is a Japanese manga artist. He writes under a pen name in which his first name Yoshihiro is spelled out in hiragana (よしひろ). Takahashi was born September 18, 1953, in Higashinaruse, Akita. He was very interested in drawing coming of age related themes, and, in the 1960s, started publishing small comics in several newspapers and magazines. His first manga was Shitamachi Benkei, but his breakthrough came in 1984 when he published the popular manga Silver Fang -The Shooting Star Gin-, also known as Silver Fang, or Silver Fang Legend Gin, the story about a dog who goes in search of other dogs to fight a bear named Akakabuto. He got the idea in 1980 when he read an article about domestic dogs that ran away from their owners and lived as wild dogs in the mountains. The pure idea fascinated him, which led him to create the manga about the puppy. In 1987, the series won the Shogakukan Manga Award for shōnen manga. Takahashi started to publish the sequel, Weed, in 1999 and it soon became a hit as well as an anime which aired on September 17, 2005. He has been touted as the first manga artist to draw manga featuring a puppy as hero. Takahashi was the guest of honour at the Finnish role-playing and anime fan convention Tracon in Tampere on September 3 and 4 2011. It was his first visit to Finland and most likely his first time being a guest of honour outside Japan; he visited Finland for the second time in 2012, participating in the Animecon event in Kuopio. Bibliography Manga Genkotsu Boy (げんこつボーイ) (1974) Akutare Kiyojin (Giants) (悪たれ巨人 (ジャイアンツ)) (1976) Also known as Rowdyism Giant. Shiroi Senshi Yamato (白い戦士ヤマト) (1978) Otoko no Tabidachi (男の旅立ち) (1981) Aozora Fishing (青空フィッシング) (1982) Tosaō (土佐王) (1982) Sho to Daichi (翔と大地) (1983) Silver Fang -The Shooting Star Gin- (銀牙流れ星銀) (1983) Kacchū no Senshi Gamu (甲冑の戦士 雅武) (1988) Great Horse (グレートホース) (1990) Drunk! (どらんく!) (2002) Ama Kakeru Toki (天翔ける瞬間) (1991) Byakuren no Fangu (白蓮のファング) (1993) Takahashi Yoshihiro no Inu to Kurashitai (高橋よしひろのイヌと暮らしたい) (1994) Shōnen to Inu (少年と犬) (1994) Re-issued 1996 under the name Ginga no Inutachi [Shōnen to Inu] Remix (銀牙の犬たち [少年と犬] リミックス). Kotō no Bōkensha (孤島の冒険者) (1995) Kyōko no Shura (恭子の修羅) (1995) Serialized in the Champion Jack manga magazine. FANG (1998) Kandō Ō Retsuden 2 (感動王列伝 2) (1998) Ichi Geki (一撃) (1999) Weed (銀牙伝説ウィード) (1999) Ginga Densetsu Riki