浦沢チャンネル -URASAWA CHANNEL-

Naoki Urasawa (浦沢 直樹) () is a Japanese artist, musician and mangaka who is best known for writing one of the most critically acclaimed and bestselling manga of all time, Monster. His other works include Pineapple Army, Master Keaton, Yawara!, Happy!, 20th Century Boys, Pluto, Billy Bat and Asadora!. 
In April 2021 he started a YouTube channel where he could discuss future projects and showcase his drawing process.
== Content ==
His first video was uploaded on April 30, 2021, a self introduction where he discussed his manga and work. This video, and all his future videos, had subtitles so that they were accessible to English speakers. Urasawa would also upload himself drawing and discussing his manga themes.
== Works ==
=== Origins ===
He has been drawing manga since the age of 4. He started by writing one-shot manga, and his first major serialized work was Pineapple Army.https://web.archive.org/web/20070929094941/http://comics.shogakukan.co.jp/mangasho/rist.html Takashi Nagasaki would become his editor.http://www.shinjukuloft.com/galaxy/archive/e/2008/post_143.php A long time fan of Osamu Tezuka, Urasawa would receive the 1999 Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize for Monster.http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2005-05-10/tezuka-award-winner-announced 
=== Themes ===
Most of his manga are psychological horror, mystery and thriller. His bestselling work, Monster, explores themes of crime, mystery and nihilism in particular, via a contrast between its protagonist Kenzo Tenma and antagonist Johan Liebert. Johan Liebert is also considered to be the greatest villain in all of anime and mangahttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XS084czZY4w.
Another recurring theme on his work is condemnations of racism, hatred and Nazis. In Monster, the Nazis drive the conflict for the latter half of the series, with Urasawa choosing the setting of 1980s Germany/Czechoslovakia in order to feature them, and in Billy Bat, he portrays racists as the villains for breaking up the wedding of a mixed race couple. 
His works also condemn authoritarianism and child abuse, with the communist party in Monster being the greater-scope villains of the series due to maltreating childrenhttps://villains.fandom.com/wiki/Franz_Bonaparta. Apart from that, he also explores how love can change and unite people.
=== Reception ===
Monster was a huge success, receiving positive reviews from IGN and contributers of Funimation (where the anime premiered), and won a number of awards. Guillermo del Toro has also expressed a desire to produce it into a live action movie but so far nothing has come out of it.
Most of his other works are bestsellers in Japan and rather obscure in the West, though his work Yawara was popular in Spain, possibly due to being set in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.
==Other projects==
He is a musician, and also the host of documentary Manben, where he explores the daily life of a mangaka and their work.https://web.archive.org/web/20160322233636/http://ajw.asahi.com/article/cool_japan/style/AJ201603190016
== Quotes ==
* "When you’re in the darkness, you only sink deeper into it. Keep the light shining." - Kenzo Tenma, Monster
== Personal Life ==
He was born in Fuchu, Tokyo, Japan. Prior to his success as a mangaka, he had never considered manga creating seriously and graduated university with a degree in economics.https://web.archive.org/web/20200510234120/https://www.crunchyroll.com/anime-feature/2019/02/06-1/interview-all-you-need-is-a-white-piece-of-paper-and-pen-a-conversation-with-monster-and-21st-century-boys-creator-naoki-urasawa
== Further reading ==
* Wikipedia entry
* TV Tropes page
== Trivia ==
* Naoki has a few similarities with the character of Dr. Kenzo Tenma, the protagonist of Monster.
**They both have the same birthday, January 2.
**They both played the guitar in high school.
*Naoki tends to draw his characters with big noses.
*He likes Chainsaw Manhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ze4zNKRu9A8.
==References==
Category:Japanese YouTubers
Category:Anime YouTubers
Category:Art YouTubers
Category:Users who joined in 2021
Category:Book-narrating YouTubers
Category:Educational YouTubers