Tite Kubo
| Tite Kubo | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born | June 26 1977 |
| Nationality | Japanese |
| Known for | Bleach |
| Occupation | Manga artist |
Noriaki Kubo (久保 宣章 Kubo Noriaki?), born June 26, 1977, is a mangaka who writes under the pen name Tite Kubo (久保 帯人 Kubo Taito?) He is best known as the author and artist of the popular series Bleach.
Biography
The son of a town council member in Fuchu, Aki District, Hiroshima, Kubo graduated from the local high school. Not long afterward his first manga short, "Ultra Unholy Hearted Machine," was published in Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump Special in 1996. This was followed by two more shorts, and in 1999 his first serial, Zombie Powder, began in Weekly Shonen Jump and ran for four volumes until 2000. His next serial, Bleach, about a high school student who becomes a shinigami and fights evil spirits, began running in the same magazine in 2001. As of October 14, 2007, Bleach has reached 295 chapters, and an anime based on it began running in Japan in 2004. The manga was named a winner of the Shogakukan Manga Award for its category in 2005, and a Bleach movie was released in Japan on December 16, 2006, with the second movie slated for theatrical release on December 22, 2007.
Zombie Powder
Kubo began working on Zombie Powder while in high school. At the time, the story was radically different: it was called Samurai Drive, and the only thing that was the same as the later version was Gamma Akutabi. This incarnation was modelled after a Japanese samurai, and rather than a chainsaw, Gamma used a motorized sword that acted similarly to a dildo. In a chapter break of Zombie Powder, vol. 1, Kubo jokingly called it a "Very perverted weapon." In addition, there were no Rings of the Dead at this stage. He submitted his story in the hopes of being published, but it didn't pass. An editor met with Kubo and suggested that they tweak the story together. The end result was published as Zombie Powder in 1999. Unfortunately, due to low readership, the story was cancelled after less than a year.
Bleach
The cancellation of Zombie Powder was a severe blow to Kubo, but he soon went to work on another manga known as Bleach. Although the manga did well with a test audience, the story was rejected, as the editors said it was too similar to the popular manga YuYu Hakusho. Kubo became depressed, but luckily, Akira Toriyama, the creator of the famed manga Dragon Ball, happened to read the manga and liked it. He wrote Kubo a letter of encouragement and urged him not to give up on his work. This gave Kubo the inspiration he needed, and he continued to push for his manga until it was finally published in 2001. His determination paid off as Bleach soon became a smash hit that is still in publication today.
Works
Short stories
- "Ultra Unholy Hearted Machine" (1996, Weekly Shonen Jump Special. Appears in volume 2 of Zombie Powder.)
- "Rune Master Urara" (刻魔師 麗 Kizaakumashi Urara?) (1996, Weekly Shonen Jump. Appears in volume 3 of Zombie Powder.)
- "Bad Shield United" (1997, Weekly Shonen Jump. Appears in volume 4 of Zombie Powder. Also makes a cameo in Bleach as the movie "Bad Shield United 2".)
Serials
Both manga are licensed in North America by VIZ Media.
- Zombie Powder (1999–2000, Weekly Shonen Jump, Shueisha. Collected in four volumes in 2000 and discontinued.)
- Bleach (2001—, Weekly Shonen Jump, Shueisha. Collected in 29+ volumes.)
Artbooks
References
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