Tohru Fujisawa

Tohru Fujisawa
Information
Pseudonym(s)	Mari Aizawa
Gender	Male
Place of Birth	Hokkaido, Japan
Date of Birth	January 12, 1967
Age	57
Occupation	Manga Artist
Affiliation	Kodansha
Relationships	Ayano Kanagawa (Spouse) Unnamed Daughter

Tohru Fujisawa (藤沢 とおる Fujisawa Tōru, b. January 12, 1967) is a Japanese manga author. His name is romanized as Tohru Fujisawa on the TOKYOPOP English-language Great Teacher Onizuka books and as Toru Fujisawa on the Kodansha bilingual releases.

His first serialized work was Adesugata Junjo Boy, published from 1989 in Weekly Shōnen Magazine. Fujisawa's best-known work is Great Teacher Onizuka (GTO) about a biker, Eikichi Onizuka, and his attempt to become and remain a teacher. It is a sequel to Shonan Junai Gumi and its side story Bad Company. In 1998, Fujisawa won the Kodansha Manga Award for Great Teacher Onizuka.

Personal Life

Fujisawa was born and raised in Hokkaido and started drawing as a child. Fujisawa originally wanted to be in animation, but decided manga would give him more freedom. He based Shonan Junai Gumi at a seaside location after growing up inland. At the age of 17, he moved to Tokyo by himself to become a manga artist. He wrote science fiction doujinshi and submitted them to publishers. He is a fan of Initial D and was inspired by AKIRA.

Works

• Love You (1989, Magazine Fresh!, Kodansha)
• Pretty Shy Boy (艶姿純情 Boy Adesugata Junjo Boy, 1989, Weekly Shōnen Magazine, Kodansha)
• Shonan Junai Gumi (湘南純愛組!, 1990–1996, Weekly Shōnen Magazine, Kodansha)
• Bad Company (1996, Weekly Shōnen Magazine, Kodansha)
• Great Teacher Onizuka (1997–2002, Weekly Shōnen Magazine, Kodansha)
• Rose Hip Rose (2002–2003, Young Magazine Uppers, Kodansha)
• Tokko (特公, 2003, Monthly Afternoon, Kodansha)
• Wild Baseballers (ワイルドベースボーラーズ, 2003, Weekly Shōnen Magazine, Kodansha. Artwork by Taroh Sekiguchi)
• Secret Combat Troops Momoider (ひみつ戦隊モモイダー Himitsu Sentai Momoider, 2003/2006-2007, Weekly Young Jump, Young Jump Extra Edition Mankaku, Shueisha)
• Rose Hip Zero (2005–2006, Weekly Shōnen Magazine, Kodansha)
• Magnum Rose Hip (2006, Weekly Shōnen Magazine, Kodansha)
• Kamen Teacher (仮面ティーチャー, 2006–2007, Weekly Young Jump, Shueisha)
• Reverend D (REVEREND D レヴェレンドディー, 2006–2007/2008/2009, Monthly Comic REX, Ichijinsha)
• Animal Joe (アニマル JOE, 2006/2008, Big Comic Spirits, Shogakukan)
• Unhappy! (あんハピっ!, 2008, Comic Charge, Kadokawa)
• Alice Who Came from a Distant Star (遠い星から来た ALICE Tooi Hoshi kara Kita ALICE, 2008, Big Comic Spirits, Shogakukan)
• GTO: Shonan 14 Days (2009–2011, Weekly Shōnen Magazine, Kodansha)
• Saikou Densetsu (2009, Monthly Shōnen Champion, Akita Shoten)
• Repoman Soul! (レポマン魂!, 2010, Weekly Young Jump, Shueisha)
• Soul Messenger (ソウルメッセンジャー, 2011, Super Jump, Shueisha. Illustrated by Shou Kitagawa)
• Shibuya Hachiko Mae - Another Side (渋谷ハチ公前 -another side-, 2011–2012, Dengeki Comic Japan, ASCII Media Works. Co-written by Ryo Aoki and illustrated by Akitsugu Mizumoto)
• Soul ReVIVER (ソウルリヴァイヴァー, 2011–2014, HERO'S, Shogakukan. Illustrated by Manabu Akishige)
• Ino-Head Gargoyle (井の頭ガーゴイル, 2012, Weekly Young Magazine, Kodansha)
• GT-R: Great Transporter Ryuji (GT-R ジーティー・アール, 2012, Weekly Shōnen Magazine, Kodansha)
• Dutchoven Girl of Love (愛しの DUTCHOVEN ガール Itoshi no Dutchoven Girl, 2012–2013, Manga Action, Futabasha)
• Black Sweep Sisters (ブラックスイープシスターズ, 2012–2013, Comix REX, Ichijinsha. Illustrated by Takashi Sano.)
• Kamen Teacher BLACK (仮面ティーチャー BLACK, 2013–2014, Weekly Young Jump, Shueisha)
• Tokko Zero (特公 零 TOKKO ZERO, 2013–2016, HERO'S, Shogakukan. Illustrated by Yukai Asada)
• GTO: Paradise Lost (GTO パラダイス・ロスト, 2014–ongoing, Weekly Young Magazine, Kodansha)
• Shonan Seven (SHONAN セブン, 2014–ongoing, Monthly Shōnen Champion, Akita Shoten. Illustrated by Shinsuke Takahashi)
• Delicious Venus (おいしい神しゃま Oishii Kamishama, 2014–2015, Weekly Shōnen Sunday, Shogakukan)
• Eyami no Kami: The Plague Princess (えやみのかみ Eyami no Kami, 2014–2016, Manga Box, DeNA. Illustrated by Hirokazu Ochiai)
• Soul ReVIVER SOUTH (ソウルリヴァイヴァー SOUTH, 2014–2016, HERO'S, Shogakukan)

Note: Compilation and included works are not listed above.

Work Focus

Many of Fujisawa's works are built around the fictional characters Eikichi Onizuka and Ryuji Danma.

The duo first appeared together in the hit series Shonan Junai Gumi as adolescent bōsōzoku members. Later on, Fujisawa drew a one volume prequel entitled Bad Company: telling the tale of how the two met and became friends. A year later, the international hit series Great Teacher Onizuka was published. This series follows Onizuka as he strives to become the greatest teacher in Japan with occasional appearances from Danma and a few other characters from Shonan Junai Gumi.

After the conclusion of Great Teacher Onizuka, the two were left abandoned for seven years until Fujisawa picked up their story again to develop a spin-off: GTO: Shonan 14 Days. A year after the end of GTO: Shonan 14 Days, Fujisawa created the short-lived GT-R: Great Transporter Ryuji, which focuses on the exploits of Danma rather than Onizuka.

Subsequently, in 2014, Fujisawa had his next installation to the series published in the Weekly Young Magazine. This latest installment, entitled GTO: Paradise Lost, focuses on Onizuka's misadventures with Holy Forest Academy's troublesome Class G before his unexplained imprisonment.