'Doraemon' Co-Creator Fujio A Fujiko Dies at 88

Prolific manga creator Fujio A Fujiko, best known for Ninja Hattori-kun (Ninja Hattori), Warau Salesman (The Laughing Salesman), and co-creating Doraemon, died on Thursday. He was 88 years old.

According to the Kanagawa Prefectural Police from the Tama station, a concerned individual reported at 8:40 a.m. that someone had collapsed on the premises at Fujiko's residence. By the time police arrived on the scene, Fujiko was believed to have died.

Born Motoo Abiko in Himi Town (now Himi City), Toyama Prefecture in 1934, Abiko moved to Takaoka City following his father's death in 1944 and met Fujio F. Fujiko (born Hiroshi Fujimoto) at the Takaoka Municipal Jouzuka National Elementary School. Aspiring to be a manga artist since his elementary school days, the duo made their debut with Tenshi no Tama-chan (Angel Tama) in Mainichi Shougakusei Shimbun in 1951 while attending high school.

Following his high school graduation, Abiko joined Toyama Shimbun in 1952, but moved to Tokyo with Fujimoto in 1954 to become professional manga artists. Together with Hiroo Terada and a few other manga artists at the time, they formed the Shin Manga-tou (New Manga Party) and relocated to the Tokiwa-sou apartment complex. Soon after, the duo serialized multiple titles under the pen name Fujiko Fujio.

During the 1960s, Abiko serialized mild titles like Ninja Hattori-kun, Kaibutsu-kun, Obake no Q-tarou, and Fuuta-kun, but began drawing children gag manga such as Oyaji Boutarou and Kyojin-gun, which contained strong black humor. He also branched off to a more mysterious and mature route with titles like Warau Salesman and Matarou ga Kuru!! around the same time. In the latter half of 1970s, Abiko drew more drama-focused titled like Manga Michi and Shounen Jidai.

The Fujiko Fujio duo created Doraemon in 1969, which became a major hit following its anime adaptation in 1973. The pair parted ways in 1987, with Fujimoto and Abiko adopting the pen names Fujio F. Fujiko and Fujio A Fujiko, respectively. Following the split, Abiko went back to drawing more manga with dark humor in young adult magazines, followed by essays in his later years.

Source: Yomiuri Shimbun, Mainichi Shimbun