I wanted to create a horror land” … Manga artist Kazuo Umezu mourned, and showed his true “horror manga face” in this magazine.

Pioneer of “horror comics

It was learned that Kazuo Umezu, a manga artist, passed away on October 28. The cause of death was stomach cancer. He was 88 years old. The funeral has already been held, and a farewell party will be held at a later date.

Umezu-san is known for coining the term “horror manga” in 1961 when he was 25 years old, with his works such as “Nekome no Shoujo” and “Hebi Onna” serialized in “Shukan Shoujo Friend” (Kodansha) in 1966, which became hits, and he was considered the leader of “horror manga”. His reputation was cemented with the serialization of “Drifting Classroom,” which began in 1972 in Weekly Shōnen Sunday (Shogakukan).

In 1976, he moved into gag manga with “Makoto-chan” (“Weekly Shōnen Sunday,” Shogakukan), which began serialization in 1976. The main character Makoto-chan’s line “Gwashi! and her pose became a social phenomenon.

This magazine FRIDAY saw Mr. Umezu in Harajuku, Tokyo, a town for young people, on October 7, 2011. At the time, Joel Zimmerman, the world famous DJ “Deadmouth” from Canada, who was visiting Japan, was opening a pop-up store. Umezu was invited as a guest and took pictures with people who purchased goods, and also demonstrated with Deadmouse using a “Gwashi” shaped object. Outside the store, he was surrounded by fans asking for autographs, and showed his energy by striking a Gwashi pose with them.

In recent years, he has planned collaboration products with young people’s brands, and in 2010, “Kazuo Umezu Grand Art Exhibition” was held at Roppongi Hills, and his popularity has expanded into the field of pop culture, so his sadness has spread not only to manga fans, but also to fashion people and many young people. The sadness has spread not only to manga fans, but also to people in the fashion industry and many young people.

A world where “beauty” and “ugliness” coexist.

Mr. Umezu was not only a manga artist, but also a multi-talented artist who appeared in movies, variety shows, and released an album as a singer, but the first time he appeared in FRIDAY was in June 1993. That year, he created the “Panorama Haunted House” at Korakuen Yuenchi in Tokyo for a limited time, for which he did all the direction, costumes, music, and artwork.

The haunted house features characters such as Dr. Chicken George, a character from the horror manga “14 Years Old” serialized in “Big Comic Spirits” (Shogakukan), and Tamami, the main character from the classic “Akanbo Shoujo” (Shukan Shoujo Friend, Kodansha), both in the flesh. I think it was quite revolutionary in an era when mechanical devices were the norm,” said a writer for an entertainment magazine.

As for the reason for working on this haunted house, Mr. Umezu said, “It has always been a horror house, not a Disneyland,

I have always wanted to create a horror land, not like Disneyland. I created a world where the two extremes of beauty and ugliness coexist. It takes five to seven minutes to watch the whole thing, and by the end, you’ll be saying, ‘Please stop!

He said confidently, “It takes five to seven minutes to watch the whole thing, but I’m sure everyone will say ‘Stop! During the photo shoot, Mr. Umezu showed us the look of fear and trembling that we are familiar with from “Fear Manga” and other works. Even in Izumishita, he must be making even the “ghosts” around him tremble with fear. We pray for his soul rest in peace.