Exhibition: Tribute to Buichi Terasawa
In tribute to the famous mangaka Buichi Terasawa, who passed away on September 8, 2023, Japan Expo Marseille is organizing an exhibition dedicated to this remarkable author.
Discover or rediscover the works of master Buichi Terasawa, such as his most famous, Space Cobra, through large visual panels and explanatory texts.
Born in Asahikawa, Hokkaido, Buichi Terasawa started out as a manga artist, taking part in various magazine competitions. In response to an advertisement in Black Jack, he sent in his drawings and was noticed by Osamu Tezuka. In 1976, he moved to Tokyo to become one of the God of Manga's assistants.
Buichi Terasawa began working for Weekly Shônen Jump, and in 1978 began publication of his major work: Space Cobra. The series quickly became a resounding success, allowing the author to showcase his creativity through enigmatic, futuristic universes, a blend of his many influences. This first version of Cobra's adventures ran to 18 volumes and kept him busy for over 6 years. It was adapted for animation by the great Osamu Dezaki (Lady Oscar, Nobody's Boy: Remi), and introduced the author and his hero to the French public.
Buichi Terasawa then went on to produce several series: Black Knight BAT, Midnight Eye Gokû, and Karasutengu Kabuto. In the early 80s, he saw the enormous potential of computer graphics. He tried his hand at coloring the few color pages of Black Knight BAT, in 1985. But it wasn't until 1992 that he went all the way with Takeru, one of the world's very first comics (and the first manga) to be produced entirely by computer, a technical feat at the time.
In 1995, he gave Cobra a new, full-color, digitally produced adventure series. In 1998, he embarked on an innovative project with the Gun Dragon Sigma series, featuring a flesh-and-blood supermodel as the heroine.
In 2002, he went through a difficult period in both his personal life and his career. Health problems prevented him from publishing for over two years. Despite the serious after-effects, he made a comeback in 2005 with Gun Dragon II before resuming Cobra's full-color adventures in 2006.
He passed away on September 8, 2023, leaving behind a rich body of work that influenced many mangakas and artists after him.
In this exhibition, in tribute to the father of the famous space adventurer, discover Buichi Terasawa's own universe. From science fiction to detective stories, he evolved with the times, gradually integrating computer drawing and coloring techniques into his manga. Famous for his heroes always accompanied by sensual young women, Buichi Terasawa is a mangaka who takes his readers to the frontiers of imagination.