| Haruichi Furudate 古舘 春一 | |
|---|---|
| Born | March 7, 1983 Karumai, Iwate, Japan |
| Nationality | Japanese |
| Area(s) | Manga artist |
Notable works | Haikyu!! |
| Awards | 61st Shogakukan Manga Award |
| Signature | |
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Haruichi Furudate (Japanese: 古舘 春一, Hepburn: Furudate Haruichi, born March 7, 1983) is a Japanese manga artist. He is best known for creating Haikyu!!, a volleyball-centric manga that has become one of the best-selling manga series of all time, having also been adapted into a number of anime series and films.
Haruichi Furudate was born on March 7, 1983, in Karumai, Iwate.[1][2][3] After graduating from high school, he attended Sendai Design Training School in Miyagi Prefecture.[2][4] In 2008, Furudate wrote the one-shot King Kid, which won an honorable mention for the Jump Treasure Newcomer Manga Prize.[5] In 2010, Furudate launched his first full series in Weekly Shōnen Jump, Philosophy School, Yotsuya Sensei's Ghost Stories.[5]
In the next year, Furudate wrote Haikyu!! starting as two one-shots that were published in Jump NEXT! and Weekly Shōnen Jump in January 2011 and April 2011 respectively.[6][7] The one-shots were later turned into a full series, which started serialization in Weekly Shōnen Jump on February 20, 2012.[8] The series ended in Weekly Shōnen Jump on July 20, 2020.[9] While the series was serializing, it was awarded the 61st Shogakukan Manga Award in the shōnen category[10] and ranked in the top three manga series for the 2015 Sugoi Japan Award.[11] In 2020, the series was in the top five best selling manga in Japan, with over seven million copies sold.[12] The series has also been given numerous adaptations, notably an anime television series[13] and a stage play.[14]
Furudate was a member of a volleyball club during middle and high school. Furudate often found himself going to school just to participate in the club activities, despite performing below average in classes.[4]
