"Bungo Stray Dogs" is a work in which real-life literary figures such as Atsushi Nakajima and Ryunosuke Akutagawa appear as characters. The anime is a popular work that has been broadcast up to the third season, and the fourth season will finally be broadcast in 2023, attracting attention. Are you curious about who the author of the original work of such a hit work is? In this article, we will introduce the author from various perspectives!
Author: Kafka Asagiri
The author of "Bungo Stray Dogs" is Kafka Asagiri. Asagiri was born in 1984 in Ehime Prefecture and is currently 38 years old. In addition to being a manga artist, he is also active as a scenario writer and light novel writer. Let's take a deeper look at what kind of person Asagiri is, the creator of this popular work!
From Salaryman to Scriptwriter
Asagiri was originally a salaryman working for an automobile company. Asagiri's gender has not been revealed, but since he was a salaryman, it is likely that he is male. A few years after he started working, he began to think about becoming a scriptwriter, but the company was so busy that he did not have time to write stories while working. So he made up his mind and quit his job at the beginning of 2012. As preparation for getting a job in scenario writing, he first thought about making something that people could watch for free. So he started posting videos, something he had always wanted to try. He thought that the experience and achievements he had gained were important to become a professional, so he made videos as a form of business card. The video that Asagiri made was posted on Nico Nico Douga. The video, titled "Yukkuri Youmu and the Really Scary Cthulhu Mythos," received a great response and became popular.
What is "Yukkuri Youmu and the Really Scary Cthulhu Mythos"?
"Yukkuri Youmu and the Really Scary Cthulhu Mythos" is a video in which the characters play a TRPG based on the Cthulhu Mythos. TRPG stands for Table Talk Role Playing Game, which is a type of role playing game that progresses through conversation. The videos have been posted for about a year, and it is quite a long series with a total of 32 episodes. The poster is called "Asagiri Katchan", and this name may remind you of Kafka Asagiri. In this series, the poster Asagiri does not play the game, but the characters in the video play it. Those who know Asagiri from Bungo Stray Dogs may be surprised to learn that he has been involved in such activities in the past. By the way, this video series was later made into a manga titled "Minase Yume and the Really Scary Cthulhu Mythos". The original story was written by Asagiri.
Until "Bungo Stray Dogs" was released
A few months after uploading the video, the editor-in-chief of "Young Ace" asked him to bring three proposals within two weeks, and then the editorial department of the magazine also contacted him. After a series of meetings, he finally made his spectacular debut as a commercial manga artist with Bungo Stray Dogs. Incidentally, he also made his debut as a novelist with Bungo Stray Dogs: Dazai Osamu's Entry Exam, a prequel to the series.
Influenced Works
Mr. Asagiri has been influenced by many works, and has said that he was especially influenced by the JoJo's Bizarre Adventure series. He also likes the Dragon Quest series and used to create stories with PRG Maker. He reminisces that this experience may have been the starting point for his love of storytelling.
Summary of an introduction to the author: Kafka Asagiri
Learning about the roots of a manga artist can help you discover surprising careers and new discoveries, such as "I didn't know this artist drew this work!" If you've never read manga with an eye on the author, it's interesting to get to know the author's personality from now on!
