Tsutomu Nihei (弐瓶 勉,Nihei Tsutomu, born February 26, 1971)[2] is a Japanesemanga artist. Nihei has been drawing comics professionally since the mid-1990s. In 1995 he was awarded the Jiro Taniguchi Special Prize in that year'sAfternoon Four Seasons Award for his submission,Blame. After working as an assistant to veteran comic artistTsutomu Takahashi, Nihei went on to launch his debut seriesBlame! inMonthly Afternoon in 1997. Following the success ofBlame!, he next pennedWolverine: Snikt! (published byMarvel Comics) andBiomega. In 2009, Nihei returned toAfternoon to launch what would become his most successful series,Knights of Sidonia.[3] An architectural student, Nihei's early work were mainly wordless, relying on visuals and backgrounds to tell their stories. Hiscyberpunk-influenced artwork has gained a strong cult following worldwide.
Nihei worked in construction but quit to work on becoming a manga artist. He went to New York and studied at theParsons School of Design. His experience in construction and design has shown up in his manga in his depiction of huge structures which are a strong theme in his manga works.[4]
Nihei designed the logo for the record label Lingua Sounda, formed in 2011 by the rock bandBuck-Tick.[9] He was a special guest ofSan Diego Comic-Con in July 2016.[10] He also received anInkpot Award from Comic-Con International, the organization that runs San Diego Comic-Con andWonderCon. Given to creators for “contributions to the worlds of comics, science fiction/fantasy, film, television, animation, and fandom services,” the Inkpot Award is an honor that Nihei now shares with other comics, film, and sci-fi legends such asOsamu Tezuka,Mœbius, andRay Bradbury.[4]
In 2024, Nihei created theFont "Toa heavy industries" in partnership with Iwata Corporation.[11]
Blame! – Nihei's first work, detailing the adventures of Killy as he searches through a massive city for a human with special genes that could save the world. Originally published inMonthly Afternoon, it also gained a 6 episode ONA. Movie released May 19, 2017.
NOiSE – A prequel toBlame!, in which a police officer investigates the murder of a gang. Originally published inAfternoon Season Zōkan.
Abara – Published inUltra Jump,Abara follows Denji Kudou, a man able to transform into a Gauna – a creature with bone-like armor and weaponry.
Biomega – Zouichi Kanoe and the AI in his motorbike set out to find humans resistant to N5S, a virus that turns people into zombie-like "Drones". Originally appeared inYoung Magazine.
Knights of Sidonia – An original story set in the far future about a human colony ship's war against an elusive alien race known as the "Gauna". It was published inMonthly Afternoon and is the first of Nihei's works to be adapted into a TV series. In 2015, Knights of Sidonia won the "General" category of the prestigiousKodansha Manga Award.
Aposimz – Also known asNingyō no Kuni (人形の国, lit. "Country of Dolls"). Set on an artificial planet where people on the surface face harsh conditions such as extreme cold and "Frame Disease," which slowly transforms people into biomechanical creatures, while people in the core live in luxury. It is licensed byKodansha Comics, which releases chapters digitally, and Vertical Comics, which releases print volumes.[12]
Kaina of the Great Snow Sea – A "boy-meets-girl high fantasy" set in a world where land is being swallowed by the encroaching Great Snow Sea. Manga written by Nihei with art by Itoe Takemoto was serialized inKodansha'sshōnen manga magazineMonthly Shōnen Sirius from February 2022 to June 2024, and an anime was released in 2023.[13]
Tower Dungeon – A "hack-and-slash fantasy" series focusing on a necromancer, who has assassinated the king and kidnapped his daughter, taking refuge in the Tower of the Dragon. It began serialization inMonthly Shōnen Sirius in October 2023.[14]
Parcel – A shortone-shot about a man looking for his brother.
Blame – A one-shot prototype forBlame!, collected inNOiSE.
Blame!² – A full color, 16-page one-shot published inKodansha'sMandala vol. 2, following up on the story ofBlame! with one of Pcell's future incarnations.
Blame Academy! – A comedy featuring the characters fromBlame! as students in a school. Published infrequently.
Blame! Fortress of Silicon Creatures - A full color, 14-page one-shot epilogue for the2017 film, it came with its Japanese limited edition Blu-ray set.
Blame! Movie Edition: The Electrofishers' Escape - A one-shot manga adaptation of the2017 film.
Dead Heads – First issue of a cancelled horror manga series; collected, as thumbnails, inBlame! and So On.
Digimortal – A two-part one-shot about a mercenary hired to assassinate a leader of a newInquisition. Originally appeared inUltra Jump, published in vol. 2 of Abara.
Halo: Breaking Quarantine – Set in theHalouniverse, the untold story of Sergeant Avery J. Johnson and his escape from the bowels of Halo and the Flood.
Negative Corridor – A short one-shot, published inNOiSE.
Ningyō no Kuni – A short one-shot set on a frozen planet about an encounter between a young man and a mechanical being, acting as a prologue forAposimz.
Knights of Sidonia: The Fourth Gauna Defense War - One-shot spin-off from Knights of Sidonia.
Knights of Sidonia: Tsumugi, I'm addicted to "Blame!" - A short one-shot included in a 2015 Blu-ray booklet and in Blame Academy! and So On new Japanese edition.
Bitch's Life – An erotic illustrations book, featuring contributions from over twentymanga artists; four of which come from Nihei.
Blame! and So On – Published in 2003,Blame! and So On contains artwork and sketches forBlame!,Noise, andWolverine: Snikt!, amongst others; it also contains the illustrations Nihei provided forBitch's Life and the abortedDead Heads as thumbnails.
Megalomania - (STUDIO VOICE、Published in 2000、INFASパブリケーションズ）Collection of artworks by Tsutomu Nihei depicting large scale megastructures.
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