, better known by his pen name , is a Japanese manga artist. He is best known for his samurai-themed series Rurouni Kenshin: Meiji Swordsman Romantic Story (1994–1999), which has over 70 million copies in circulation and a sequel he is currently creating titled Rurouni Kenshin: The Hokkaido Arc (2017–present). He has written three more series, the western Gun Blaze West (2001), the supernatural Buso Renkin (2003–2005), and the horror manga Embalming -The Another Tale of Frankenstein- (2007–2015). Watsuki has mentored several well-known manga artists, including One Piece creator Eiichiro Oda, Hiroyuki Takei of Shaman King fame, and Mr. Fullswing author . Early life Watsuki was born in Tokyo and was brought up in Nagaoka, Niigata. When he was in middle school, Watsuki practiced kendo. He still drew manga but also enjoyed sports, although he never won a kendo match. Watsuki grew frustrated with kendo, and eventually quit. Career In high school, Watsuki received an honorable mention in the 33rd Tezuka Awards for his 1987 one-shot Teacher Pon, which he wrote under the pen name "Nobuhiro Nishiwaki". Hokuriku Yūrei Kobanashi earned him the Hop Step award. It was included in Hop Step Award Selection volume 6 in 1991. After graduating, Watsuki moved to Tokyo and worked as an assistant to Yōichi Takahashi and Takeshi Obata. Watsuki worked on Obata's Mashin Bōken Tan Lamp-Lamp and Chikara Bito Densetsu, the former's title character would later serve as a model for Sagara Sanosuke. Watsuki then created three historically-set samurai-themed one-shots; Crescent Moon in the Warring States, and two sharing the title Rurouni: Meiji Swordsman Romantic Story. Set in the Sengoku Jidai era of Japan's warring states, Crescent Moon in the Warring States relates the tale of the lone swordsman Hiko Seijūrō. The first Rurouni: Meiji Swordsman Romantic Story features Himura Kenshin stopping a crime lord from taking over the Kamiya family dojo. The second sees Kenshin saving a young girl who is being held ransom by fallen samurai. These three works served as the basis for his first serial; Rurouni Kenshin: Meiji Swordsman Romantic Story, which follows the former hitokiri Himura Kenshin and was serialized in Weekly Shōnen Jump from 1994 to 1999. It was a major success with over 70 million copies in circulation, and was adapted into an anime television series, several animated films, and a trilogy of live-action films. The story Haru ni Sakura, included in the Kenshin Kaden guidebook,