is the pen name of a Japanese manga artist, most well-known for his manga Gintama, which began serialization in 2003 and ended in 2019. He has also written numerous one-shots, including Dandelion, of which he has won the Tenkaichi Honourable Mention Manga Award in 2002. Sorachi’s distinctive sense of humour and writing style has been the subject of academic research papers. As of February 2018, the Gintama manga has sold 55 million units in Japan. Personal life Hideaki Sorachi was born on May 25, 1979, in Takikawa of Hokkaido, Japan. Sorachi has stated that his pen name is derived from the Sorachi prefecture in Hokkaido, but Hideaki is a part of his real name. He has an older sister, and occasionally shares stories about her in the end notes of manga volumes. Sorachi has commented that he prefers using analog writing implements as opposed to creating digital art; his most used writing utensil being the calligraphy brush pen. He also uses felt-tip and permanent markers, and a round-nib and G-pen. In an interview, Sorachi described how watching Castle in the Sky in his childhood inspired him to start drawing manga, and how he feels like he “is always chasing after a castle in the sky”. From a young age, he read various manga series, and he drew manga during breaks in elementary school. However, after his father ridiculed a manga he drew in 4th grade, Sorachi decided to give up on his dream of becoming a manga artist. Sorachi entered a university in Hokkaido, studying a degree in advertising. He recounted feeling unsure of his career path while enrolled at university, considering following his interests in both architecture and creating computer graphics. After graduating, Sorachi considered himself to be a "NEET", and sent his first work, Dandelion, to a publisher whilst being unsure of its potential success. Sorachi has stated that he does not use social media, including Twitter, as he “intend[s] to eliminate stress through manga”. Career Sorachi, unemployed after graduating university, was able to live off Dandelion. Soon afterwards, he began writing the storyline for Gintama. At the start of the serialisation of Gintama, the series lacked popularity and support, leading to a potential cancellation. While the first edition of the physical tankōbon volumes completely sold out, Shueisha had only printed the minimum number of volumes and still considered the sales to be “poor”. Sorachi believed that the