is a manga artist. He grew up reading the works of Osamu Tezuka

Osamu Tezuka

was a Japanese cartoonist, manga artist, animator, producer, activist and medical doctor, although he never practiced medicine. Born in Osaka Prefecture, he is best known as the creator of Astro Boy, Kimba the White Lion and Black Jack...

.

Aihara made his debut with Hachigatsu no Nureta Pantsu in 1983, which ran in Weekly Manga Action Magazine. He is one of the authors of Even a Monkey Can Draw Manga

Even a Monkey Can Draw Manga

is a parody instructional book by Koji Aihara and Kentaro Takekuma. The series was serialized in Shogakukan's Big Comic Spirits and in Viz Media's Pulp from May 2001 to August 2002. Shogakukan published the manga's three tankōbon volumes between October 1990 and May 1992...

, a satiric look at the manga industry. Aihara's other best-known works include Bunka Jinrui Gag, Koujien, Mujina and Manka. Manka has been described as being similar to tanka in that it shows the breadth of human emotion within the short space of a yonkoma

Yonkoma

thumb|right|150px|Traditional Yonkoma layout, a comic-strip format, generally consists of gag comic strips within four panels of equal size ordered from top to bottom...

. He has also drawn a yonkoma parody of a Japanese dictionary. His work has been described as breaking new ground for themes in comedic manga, and as showing "meticulous detail". He also designed the characters for the RPG video games Maka Maka

Maka Maka (video game)

is a Japan-exclusive role-playing video game which was released in 1992.The characters were designed by Koji Aihara.-See also:* Idea no Hi* List of Super Famicom and Super Nintendo role-playing games...

 and Idea no Hi

Idea no Hi

is a Japan-exclusive role-playing video game which was released in 1994.-See also:* Koji Aihara* List of role-playing video games: 1994 to 1995* List of Super Famicom and Super Nintendo role-playing games...

(scenario and character design draft).

External links