Anime and manga alike are visual mediums formed from lots and lots of drawings. This sounds pretty obvious, but people can underestimate just how many ways there are to draw the same thing. Due to a myriad of factors, every individual draws differently and is drawn to different visual forms of expression.
Once the skills of an animator or a mangaka are on the table, these small variations can evolve into wildly different and unique art styles. Every artist has their unique spin on the series they draw, but the art styles of these iconic anime and manga artists have stood the test of time and become so well known that they’ve inspired millions to follow in their footsteps.
Updated on Jul 31, 2025, by David Heath:There’s no shortage of famous and inspirational figures in anime and manga. Their art can popularize or even create whole new genres, or produce a more dynamic and intriguing way to tell stories visually. Or they can just produce really neat art that would get replicated by fans the world over, let alone inspire them to create today’s top strips and shows. That’s why, alongside some tweaks and edits here and there, this list has been updated with a few more top names, from ones who should’ve gotten their laurels here a while ago, to some underrated names that more people should check out.
1Osamu Tezuka
The Godfather Of Manga
As one of the progenitors of modern anime and manga, this list had to start withOsamu Tezuka. Even the most modern works can trace their lineage back to Tezuka’s oeuvre. WhileAstro Boywas by far hismost popular creation, he also was behind titles like the samurai adventure Dororo, the animal dramaJungle Emperor Leo(akaKimba the White Lion), and the feminist fairy talePrincess Knight,among others.
Taking inspiration from classic Western cartoons likeBetty Boopand Disney’sDonald Duckshorts, Tezuka introduced manga and anime’s most iconic traits, like large, round eyes and tiny noses. Along with the simplicity and general softness of his characters, it made his style distinct and recognizable, particularly in the homages shown inStar Wars Visions, and Naoki Urasawa’sAstro BoyadaptationPluto.
2Fujiko Fujio
Manga’s Most Iconic Duo
Astro Boy,Dragon Ball’s Goku, andNarutohave become household names in their own right. But within Japan itself, they’re arguably beaten out byDoraemon. The time-traveling robot cat is as familiar within the nation as Mickey Mouse and Snoopy and, while he didn’t quite catch on in the West, became popular in the East. Taiwan produced its own unofficialDoraemonanime, and Vietnam named a scholarship fund after the character.
He was created by Hiroshi Fujimoto, better known as one-half ofFujiko Fujiowith Moto Abiko. Together, the two became the biggest names in children’s manga, producing the ghostly comedyObake no Q-Taroand the superhero storyPerman. Apart, Fujimoto would stick to child-friendly fare, while Abiko went into darker territory withThe Laughing Salesman. Nonetheless, they’d inspire generations of mangaka to pick up a pen, fromNaruto’s Masashi Kishimoto toDeath Note’s Takeshi Obata.
3Shotaro Ishinomori
The King Of Manga
Many famous mangaka got their start as assistants to more established artists. They would sketch background details, handle page inking, and more. One of the most famous artists to get their start this way wasShotaro Ishinomori. He was taken on by Tezuka himself after he was impressed with an entry Ishinomori made for a talent contest. As such, Ishinomori’s early work bears a strong resemblance to Tezuka’s.
However, Ishinomori would soon branch out into his own style. He’s most famous for his superheroic androids.Cyborg 009gave Japan its first superhero team, andKamen Riderrevitalized the tokusatsu genre into what fans recognize today. He also used manga to tell more serious stories, like the hard-boiled feudal-era crime dramaSabu and Ichi’s Detective Memoirs, and the psychedelic psychic adventureGenma Wars, which would get a young Katsuhiro Otomo into animation directing.
4Leiji Matsumoto
The Grandfather Of Anime
If people don’t recognizeLeiji Matsumoto’s name, they’ll certainly recognize his art style. His space opera stories rung a chord in Japan, withSpace Battleship Yamatoalone inspiring everything fromNeon Genesis EvangeliontoSgt Frog. Its intergalactic battles paved the way forMobile Suit GundamandRobotech’s different series.Captain Harlockinspired the design forSailor Moon’s Tuxedo Mask and may have even inspired Tezuka when he madeBlack Jack.
Perhaps the only country that loved Matsumoto’s work as much as Japan, if not more, was France. The anime adaptations ofHarlockandGalaxy Express 999became mainstays in the country during the 1970s and opened the door for more anime and manga there. It was enough for Matsumoto to be ordained as a Chevalier in France’s Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, an honor also awarded to (but later renounced by) Daft Punk, who got Matsumoto to oversee their movieInterstella 5555.
5Shigeru Mizuki
Creator of Comedy Horror Classics
Disabilities and injuries can make being an artist harder, but not impossible if they can find a workaround and keep at it.Shigeru Mizukilost his left arm while serving in World War 2 in Papua New Guinea. Yet when he returned to Japan, he used his artistic skills to produce drawings for kamishibai (Japanese street theater). From there, he got his chance to express his interest in yōkai (spooks and spirits from Japanese folklore) via his first manga,Rocketman.
But it wasn’t until 1965 that his career took off withGeGeGe no Kitarō, where its titular character goes on adventures with (and against) other horror creatures, from ghosts to vampires and more. This and his other comedy horror works would inspireDeath NoteandMushishi, and popularize comedy horror for decades to come. He also made more serious works based on his wartime experiences where, if he had any ire about his injury, he directed it towards the people who sent him abroad in the first place, as seen inHitlerandShowa: A History of Japan.
6Goseki Kojima
Samurai Epics In Print
Kazuo Koike’s broad range of stories across his multi-decade career made him a legend in the manga industry. One of his most famous pieces, if not THE most famous piece, isLone Wolf & Cub, about a samurai avenging the death of his clan while raising his last surviving child. It inspired the graphic novel and award-winning dramaRoad to Perdition, and the “video nasty"Shogun Assassin. But Koike was just one-half of the strip’s “Golden Duo,” and he was the writer.
The illustrator wasGoseki Kojima, who became famous in his own right for bringing historical epics and novels to life with his drawings. Whether he was using inks or paints, he brought out the beauty and brutality of feudal Japan without embellishment. He made clashes feel as dramatic as any shōnen power-up by just drawing them as is, just as his favorite film director Akira Kurosawa did for his samurai movies. As such, they’re a must-read for readers who want a pure samurai epic without bankais and other gimmicks.
7Hayao Miyazaki & Isao Takahata
The Men Behind Ghibli
Through its ups and downs, Studio Ghibli has become the king of anime films. Over the years, movies likeSpirited AwayandMy Neighbor Totorohave helped the studio and their distinct style become recognizable worldwide, even to non-anime fans. It doesn’t take much effort to find tutorials on how to mimic the distinct way they draw welled-up tears, or their soft-edged, wide-eyed humans.
The style was produced byHayao MiyazakiandIsao Takahata, who founded the studio after 20 years of providing work for Toei, Shin-Ei Production, and other studios. It was there that they developed the pastoral energy that would make their works welcoming and wholesome to look at, even in darker works likePrincess Mononoke. It’s managed to fit Western fantasy stories likeArriety, an adaptation ofThe Borrowers, as comfortably as it has homegrown Japanese ones likePom PokoandOnly Yesterday.
8Kuniko Tsurita
The Lesser-Known Legend
Kuniko Tsuritararely got published in the big magazines or got plaudits. Her work featured a lot of action, inspired by the crime dramas and pulp novels she’d read alongside shojo stories. For anyone else, that would be fine. But to the editor ofThe Citymagazine, this wasn’t something women should illustrate. He said, that rather than make action stories, she should “draw about girls instead.”
Tsurita opted not to do that and got her work published in the alt-magazineGaro. They’d showcase her stark, dark artwork featuring androgynous figures, social commentary, and dramatic imagery that contributed to gekiga - an older term for mature manga. Tsurita wouldn’t become a household name, but she broke ground for other women mangaka who wanted to tell deeper stories, like Riyoko Ikeda and Rumiko Takahashi.
9Ryoichi Ikegami
Gekiga Grandmaster
Kazuo Koike is most famous for working with Goseki Kojima, but he wasn’t the only artist he worked with. One of his notable works,Crying Freeman, was brought to life by the illustrative skill ofRyoichi Ikegami. Even by then, Ikegami had already made his name for his realistic, mature artwork. He made his name drawing hard-boiled seinen stories likeFreeman,Sanctuary,andTrillion Game, offering a more suave and sensual touch compared to Kojima.
But it was his dark shōnen tales that caught readers' attention. His dystopian take on Marvel’s webhead,Spider-Man: The Manga, caught on better with Japanese readers in the 1970s.Mai the Psychic Girl’s more grounded take on psychic powers and conspiracies was one of the first manga to make waves in the West beforeAkiracame in like a tsunami.
10Go Nagai
“Uncle Go”
As influential as Tezuka and Ishinomori’s works are,Go Nagaiis arguably just as integral to the medium as they are. Just as Ishinomori was an assistant to Tezuka, Nagai was an assistant to Ishinomori and developed a style that resembled his senior’s work. But he’d take it in a more mature direction.For example,Harenchi Gakuen, while tame by today’s standards, essentially became the first ‘ecchi’ series.
Afterward, hisMazinger Zseries gave mecha human pilots, creating the Super Robot genre that would lead toMobile Suit GundamandNeon Genesis Evangelion.Devilmangot gothic and bloody, and its spin-offViolence Jackbrought post-apocalyptic action to readers a decade beforeFist of the North Star. While his work could be controversial with its extreme content, it opened the door for more mature-themed manga down the line.
