Seishi Kishimoto

(born November 8, 1974) is a Japanese manga artist. He is best known for 666 Satan, which was serialized in Monthly Shōnen Gangan from 2001 to 2007 and licensed by Viz Media in North America as O-Parts Hunter. He has since completed two more manga series, Blazer Drive (2008–2011) and Kurenai no Ōkami to Ashikase no Hitsuji (2011–2013), and began Sukedachi Nine in October 2014. His older twin brother, Masashi Kishimoto, is also a manga artist and creator of Naruto.

Biography
Seishi Kishimoto was born in Okayama Prefecture, Japan on November 8, 1974 as the younger identical twin of Masashi Kishimoto. In elementary school, Kishimoto started watching the anime adaptation of Kinnikuman alongside his brother and the two of them began to design their own superheroes.

Kishimoto's first manga was the one-shot Trigger published in Square Enix's Gangan Powered in 2001. With the story he wanted to write about "faith and parent-child relationships," but had trouble fitting it within the page limit. He began his first serialized work, 666 Satan, in Monthly Shōnen Gangan in 2001. The manga continued for six years and has been translated and released in several foreign countries, including in North America by Viz Media. A year after 666 Satan ended, Seishi launched Blazer Drive in the debut issue of Kodansha's Monthly Shōnen Rival, preceded by a prequel one-shot, Trival, in the final issue of Comic BomBom; Blazer Drive ran through 2010 and received a video game tie-in. Kishimoto then created the one-shot Jūniji no Kaneganaru (12時の鐘が鳴る, "Twelve O'Clock Bell Rings"), which was published in the monthly shōjo magazine Aria in 2011. In the January 2012 issue of Monthly Shōnen Rival, Seishi debuted Kurenai no Ōkami to Ashikase no Hitsuji (紅の狼と足枷の羊, "Crimson Wolf and Fetters of Sheep"), which ran until 2013.

In 2014, Kishimoto began work on Sukedachi Nine (助太刀09, "Avenge Nine"), a series serialized both printed and digitally in [ Monthly Shōnen Gangan] and Gangan Online. Printed ver. featured 2-chapter story of Kota Kiyodera, Sukedachi No.9, while digital ver. featured 2-chapter story of Ryoko Koizumi, Sukedachi No.8. The series debuted in the November 2014 issue of Monthly Shōnen Gangan on October 11, while the digital publication started in Gangan Online on October 16.

Style and influences
Seishi and his twin brother Masashi have been drawing manga together since early childhood, thus their styles are similar. As a result, each of them has frequently been accused of copying the other, not just artwork, but story elements as well. Seishi himself notes that the similarities are not intentional but are likely because they were both influenced by many of the same things. As a result of the "copycat" accusations, the more famous Masashi even asked fans to stop calling Seishi a "copycat."

Works

 * Serializations
 * 666 Satan (666〜サタン〜) (September 2001 – January 2008; serialized in Monthly Shōnen Gangan)
 * Blazer Drive (ブレイザードライブ) (May 2008 – December 2010; serialized in Monthly Shōnen Rival)
 * Kurenai no Ookami to Ashikase no Hitsuji (紅の狼と足枷の羊, "Crimson Wolf and Fetters of Sheep") (December 2011 – February 2013; serialized in Monthly Shōnen Riva])
 * Sukedachi Nine (助太刀09, "Avenge Nine") (October 2014 – ongoing; serialized in Monthly Shōnen Gangan and Gangan Online)
 * One-shots
 * Trigger (March 2001; published in Gangan Powered and reprinted in 666 Satan volume 6)
 * Tenchu San (天誅 参, "Tenchu: Wrath of Heaven") (March – April 2003; published in Monthly Shōnen Gangan)
 * Trival (トライバル) (November 2007, published in Comic BomBom and reprinted in Blazer Drive volume 1)
 * Jūniji no Kaneganaru (12時の鐘が鳴る, "Twelve O'Clock Bell Rings") (April 2011; published in Aria)