as part of an investigation into the purchase of child pornography. The search uncovered about a hundred child pornography DVDs. He was referred to prosecutors over possession of child pornography on November 21. The serialization of Rurouni Kenshin: The Hokkaido Arc was put on hiatus after the details of Watsuki's charges were made public. In February 2018, Watsuki was fined or about . The Hokkaido Arc resumed serialization in June 2018. Influences and inspirations Watsuki started drawing from the influence of his older brother. His favorite manga is Osamu Tezuka's Black Jack and his favorite artist is Takeshi Obata. Other series that influenced him include Fujiko F. Fujio's Doraemon and Pa-man, Mitsuru Adachi's Touch, Wing Man by Masakazu Katsura, Minako Narita's Alien Street and Cypher, and Yu Yu Hakusho by Yoshihiro Togashi. Watsuki believes that he is not very good at writing comedy, but he stated that he does not give up on it because laughter contains "smiles and happiness, the greatest common denominators." Watsuki based many of his characters on historical figures, characters from other manga/anime, and video games series. For example, Himura Kenshin was based on Kawakami Gensai, one of the Four Hitokiri of the Bakumatsu. Four years after the revolution ended, Gensai was falsely accused of a crime and was executed. Watsuki admires Kenshin for his desire to do good in honor of those whom he had to kill so the Meiji Government could exist. In addition, Saitō Hajime was based on the historical Saitō Hajime, a member of the Shinsengumi although Watsuki admitted altering him to the point of fan complaints. Several other characters, most notably Sagara Sanosuke, Shinomori Aoshi, and Seta Sōjirō, are also loosely based on certain figures among the Shinsengumi. Okita Sōji, Ōkubo Toshimichi, and Katsura Kogorō are among numerous other historical figures who make appearances in the story. Yukishiro Enishi's minion Gein was based on puppeteer and serial killer Ed Gein. Works Serialized manga Rurouni Kenshin Rurouni: Meiji Swordsman Romantic Story (1993) Gun Blaze West Embalming Other manga a dōjinshi illustrated by Watsuki and written by Kaworu Kurosaki. Video game designs Samurai Shodown V (2003) Shinsengumi Gunraw Den (2005) Other work Buso Renkin (2006) – Voice of Buhiro Watsukino in episode 7. Endride (2016) – Character designs References External links 1970 births Living people Manga artists from Niigata Prefecture Nobuhiro Watsuki People from Nagaoka, Niigata Anime character designers Video game artists Japanese