Yusuke Murata

Lore & Background

Yusuke Murata was born in 1978 in Kumamoto, Japan, but moved frequently due to his father's job. He often claims Miyagi Prefecture as his hometown after living in Sendai until the 5th grade. At age twelve, he won a contest to design Mega Man villains, with his sketches adapted for Dust Man in Mega Man 4 and Crystal Man in Mega Man 5. He debuted professionally in 1995 with the one-shot Partner in a special edition of Weekly Shōnen Jump, receiving the Hop Step Award. He later won the Akatsuka Award for Samui Hanashi in 1998 and published Kaitō Colt in 2002.

Reader's Guide

Murata's significance lies in his role as the illustrator of two major manga series that achieved both commercial success and anime adaptations. Eyeshield 21, serialized from 2002 to 2009, was a long-running American football manga that spanned 37 volumes. His collaboration with ONE on the One-Punch Man remake, beginning in 2012, became a global phenomenon, with 18 volumes released by December 2018 and an anime adaptation in 2015. Murata's art has been praised for its dynamism, detail, and ability to balance realistic and exaggerated designs. He also contributed character designs for the Majin Bone anime and created several one-shots and short series, including Hetappi Manga Kenkyūjo R and Mangaka Yashoku Benkyuusho. His work on the Weekly Shōnen Jump 40th anniversary posters and variant covers for Marvel comics further demonstrates his influence in both Japanese and international markets.

Did You Know?

• Murata's father died on May 10, 2019, as announced by Yusuke and his brother Kensuke Murata.
• Murata has a son born in 2007 and a daughter born in 2010; he used his daughter's character to illustrate Zenko and his son to illustrate Bateman in One-Punch Man season 2.
• Murata created a one-shot titled Blust! about a boy who obtains extraordinary powers from eating curry.