Yokoyama, Mitsuteru

▪ 2005

      Japanese manga artist (b. June 18, 1934, Kobe, Japan—d. April 15, 2004, Tokyo, Japan), created the characters Tetsujin 28 (known as Gigantor in the United States) and Giant Robo. Basing his designs on the American bombers that flew over his childhood home, Yokoyama almost single-handedly created the giant robot or “mech” school of manga. His Tetsujin 28 Go series was notable as one of the earliest examples of Japanese animation to be rebroadcast in the U.S. While he was best known for his animated work, Yokoyama's critical masterpiece was his massive 60-volume adaptation of the Chinese classic Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

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