Paru Itagaki (板垣 巴留,Itagaki Paru, born September 9, 1993) is a Japanesemanga artist. She is best known as the creator of themanga seriesBeastars, for which she has won numerous awards. She is the daughter of manga artistKeisuke Itagaki.
Paru Itagaki began painting in kindergarten, and started drawing manga in the second grade.[3] As a teenager she developed the character Legoshi, ananthropomorphicwolf who would later appear in her manga seriesBeastars.[4] She citesDisney movies and the artistsNicolas de Crécy andEgon Schiele as among her early influences.[4]
She later attendedMusashino Art University, where she studiedfilmmaking.[1] She continued to pursue manga as a hobby while in university, creatingdōjinshi that she would sell atdōjinshi conventions.[5] After being unable to find a job in the film industry, Itagaki submitted herdōjinshi to editors at the publishing companyAkita Shoten, which began publishing her short story collectionBeast Complex inWeekly Shōnen Champion in 2016.[5] That same year,Weekly Shōnen Champion began serializing Itagaki's critically and commercially acclaimed seriesBeastars.[6]
In September 2019, Itagaki's autobiographical manga seriesParuno Graffiti began serialization inKiss.[6] In 2021, Itagaki launched a new manga series, titledSanda, in the 34th issue ofWeekly Shōnen Champion on July 21.[7] In 2024, Sanda concluded its serialization. An anime adaptation is planned for 2025.
In January 2025, Itagaki began serializing a new manga titled Taika no Risei in the 7th issue ofWeekly Shōnen Champion.[8]
Itagaki is highly private about her personal life, and wears a chicken mask to obscure her face at all public appearances.[4] In 2018, Japanese tabloids reported that Itagaki is the daughter ofKeisuke Itagaki, the creator of the manga seriesBaki the Grappler.[4][9] Itagaki confirmed these reports in a joint interview with her father in the September 2019 issue ofWeekly Shonen Champion, stating that she did not wish to disclose her parentage until she was established in the manga industry in order to avoid accusations of nepotism.[9][10]
On September 24, 2023, Itagaki announced that she had gotten married.[11][12]
