Memorial Service Held For Late Manga Legend Fujiko A. Fujio
People have bid farewell to the Japanese manga legend Fujiko A. Fujio, who died in April at age 88.
The memorial ceremony for the manga artist, whose real name was Abiko Motoo, was held in Tokyo on Monday. People close to him attended.
Abiko and a former elementary school classmate, Fujimoto Hiroshi, had jointly produced works under the artist name, Fujiko Fujio. They dissolved their partnership in 1987. Abiko, as Fujiko A. Fujio, created hits such as "Ninja Hattori-kun," "Kaibutsu-kun" and "Warau Salesman."
Matsuno Izumi, a niece of Abiko and the head of Fujiko Studio, said during the ceremony that Abiko had wondered out loud who would come to his funeral.
She said he was probably looking down at them from heaven, satisfied.
Baseball legend Oh Sadaharu said he was envious of manga artists because unlike sports, in which results are expressed in numbers, manga artists are able to draw what they want. Oh added that Abiko had a good life.
Actor and singer Takeda Tetsuya said he had a good time drinking at get-togethers with Abiko, who was energetic and often tried to get everyone to drink more. He also said Abiko was a trailblazer who was always at the top of the manga world.
Actor Ito Shiro played the protagonist in the TV drama version of "Warau Salesman." Ito said that when he received the offer, he thought it was a joke, and even if it were not, he felt incapable of playing the role. Ito said however that he accepted the offer after Abiko told him he was the only actor who could do it. Ito added that he was happy when he later received praise for his performance from Abiko.