There are mangakas who, although they have not caught the attention of today’s readers due to their age, have written the history of manga and, with their works, have contributed to making this art much more appreciated and famous. One cannot go unmentioned in these cases Leiji Matsumoto, historical author of Captain Harlock, Galaxy Express 999 and Queen Emeraldas.
unfortunately, Leiji Matsumoto passed away on February 13, 2023 at 11 o’clock for heart failure so we’re at 85. As usual, the death has only just been announced so that his wife Miyako Maki, a former mangaka, and her family can hold a private ceremony to commemorate the deceased. During these hours, the network has been inundated with messages of condolences and tributes to the mangaka, testament to how much his genius has impacted all readers.
Akira Matsumoto, born in Fukuoka in 1938 and much better known through the pseudonym Leiji Matsumoto, is one of the most famous mangaka of all time. His career, which has also been partly spent in the world of animation as a director and animator, began under the wing of another legendary manga artist, Osamu Tezuka. Although his first works date back to the 1950s and 1960s, in reality he achieved unprecedented fame from the 1970s thanks to the creation of masterpieces of caliber “Battleship Yamato” from 1975, “Captain Harlock” from 1977, “Galaxy Express 999“Starting in the same year”,Queen Emeralds” from 1978 and “The Queen of a Thousand Years” from 1980, all manga, which were then adapted into anime and which Leiji Matsumoto personally supervised. Just a few years ago, Leiji Matsumoto attended a celebration of Captain Harlock’s fortieth birthday in Turin.
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