童子ULTIMO "Karakuri Dōji Urutimo") | 2009— | Jump SQ, Stan Lee (concept), 7 tankōbon |
| Jumbor (ユンボル "Yunboru") | 2009 | Ultra Jump #11, Hiromasa Mikami (writer) |
| Jumbor - The Desert With a Floor Heater (ユンボル 「荒野の床暖房」 "Yunboru - areno no yukadanbō") | 2010 | Ultra Jump #3, Hiromasa Mikami (writer) |
| Jumbor (ユンボル "Yunboru") | 2010— | Ultra Jump, Hiromasa Mikami (writer), 3 tankōbon |
| The Little Battlers - Kaidō Jin Gaiden (ダンボール戦機 海道ジン外伝 "Danbōru Senki Kaidō Jin Gaiden") | 2011 | CoroCoro G Summer Issue (credited as HIRO) |
| Shaman King 0 (シャーマンキング0 "Shāman Kingu zero") | 2011— | Jump X #5 |