Crayon Shinchan is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Yoshito Usui.
Yoshito Usui (臼井 儀人, Usui Yoshito, April 21, 1958 – September 11, 2009) was a Japanese manga artist known for the popular Crayon Shinchan series. He was born in Shizuoka City, Japan.
Personal Life
In 1977, he graduated from Saitama Kasukabe technical high school. After graduating he attended a part-time design-related college but dropped out. In 1979, he joined an advertising company called POP Advertising. He made his debut as a cartoonist in 1987 when Weekly Manga Action began running his Darakuya Store Monogatari.
In August 1990, his series Crayon Shinchan began running in Weekly Manga Action, the series started as a spin-off of the character Shinnosuke Nikaido of Darakuya Store Monogatari. An animated series based on the comics began in 1992, and a Crayon Shinchan boom followed the release of a 1993 animated film. For a year beginning in 1995, Usui’s Super Shufu Tsukimi-San comic strip ran in the magazine Manga Life.
Usui was a devotee of Jehovah’s Witnesses who had a church facility constructed adjacent to his home in 1994. He was known in the industry to read out the New Testament for a full 20 minutes at each meeting with his publisher and handing them out copies of the Bible as a gift.
He and his wife raised two daughters; both had moved out of the house at the time of Usui’s death.
Leagacy
ONE, the creator of One Punch Man and Mob Psycho 100, has said that Crayon Shinchan by Yoshito Usui inspired him to become a manga artist. He admired Usui’s mix of humor, creativity, and relatability, which encouraged him to pursue manga. This influence can be seen in ONE’s own work, where he blends humor with deeper themes.
Work
- May 1987 – Darakuya Store Monogatari
- 1990 – Office Lady Gumi
- 1990 – Crayon Shin-chan
- 1992 – Unbalance Zone
- 1992 – Super Shufu Tsukimi-san
- 1992 – Scramble Egg
- 1992 – Kabushiki-gaisha Kurubushi Sangyō 24-ji
- 1993 – Usui Yoshito no Motto: Hiraki Naotchau zo!
- 1993 – Hiraki Naotchau zo!
- 1993 – Super Mix
- 1993 – Mix Connection
- 1994 – Usui Yoshito no Buchikama Theater
- 1998 – Atashira Haken Queen
- 2000 – Usui Yoshito Connection
- 2002 – Shiwayose Haken Gaisha
