In Memoriam ’24] Kazuo Umezu was also versatile outside of manga… The contents of “Horror Land” created by Kazuo Umezu

In 1995, many famous people sadly passed away. We look back on the activities of the past and remember the deceased, based on the articles and other information we have published in the past.

Not only a cartoonist, but also an actor and musician

On October 28, manga artist Kazuo Umezu passed away at the age of 88. He had been receiving terminal care at a hospice in Tokyo since September.

Mr. Umezu was born in Wakayama Prefecture in 1936. When he was in the fifth grade of elementary school, he read Osamu Tezuka’s “New Treasure Island” at a festival stall and thought , “Oh, I want to be a manga artist too! He thought, “Oh, I want to be a manga artist too!

In his third year of high school in 1955, he made his debut with “Siblings in the Forest,” a collaboration with Takeko Mizutani based on the fairy tale “Hansel and Gretel,” and other works. After moving to Tokyo in 1963, he continued to draw works such as “Hebi Shoujo” (’66-’67), “Nekome Koso” (’68-’76), “Nekome Koso” (’69-’77), and “Nekome Koso” (’70-’81). ～(1968-’76), and “Drifting Classroom” (1972-’74), and his many other popular works led him to be called a leading figure in horror manga. His talent was also demonstrated generously in gag manga, and “Makoto-chan” (’76-’81) became a national hit.

He is also known as a man of many talents. Soon after moving to Tokyo, he joined the theater company Himawari to become an actor while drawing manga during the day. He has also appeared in movies and NHK’s morning dramas. In addition, he was also active in music, writing lyrics and composing music. She brought a demo tape of her own lyrics and compositions to a record company, and made her debut with “Yami no Album” in 1975. In his musical work, he sometimes wrote lyrics for Hiromi Go’s songs. He also actually released “Bichiguso Rock,” which appears in the work “Makoto-chan.

The first three-dimensional version of Mr. Umezu’s character.

Mr. Umezu appeared in this magazine in the July 16, 1993 issue. It was an article introducing the “Panorama Haunted House”, a haunted house at Korakuen Amusement Park in Tokyo, where he did everything from direction, costumes, music, to art. This haunted house featured “flesh and blood” appearances of strong characters such as Chicken George from “14 Years Old,” which was serialized in a comic magazine at the time, and Tamami from the classic “Akanbo Shoujo” of yesteryear. Mr. Umezu had the following to say about his intentions for the production.

I have always wanted to create a “horror land” like Disneyland.
This time, I created a world where “beauty” and “ugliness” coexist, albeit a little small. This is also the first time that a character from one of my cartoons has been sculpted.

He seemed quite satisfied with the outcome of the “Horror Land” project. He was also very confident about the level of horror, saying, “It takes 5 to 7 minutes to watch the whole thing, but I’m sure everyone will be saying, ‘Stop it! When asked to take a picture, he made a face of horror.

After the serialization of “14-Year-Old” ended in 1995, she stopped writing manga works and instead worked mainly as a TV personality for TV and magazines. Despite being a major figure in the manga world, his cheerful and friendly character, who also worked as a reporter, was well-liked by many people.

However, when Umezu’s “I am Shingo” won the Heritage Award at the Angoulême International Manga Festival in France in January 2006, he decided, “Okay, let’s do a new work. In 2010, he published a sequel to the same work, a series of 101 paintings, “ZOKU-SHINGO: Little Robot Shingo Museum”.

Umezu said that he had been planning his next work even in his bed at the hospice. Although he admired Osamu Tezuka, his works, which pioneered a completely different path in the world of manga, will continue to be read in the future.

May he rest in peace.