Akira Toriyama is the manga artist best known as the creator of Dr. Slump and the Dragon Ball franchise. There are many appealing things about his manga. If you enjoy comedy or action, there is an Akira piece for you. Niche things like shout-outs to Disney films or American comic book characters prove his works have a little something for everyone.
While having the ability to be niche and modern, his manga is also known for being transitional. One series could start as a comedy, complete with talking animals, and then turn into a serious action series. Or the manga could lead you to believe that one character is the protagonist and then a completely different character could end up the star of the show. After all, Dr. Slump doesn't refer to Arale. Fans of his work can easily find other mangaka in the shonen genre with works similar to Toriyama's.
10 Yoshihiro Togashi: He Is The Creator Of Yusuke Urameshi
Yoshihiro Togashi is a manga artist with two famous shonen works under his belt: Yu Yu Hakusho and Hunter x Hunter. In particular, Yu Yu Hakusho is often stylistically compared to the Dragon Ball manga, originally starting out as a comedy before becoming a more serious, supernatural action series.
In the world of popular culture, he is part of an anime and manga power couple: he is married to Naoko Takeuchi, the manga artist who created Sailor Moon. For a short time, Takeuchi even helped Togashi work on Hunter x Hunter.
9 Masami Kurumada: He Is Known For His Masculine Characters
Masami Kurumada is a manga artist probably best known for Saint Seiya, which revolves around mystical knights who derive their powers from constellations.
Other manga titles he's worked on include Ring ni Kakero, Fūma no Kojirō, and B't X. In addition to this, he's also known as the founder of the Kurumada Productions manga studio. In general, he's heavily known for creating classically masculine heroes and he is credited with being a strong influence on other shonen writers. In addition to his work in manga, he's also written songs for the anime adaptations of his works.
8 Jyoji Morikawa: This Mangaka Owns His Own Gym
Also known by the alias, George Morikawa, this manga artist is best known for the long-running boxing manga Hajime no Ippo. He knows his sports since, in addition to his manga work, he's also known to own a sports gym in Tokyo.
Hajime no Ippo, which currently already has 127 tankōbon volumes, has also been adapted into at least three different anime series. Some other titles he's worked on include Kazuya Now and Signal Blue.
7 One: His Alias Tells You Which Manga He's Known For
Also stylized as ONE, this manga artist is best known for his web manga, which includes the original incarnation of the superhero series, One Punch Man. Another well-known manga of his is Mob Psycho 100, as well as the titles Angry Warrior and Monster of Earth.
Proving the powerful presence of web manga, his website has logged over 70 million total visits, with hundreds of thousands in a day, in addition to his works appearing in online versions of Weekly Shonen Sunday.
6 Yusuke Murata: He Worked On Superhero And American Football Manga
Yusuke Murata is a manga artist known for his work as an illustrator for the digital manga edition of One Punch Man. He is also known for his own titles, such as the American football manga Eyeshield 21, which was a collaboration with Riichiro Inagaki.
Murata showed promise at a young age; while just a kid, he entered a contest to design a villain for the Mega Man games, and won twice, creating Dust Man and Crystal Man. He's also lent his touch to Marvel, creating variant manga covers for various titles of the Spider-Man series.
5 Tite Kubo: He Is A Famous Horror & Fantasy Mangaka
Tite Kubo is a manga artist best known for his work on Bleach, Zombiepowder, and Burn the Witch, making him a prolific artist in the horror and supernatural manga genres.
In addition to the anime adaptations of his works, he's also known for his work as a character designer for various anime, such as Sakura no Mori no Mankai no Shita, The Spider's Thread, and Hell Screen, each a part of the Aoi Bungaku series. He also worked as a character designer for the Sakura Wars video game.
4 Eiichiro Oda: He Wrote One Of the Most Successful Manga Of All Time
Eiichiro Oda is the manga artist best known for his work on One Piece, one of the best-selling manga works of all time, with hundreds of millions of copies of the manga in circulation worldwide.
Some of his earlier works include Wanted!, Monsters, and Romance Dawn. In addition to this, he's worked as a character and costume designer and executive producer on the film adaptations of One Piece. He even voiced a character, Odacchi, for the One Piece: Dream Soccer King! special, which has not seen release outside of Japan.
3 Yūsei Matsui: His Manga's Even Got Live-Action Works
Yūsei Matsui is a manga artist best known for his work on Neuro: Supernatural Detective and Assassination Classroom, both of which inspired anime adaptations, with the latter also having live-action incarnations.
Other titles he's worked on include Rikon Choutei, Tokyo Depato Sensou Taikenki, and The Elusive Samurai. He also voiced a manga artist during an episode of the anime adaptation of Neuro.
2 Yoshio Sawai: This Comedy Manga Is Known For His Character's Afro
Yoshio Sawai is a comedy manga artist best known for Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo and its sequel series Shinsetsu Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo. Interestingly enough, the work might have started through a parody of Fist of the North Star. He's also developed a spin-off manga revolving around the character of Don Patch.
Other titles he's worked on include Mutekiman and Black Owl. Yūsei Matsui, as mentioned above, also got his start working as an assistant for Sawai.
1 Kōhei Horikoshi: He Is The Master Of Superhero Manga
Kōhei Horikoshi is a manga artist best known for his work on My Hero Academia, combining a love of Western comics and Japanese manga, and which has origins in the My Hero one-shot manga.
Other manga he has worked on Ōmagadoki Dōbutsuen and Barrage. In addition to his work in manga, he served as a director for the My Hero Academia: Rescue! Rescue Training! OVA.