In 2004, NHK ( Japanese public TV network ) produced a 39 episode anime series titled Agatha Christie's Great Detectives Poirot and Marple, as well as a manga series under the same title released in 2005.

* 1958 – Yoshito Usui, Japanese manga artist

They have a long history in Japanese folklore and art, and more recently have appeared in Japanese anime and manga ( see examples cited below ).

Since the introduction of the comic book format in 1933 with the publication of Famous Funnies, the United States has produced the most titles, along with British comics and Japanese manga, in terms of quantity of titles.

Unlike other anime and manga, where jokes and references are often exclusory or require knowledge of Japanese culture and / or the workings and conventions of anime, Cowboy Bebop is accessible – western audiences can connect with the characters readily and more fully understand their motivations and struggles.

* 1953 – Masami Kurumada, Japanese manga artist

* 1971 – Mine Yoshizaki, Japanese manga artist

is a Japanese manga series created by Fujiko F. Fujio which later became an anime series and an Asian franchise.

, short for, is a Japanese media franchise encompassing digital toys, anime, manga, video games and videos.

* 1919 – Takashi Yanase, Japanese manga artist

* 1989 – Osamu Tezuka, Japanese manga artist ( b. 1928 )

In America, the fandom also began as an offshoot of science fiction fandom, with fans bringing imported copies of Japanese manga to conventions.

In 1988 Dark Horse Comics released a six-issue limited series, Godzilla, which was an American adaptation of the Japanese manga adaptation of The Return of Godzilla.

is a media franchise based on the Japanese seinen manga series written and illustrated by Masamune Shirow.

is a Japanese word that, in the West, is used when referring to sexually explicit or pornographic comics and animation, particularly those of Japanese origin such as anime, manga, and eroge.

Hentai manga on display at a Japanese bookstore.

Eroticism for the masses: Japanese manga comics and their assimilation into the U. S. Sexuality & Culture, 6 ( 1 ) pp. 3 – 126.

* Toaru Majutsu no Index, a Japanese light novel, manga, and anime series

* 1960 – Naoki Urasawa, Japanese manga author

* 1973 – Mayu Shinjo, Japanese manga artist

is the pen-name of Japanese manga artist Michitaka Kikuchi whose work spans multiple genres and appeals to diverse audiences.

One of the most widely published Japanese manga artist, nearly all of his stories have been translated into other languages, including English.

is a Japanese manga artist, screenwriter and film director.

* 1951 – Moriteru Ueshiba, Japanese martial artist

* 1971 – Zeebra, Japanese hip hop artist ( King Giddra )

* 1933 – Fujiko F. Fujio, Japanese cartoon artist ( d. 1996 )

* 1932 – On Kawara, Japanese conceptual artist

In 2005, the Taiwan Society of New York selected Doraemon as a culturally significant work of Japanese otaku pop-culture in its exhibit Little Boy: The Arts of Japan's Exploding Subculture, curated by renowned artist Takashi Murakami.

* 1911 – Tarō Okamoto, Japanese avant-garde artist ( d. 1996 )

One " Giger Bar " sprang up in Tokyo, but the realization of his designs were a great disappointment to the artist, since the Japanese organization behind the venture did not wait for his final designs, but decided to barrel ahead with nothing more than Giger's rough preliminary sketches.

* 1968 – Minoru Suzuki, Japanese wrestler and mixed martial artist

* 1970 – Takeshi Konomi, Japanese artist

* 1977 – Tite Kubo, Japanese artist

* 1934 – Mitsuteru Yokoyama, Japanese artist ( d. 2004 )

* 1954 – Jōkō Ninomiya, Japanese martial artist

* 1952 – Yoshitaka Amano, Japanese artist

* 1956 – Yoshiaki Yatsu, Japanese wrestler and mixed martial artist

* 1981 – Yushin Okami, Japanese mixed martial artist

A manga artist ( mangaka in Japanese ) typically works with a few assistants in a small studio and is associated with a creative editor from a commercial publishing company.

* 1968 – Naoko Iijima, Japanese actress

* 1972 – Naoko Takahashi, Japanese runner

** Naoko Takahashi, Japanese long-distance runner

In her 2009 book, Japanese Society at War: Death, Memory and the Russo-Japanese War, Naoko Shimazu detailed Japan's response

* Naoko Yamada, played by Yukie Nakama, the main character of the Japanese drama Trick.

Voiced by Tress MacNeille in English and Naoko Matsui in Japanese.

In 1959 he married a third wife, the then 19-year old Japanese hostess Naoko Nemoto ( renamed Dewi Sukarno ).

This practice is also fairly common in certain comics, such as Svetlana Chmakova's Dramacon, which makes several product-placement-esque usages of " Pawky ", ( a modification of the name of the Japanese snack " Pocky ", popular among the anime and manga fan community in which the story is set ) or Naoko Takeuchi's Sailor Moon, which includes numerous references to the series Codename: Sailor V, which Sailor Moon was spun off of ; the anime makes further use of this meta-referential gag, going so far as having an animator on a Codename: Sailor V feature film be a victim in one episode.

In 2010, Japanese astronaut Naoko Yamazaki demonstrated that it is possible to create coloured bubbles in microgravity.

is a Japanese tokusatsu television series based on the media franchise of the same name created by Naoko Takeuchi.

Naoko Takeuchi, the manga artist who originated the series, coined the term by fusing English and Japanese elements, and fans speaking each language have adopted it.

Four years ago, the Berlin Marathon was won by Naoko Takahashi, the Japanese runner who took the Olympic gold medal in Sydney in 2000.

* Miyu: Naoko Watanabe ( Japanese ), Pamela Wiedner ( English )

The original Japanese title, Noruwei no Mori, is the standard Japanese translation of the title of The Beatles song " Norwegian Wood ( This Bird Has Flown )", written by John Lennon The song is often mentioned in the novel, and is the favourite song of the character Naoko.

Naoko Iijima ( 飯島直子 Iijima Naoko ) is a Japanese actress, born on February 29, 1968 in Yokohama, Japan.

* Voiced by: Naoko Matsui ( Japanese ) Alice Barryt ( English )

Japanese Voice: Naoko Watanabe

Voiced by: Naoko Matsui ( Japanese ), Iona Morris ( English, Streamline ), Nicole Oliver ( English, Ocean )

Interspersed with the narrative are his memories of the Japanese student movement, and of his old girlfriend Naoko, who hanged herself, like the character of the same name in Murakami's later novel Norwegian Wood.