Fujio Akatsuka (赤塚 不二夫, 1935-2008) was a Japanese mangaka. Originally taking up work as a Shoujo writer, Akatsuka would later branch off into gag manga in the late 50s, starting off with his very first: Nama-chan. Since then, his surreal characters and offbeat brand of comedy would get him pegged as the "King of Gag Manga". That's not to say he lost his touch with his old profession: one of his most famous works, Himitsu no Akko-chan, was well known for its popularity among girls, influencing future magical series to come.
Outside of his home country, though, his popularity is a bit spotty. Aside from the recognition Akko-chan got in magical girl circles, Spain has familiarity with Tensai Bakabon and Osomatsu-kun due to their respective 80's adaptations being packaged together. Nevertheless, his catchphrases and character tics can still be found in many series that crossed the Pacific.
His legacy lives on through the Akatsuka Award
, a prestigious prize on par with that of the God of Manga himself celebrating excellence in comedy and gag manga.
Works with their own pages:
Tropes associated with Akatsuka:
- The Alcoholic: Noted to be a frequent drinker, which he often made fun of though his Author Avatar.
- Breakout Character: His most famous manga had a habit of introducing characters that overtook the leads: Iyami (Osomatsu), Papa (Bakabon), and Nyarome and Boss Kokoro (Ataro) are the standout examples. The only work this trope was averted for is Akko-chan.
- Caught with Your Pants Down: Happens frequently in his later and more adult-oriented works. Sometimes it’s taken a bit farther than just being caught...
- Magical Girl: Akko-chan was the Trope Maker in the mangasphere (though Sally the Witch would beat it to the punch in the animated scene).
- Reused Character Design: Though he was known for his Cast of Snowflakes habits, he did have a few shared designs floating around. Compare Osomatsu-kun's Totoko to the titular character of Himitsu no Akko-chan, for example, and you'd find that while the designs are similar, the characters are vastly different. Even designs for his most recognizable characters started from a beta design, and sometimes characters with the same design existed at the same time in two separate manga! (i.e., Chibita from Osomatsu-kun, with his beta design of Kantaro from Nama-chan, and his design running in Kantaro’s self-titled spinoff manga; which was later repackaged as Chibita-kun with all mentions of Kantaro erased for the more popular character.)
- Series Mascot: Just as Atom is to Osamu Tezuka and Doraemon is to Fujiko Fujio, Bakabon's Papa serves as the face of Akatsuka.
- Shared Universe: Most, if not all of Akatsuka's works take place in Akatsuka Ward, Chiba Prefecture, and many of his characters find cameos in other series he wrote.
