Koyoharu Gotoge

Koyoharu Gotoge
Japanese	吾峠 呼世晴
Romaji	Gotōge Koyoharu
Birthday	May 5, 1989
Nationality	Japanese
Occupation	Manga artist

Koyoharu Gotoge (吾 (ご) 峠 (とうげ) 呼 (こ) 世 (よ) 晴 (はる) , Gotōge Koyoharu^?) is a Japanese mangaka and the author of Kimetsu no Yaiba.

Overview

The author of the series uses a pen name and has chosen to maintain anonymity by not disclosing their gender. To represent themselves in public announcements related to the series, the author uses an avatar of an alligator wearing glasses, which has become their distinctive symbol. While the author, under the pen name Gotoge, has not personally revealed their gender for privacy reasons, it was revealed by a Weekly Shonen Jump employee that the author is a woman. Kohei Ohnishi, an editor at Weekly Shonen Jump, has also said that the writer’s personality shines through the series, in particular in Tanjiro Kamado’s “serious nature, honesty and strong sense of responsibility.”

History

Gotoge was born in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan, on May 5, 1989.

At the age of 24, Gotoge participated in the 70th Jump Treasure Newcomer Manga Awards in 2013 with the work Kagarigari (過 (か) 狩 (が) り狩 (が) り, Kagarigari^?). Kagarigari is a 45-page Demon-Slaying manga.

The next year, 2014, they published their debut in the Jump Next 2014 vol.2 issue, with a 45 page oneshot titled Monju Shiro Kyodai (文殊 (もんじゅ) 史 (しろ) 郎 (う) 兄 (きょう) 弟 (だい) , Monju Shirō Kyōdai^?). Later that year, they created a new 46 page oneshot titled Rokkotsu-san (肋 (ろっ) 骨 (こつ ) さん, Rokkotsu-san^?), published in Weekly Shonen Jump 2014-39 issue. The one-shot was part of Jump's Golden Future Cup as entry #3.

The following year, 2015, Gotoge created a new 47 pages oneshot Haeniwa no Zigzag (蠅 (はえ) 庭 (にわ) のジグザグ, Haeniwa no Jiguzagu^?), published again in Weekly Shonen Jump 2015-21 issue. The story is about Zigzag, who has a mysterious power to remove curses.

In 2016, Gotoge started their first serialization with Kimetsu no Yaiba (鬼 (き) 滅 (めつ) の (の) 刃 (やいば) , Kimetsu no Yaiba^?), in Weekly Shonen Jump 2016-11 issue. Kimetsu no Yaiba is a Demon-slaying manga loosely based on their first work Kagarigari. The series ended at 205 chapters on May 17th 2020 in issue 2020-24. It became a success, with over 150 million copies in circulation (including digital copies) as of February 2021, making it one of the best-selling manga series of all time.

In February 2021, Gotoge commented that their next project will be a science fiction romantic comedy story. In the same month, Gotoge was honored as "Phenoms" in Time's annual list of 100 Most Influential People, becoming the first manga artist to receive the achievement.

Works

• Kagarigari (2013) Weekly Shonen Jump official site (Oneshot)
• Monju Shiro Kyodai (2014) Jump Next 2014 vol.2 Issue (Oneshot)
• Rokkotsu-san (2014) Weekly Shonen Jump 2014-39 Issue (Oneshot)
• Haeniwa no Zigzag (2015) Weekly Shonen Jump 2015-19 Issue (Oneshot)
• Kimetsu no Yaiba (2016) Weekly Shonen Jump 2016-11 Issue - 2020-24 Issue (Series)

Trivia

• Koyoharu Gotoge noted that Kimetsu no Yaiba was inspired by various manga, most notably Gintama, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, Naruto, Bleach. Koyoharu Gotoge also noted that Gintama is the manga they admired and decided to create Kimetsu no Yaiba.

Gallery

Kagarigari (Cover Page).

Monju Shiro Kyodai (Cover Page).

Monju Shiro Kyodai (Promo art).

Rokkotsu-san (Cover Page).

Haeniwa no Zigzag (Cover Page).

Kimetsu no Yaiba (Chapter 1 Cover Page).