Masakazu Katsura

(born in Fukui Prefecture, Japan) is a Japanese manga artist known for several works of manga.
==Biography==
Masakazu Katsura was born in the prefecture of Fukui in Japan. The turning point in his life was an illness for which he was bedridden, during which time he taught himself a different way to draw. Katsura entered the manga industry in his second or third year of high school, when he entered a work for the Tezuka Award to win the prize money. However, he says he did not grow up reading manga, instead he read novels and watched movies.
Katsura also performed as a vocalist on the songs "Tomorrow Will Be Tomorrow" and "Unseen Dream" from the two soundtracks for the Video Girl Ai OVA.
In 2008, he collaborated with Akira Toriyama for the Jump SQ one-shot Sachie-chan Guu!!. The two became friends in the early 1980s, having been introduced by their mutual editor Kazuhiko Torishima, and have even parodied each other in their own manga. Toriyama credits Katsura with coming up with the idea to have two characters "fuse" together in Dragon Ball, leading to the Fusion technique.DRAGON BALL 大全集 6: MOVIES & TV SPECIALS, 1995 However, Katsura says this is only a rumor; while he did in fact suggest it to him, he knows that Toriyama was not listening and claims Toriyama later thought it up on his own. They worked together again in 2009, for the three-chapter one-shot Jiya in Weekly Young Jump.
Also in 2008, Katsura did a design illustration of the Batman costume for Bandai's "Movie Realization" action figure line, basing it on the costume used in the film The Dark Knight.
==Works==
===Anime===
*Garo: Crimson Moon - character designs
*Tiger & Bunny - character designs
*The Girl in Twilight - character designs
===Manga===
*Wing-Man (1983–1985)
*Super Mobile Troop Vander (1985–1986)
*Present from Lemon (1987)
*Zetman (4 one-shots from 1989 to 1994, serialized 2002–2014)
*Video Girl (one-shot in 1989, serialized 1990–1993)
*Shadow Lady (1992–1993, 1995–1996)
*DNA² (1993–1994)
*M (1996)
*I"s (1997–1999)
*Dr Chambalee (2000)
*Sachie-chan Guu!! (story by Akira Toriyama, 2008)
*Jiya (story by Akira Toriyama, 2009–2010)
===OVAs===
*Iria: Zeiram the Animation - character designs
;Other works
*Bitch's Life (3 pages, 2001)
===Video Games===
*Astral Chain - character design
*Love & Destroy - character design
==References==
==External links==
*Official website
*Masakazu KATSURA - Anime News Network
==Site Navigation==
Category:Real people
Category:Manga Artists