Kazuo Umezu
- Known for
- Writing
- Born
- September 3, 1936
- Place of birth
- Kōya, Wakayama Prefecture, Japan
- Died
- October 28, 2024
Biography
Kazuo Umezu or Kazuo Umezz (楳図 かずお, Umezu Kazuo, birth name 楳図一雄; born September 3, 1936) is a Japanese manga artist, musician and actor. Starting his career in the 1950s, he is among the most famous artists of horror manga and has been vital for its development, considered the "god of horror manga". In 1960s shōjo manga like Reptilia, he broke the industry's conventions by combining the aesthetics of the commercial manga industry with gruesome visual imagery inspired by Japanese folktales, which created a boom of horror manga and influenced manga artists of following generations. He created successful manga series such as The Drifting Classroom, Makoto-chan and My Name Is Shingo, until he retired from drawing manga in the mid 1990s. He is also a public figure in Japan, known for wearing red-and-white-striped shirts and doing his signature "Gwash" hand gesture.
Movies with Kazuo Umezu
- Tokyo Zombie 2005 · ★ 5.6
- Why Horror? 2014 · ★ 5.9
- The Snake Girl and the Silver-Haired Witch 1968 · ★ 6.8
- The Drifting Classroom 1987 · ★ 5.2
- Gu Gu, the Cat 2008 · ★ 6.6
- God's Left Hand, Devil's Right Hand 2006 · ★ 5.1
- Monster Heaven: Ghost Hero 1990 · ★ 5.7
- Baptism of Blood 1996 · ★ 4.7
- Yaji & Kita: The Midnight Pilgrims 2005 · ★ 6.0
- Hoodlum Soldier 1965 · ★ 7.2
- Makoto-chan 1980 · ★ 9.0
- Monster Heaven 1986 · ★ 7.0
- Kazuo Umezu's Terror Zone: Horror! 1993 · ★ 7.0
- Kaidan. Strange Stories of Japanese Ghosts 2023
- Gozamareji 2003
- Gal 10 Island 1983
- Monday Drama Land: Akuma-kun 1986
Movies directed by Kazuo Umezu
- Mother 2014 · ★ 4.7
- Gal 10 Island 1983