Born on May 26, 1970, Nobuhiro Watsuki started drawing when influenced by his older brother and such manga artists as Fujiko Fujio (Doraemon) and Mitsuru Adachi (Touch). He had his first work published by Weekly Shonen Jump when he was a freshman in high school (by winning the annual Pop*Step Award held by the magazine to find new talent). After finishing high school, Watsuki went to work as an assistant to Takashi Obata (Yuu Yuu Hakusho, Cypher).

Watsuki started the story of Kenshin Himura in 1994 and has currently finished 21 volumes. Although Kenshin TV has stopped this fall, the manga is still going strong. It is rumored that the manga will conclude with the end of the current story arc (the Revenge Arc -- that is, the story about how Kenshin got those two scars on his face).

But this article should be more about Watsuki-sensei, ne? So let's stop talking about Kenshin...

What other things can we say about Watsuki? Besides drawing, he also enjoys playing video games. He admits that he doesn't have time to play simulation or RPG games, but he loves to play fighting games. Among his favorites are Tekken and Samurai Showdown. Watsuki likes to listen to music by ANZI and Kinniku Shoujo Tai. Oh, and yes, he does enjoy watching anime. Watsuki says he is really into watching Neon Genesis Evangelion and Kodomo no Omocha (Child's Toy), as well as his own show, that is, Rurouni Kenshin. He admits that at first, he didn't get along that well with the Kenshin TV crew but has since gained trust in their work.

As far as influences go, Watsuki likes to read American comics as well as those by his favorite manga artists. These include X-Men and Spiderman. Much of his admiration of American comics can be seen in the character designs for some of the characters in his manga. He also likes action films like Die Hard, Midnight Runner, and believe it or not, Back to the Future.

Watsuki is seen as a historical manga artist by most manga readers in Japan. Watsuki admits that his knowledge of history was weak until he had to do research while drawing the story for Kenshin. He has since acquired an interest in Japan's history and the various conflicts that brought about the Meiji Era.

Watsuki has said that he wants to do several more things after finishing Kenshin. He admits that he won't have time to start any new projects until Kenshin is done, but he has considered starting one such project, a manga about the Shinsengumi (the group that fought against the group Kenshin participated in during the Meiji Restoration). Watsuki has stated many times that he loves happy endings, and he has promised one with the story of Kenshin. If anybody is looking for some good manga to read, I seriously recommend Kenshin. The anime has done a good job following the manga, but there are several things in the manga that just never made it to TV.

Sony has already released four LD box sets for the TV series, a full-length animated movie, two Playstation games, and is currently preparing to make an OAV series to adapt the later manga storylines that didn't make it to TV (namely, the Revenge Arc). So, with the Kenshin franchise reaching its maturity, Watsuki-sensei's future is bright indeed.