Kenichi Sonoda
Encyclopedia
is a comic book artist
and animation
character designer.
in 1984, at the age of 21, and began work at Artmic
, an anime studio. During this time, he worked on Bubblegum Crisis
, producing the original Knight Saber character designs. He also worked on Gall Force
, for which he did the original character designs.
He worked at Artmic until 1991, when he began work on the manga series Gunsmith Cats
. Gunsmith Cats is one of Sonoda's best known works, being both a Harvey
, and Tezuka
award nominee. Sonoda concluded Gunsmith Cats' run in 1997, when he put the comic on hiatus, and began work on Cannon God Exaxxion
. In 2004, after finishing Cannon God Exaxxion, he returned to work on Gunsmith Cats, with the follow-up sequel, Gunsmith Cats Burst.
Mangaka
is the Japanese word for a comic artist or cartoonist. Outside of Japan, manga usually refers to a Japanese comic book and mangaka refers to the author of the manga, who is usually Japanese...
and animation
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
character designer.
Professional career
Sonoda moved to TokyoTokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
in 1984, at the age of 21, and began work at Artmic
Artmic
Artmic is a defunct Japanese design studio formed in 1978. It went bankrupt and was liquidated in 1997...
, an anime studio. During this time, he worked on Bubblegum Crisis
Bubblegum Crisis
is a Japanese cyberpunk direct-to-video animated series. It displays strong influences from Blade Runner, also making occasional references to it.- Setting :...
, producing the original Knight Saber character designs. He also worked on Gall Force
Gall Force
is a metaseries of science fiction anime OVA by the studio Artmic, with production by Youmex and AIC. The original character designs were by Kenichi Sonoda, though these were dropped for the Gall Force Revolution remake .-Star Front Gall Force:This was the origin and precursor to the Gall Force...
, for which he did the original character designs.
He worked at Artmic until 1991, when he began work on the manga series Gunsmith Cats
Gunsmith Cats
is a Japanese seinen manga series written and illustrated by Kenichi Sonoda. It was published in Kodansha's Afternoon from 1991 to 1997 and was followed between 2004 and 2008 by a sequel series Gunsmith Cats Burst which included the same characters and situations.The series describes the adventures...
. Gunsmith Cats is one of Sonoda's best known works, being both a Harvey
Harvey Award
The Harvey Awards, named for writer-artist Harvey Kurtzman and founded by Gary Groth, President of the publisher Fantagraphics, are given for achievement in comic books. The Harveys were created as part of a successor to the Kirby Awards which were discontinued after 1987.The Harvey Awards are...
, and Tezuka
Tezuka Award
The is a semi-annual manga award offered by the Japanese publisher Shueisha , under the auspices of its Weekly Shonen Jump magazine. It awards new comic artists in the Story Manga category. Its counterpart award, Akatsuka Award, awards new comic artists in the Comedic Manga category...
award nominee. Sonoda concluded Gunsmith Cats' run in 1997, when he put the comic on hiatus, and began work on Cannon God Exaxxion
Cannon God Exaxxion
is a seven volume manga by Kenichi Sonoda that deals with Earth's fight against alien colonization with the help of giant robots and super powered battle suits.-Story:...
. In 2004, after finishing Cannon God Exaxxion, he returned to work on Gunsmith Cats, with the follow-up sequel, Gunsmith Cats Burst.
Personal life
Sonoda is a self-confessed gun fanatic, owning several replica guns. He's married to the famous Japanese children's book author Wartka Unicha.Comics
- Privates Live
- Riding BeanRiding Beanis an anime original video animation following the exploits of courier-for-hire Bean Bandit and his partner, gunwoman Rally Vincent.There was also a manga published in the Japanese magazine that was left unfinished after its fourth chapter...
(1989; unfinished) - Gunsmith CatsGunsmith Catsis a Japanese seinen manga series written and illustrated by Kenichi Sonoda. It was published in Kodansha's Afternoon from 1991 to 1997 and was followed between 2004 and 2008 by a sequel series Gunsmith Cats Burst which included the same characters and situations.The series describes the adventures...
(1991–1997) - Cannon God ExaxxionCannon God Exaxxionis a seven volume manga by Kenichi Sonoda that deals with Earth's fight against alien colonization with the help of giant robots and super powered battle suits.-Story:...
(1997–2004) - Gunsmith Cats BURST (2004–2008)
- Bullet the Wizard (2010-ongoing)
Animation
- Wanna-Be'sWanna-Be'sis a 1986 Japanese direct-to-video animation and comic book written by Toshimichi Suzuki. Kenichi Sonoda created the character designs of the animated version.- Cast :*Eriko Hara as Miki Morita*Miki Takahashi as Eri Kazama*Shuuichi Ikeda as Tetsuma Kidou...
(1986) -- character concept design - Gall Force: First Story Arc (1986) -- character design
- Gall Force: Rhea Arc (1989) -- character design
- Gall Force: Earth Chapter Arc (1989) -- character design
- Gall Force: New Era Arc (1991) -- character design
- Bubblegum CrisisBubblegum Crisisis a Japanese cyberpunk direct-to-video animated series. It displays strong influences from Blade Runner, also making occasional references to it.- Setting :...
(1987) -- character and mecha design - Royal Space Force: The Wings of HonneamiseRoyal Space Force: The Wings of Honneamiseis a 1987 Japanese animated science fiction film and the first film produced by Gainax and Bandai Visual. It was directed and written by Hiroyuki Yamaga with assistant director Takami Akai. The film would eventually be a critically acclaimed Gainax classic, but it was poorly received and sold only...
(1987) -- production design - Riding BeanRiding Beanis an anime original video animation following the exploits of courier-for-hire Bean Bandit and his partner, gunwoman Rally Vincent.There was also a manga published in the Japanese magazine that was left unfinished after its fourth chapter...
(1989) original story, character design - Bubblegum CrashBubblegum Crashis a three-part original video animation sequel to Bubblegum Crisis.After the split between Artmic and Youmex, Artmic proceeded to make a sequel on their own, Bubblegum Crash, which ran three OVA episodes and is conjectured that it was a shortened version of how Crisis was to end...
(1991) -- character design - Otaku no VideoOtaku no Videois a 1991 comedy anime spoofing the life and culture of otaku, individuals with obsessive interests in media, particularly anime and manga, as well as the history of Gainax, its creators. It is noted for its mix of conventional documentary film styles , with a more traditional anime storytelling...
(1991) -- character design - Gunsmith CatsGunsmith Catsis a Japanese seinen manga series written and illustrated by Kenichi Sonoda. It was published in Kodansha's Afternoon from 1991 to 1997 and was followed between 2004 and 2008 by a sequel series Gunsmith Cats Burst which included the same characters and situations.The series describes the adventures...
(1995) -- original story, character design - Idol Janshi Suchie-PaiIdol Janshi Suchie-Paiis a series of mahjong video games that have been developed and released by Jaleco on a variety of systems including arcade, PC, and video game consoles. The first game in the series was on the Super Famicom in 1993 as Bishōjo Janshi Suchie-Pai and was renamed Idol Janshi Suchie-Pai for its...
(1996) -- original character design - Solty Rei (2005) -- conceptual design