Satoru Noda (artist)


Satoru Noda is the pen name of Satoshi Noda, a Japanese manga artist. He is best known as the creator of the manga series Golden Kamuy, for which he won the 2016 Manga Taishō and the Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize.

Biography

Noda was born in Kitahiroshima, Hokkaido, Japan. His great-grandfather was a military settler in Hokkaido and veteran of the Russo-Japanese War; Noda named the protagonist of his manga series Golden Kamuy after him. After moving to Tokyo at the age of 23, he entered the manga industry as an artist assistant. Noda was an assistant to Mitsurou Kubo for two years, and later worked under. He made his debut as a manga artist in 2003, with the one-shot Today, Kyoko's Misfortune published in . His second one-shot story, 2006's The Goalie Only Looks in Front, won a in the Young Artist division. After working as an artist assistant for nearly a decade, Noda made his serialized manga debut in 2011 with Supinamarada!, serialized in Weekly Young Jump. After Supinamarada! was a commercial failure, Noda took a year before developing his next series, 2014's Golden Kamuy. The series would become a widespread critical and commercial success, and won the Manga Taishō in 2016.
Little is known about Noda's personal life. Though he maintains an online presence and is interviewed by the press about his work, he does not make public appearances; upon winning the Manga Taishō in 2016, the award was accepted by his editor, with Noda delivering an audio-only acceptance speech.

Style

Noda draws using digital illustration exclusively. While Noda is noted for conducting in-depth research on subject material that appears in his manga, he has stated that he is not interested in maintaining strict historical accuracy in his work, citing historically inaccurate elements in Golden Kamuy such as skiing and certain firearms that were added for dramatic effect.
Noda cites Keiji, Kinnikuman, and as among his influences. Hallmarks of his work include visual references to pop culture, and narratives that juxtapose gag comedy against violent or dramatic moments. Handsome and muscular men are a recurring element of Noda's work; he has voiced his distaste for bishōnen-styled manga, and has stated that he "draw without compromise the beautiful bodies of men."

Works

Serials

! scope="row" | 2006
! scope="row" | 2016
! scope="row" | 2016
! scope="row" | 2016
! scope="row" | 2017
! scope="row" | 2018
! scope="row" | 2018