Shotaro Ishinomori (石ノ森 章太郎, Ishinomori Shōtarō^?, January 25, 1938 – January 28, 1998) was a legendary manga artist of the 20th Century and better known as the founding father of Super Sentai. He was born and named Shotaro Onodera (小野寺 章太郎, Onodera Shōtarō^?) in Tome, Miyagi, and was also known as Shotaro Ishimori (石森 章太郎, Ishimori Shōtarō^?) before 1986, when he changed his family name to Ishinomori with "ノ".

He was one of the pioneers of manga when it first started to spawn big in Japan. His earliest manga was called "Nikyu Tenshi" in 1954. Mentored under the God of Manga, Tezuka Osamu, whom today still out ranks Ishinomori as top manga artist of all time. In 1971, his manga Kamen Rider was syndicated on TV as a TV series, which ended up as a huge success and spawned into a large franchise. A few years later, Ishinomori became co-creator of Gorenger and J.A.K.Q. . Both series would later become known as the marking point of the Super Sentai franchise.

Shotaro Ishinomori continued to publish manga until he passed away from heart failure in 1998. Even though he is gone, today people still appreciate his works. His company Ishinomori Productions continues in making anime based off of his works, while Kamen Rider & Super Sentai continue on to this day.

Death

Ishinomori died of heart failure on January 28, 1998. His final work was the tokusatsu superhero TV series, Voicelugger, televised months later. A manga museum named in his honor opened in Ishinomaki, Miyagi in 2001.

His work posthumously awarded him the Guinness World Record for most comics published by one author, totaling over 128,000 pages.

Notes

• He invented the term word "Henshin" (変身), which describes a being transforming.
• He gained the Guiness World Record for "Most comics published by one author".
• Both him and his friend Tezuka Osamu (of Astro Boy fame) passed away at age 60.

External links

• Shotaro Ishinomori at Wikipedia
• Shotaro Ishinomori at the Kamen Rider Wiki
• Ishimori Production Inc. - Official website (Japanese)
• Ishimori Production Inc. - Official website
• Ishimori Production Inc. - Official website (France)
• Mangattan Museum website (Japanese)
• Shotaro Ishinomori Complete Comic Works (Japanese)
• Shotaro Ishinomori Memorial Museum - Official website (Japanese)
• Entry in the Encyclopedia of Science Fiction