Chihiro Munakata
Chihiro Munakata | |
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| Born | 1980 (age 43–44) |
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| Website | http://www.chimu.gls/ |
Chihiro Munakata (Miranian: 千紘 胸方; Gylic transcription: Cihiro Munakata; born 1980) is a pseudonymous Gylian comic artist and writer. He is best known as the author of manga series such as Kenkyūsha Ayako to joshu Himeko, Joseitenin Maki Suzue, and Bijin onna jōshi Takizawa-san, which feature nénédie-styled erotic comedy and humorous playing with Miranian Gylian stereotypes.
Biography
"Chihiro Munakata" is a pseudonym, and the artist generally shuns the spotlight, giving few interviews and revealing few facts about himself.
He was born in 1980 in Gylias, in a Miranian Gylian family. He was a manga enthusiast since childhood and aspired to create manga himself.
He attended the Open University, completing a degree in art history.
He began his career by doing contract work for various magazines, as a writer and illustrator.
He published Kenkyūsha Ayako to joshu Himeko, his first work as "Chihiro Munakata", in 2005. He decided to forgo conventional publishing in favour of uploading his work directly on Telecomix. Gradually, the manga gained a large audience and became a publishing success, being collected in tankōbon volumes and translated into English and French.
He subsequently started two other "main" series, Joseitenin Maki Suzue, and Bijin onna jōshi Takizawa-san, and has worked on various one-shots and other projects. One of his best-known side projects is his character design work on Castle Bang.
He also works as an illustrator for hire, having done commissions for various clothing companies, and advertising for sex work services and sex shops. His commissioned work for the latter is compiled in the manga Omocha de Asobu!.
Style
Chihiro's works are largely sex comedies, and he named nénédie as a great influence on his style, while expressing skepticism whether his works fit properly into the genre. He noted in one interview, "My characters don't really have the asuka to be nénédettes. They're more like Greta Thyssen — the girl next door…if you lived in a very special neighbourhood."
He is known for his art style that combines cute facial expressions with big-breasted women. He has admitted his fondness for the office lady archetype, and regularly draws his characters wearing Kaede Nakano clothes, particularly pinstriped business suits. He is quoted as saying: "I love suits with buttons — the more the merrier. The more buttons they have, the classier they look. I've always had this fascination with adulthood — the stability, the good life, I'd say. That's why I've always been drawn to drawing older women."
His manga's plots revolve around professional heroines with strong sexual drives whose adventures inevitably lead them to have plenty of sexual encounters. His dialogue is noted for its ribald wit, wordplay, and pop culture references. The protagonists of his main series — Ayako, Maki, and Kyōko — display innocent and naïve traits that provide a comedic contrast to the ribald action, a characterisation he likened to "Máiréad Ní Conmara inhabiting Rauna Næsve's body".
He frequently plays with Miranian Gylian for comedy, mainly by writing supremely accomplished and comfortably well-off professional women who sometimes deliberately invoke Miranian pride while engaging in flirting or erotic talk. Said character traits are humorously contrasted with their innocently uninhibited personality regarding sexuality, being completely honest and unashamed about being naked in public or publicly discussing their sex lives or preferences.
Private life
Chihiro is married, and he and his wife have adopted two children. He is a well-known recluse, generally avoiding public or media appearances. He refuses to allow photographs of him to be attached to his publications, and his interviews have usually been via telephone.
Works
Manga
- Kenkyūsha Ayako to joshu Himeko (2005–2015)
- Joseitenin Maki Suzue (2010–2020)
- Bijin onna jōshi Takizawa-san (2015–present)
- Debu na Danna (2016–present)
- Omocha de Asobu! (2017–present)
- Castle Rule (2019)
Anime
- Castle Bang (2009–2012; character designer)