One-Punch Man Illustrator Announces New Animation Studio

Yusuke Murata, the illustrator behind One-Punch Man and Eyeshield 21, reveals he has launched a new animation studio.

Murata’s reveal comes via his Twitter account on Dec. 31, 2023 and has received an outpouring of excitement, congratulatory messages, and support from his fans. Aside from working on One-Punch Man, the artist has been hard at work with his original animation series project called Zaiyuki, which was inspired by the classic Chinese legend Journey to the West.

He first began posting excerpts on March 6, 2023, albeit sans audio. Zaiyuki follows a young kappa who can’t swim, who loses sumo matches, and always weeps at the sight of cucumbers. In a desperate bid, he gambles everything in a lottery and wins a trip to India. He is given a mysterious orb to take along his trip along with instructions to meet a man with sunglasses and a solemn expression. However, as soon as he lands, the orb erupts to reveal a golden monkey, nimble and extremely powerful.

Things get decidedly more fairly when police officers rush in to seize the two but luckily, help comes in the form of a white van holding a beautiful boar woman and the mysterious man from the photo who immediately rips his wig off. The newly formed team find themselves in some deep trouble when a monster appears.

Murata’s debut into the manga industry began with a one-shot called Partner which won the Hop Step Award. His first collaboration was with Riichiro Inagaki when the writer asked him to be the artist for the manga series Eyeshield 21. The series inspired an anime adaptation which aired from April 2005 to March 2008. His most well-known work is his collaboration with the webcomic author One for One-Punch Man which began online serialization in Weekly Young Jump in June 2012.

Murata has not yet revealed his plans for his upcoming animation studio. Zaiyuki is currently being produced by Village Studio.

Source: X, formerly known as Twitter