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Waru Manga/Joe vs. Joe Anime Creator Hisao Maki Passes Away
posted on by Egan Loo
Author and manga/anime creator Hisao Maki passed away in a Kanagawa hospital on Monday, January 2. He was 71. According to a person close to Maki, the author was on his way to a harbor in Kanagawa Prefecture on Monday afternoon to enjoy his hobby of yachting. However, his health took a turn for the worse, and he was rushed to the hospital where he passed away. The cause of death has not been made public.
Maki was born under the name Matsuchi Takamori in Tokyo in 1940. Maki wrote several prose and manga stories such as the hard-boiled action manga WARU. WARU and its sequels inspired a dozen live-action adaptations, including two films directed by Takashi Miike with Maki himself in the cast. He was also the younger brother of the late manga creator Ikki Kajiwara (Tiger Mask, Kyojin no Hoshi, Ashita no Joe), and he co-created the story of the Ashita no Joe video anime series Joe vs. Joe (Futari no Joe).
Maki produced several films, including this year's live-action film based on his brother's wrestling hero manga Tiger Mask with Eiji Wentz (Gegege no Kitarō, Brave Story) in the title role. Maki himself acted in several live-action works; he produced, wrote, or acted in several works by Miike. He was also an accomplished karate fighter and instructor.
Maki served as the president of Maki Production and ran his own martial arts training facility, Maki Dōjō.
Sources: Daily Sports, Asahi
Update: More information added.
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