Yamamoto Souichirou is a prolific manga creator who is most well known for his series Teasing Master Takagi-san. He has been creating manga for nearly 10 years, and many of his works have inspired a slew of anime and merchandise. Let’s take a closer look at this amazing creator in Final Weapon’s Manga March Creator Spotlight: Yamamoto Souichirou.
Manga History
Yamamoto Souichirou is a manga creator whose manga usually involves cute girls and Slice of Life or RomCom themes. He has manga that involves school love, friendship, ninja girls, and even monsters!
- Teasing Master Takagi-san: 2013–Ongoing
- Fudatsuki no Kyoko-chan: 2013–2016
- Ashita wa Doyōbi: 2014–2015
- Karakai Jouzu no (Moto) Takagi-san: 2017 – ongoing (some writing and supervision by Yamamoto, drawn and co-written by Inaba Mifumi)
- In the Heart of Kunoichi Tsubaki: 2018–Ongoing
- When Will Ayumu Make His Move?: 2019–Ongoing
- Kaijū no Tokage: 2019-2020 (Written by Yamamoto, drawn by Fukichi Kamio)
Oneshots
Yamamoto has also created various one-shots and some art collections. Many of which are not available officially in English. Some of these can be imported or found on some of his social media accounts. When Will Ayumu Make His Move? Actually started as a web series that he sketched out. Kaijū no Tokage also started as a one-shot, and Fudatsuki no Kyoko-chan seems to be based on one of his one-shots as well (though there are key differences in the relationship of the two main characters between the two).
Social Media
Yamamoto’s most active social media account is his Twitter. He posts original drawings quite often, usually every other day ‘round-or-about. His art posts are usually of his characters but sometimes he creates fanart of characters like Taiga from Toradora! or Marin from My Dress-Up Darling. Yamamoto doesn’t really post about himself or anything, and his retweets are comprised of promotional tweets of his own series, fan art of his stuff from his fans, and art from other artists.
おはようございます pic.twitter.com/cI6LlwR4zc
— 山本崇一朗.高木16ﾂﾊﾞｷ7将棋9 (@udon0531) March 2, 2023
He does update his Pixiv in batches. This is a good way to get high-quality versions of some of his art, especially compared to Twitter! Some of his one-shots and even the prototype of When Will Ayumu Make His Move? have been posted here.
Yamamoto does have a Tumblr, but it’s no longer updated. It’s been defunct since 2017. A lot of the art he shared on it is also on his Pixiv. Not all of it is, so there is still some value in viewing his Tumblr if you wish.
Not much about Yamamoto’s personal life is known besides some basic stuff like where he grew up and went to school. You can’t even find a full picture of him. I did manage to find a video of him on bilibli drawing a picture. All you can see are his hands though.
Spin-off, Anime, and Merchandise
Karakai Jouzu no (Moto) Takagi-san and Ashita wa Doyōbi are two spin-off manga. Both series are spinoffs of Teasing Master Takagi-san. Moto Takagi-san takes place when the two main characters are adults and raising their child. It has cute antics and wholesome messages. Yamamoto’s involvement is exclusively as a writer and supervisor. He does some promotional art for the series sometimes, as well. Ashita wa Doyobi is about some side characters in the main Takagi-san manga. These characters may not have their own manga anymore, but they still show up and get chapters of their own in the ongoing main manga. There are also some great crossover chapters in his various series that are very entertaining.
Three of Yamamoto’s manga series have gotten anime adaptations: Teasing Master Takagi-san, In the Heart of Kunoichi Tsubaki, and When Will Ayumu Make His Move?. Ayumu and Tsubaki are more of straight adaptations of their respective manga. Teasing Master Takagi-san has 3 seasons, a movie, and also adapts parts of Ashita and Moto while having some original content.
The merchandising is just like most anime and manga properties. You have everything from clothing, figures, blu rays, and more. I even recently saw a Takagi-san calendar. If you’ve seen anime merch then you basically know what we’re working with here. There are plenty of different things, so any fan can find stuff they like and get it. Well, fans outside of Japan don’t get quite as much choice and may have to import certain goods.
Growth, Legacy, and Future
Yamamoto, in my opinion, has grown significantly during his time as a professional artist. His art style has grown and become more refined. He even redrew the first chapter of Takagi-san, and it acts as a great example of his growth. You can’t really dig into this without reading some of his stuff, but his writing has certainly improved as well over the years. Arcs are more evident, gags are funnier, and character personalities pop more.
Yamamoto’s series have found an audience and Takagi-san is gonna be 10 years old this year. Yamamoto has also contributed to fan-anthology comics for Don’t Toy With Me, Miss Nagatoro, and Rent-a-Girlfriend. His manga series have even gotten several seasons of anime and even a movie.
What does the future hold for him and his works? Who knows exactly? We’ll probably get even more seasons of anime, possibly new series, and definitely more manga. I love Yamamoto’s work and am super excited to keep reading and watching!
Creator Spotlight: Yamamoto Souichirou Review Related Links
I’ll be working tirelessly to provide more and more content for Manga March here on Final Weapon. Here are some other choice manga articles and reviews, conveniently linked here for your viewing pleasure!
