"Manga" means "humorous pictures"; "gekiga" was designed as a parallel word meaning "dramatic pictures", reflecting the fact that gekiga was intended for older readers (manga at the time was aimed almost exclusively at pre-teens) and was much more serious than the other Japanese comics of the day. The drawing style and the stories had a stark realism to them and often depicted the struggles of the everyday man in Japan.
Eventually the style and its growing influence among Mangaka lead to Osamu Tezuka writing in the style as well. Many of Tezuka's works near the end of his career are Gekiga or influenced by it such as Phoenix and Adolf. Tezuka embracing the style led to an even stronger boom in the realm of experimental comics, and eventually the boom in adult-oriented anime in the 1980s.
Eventually the influence of gekiga began to fade as Japanese comics became more and more commercialized; mainstream comics for adult readers eventually developed into Seinen. Currently the term refers to modern alternative manga, as well as the 60's and 70's originals.
- Kazuichi Hanawa
- Hosei Hasegawa
- Seiichi Hayashi
- Hiroshi Hirata
- Kei Ichinoseki
- Ryoichi Ikegami
- Seisaku Kano
- Ikki Kajiwara
- Kaiji Kawaguchi
- Noboru Kawasaki
- Kazuo Koike
- Goseki Kojima
- Masahiko Matsumoto
- Takumi Nagayasu
- Kenji Nanba
- Takao Saito
- Shirato Sampei
- Masaaki Sato
- Kyuugou
- Katsumi Shimomoto
- Mitsuyoshi Sonoda
- Jiro Taniguchi
- Yoshihiro Tatsumi
- Buichi Terasawa
- Osamu Tezuka
- Shigeru Tochibori
- Tadao Tsuge
- Yoshiharu Tsuge
- Naoki Urasawa
- Baron Yoshimoto
List of Gekiga works:
- Acid Town
- Crying Freeman
- Goku: Midnight Eye
- Golgo 13
- Kamui Den
- The Legend of Mother Sarah
- Lone Wolf and Cub
- Samurai Executioner
- Sanctuary
- The Silent Service
- Space Adventure Cobra
- Zipang
