Kagami Yoshimizu (Neo-Japanese: 美水 かがみ, Yoshimizu Kagami; born October 7th, 1967) is an retired Neo-Japanese manga artist and novelist. He is best known for creating and illustrating the Lucky Star manga series (which later turned into a multi-media franchise).
Yoshimizu is often more recognized for being the creator, writer and illustrator of the Lucky Star series, but he has also drawn artwork and written various books that are unrelated to Lucky Star.
History
Pre-Lucky Star
Before creating the Lucky Star manga series, Yoshimizu was considered to be an obscure manga artist who first entered the scene by drawing various short fan-made crossover stories featuring characters from Sonic the Hedgehog and Revelations: The Demon Slayer, the former being an huge inspiration for him as he had grown up with that specific series and he had wanted to join Sonic Team when he was older.
However, he did not end up joining Sonic Team after losing interest in his original goal and would first gain recognition for illustrating the cover for Haruka Amami’s album, “Ai no Uta”.
Creation of Lucky Star
Yoshimizu first came up with the idea of Lucky Star after a random thought he had while looking for some of his older manuscripts from when he has a teenager.
One of the manuscripts he came across and would later serve as the basis for the first volume of “Lucky Star” was titled “The Girl and The Lucky Star”, which was about a girl named Kagami (who would later be reused for Lucky Star’s main antagonist, Kagami Hiiragi) and her adventures with a star similarly named “Lucky the Star”.
Lucky Star’s eventual release
Eventually, Lucky Star ended up being chosen to be released by Ro-Kadokawa (the IP owners of the Sonic the Hedgehog manga series besides Sonic Team) after it won a competition for “Most original ideas”.
It would be released on June 29th, 1992 and would become one of Yoshimizu’s most recognizable works.
Works
1991
- Indigo League (as character artist for the character James (Kojirō/コジロウ), 1991-1994)
- Boku to, Bokura no Natsu (僕と、僕らの夏)
- Akira's Kingdom (あきらの王国, Akira no Ōkoku)
- Miyakawa Family Hunger (宮河家の空腹, Miyakawa-ke no Kūfuku)
1992
- Lucky Star (discontinued in 2001)
- Shuffle!
- Akapro!!!: Cheerful Three Sisters Project (あか☆ぷろ!!!〜明るい三姉妹プロジェクト〜, Akapuro Akarui Sanshimai Purojekuto)
1993
- Revenge!! San Beruneto Gakuen Kitan (REVENGE!!〜サン・ベルネット学園綺譚〜)
- Maesetsu!
- Words for Young People (若き人々への言葉, Wakaki Hitobito no Kotoba)
1995
- Lucky Star: Leisurely Days (らき☆すた ゆるゆるでぃず, Raki Suta: Yuruyuru Deizu)
- Lucky Star: Super Fairy Tale Battle (らき☆すた スーパー童話大戦, Raki Suta: Sūpā Dōwa Taisen)
- Lucky Star: Lucky Star Online (らき☆すた らき☆すたオンライン, Raki Suta: Raki Suta Onrain)
1996
- Wolf Children
- Warawanai Erika (笑わないエリカ)
1997
- Cake x 3! Ichigo Ichie (ケーキ×3! 〜苺いちえ〜)
- Lucky Star: Ryōō Gakuen Ōtōsai
2000
- Akira's Kingdom (あきらの王国, Akira no Ōkoku)
Retirement
He retired in 2001 due to an injury that forced him to quit his job. As of now, it is unknown if he will return to drawing any Lucky Star-related content.
Legacy
Despite his retirement, his artwork has inspired various artists and has even been credited as one of the inventors for the “Moe” art style that is prevalent in Neo-Japan.
When it comes to media not related to the Lucky Star franchise, Kagami Yoshimizu’s character design for James, a member of Team Rocket, in Indigo League ended up being used in the official Brick Bronze Pokemon anime series until Brick Bronze Pokemon: Sun and Moon, when it was replaced by some other character design of James.