PROFILE
Born in Paris, France, and currently residing in L.A., he made his debut as a manga artist in 1989 when "Maadaa" won the Young Sunday New Comer Award. 1993 saw the publication of "TOKYO TRIBE," a long-selling book that continues to be published by different publishers. In 2006, "TOKYO TRIBE 2" was made into an anime series and broadcast on WOWOW, and in the summer of 2014, a live-action movie of "TOKYO TRIBE 2" directed by Sion Sono will be released. In summer 2014, "TOKYO TRIBE 2," a live-action film directed by Sion Sono and starring actor Ryohei Suzuki and rapper YOUNG DAIS, attracted a lot of attention. In 2005, "Neighbor No. 13" was made into a live-action film starring Shun Oguri and Shido Nakamura, which was released in theaters and on DVD. A Hollywood remake of the film was announced for 2013 and is currently in production. His latest book, "Mote-suke" in two volumes and "TOKYO TRIBE WARU" in four volumes, the latest in the TOKYO TRIBE series, are currently on sale.
Mela for "TOKYO TRIBE 2" written by Santa Inoue for Huinamu.
Fashion, cityscapes, and hip-hop and street vibes are meticulously depicted. From "TOKYO TRIBE 2" ("Santa Inoue Art Collection SARU").
(Left) Cut inspired by the drive-by scene in the film "Menace II Society. From "TOKYOTRIBE 3".
(Right) Cover illustration for the soundtrack disc by MURO for the anime "TOKYO TRIBE 2" ("Inoue Sanda Art Collection SARU").
Illustration for SANTASTIC! x Illmatic Buddha MC's x Tower Records T-shirt & hoodie ("Inoue Sanda Art Book SARU").
He has been researching pictures that can tell a story without words for 30 years.
SANTA INOUE: The art book "SARU" contains a collection of famous scenes and paintings from your past works.
Sanda: This is going to sound very graphic, but I moved to L.A. in 2017, and I am now trying to build my career in the U.S. So I wanted this book to be a kind of portfolio that I could show when I meet people who don't know me or who I don't get to see very often. So I wanted this book to be a kind of portfolio that I could quickly show when I meet people who don't know me or whom I don't get to see very often, saying, "This is what I do.
From "Dan da Barbarian" ("Inoue Sanda Art Collection SARU").
Sanda: I also wanted to convey the fact that I am a "manga artist. That is why I made the cover black and white. In short, I have been thinking for 30 years, not as an illustrator, but as a cartoonist, what is a cartoon picture? I have been thinking about this for 30 years.
What do you mean by "cartoon drawing"?
Sanda: It is a picture to tell a story, right? If they are good as comic book pictures, they may be able to eloquently tell a story with the power of pictures, even if they have few onomatopoeic words or lines. Even if there are few words, you can still express yourself. This book is a compilation of my 30 years of research as a cartoonist on such pictures.
In one of his books, he says, "I want people to say that I am a person who draws interesting cartoons rather than that I am a good drawer. I am a manga artist, not an illustrator. By the way, your father is a painter, isn't he?
Sanda: Yes, my father was a painter and did silkscreen prints of beautiful flower paintings and such.
Cover illustration for the album "Keith Ape" by young Korean rapper Keith Ape ("Inoue Sanda Art Book SARU").
With a father who was a painter, how did you become interested in manga?
Sanda: I have loved Disney since I was a child, and I still like line drawings. My sister is also an artist, and my father says that she sees things in terms of planes. My father said that my sister sees things in terms of planes, like sculpture or coloring. On the other hand, since I was a child, I liked to create stories with lines, and I liked movies and Disney. That's how I started to break up the frames and make comics. But this kind of fundamental desire is strange, isn't it?
A scene in L.A.
Sanda: One of the main attractions of your manga is the careful depiction of hip-hop and street elements. Where do you find the roots of this style?
