person

Kazuo Umezz

Personal Info

Known For

Writing

Gender

Male

Birthday

1936-09-03

Place of Birth

Kōya, Wakayama Prefecture, Japan

Kazuo Umezz

Biography

Kazuo Umezu or Kazuo Umezz (楳図 かずお, Umezu Kazuo, birth name 楳図一雄; born September 3, 1936) is a Japanese manga artist, musician and actor. Starting his career in the 1950s, he is among the most famous artists of horror manga and has been vital for its development, considered the "god of horror manga". In 1960s shōjo manga like Reptilia, he broke the industry's conventions by combining the aesthetics of the commercial manga industry with gruesome visual imagery inspired by Japanese folktales, which created a boom of horror manga and influenced manga artists of following generations. He created successful manga series such as The Drifting Classroom, Makoto-chan and My Name Is Shingo, until he retired from drawing manga in the mid 1990s. He is also a public figure in Japan, known for wearing red-and-white-striped shirts and doing his signature "Gwash" hand gesture.

Also Known For

poster

68

Gu Gu, the Cat

Sep 06, 2008

poster

NA

Kaidan. Strange Stories of Japanese Ghosts

Oct 12, 2023

poster

NA

Gozamareji

Apr 26, 2003

poster

54

Monster Heaven: Ghost Hero

Jul 28, 1990

poster

NA

Monster Heaven

Sep 21, 1986

poster

65

Yaji & Kita: The Midnight Pilgrims

Apr 02, 2005

poster

NA

Kazuo Umezu's Terror Zone: Horror!

Jan 01, 1993

poster

80

Makoto-chan

Jul 26, 1980

poster

73

Hoodlum Soldier

Mar 18, 1965

poster

40

God's Left Hand, Devil's Right Hand

Jun 22, 2006

poster

59

Why Horror?

Oct 03, 2014

poster

54

Tokyo Zombie

Dec 10, 2005

poster

68

The Snake Girl and the Silver-Haired Witch

Dec 14, 1968

poster

50

The Drifting Classroom

Jul 11, 1987

poster

80

吉祥寺だけが住みたい街ですか?

Oct 15, 2016

poster

93

Gaki no Tsukai No Laughing Batsu Game

Jul 27, 2003