Kuwata was born in Suita, Osaka, on April 17, 1935. He entered the world of manga after the war, when he was only 13 years old, with the comic “The Strange Star Cluster.” In 1957, he created “Maboroshi Tantei (Phantom Detective),” which was adapted into a live-action TV series two years later. “8 Man,” which debuted in 1963, also became an anime series in the same year, and subsequently inspired a video game, two live-action films, and more anime and manga in the ’90s.
After the Adam West Batman TV series popularized the character in Japan, Kuwata created a manga starring the character that was featured in the magazines Weekly Shōnen King and Shōnen Gahō from 1966 to 1967. The comics were the subject of Chip Kidd’s 2008 book Bat-Manga!: The Secret History of Batman in Japan, and eventually re-released by DC under the title “Batman: The Jiro Kuwata Batmanga” in 2014.
Kuwata battled depression and alcoholism throughout his life: he was arrested in 1965 for possession of a handgun, which he bought while contemplating suicide. (As a result, the original version of “8 Man”‘s final issue was completed by other artists.) In 1977, he converted to Buddhism, and produced several art books about the life of Buddha, in addition to continuing his work in comics.
Other comics by Kuwata included “Chōken Leap” and “Elite,” as well as adaptations of other (Japanese and American) TV shows like Moonlight Mask, Ultra Seven, The Time Tunnel, and The Invaders.
