Reibaki ! Cover painting

Masahiko Kikuni (1958-) graduated from the Oil Painting Department of Tama Art University.
He was inspired by the works of Moto Hagio and Garo-style manga, which led him to pursue a career as a manga artist.
In 1981, he debuted (without much recognition) in Weekly Shonen Jump.
After this he mainly published doujinshi with other Tama University artists until an editor mistakenly believed one of his works was from another artist, which led to being published and an opportunity to draw four-panel gag manga.
In 1987, he gained popularity with Heartbroken Angels in Weekly Shonen Sunday and in 1994, he published his first ‘non-gag’ manga. Whispering of the Moonlight was rather successful and led to an adaptation into a live-action movie directed by Akihiko Shiota (1999)
He continued working primarily on gag manga, but in recent years, he reverted back to painting. This cover, published in 2014, is in his own typical style that is very close to surrealism.
As for awards, he won the 4th Miura Jun Best Friend Manga Award in 1997. In 2015, he received the 68th Mystery Writers of Japan Award in the "Criticism and Other Works" category. In 2017, he won the 17th Honkaku Mystery Award in the "Criticism and Research" category.
His notable works include Heartbroken Angels, Whispering of the Moonlight, and The Bookshelf Detective's Adventures.
In the fall of 2023, Kikuni announced his retirement from being a manga artist due to declining eyesight and health issues. His wife is fellow mangaka Yuka Kuniki.