Harold Sakuishi

Takahiro Sakuishi (Japanese: 作石貴浩, Hepburn: Sakuishi Takahiro; born March 16, 1969), better known by the pen name Harold Sakuishi (ハロルド作石, Harorudo Sakuishi), is a Japanese manga artist. Sakuishi's interests include baseball, martial arts and music, each of which has been the basis for some of his manga; baseball in Stopper Busujima, fighting in Bakaichi, and music in Beck and The Band.

Takahiro Sakuishi was born in Aichi Prefecture on March 16, 1969.[1] In 1987, his work Sōwaikan earned him an Excellent Newcomer Award at the 17th Tetsuya Chiba Awards.[1][2] Sakuishi's first hit was the series Gorillaman,[1] published in Kodansha's Weekly Young Magazine from 1988 to 1993.[3] In 1990, it won the 14th Kodansha Manga Award in the general category.[4]

Sakuishi's baseball manga Stopper Busujima was serialized in Weekly Young Magazine from 1996 to 1998.[1] He then began the music-themed manga Beck in the July 1999 issue of Kodansha's Monthly Shōnen Magazine, and concluded it on June 6, 2008.[5][6][7] A special 77-page side-story was published on September 6 of that same year.[8] Beck won Sakuishi the 26th Kodansha Manga Award in the shōnen category in 2002, and is the work he is best known for in the West.[4][9]

Sakuishi worked with Shogakukan for the first time when he serialized Seven Shakespeares in their magazine Big Comic Spirits from 2009 to 2011.[10]

Sakuishi serialized Rin in Kodansha's Monthly Shōnen Magazine from 2013 to 2016. He then began a sequel to Seven Shakespeares, but with a new publisher in a new magazine; Seven Shakespeares: Non Sanz Droict began in Kodansha's Weekly Young Magazine that December.[11] In 2020, it was announced that the series would be going on indefinite hiatus.[11]

• Sōwaikan (そうはいかん; 1987)
• Gorillaman (ゴリラーマン, Gorirāman; 1988–1993)
• Hyenas of the Savannah (サバンナのハイエナ, Sabanna no Haiena; 1994)
• Bakaichi (バカイチ; 1994–1995)
• Stopper Busujima (ストッパー毒島, Sutoppā Busujima; 1996–1998)
• Beck (1999–2008)
• Seven Shakespeares (7人のシェイクスピア, Nana-nin no Sheikusupia; 2009–2011)
• Rin (リン; 2013–2016)
• Seven Shakespeares: Non Sanz Droict (7人のシェイクスピア NON SANZ DROICT; 2016–2020, on indefinite hiatus)
• Gorillaman 40 (ゴリラーマン40; one-shot in 2020; serial in 2022)
• Gorillaman 40: Family Arc (ゴリラーマン40 ファミリー編, Gorirāman 40 Famirī-hen; one-shot in 2022; serial in 2023–2024)
• The Band (2025–present)

• Heavy Metal Thunder (2005, character designs)
• Download feat. Hatsune Miku (2014, album cover)[12]
• Upload feat. Vocalist (2014, album cover)[12]

• 17th Tetsuya Chiba Awards, Excellent Newcomer Award – Sōwaikan (1987)
• 14th Kodansha Manga Award, general category – Gorillaman (1990)
• 26th Kodansha Manga Award, shōnen category – Beck (2002)
• 2018 International Spotlight Award from the Harvey Awards[13]

• Harold Sakuishi at Anime News Network's encyclopedia
• Profile at The Ultimate Manga Guide at the Wayback Machine (archived 2013-05-03)
• Harold Sakuishi at IMDb