Kouji Kiriyama
桐山光侍
media.language: Japanese
media.homeTown: Suginami, Tokyo, Japan
media.yearsActive: 1991
[Wiki (jp)](https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%A1%90%E5%B1%B1%E5%85%89%E4%BE%8D) | [Wiki (en)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K%C5%8Dji_Kiriyama)
Kouji Kiriyama is a Japanese manga artist best known for the [Ninku](https://anilist.co/manga/41361/) series which was serialized in Shueisha's Weekly Shounen Jump manga magazine between 1993 and 1995, and was adapted into a 55 episode [anime series](https://anilist.co/anime/912/) as well as [an OVA](https://anilist.co/anime/16345/) and [a film](https://anilist.co/anime/2851/). A second manga [Ninku Second Stage](https://anilist.co/manga/125945/), ran from 2005 to 2011 in the seinen magazine Ultra Jump.
His works inspired artists such as [Masashi Kishimoto](https://anilist.co/staff/96879/) of [Naruto](https://anilist.co/anime/20/) fame, who used to copy Kiriyama's drawings in his studying to become a manga artist.
(Source: Wikipedia)
