Kenichi Sonoda

Kenichi Sonoda is an iconic artist of the retro anime aesthetic. He was the character designer for the classic 1980s cyberpunk saga Bubblegum Crisis, and in the 1990s for Otaku no Video, the anime from legendary studio Gainax (Neon Genesis Evangelion ) that popularized the term “otaku.” Gunsmith Cats is Sonoda’s longest manga series, making its original 1991 debut in Kodansha’s Afternoon magazine, home of such stories as Vinland Saga, Blade of the Immortal, Oh My Goddess! and Wandering Island. Kenichi Sonoda traces his roots to Kumamoto, Japan, where in recent years he has become the 19th family head of his ancestral wagashi (traditional Japanese confectionery) shop, founded in 1582—for which Sonoda now designs character mascots!