Yuzo Takada

Bio

Yuzo Takada was born on March 21, 1963 in Tokyo. The first appearance of his work was in November of 1983 in the Biweekly Young Magazine. The piece was called Shuushoku Beginner. From December 1983 to February 1985 he ran his first series, Tokonatsu Bank, in Young Magazine).

His earlier works were pornographic, but what Takada really wanted to do was an adventure story about the supernatural. Takada drew several titles, including Tour Conductor, Nikumori, and finally created his first supernatural manga, the popular 3x3 Eyes. Yuzo Takada is also well-known for creating All Purpose Cultural Cat Girl Nuku Nuku, Genzou Hitogata Kiwa, and of course, Blue Seed.

Works

Shuushoku Beginner
Published in Kodansha's Young Magazine
December 5, 1983

Tokonatsu Bank
(Endless Summer Bank)
Manga, published in Kodansha's Young Magazine
January 2, 1984 - February 18, 1985
Comments: Mr. Takada has said that Pai (3x3 Eyes) evolved from the character Pink in this manga.

Hatamoto-Taikutsu Otoko
?????

Tour Conductor, Nikumori
Manga, published Kodansha's Young Magazine
March 3, 1985 - September 1, 1986
Comments: It was about this time that Takada says he was getting fed up with drawing hentai and wanted to draw action manga, which is why Nikumori began to evolve to a more action-oriented manga (to the displeasure of his editor, I'm sure).

Sportion KIDs
November 17, 1986 - November 2, 1987

Every Day is Sunday
Manga, published in Futaba's Comic Action Character
November 13, 1987 - February 10, 1989
Other mediums: An OAV series.
Plot: A police-women-from-hell story.
Comments: Sunday came out before You're Under Arrest, though the former is more popular (I've never seen either, but my understanding is that Every Day is Sunday is a lot like a diet version of You're Under Arrest).

3x3 Eyes
(Sazan Eyes)
Manga in Kodansha's Young Magazine Pirate Edition and Young Magazine
December 14, 1987 - April 10, 1989; April 24, 1989 - present
Other Mediums: A 3 episode OAV and a 4 episode OAV, as well as respective anime comics
Plot: A supernatural manga about a cycloptic girl named Pai.
Comments: 3x3 Eyes has some very beautiful artwork, especially in AiEN KiEN. The OAVs are much darker than Blue Seed and some scenes were surprisingly visceral/grisly. Takada is unflinching when it comes to the ugliness of the supernatural.

Toritsuki-kun
February 1989 - March 1991
Comments: A mah-jong manga.

Bannou Bunka Neko Musume
(The All-Purpose Cultural Cat Girl Nuku Nuku)
Manga
1990
Other Mediums: A 12 episode TV anime (1997) and a 6 episode OAV
Plot: A cat is put in the body of an android in order to protect a young man.

Blue Seed
Manga, serialized in Bamboo Comics
1992 - 1995
Other Mediums: A 26 episode TV anime (10/1994 - 03/1995), 5 anime film comics, and a 3 episode OAV sequel.
Plot: Incorporates the Kushinada Legend in modern Japan. A young girl named Momiji is from the ancient Kushinada bloodline and she must save Japan from monsters that have awoken from their slumber and seek to destroy humanity.
Comments: Kusanagi!

Genzou Hitogata Kiwa
(Genzou's Puppet Tales)
Manga, serialized in Afternoon
1996 - present

Shin Bannou Bunka Neko Musume
(The New All-Purpose Cultural Cat Girl Nuku Nuku)
Manga, 1 vol
1997 - 1998
Other Mediums: A 2 episode OAV

Other:
An interview in Animerica, Vol. 3, No. 10

Artbooks

AiEN KiEN
Dust jacket, 102 pages, bilingual (Japanese and English), published in 1993
Includes: 3x3 Eyes, Tour Conductor, Every Day is Sunday, Tokonatsu Bank, and a myriad of CD covers from Gundam Wing, etc.
Comments: A great book, dedicated largely to 3x3 Eyes. The fact that the entire book is bilingual is a nice touch.

Just Breed
Information provided by Garry
Hardcover with dust jacket, 58 full color pages, published by Futabasha in 1993
Includes: Original fantasy illustrations
- Characters - Philis, Rolland, Orlof, Hans, Dubal, Lydia.
- Creatures - Mush-Eye, Crawler, Pyong, Bird-Reiner, Death-Cargo, Garp, Python, Amperer and more.
Comments: This book is a collection of illustrations for what seems to be a fantasy concept along the lines of 3x3 Eyes. It does not, however, include anything from 3x3 Eyes, Nuku Nuku or Blue Seed. An interesting book, but may not interest fans who want to see pictures from Takada's manga series. Pictures in the book do not show up in either Aien Kien or Last Order.

The Artworks of Yuzo Takada: "The Last Order" Collection
Two book collection featuring works from 1989 - 1999
First book - hard cover, 94 pages; Second book - poster book, 32 pages
Includes: 3x3 Eyes, Nuku Nuku, Blue Seed, Genzo Hitogata Kiwa, Toritsuki-Kun
Comments: A beautiful artbook and poster book, both with a very classy protective sheath. The colors are very vibrant for both books and the posters are removed easily with no preforation marks whatsoever. Like the previous artbooks, this one favors 3x3 Eyes. The price is a bit steep, even if you get a good deal, but "The Last Order" makes up for it in presentation alone. My only real regret is that, unlike AiEN KiEN, neither the timeline nor the comments sections are in English.