Shohei Manabe

Shohei Manabe (真鍋昌平) is a Japanese manga creator best known for writing and illustrating seinen manga series that explore dark societal themes, financial desperation, and the criminal underworld. His works have served as the source material for numerous live-action film adaptations and television drama series.

Career and Major Works

Manabe's manga series have gained recognition for their gritty portrayals of contemporary Japanese society, particularly focusing on the fringes of the legal and financial systems. His most prominent work, Ushijima the Loan Shark (Yamikin Ushijima-kun), examines the brutal reality of illegal moneylending and its impact on vulnerable debtors. The series received multiple live-action adaptations, including television drama seasons broadcast by TBS-MBS starting in 2010, alongside several feature films released between 2012 and 2016.

In addition to Ushijima the Loan Shark, Manabe authored the manga Smuggler, which was adapted into a live-action film in 2011. His later work, Sins of Kujo (Kujo no Taizai), has also been adapted for screen media, including a Netflix drama series announced for release in 2026 and a feature film scheduled for 2027.