Line #7 Creator/LeijiMatsumoto


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rsz_latest.png]]
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3	Leiji Matsumoto (January 5, 1938 - February 13, 2023) was one of the great names of anime and manga, primarily for being the principal creator of what is probably one of the earliest [[TheVerse shared continuities]] over several anime series, creating a unified arc commonly referred to as the Anime/{{Leijiverse}}. The characters and settings, combined with a strong reception in the West, meant that his early series were often the primary introduction to anime for Western viewers of the '70s and early '80s.
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5	A little-known fact is that Matsumoto was ''not'' the creator of ''Anime/SpaceBattleshipYamato'', but was brought on to the project by the producer. [[MyRealDaddy However, it is acknowledged that Matsumoto's vision was the primary ingredient for the success of the series.]]
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7	Matsumoto's wife, former manga artist Miyako Maki, has been credited with the creation of both the ''Licca-chan'' doll (the Japanese equivalent of {{Franchise/Barbie}}) and quite the contributions to the {{shojo}} and {{josei}} manga genres. In fact, Matsumoto himself was a notable ''shojo'' artist in his early years, when SpaceOpera, his real passion, sold poorly. Reportedly, they met at a manga magazine. It is sometimes speculated that it was the ''Licca-chan'''s success, which made them financially independent, enabled Matsumoto to pursue his artistic vision largely free from ExecutiveMeddling.
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9	Anime series of note include:
10	[[index]]
11	* ''Anime/SpaceBattleshipYamato'' a.k.a. ''Star Blazers''
12	* ''Manga/GalaxyExpress999''
13	* ''Manga/CaptainHarlock''
14	** ''Anime/ArcadiaOfMyYouth''
15	* ''Anime/TheGalaxyRailways''
16	* ''Manga/QueenEmeraldas''
17	* ''Manga/QueenMillennia'' a.k.a. ''The Queen of a Thousand Years'' which was cut together with ''Captain Harlock'' in the only US release.
18	* ''Anime/PlanetRoboDanguardAce''
19	* ''Anime/{{Ozuma}}''
20	* ''Anime/{{Starzinger}}''
21	* ''Manga/SubmarineSuper99''
22	* ''Theatre/TheBlueBird'' (another collaboration with Yoshinobu Nishizaki; Matsumoto developed the original character designs for the series, which were adapted for animation by Toyoo Ashida)
23	[[/index]]
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25	Accepted an invitation from the French musical group Music/DaftPunk (who are great admirers of his work) to come out of retirement and collaborate on the concept album/anime feature film ''Anime/Interstella5555: The 5tory of The 5ecret 5tar 5ystem''. In addition, on October 23rd 2012 he was honored with [[http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/press-release/2012-10-27/celebrated-manga-author-leiji-matsumoto-honored-with-prestigious-ordre-des-arts-et-des-lettres-at-the-rank-of-knight the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres]]. [[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff The French seem to really love him.]]
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27	Leiji sadly passed away on February 13th 2023 from heart failure at age 85.
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29	----
30	!!Tropes:
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32	* AmazingTechnicolorPopulation: Both ''Yamato'' and ''Interstella'' feature blue-skinned humanoid aliens.
33	* ColbertBump: Since Leiji Matsumoto is relatively unknown in the States outside of ''Anime/Interstella5555'', the hardcover edition of the ''Manga/QueenEmeraldas'' manga not only featured a pull quote on the back cover from Music/DaftPunk, but another pull quote discussing Matsumoto's influence on Daft Punk's work.
34	* {{Gonk}}: At least one character in each of his manga will have a squash/eggplant-shaped head with beady eyes.
35	* OnlySixFaces: His female protagonists (Yuki, Starsha, Maetel, Queen Emeraldas, Stella) sometimes run into this: long, willowy, and often blonde. Definitely AuthorAppeal. Matsumoto himself has stated that the wan, long-haired maidens are all based on a discovered photograph of his grandmother as a young woman, which struck a nerve with him as he was just starting his career.

Context Creator / LeijiMatsumoto