Shuichi Shigeno

Shuichi Shigeno (しげの 秀一) is a Japanese manga artist famous for creating Initial D. Shigeno has also created Bari Bari Densetsu, Dopkan, and Tunnel Nuketara Sky Blue ("First Love in Summer"). In 1985, he received the Kodansha Manga Award in shōnen for Bari Bari Densetsu.

Early life
Shuichi Shigeno was born in Matsunoyama, Tokamachi City, Niigata Prefecture. When Shigeno was in high school, he was obsessed with motorcycles, which resulted in one of his best-selling series, Bari Bari Densetsu. Before Shigeno became a manga artist, he was a poor student. Still, after Baribari Densetsu sold well and got a lot of money from royalties on the first edition, he bought his first car (Toyota AE86) and lived in a small apartment.

Career
After Bari Bari Densetsu was sold, Shigeno wanted to make another book. And one of Shigeno's friends told Shigeno he liked cars, "so why not write it down?" Shigeno thought about the idea, but part of him resisted, due to going out of business if writing about cars had not worked out. Since Shigeno was writing about cars, he used his first car, the Toyota AE86, to help him write Initial D. After Initial D was published, it became a huge hit.

In 2017, after Initial D was completed, he started a sequel series titled MF Ghost, which continues most of Initial D's legacy in focusing on racing theories and cars. In November 2022, Weekly Young Magazine announced that MF Ghost would be on a hiatus due to Shigeno's declining health to prevent him from overworking. The series resumed on June 19, 2023.

Shuichi Shigeno and his Toyota AE86 Trueno
Shigeno bought his AE86 Toyota Sprinter Trueno right after he got royalties from Bari Bari Densetsu. At first, Shigeno picked the Sprinter Trueno because his father only drove Toyota cars. After going to a Toyota dealership, Shigeno bought the Sprinter Trueno because it had just undergone a model change and it was not particularly expensive. Plus, it was stylish and cool to drive. For the first two years of owning his AE86, Shigeno only used it practically to help with his daily life. In between work, Shigeno would often times go to the mountains of Gunma and drive there when there were no regular cars. To this day, Shigeno still has his AE86 and drives around in the middle of the night.

Works

 * Bari Bari Densetsu (1983–1991, serialized in Weekly Shōnen Magazine, Kodansha)
 * Tunnel Nuketara Sky*Blue (1992, serialized in Weekly Young Magazine, Kodansha)
 * Shō (1992, serialized in Weekly Shōnen Magazine, Kodansha)
 * DO-P-KAN (1993–1995, serialized in Weekly Young Magazine, Kodansha)
 * Initial D (1995–2013, serialized in Weekly Young Magazine, Kodansha)
 * Takane no Hana (2014, serialized in Weekly Young Magazine, Kodansha)
 * Sailor Ace (2015–2017, serialized in Weekly Young Magazine, Kodansha)
 * MF Ghost (2017–ongoing, serialized in Weekly Young Magazine, Kodansha)