(Practical jokes) Tsukasa Hojo - Cat Eye and City Hunter Manga Creator

February 2nd, 2010 admin Posted in comedy |

By Dani Brown

Tsukasa Hojo was born March 5, 1959 in Kitakyushu, Japan. He’s famous for Cat’s Eye, City Hunter and Angel Heart. He began drawing manga as a technical design student at the Kyushu Sangyo University. After short stories he released manga series:

* Cat’s Eye (Weekly Shonen Jump, 1981-1985)

* Nicky Larson (City Hunter) (Weekly Shonen Jump, 1985-1992)

* Gift from an Angel (Weekly Shonen Jump, Fresh Jump, 1988)

* Parrot (Weekly Shonen Jump, 1988)

* Sakura no Hanasaki kukoro (Weekly Shonen Jump, 1993)

* Komorebi no a de (aka Under the Dapple Shade; Weekly Shonen Jump, 1993-1994)

* Rash!! (Weekly Shonen Jump,1994-1995)

* Shounentachi no Ita Natsu (Shuueisha, 1995)

* Family Compo (Manga Allman, 1996-2000)

* Angel Heart (Weekly Comic Bunch, 2001-current)

Hojo’s manga features excellent humor and always adventurous plots. Apart from a mangaka, he’s a character designer for the Fist of the North Star anime created by his friend, Tetsuo Hara. For the 2006 movie he designed Reina’s character and co-worked on its 2008 series movie. He also taught Takehiko Inoue who assisted him in releasing City Hunter. Inoue’s best works include Buzzer Beater, Chameleon Jail and Slam Dunk.

Hojo’s 1st big manga Cat’s Eye, was released 1981 to 1985 in 18 volumes. Looking for their lost father, once a prominent artist, 3 sisters steal his public pictures to let him know. “Cat’s Eye” is their gang and coffee shop. This case’s investigator, Toshio, falls in love and even engages to the middle sister, Hitomi… The story proceeded into the same 73-scene anime series.

Next came City Hunter manga, Hojo’s biggest manga with 35 volumes. Released 1985 to 1992, it underlay several anime seasons (100+ series), short movies and a 1993 movie with Jackie Chan as Ryo Saeba. Saeba is a Tokyo “sanitarian” ridding the city of the rabble and helping out the desperate. His only minus is male hormones sometimes turning him into a fool near ladies. However his friends try keeping him in hand.

1988 released a 1-volume story collection, Gift from an Angel. In 1 story a constantly quarrelling couple realizes their love only seeing their daughter. The book also contains 2 early City Hunter scenes.

That year saw another 1-volume collection, Parrot, co-created by Nagata Futoshi and Mayuko Nishiyama for CG. Unlike a typical black-and-white manga, it was colorful. The lead story is 9 scenes about Parrot, a cute voice imitator.

After completing City Hunter in 1993, Hojo released a 1-volume collection, Sakura no Hanasaki Kukoro, of 4 stories.

1. Family Plot

After amnesia Hideyuki, a photographer, digs for the memories of his son and beloved.

2. Sakura no Hanasaki Kukoro

A prequel to Komorebi no Moto de…

3. Taxi Driver

A night taxi is run by a vampire thirsty for easy victims. A girl asking for his help suddenly changes the scene…

4. Shoujo no Kisetsu - Summer Dream

Misako has a childish aquaphobia torturing her in dreams that bring her to a weird imaginary place….

1993-1994 released a 3-volume manga, Under the Dapple Shade (Komorebi no Moto de…). Tatsuya Kitazaki wants to cut down a tree falling from which paralyzed his sister. But stopped by a strange girl, Sara Nishikujo, appearing to speak with plants, he hears the tree’s surprising version of the accident.

Rash!! is a 2-volume comedy manga released in 1994. Pretty Yuki takes over as a jail nurse causing troubles and chaos around, including detective Tatsumi, a childhood friend and neighbor.

1995 saw another collection, Melody of Jenny (Shounentachi no Ita Natsu), about personal WWII tragedies.

1996 launched a new big manga, Family Compo, finished in 2000 with 14 volumes. Prior to a university, Yanagiba Masahiko loses his dad in a car crash. And that after his mother’s death at 4! But he was lonesome even before as his father was either busy or far away. Yanagiba’s uncle adopt him to his family which however hides a terrible secret why the parents had stayed away from their relatives. The truth also concerns his cousin’s past…

Manga Angel Heart is Hojo’s latest and not finished yet manga. Released in 2001, it has 30 volumes published so far. Its plot develops in the City Hunter universe. The heroine, a Taiwanese assassin girl aka “Glass Heart”, committed suicide but incredibly resurrected through heart transplantation. Her recovery dreams bring her to Japan in search for her donor appearing the City Hunter’s ex-affiliate. The manga’s 1st 18 volumes based an anime series since 2005.

Dani is a huge lover of manga. He suggests visiting the website AnyManga.com to read mangas online.

Movie Reviews Sherman’s Way

By Mr D Stevens

This is a well made comedy drama for a journey of self discovery, focusing on a law student Sherman Black played by Michael Shulman who discovers a little about himself and life from a road trip with a two-time Olympian, Palmer played by James LeGros (Ally McBeal).

We meet Sherman with his girlfriend Marcy played by the lovely Lacey Chabert (she has grown quite a lot since the amazing child actress in Party of Five). Marcy has issues with Sherman for not taking charge and making his own decisions, it turns out every aspect of his life is being controlled by his powerful mother Evelyn, played by Donna Murphy (she still looks as ageless as she did with Patrick Stewart in Star Trek: Insurrection), she controls which law firm he chooses to do his internship, and is against him spending the summer with Marcy.

Sherman decides to go against the grain and prove to Marcy that he can make decisions for himself, and attempts to ignore his mother’s wishes by spending the summer with Marcy, without letting her know, he intends to just turn up at her door step, in the process he happens to bump into another fellow who helps him with his luggage, on both of them reaching Marcy’s front door, he is a little surprised to see Marcy kissing the guy, she eventually notices him and while he walks away in a rage, she follows him, but instead of apologising she says “this is what it seems” and tells him she is just trying to explore the different options life has in store for her.

In his anger Sherman decides to go back to the law internship his mother had arranged for him, and hails a driver to give him a lift, and Palmer arrives, fresh from an unfortunate performance at a car dealership, which he left with a classic vehicle nicknamed “The Rooster”, it turns out Palmer is estranged from his son, and would like to give him “The Rooster” as a graduation present, except his son graduated three years ago. After a short stop at a dinner, Sherman unfortunately finds out he has lost his wallet getting into Palmer’s car, and has no option but to phone his mother for financial assistance, however he takes this opportunity to stand his ground against her demands, and stays with Palmer to prove a point to himself that he can make his own decisions.

The two unlucky individuals find themselves paired together at the home of Palmer’s friend D.J., played by Enrico Colantoni (A.I.), and although they seem to be polar opposites; with Sherman intent on keeping a schedule, while Palmer on the other hand would rather take life as it comes, they end up learning from each other. While Palmer’s Rooster is being fixed Sherman does some shopping around the town for his supplies, and bumps into the lovely and odd Addy, played by Brooke Nevin (The 4400), they become friendly and Sherman asks her on a date, unfortunately he cannot drive, neither can he swim, and ends up having Palmer drive both of them around, where they end up in a lake, in a very comical scene.

It is a lovely romantic movie, many will enjoy.

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